10/3/2015

UltrasonictestingWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Ultrasonictesting
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Ultrasonictesting(UT)isafamilyof
nondestructivetestingtechniques
basedonthepropagationof
ultrasonicwavesintheobjector
materialtested.InmostcommonUT
applications,veryshortultrasonic
pulsewaveswithcenterfrequencies
rangingfrom0.115MHz,and
occasionallyupto50MHz,are
transmittedintomaterialstodetect
internalflawsortocharacterize
materials.Acommonexampleis
ultrasonicthicknessmeasurement,
whichteststhethicknessofthetest
object,forexample,tomonitor
pipeworkcorrosion.

AnexampleofUltrasonicTesting(UT)onbladerootsofaV2500IAE
aircraftengine.
Step1:TheUTprobeisplacedontherootofthebladestobe
inspectedwiththehelpofaspecialborescopetool(videoprobe).
Step2:Instrumentsettingsareinput.
Step3:Theprobeisscannedoverthebladeroot.Inthiscase,an
indication(peakinthedata)throughtheredline(orgate)indicates
agoodblade;anindicationtotheleftofthatrangeindicatesacrack.

Ultrasonictestingisoftenperformedonsteel
andothermetalsandalloys,thoughitcanalso
beusedonconcrete,woodandcomposites,
albeitwithlessresolution.Itisusedinmany
industriesincludingsteelandaluminium
construction,metallurgy,manufacturing,
aerospace,automotiveandother
transportationsectors.

Contents
1History
2Howitworks
3Features
3.1Advantages
3.2Disadvantages
4Standards
5Seealso
6References
7Furtherreading
8Externallinks

Principleofultrasonictesting.LEFT:Aprobesendsa
soundwaveintoatestmaterial.Therearetwo
indications,onefromtheinitialpulseoftheprobe,and
thesecondduetothebackwallecho.RIGHT:Adefect
createsathirdindicationandsimultaneouslyreduces
theamplitudeofthebackwallindication.Thedepthof
thedefectisdeterminedbytheratioD/Ep

History

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_testing

1/5

10/3/2015

UltrasonictestingWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

OnMay27,1940,U.S.researcherDr.FloydFirestoneoftheUniversityofMichiganappliesforaU.S.
inventionpatentforthefirstpracticalultrasonictestingmethod.ThepatentisgrantedonApril21,
1942asU.S.PatentNo.2,280,226,titled"FlawDetectingDeviceandMeasuringInstrument".Extracts
fromthefirsttwoparagraphsofthepatentforthisentirelynewnondestructivetestingmethod
succinctlydescribethebasicsofsuchultrasonictesting."Myinventionpertainstoadevicefor
detectingthepresenceofinhomogeneitiesofdensityorelasticityinmaterials.Forinstanceifacasting
hasaholeoracrackwithinit,mydeviceallowsthepresenceoftheflawtobedetectedanditsposition
located,eventhoughtheflawliesentirelywithinthecastingandnoportionofitextendsouttothe
surface....Thegeneralprincipleofmydeviceconsistsofsendinghighfrequencyvibrationsintothe
parttobeinspected,andthedeterminationofthetimeintervalsofarrivalofthedirectandreflected
vibrationsatoneormorestationsonthesurfaceofthepart."
JamesF.McNultyofAutomationIndustries,Inc.,then,inElSegundo,California,anearlyimproverof
themanyfoiblesandlimitsofthisandothernondestructivetestingmethods,teachesinfurtherdetail
onultrasonictestinginhisU.S.Patent3,260,105(applicationfiledDecember21,1962,grantedJuly12,
1966,titledUltrasonicTestingApparatusandMethod)thatBasicallyultrasonictestingisperformed
byapplyingtoapiezoelectriccrystaltransducerperiodicelectricalpulsesofultrasonicfrequency.The
crystalvibratesattheultrasonicfrequencyandismechanicallycoupledtothesurfaceofthespecimen
tobetested.Thiscouplingmaybeeffectedbyimmersionofboththetransducerandthespecimenina
bodyofliquidorbyactualcontactthroughathinfilmofliquidsuchasoil.Theultrasonicvibrations
passthroughthespecimenandarereflectedbyanydiscontinuitieswhichmaybeencountered.The
echopulsesthatarereflectedarereceivedbythesameorbyadifferenttransducerandareconverted
intoelectricalsignalswhichindicatethepresenceofthedefec.

