ULTRASONIC TESTING

 The sound energy is introduced and propagates through the materials in

the form of waves.
 Whenever the sound waves meet another interface of different acoustic
impedance part of energy will be reflected back.
 The same occurs when it meets crack, laminations or any discontinuities
 Sound generated above 20,000 Hz is called ultrasound.
 The reflected wave signal is transformed into electrical signal by the
transducer and is displayed on a screen

PRINCIPLE OF ULTRASONIC TESTING

 Reflection of sound occurs when the acoustic impedance changes.

SOUND ENERGY

WAVELENGTH
 The distance covered by one complete cycle.
 It is denoted by λ.
CYCLE
 No. Complete Sequence.

Frequency
 The number of cycles / second.
 It is denoted by f.
 Unit of f is Hz or cps.

Relation b/w f, V & λ

λ=v/f

λ → wave length in mm

v → velocity of ultrasound

f → frequency in MHz

PERIOD:
 Time taken to complete one cycle

VELOCITY:
 Velocity is the speed of energy transfer between two

points.

Velocity= frequency x wavelength

Attenuation
 i.e. loss of energy
 Due to absorption, scattering, beam spreading
 Atmosphere also absorbs some energy

ACOUSTIC IMPEDENCE
 Specific Acoustic Impedence (Z)

The product of density (ρ) and acoustic velocity (V) of that material.

Z=ρ.V

Where

ρ Density of the Medium

V Acoustic Velocity of the medium

SOME ACOUSTIC IMPEDENCE VALUES

 AIR = 0.0004
 STEEL = 45.45
 WATER = 0.75
 OIL = 1.5
 MERCURY = 19.6

Ultrasound wave modes

 Longitudinal or compression wave
 Shear waves or transverse wave
 Surface waves or Rayleigh’s wave
 Lamb wave or plate waves
LONGITUDINAL WAVE
 The motion of the particles are parallel to the direction of the wave
 Travels in all media (solid, liquid & gases)

SHEAR WAVE
 Particle motions are perpendicular to the wave propagation.
 The velocity of transverse wave is equal to half velocity of the
longitudinal wave.(3250)
 Travels only in solid material.

SURFACE WAVE
  Propagate along the surface of a metal with an elliptical particle
motion.
 The waves have a velocity of approximately 92 % of equivalent
shear wave. (3000 app)
 Surface wave has low attenuation and high sensitivity for detection
of surface defects.

LAMB WAVE
 Plate waves, can be propagated only in very thin metals.
 Lamb waves are the most commonly used plate waves in NDT.
 The two most common types of travelling is symmetrical and
asymmetrical.
 This technique can detect crack and lamination in thin strips.
 It’s having multiple and varying wave velocities.

SOUND WAVE PROPAGATION- Contd.

LONGITUDINAL WAVE

SHEAR WAVE
RAYLIEGH WAVE

VELOCITY OF LONGITUDINAL AND SHEAR WAVE PROPAGATION IN

MATERIALS

Air 330 m/s

Water 1480 m/s

Steel, long 5920 m/s

Steel, trans 3250 m/s

Ultrasound velocity in meters / sec

Material Longitudinal Shear

Steel 5920 3250
Aluminum 6320 3130
Acrylic 2730 1430
Water 1480 ------
 VELOCITY CALCULATIONS

Longitudinal Wave Velocity

Where:

VL = Longitudinal Wave Velocity

E = Modulus of Elasticity

ρ = Density

μ = Poisson's Ratio

Shear Wave Velocity,

Where:

Vs = Shear Wave Velocity

E = Modulus of Elasticity

ρ = Density

μ = Poisson's Ratio

G = Shear Modulus

NEAR FIELD / FRESNEL FIELD

  The near field distance depends on the size and frequency of the
transducer and the effective wave length in the test material

NEAR FIELD

N= D2/4 l
WHERE,

D = DIAMETER OF THE CRYSTAL

l = WAVE LENGTH

SNELL’S LAW
  Snell's law (also known as Snell–Descartes law and the law of refraction) is
a formula used to describe the relationship between the angles of
incidence and refraction, when referring to light or other waves passing
through a boundary between two different isotropic media, such as water,
glass, or air.

Where:

V1 is the wave velocity in material 1.

V2 is the velocity in material 2.

θ1 is Incident angle

θ2 is Refracted angle
PIEZO ELECTRIC EFFECT
 Electrical Energy is converted into Mechanical Energy

Piezo electric effect.

 Converts electrical energy into mechanical energy and vice versa.

 Using crystal metal.

Piezoelectric material.
 Lithium sulphates, polarized lithium sulphate, barium titanate, lead
zincronate & titanate.

Direct effect
 The mechanical energy is converted into electrical energy.

Reverse effect
 The electrical energy is converted to mechanical energy.

