Comparison of systems for ultrasonic nondestructive testing using antenna arrays or phased antenna arrays

This paper considers the features of forming the images of reflectors using phased antenna array technology and the images obtained by the C-SAFT method by echo signals measured in by double-scanning mode. It is shown that in some cases the images obtained by the phased antenna array technology are less informative, while the images obtained by the C-SAFT method have a higher frontal resolution over the entire area of image restoration; the partial images restored at different positions of the antenna array can be coherently combined to obtain a high and homogeneous resolution throughout the entire volume of thickwalled articles and increasing the signal/noise ratio. For the sake of brevity, the registration of echo signals in the double-scanning mode and restoration of the images of reflectors by the C-SAFT method will be called digital focusing by an antenna array (DFA). The ability to restore the partial images of reflectors by once measured echo signals according to many acoustic schemes with their consequent combination into one high-quality image should provide reliable automation of the process of recognition and dimensioning of scatterers. Another advantage of the images obtained by the C-SAFT method with three-dimensional focusing is the possibility of restoring images in the same coordinate system when using antenna arrays on prisms of different configurations. This facilitates the joint analysis of the images. Speeds of forming the images by the technology of phased-antenna arrays and the images obtained by the C-SAFT method are comparable. If the testing technique is based on the use of nonlinear effects, then in this case PA flaw detectors have a distinct advantage over DFA flaw detectors. However, within the framework of linear acoustics, PA flaw detectors have no fundamental advantages over DFA flaw detectors. It is fairer to say that PA flaw detectors have drawbacks. This article shows images that illustrate the features of the images that were obtained by PA and DFA flaw detectors.     

Comparative classification of flaws using ultrasonic-tomography methods and evaluation of the instantaneous frequency of echo signals

The results of the visualization of artificial reflectors of different shapes and a natural flaw of the faulty-fusion type in the bottom run are presented. The results of the evaluation of the instantaneous frequency, which is proposed as an additional informative index for shape classification of flaws, are presented for the same reflectors. A comparative analysis of the data that were obtained by these two methods was performed. The measurement results are represented in the form of B-scans for phased arrays, which provide a clear idea of the spatial location and configuration of reflectors, and in the form of diagrams of the dependences of the normalized frequency deviations for single dual transducers.     

Ultrasonic Flaw Detection: Adjustment and Calibration of Equipment Using Samples with Cylindrical Drilling

Questions related to adjusting an ultrasonic flaw detector using cylindrical bores in reference and tuning samples are considered with allowance for the specific features of single- and double-crystal testing schemes, including when a bore is sonified perpendicularly and at an angle to its axis. Requirements have been determined in each scheme to the drilling diameter and the duration of ultrasonic pulses such that signals specularly reflected from the drilling surface not be distorted by creeping and other signals diffracted by the cylinder. It is indicated that under these conditions, cylindrical drilling can be used not only for adjusting the “flaw detector–transducer” system, but also for calibrating the time scan, verifying the accuracy of the depth gage, and checking the flaw-detector attenuator. This approach makes it possible to simplify the construction of measures and tuning samples by eliminating excess reflectors. Examples are given in the echo and TOFD techniques for testing welded joints using traditional and special double-crystal schemes with different probes orientations.     

Estimating the probability of flaw detection by modeling processes of image generation and interpretation

A method for determining the probability of flaw detection by modeling optical images generated by X-ray nondestructive testing methods is described. Processes of formation of intrinsic noises in transducers have been studied. Normal distribution laws have been substantiated for the optical density in radiographic evaluation and the image brightness in fluoroscopic testing. Based on the image recognition theory, application of convolution in X-ray image interpretation has been justified and the accompanying change in the signal-to-noise ratio has been demonstrated. Dependence of flaw-detection probability on the shape and dimensions of test articles has been studied.     