Howitworks
Inultrasonictesting,anultrasoundtransducerconnectedtoa
diagnosticmachineispassedovertheobjectbeinginspected.
Thetransduceristypicallyseparatedfromthetestobjectbya
couplant(suchasoil)orbywater,asinimmersiontesting.
However,whenultrasonictestingisconductedwithan
ElectromagneticAcousticTransducer(EMAT)theuseof
couplantisnotrequired.
Therearetwomethodsofreceivingtheultrasoundwaveform:
reflectionandattenuation.Inreflection(orpulseecho)mode,
Ataconstructionsite,atechnician
thetransducerperformsboththesendingandthereceivingof
testsapipelineweldfordefects
thepulsedwavesasthe"sound"isreflectedbacktothedevice.
usinganultrasonicphasedarray
Reflectedultrasoundcomesfromaninterface,suchastheback
instrument.Thescanner,which
walloftheobjectorfromanimperfectionwithintheobject.The
consistsofaframewithmagnetic
diagnosticmachinedisplaystheseresultsintheformofasignal
wheels,holdstheprobeincontact
withanamplituderepresentingtheintensityofthereflection
withthepipebyaspring.Thewet
andthedistance,representingthearrivaltimeofthereflection.
areaistheultrasoniccouplantthat
Inattenuation(orthroughtransmission)mode,atransmitter
allowsthesoundtopassintothe
sendsultrasoundthroughonesurface,andaseparatereceiver
pipewall.
detectstheamountthathasreacheditonanothersurfaceafter
travelingthroughthemedium.Imperfectionsorother
conditionsinthespacebetweenthetransmitterandreceiverreducetheamountofsoundtransmitted,
thusrevealingtheirpresence.Usingthecouplantincreasestheefficiencyoftheprocessbyreducing
thelossesintheultrasonicwaveenergyduetoseparationbetweenthesurfaces.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_testing

2/5

10/3/2015

UltrasonictestingWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Features
Advantages
1. Highpenetratingpower,whichallowsthedetectionof
flawsdeepinthepart.
2. Highsensitivity,permittingthedetectionofextremely
smallflaws.
3. Onlytwononparallelsurfacesneedtobeaccessible.
4. Greateraccuracythanothernondestructivemethodsin
determiningthedepthofinternalflawsandthethickness
ofpartswithparallelsurfaces.
5. Somecapabilityofestimatingthesize,orientation,shape
andnatureofdefects.
6. Nonhazardoustooperationsortonearbypersonneland
hasnoeffectonequipmentandmaterialsinthevicinity.
7. Capableofportableorhighlyautomatedoperation.

Nondestructivetestingofaswing
shaftshowingsplinecracking

Disadvantages
1. Manualoperationrequirescarefulattentionbyexperiencedtechnicians.Thetransducersalertto
bothnormalstructureofsomematerials,tolerableanomaliesofotherspecimens(bothtermed
noise)andtofaultsthereinsevereenoughtocompromisespecimenintegrity.Thesesignals
mustbedistinguishedbyaskilledtechnician,possiblyrequiringfollowupwithother
nondestructivetestingmethods.[1]
2. Extensivetechnicalknowledgeisrequiredforthedevelopmentofinspectionprocedures.
3. Partsthatarerough,irregularinshape,verysmallorthin,ornothomogeneousaredifficultto
inspect.
4. Surfacemustbepreparedbycleaningandremovingloosescale,paint,etc.,althoughpaintthatis
properlybondedtoasurfaceneednotberemoved.
5. Couplantsareneededtoprovideeffectivetransferofultrasonicwaveenergybetween
transducersandpartsbeinginspectedunlessanoncontacttechniqueisused.Noncontact
techniquesincludeLaserandElectroMagneticAcousticTransducers(EMAT).
6. Inspecteditemsmustbewaterresistant,whenusingwaterbasedcouplantsthatdonotcontain
rustinhibitors.