TYPES OF PROBES
  NORMAL PROBE
 TWIN CRYSTAL OR T/R PROBE
 ANGLE PROBE

ULTRASONIC PROBES

socket Delay / protectin

crystal Electrical match
Damping Cable

TR-probe Angle beam p

Straight beam probe
NORMAL PROBE
TWIN CRYSTAL OR T/R PROBE
ANGLE PROBE
PULSE ECHO TECHNIQUE

IMMERSION METHOD

1 2
surface = w
sound entry

backwall

IP 1 IP
IE IE 2

BE B
F

0 2 4 6 8 10 0 2 4 6 8

Contact method
THROUGH TRANSMISSION TECHNIQUE
Through transmission signal

1 T R

2 T R
0 2 4 6

Flaw
SCANNING METHODS
  A - Scan Display
 B - Scan Display
 C – Scan Display
 S – Scan Display

C-SCAN DISPLAY

TYPES OF STANDARD BLOCK

V1 BLOCK

 Both Normal & Angle probe

V2 BLOCK

 Only for angle probe

DAC BLOCK (Distance amplitude Curve)

  ASTM Flat Bottom Hole Block (Normal probe)
 ASTM Side Drill Hole Block (Angle probe)

STEP BLOCK

 Only normal probe

SCANING WITH NORMAL PROBE

STUDY THE JOB

PROBE SELECTION

– UPTO 100 MM JOB THICK TO USE 4 MHz PROBE

– ABOVE 100 MM JOB THICK TO USE 2 MHz PROBE

CALIBRATION

– TO CALIBRATE THE EQUIPMENT USING STANDARD BLOCKS.

DRAW DAC (DISTANCE AMPLITUDE CORRECTION) CURVE

SCANNING THE TEST PART

V1 BLOCK
 CALIBRATE THE MACHINE USING V1 BLOCK
 VERTICAL LINEARITY CHECKING(Size of the defect)
 HORIZONTAL LINEARITY CHECKING(Depth of the defact)
 RESOLUTION CHECKING
 SENSITIVITY CHECKING
 PENETRATION CHECKING
 DEAD ZONE CHECKING
VERTICAL LINEARITY CHECKING
HORIZONTAL LINEARITY CHECKING

RESOLUTION CHECKING
SENSITIVITY CHECKING
PENETRATION CHECKING

DEAD ZONE CHECKING

DEPTH OF THE DEFECT

 The starting point of the defect echo gives the depth 0f the defect
WELD SCANNING PROCEDURE
 STUDY OF WELD
 PROBE SELECTION(FREQUENCY, ANGLE) 

FREQUENCY

UPTO 50MM TO USE 4MHz PROBE

ABOVE 50MM TO USE 2MHz PROBE

 ANGLE

BASED ON GROOVE ANGLE

PROBE ANGLE q = 90º - a/2 (or) 90-T

AWS GIVEN ‘q’ BASED ON THICKNESS IS

0 – 30 MM →700 PROBE

30 – 40 MM → 600 PROBE

ABOVE 40 MM → 450 PROBE

 CALIBRATION

TO CALIBRATE THE EQUIPMENT USING STANDARD BLOCKS.

 DRAW DAC (DISTANCE AMPLITUDE CORRECTION) CURVE

 SCANNING THE TEST PART

ANGLE PROBE
CALIBRATION OF ANGLE PROBE USING V1 BLOCK
CALIBRATION OF ANGLE PROBE USING V2 BLOCK
SKIP DISTANCE
 Half Skip Distance = T x tan θ
 Full Skip Distance = 2T x tan θ
 One and half Skip Distance = 3T x tan θ

Where,

T – Thickness of the Material

θ – Probe Angle

BEAM PATH
 ½ Beam Path = T / cos θ
 Full Beam Path = 2T / cos θ
 One and half Beam Path = 3T / cos θ

INTIAL SETUP FOR WELD INSPECTION

RANGE SETTING
 RANGE = 1.25 x FBP +1/2 WELD WIDTH

 GATE SETTING

 HBP to FBP
PLOTTING A DAC CURVE

ASTM SIDE DRILL HOLE BLOCK(ANGLE PROBE)

PROCEDURE TO DRAW DAC

ANGLE PROBE DAC
 TRANSFER LOSS CORRECTION db

SCANNING db

 SCANNING db = REF db + T.Ldb + 6db

EVALUATION db

 SCANNING = db -6db

LOCATION OF THE DEFECT

LOCATION OF THE DEFECT
DISTANCE OF THE DEFECT FROM THE PROBE:

IF P< HBP

DOD = Pcosq

IF P, HBP TO FBP

DOD = 2T – PCosq

IF P > FBP

DOD = 3T - PCosq

Where

P – position of the defect echo. (beam path distance

 Location of the Defect = P X sin θ

Where

θ – Angle of the probe

P – position of the defect echo

WELD DEFECTS
 Lack of Fusion
 Porosity
 Slag inclusion
 Crack
 Lack of Penetration

ADVANTAGES OF UT
  Depth of penetration for flaw detection or measurement is superior to
other method

 Fast response time, Permits high speed automatic testing in ultrasonic

systems.

 Ultrasonic testing has the advantage of detecting discontinuities with

access to only one side of the test specimen.

 Accurate determination

 There is no human hazardous

DISADVANTAGE OF UT
 Provides indirect indication, discontinuities can not be identified directly.
 Surface finish and roughness can interfere with inspection.
 Requires full scanning of entire test area.
 Requires a coupling medium which makes recording difficulties.
 Thin parts may be difficult to inspect.
 Reference standards are often needed.
 Discontinuities must be intercepted perpendicularly.
 Technician skill is more important than other methods.