Standards
InternationalOrganizationforStandardization(ISO)
ISO7963,NondestructivetestingUltrasonictestingSpecificationforcalibrationblockNo.2
ISO/DIS11666,NondestructivetestingofweldsUltrasonictestingofweldedjointsAcceptance
levels
ISO/DIS17640,NondestructivetestingofweldsUltrasonictestingofweldedjoints
ISO22825,NondestructivetestingofweldsUltrasonictestingTestingofweldsinaustenitic
steelsandnickelbasedalloys
EuropeanCommitteeforStandardization(CEN)
EN583,NondestructivetestingUltrasonicexamination
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_testing

3/5

10/3/2015

UltrasonictestingWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

EN13304,NondestructivetestingTerminologyPart4:Termsusedinultrasonictesting
EN1712,NondestructivetestingofweldsUltrasonictestingofweldedjointsAcceptancelevels
EN1713,NondestructivetestingofweldsUltrasonictestingCharacterizationofindicationsin
welds
EN1714,NondestructivetestingofweldsUltrasonictestingofweldedjoints
EN12223,NondestructivetestingUltrasonicexaminationSpecificationforcalibrationblock
No.1isreplacedbytheENISO2400:2012"NondestructivetestingUltrasonictesting
SpecificationforcalibrationblockNo.1"
EN126681,NondestructivetestingCharacterizationandverificationofultrasonicexamination
equipmentPart1:Instruments
EN126682,NondestructivetestingCharacterizationandverificationofultrasonicexamination
equipmentPart2:Probes
EN126683,NondestructivetestingCharacterizationandverificationofultrasonicexamination
equipmentPart3:Combinedequipment
EN12680,FoundingUltrasonicexamination
EN14127,NondestructivetestingUltrasonicthicknessmeasurement

Seealso
NonContactUltrasound
Phasedarrayultrasonics
Timeofflightdiffractionultrasonics(TOFD)
Timeofflightultrasonicdeterminationof3Delasticconstants(TOF)
Internalrotaryinspectionsystem(IRIS)ultrasonicsfortubes
EMATElectromagneticAcousticTransducer
ART(AcousticResonanceTechnology)

References
1. U.S.Patent3,260,105forUltrasonicTestingApparatusandMethodtoJamesF.McNultyatlines3748and
6072ofColumn1andlines14ofColumn2.

Furtherreading
AlbertS.Birks,RobertE.Green,Jr.,technicaleditors;Paul
WikimediaCommonshas
McIntire,editor.Ultrasonictesting,2nded.Columbus,OH:
mediarelatedtoUltrasonic
AmericanSocietyforNondestructiveTesting,1991.ISBN0
flawdetection.
931403049.
JosefKrautkrmer,HerbertKrautkrmer.Ultrasonictestingofmaterials,4thfullyrev.ed.Berlin;NewYork:
SpringerVerlag,1990.ISBN3540512314.
J.C.Drury.UltrasonicFlawDetectionforTechnicians,3rded.,UK:SilverwingLtd.2004.(SeeChapter1
(http://www.silverwinguk.com/en/technical%20pdfs/ultrasonics_pdf/article_1.pdf)online(PDF,61kB)).
NondestructiveTestingHandbook,Thirded.:Volume7,UltrasonicTesting.Columbus,OH:AmericanSociety
forNondestructiveTesting.
Detectionandlocationofdefectsinelectronicdevicesbymeansofscanningultrasonicmicroscopyandthe
wavelettransformmeasurement,Volume31,Issue2,March2002,Pages7791,L.Angrisani,L.Bechou,D.
Dallet,P.Daponte,Y.Ousten
CharlesHellier(2003)."Chapter7UltrasonicTesting".HandbookofNondestructiveEvaluation.McGraw
Hill.ISBN0070281211.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_testing

4/5

10/3/2015

UltrasonictestingWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Externallinks
Ultrasonictesting(http://www.ndt
ed.org/EducationResources/CommunityCollege/Ultrasonics/cc_ut_index.htm)
FilmaboutRussianultrasonictestingunitASK132inKalininNPP
(http://www.atomndt.com/index.php?q=node/6)
UltrasonicTestingonNDTWiki.com(http://www.ndtwiki.com/index.php/Ultrasonic_Testing)
Videoonultrasonictesting(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM6XKvXWVFA),Karlsruhe
UniversityofAppliedSciences
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ultrasonic_testing&oldid=681100640"
Categories: Nondestructivetesting Ultrasound
Thispagewaslastmodifiedon15September2015,at05:26.
TextisavailableundertheCreativeCommonsAttributionShareAlikeLicense;additionalterms
mayapply.Byusingthissite,youagreetotheTermsofUseandPrivacyPolicy.Wikipediaisa
registeredtrademarkoftheWikimediaFoundation,Inc.,anonprofitorganization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_testing

5/5