Reliability of tests using ferromagnetic transducers

The paper considers a technique of magnetic testing using ferromagnetic transducers in which the field intensity gradient is compared with a threshold level. A confidence criterion of tests is formulated, and a flaw detector design is “synthesized” to satisfy this criterion. OOO Mikroakustika     

Application of 3D coherent processing in ultrasonic testing

A 3D variant of the coherent method of projection in the spectral space (PSS) for obtaining images of reflectors on the basis of measured echo signals is considered. Its application allows recon-struction of reflector images with a high frontal resolution in both the main plane of an ultrasonic transducer and an additional plane. The application of the PSS method is especially efficient when a reflector is far from the receiving aperture. In this case, it is possible to increase the signal-to-noise ratio by more than 12 dB and a tenfold increase in the frontal resolution can sometimes be attained as compared to the 2D layer-by-layer variant of the PSS method. Examples of the application of this method during reconstruction of reflector images in a specimen of the wall of a chemical reactor, in the case of multiple reflections from the walls of a welded T-branch with an overlaid plate (WTP), and when testing large-diameter studs and supports of the divertor, which is manufactured as part of the work on the thermonuclear reactor (ITER) project, are presented. The efficiency of applying the 3D variant of the PSS method for testing at large depths is shown.     

Instantaneous frequency estimation used for the classification of echo signals from different reflectors

A comparative analysis of the frequency parameters of echo signals from artificial reflectors of different shapes and from a natural spill-type flaw has been performed. The use of the instantaneous frequencies of ultrasonic signals that correspond to certain instants inside a pulse was suggested as an informative parameter for determining the flaw type. Instantaneous frequency is estimated based on the algorithm of the continuous wavelet transform, which increases the noise immunity of the method. It is shown that for the algorithm to be practically implemented it is appropriate to present the results in the form of dimensionless parameters, namely, normalized frequency deviations determined between the pulse center, edge, and tail. Their joint application makes it possible, in particular, to reliably distinguish echo signals that are reflected at junction flaws that rise to the surface of a test object (notches, dihedral angles, and spills of the weld joints), flat specimen surfaces, and local flaws, such as cylindrical side through holes and flat bottom drills.     

Requirements for choosing the parameters of broadband transducers for testing objects with high damping of ultrasonic signals

The main concepts of the theory of optimal signal processing as applied to tasks of ultrasonic testing of articles with high integral damping of acoustic vibrations are considered. The conditions for ensuring the optimal transfer coefficient of the receiving section of an ultrasonic flaw detector’s electroacoustic channel are formulated. The requirements for the characteristics of broadband piezoelectric transducers aimed at the insurance of undistorted transmission of ultrasonic signals are formulated.     

Sensitivity of a flaw detector during ultrasonic testing by chord-type transducers

During testing of girth-welded joints by chord-type transducers, it is suggested that the sensitivity of a flaw detector additionally be tuned by using a corner reflector (notch); the corresponding structure of transducers and specimens is presented. Additional tuning by a notch makes it possible to detect and estimate root discontinuities (on the bottom surface of a welded joint) and simultaneously to exclude the interfering echo pulse caused by a sag (the lower reinforcing bead) of the welded joint.     

Two approaches to the solution of problems of ultrasonic flaw metering: Analysis of a high-quality image of reflectors and correlation analysis of measured echo signals

The problem of ultrasonic flaw metering consists in the obtainment of information on the reflector type, its dimensions, and the coordinates of its location. As the accuracy of determining the parameters of a discontinuity increases, the results of ultrasonic testing become more reliable. A highquality image of reflectors, which is reconstructed using the C-SAFT method with consideration for multiple reflections of pulses from the boundaries of a test object that makes it possible to determine the types and dimensions of reflectors, can be considered as one of the tools of flaw metering. However, the C-SAFT method disregards the features of reflections from discontinuities with nonuniform scattering indicatrices. As a development of flaw-metering methods, it is proposed to determine the parameters of a discontinuity from the results of comparison of the measured echo signals and estimated echo signals, which are calculated as functions of the discontinuity parameters. The results of using the proposed methods of ultrasonic flaw metering in numerical and model experiments, which demonstrate the working capacity of the proposed approach, are presented.     

The UMD-101M plant for automated bulk magnetic nondestructive testing of quality of electric-welded pipes

The optimal structural scheme and special features of the new automated plant for magnetic nondestructive testing of electric-welded pipes in a technological industrial line, which meets contemporary demands, are considered. It has been shown that the use of computer technologies and thin-filmed high-resolution transducers provides significant improvement of operating possibilities of a flaw detector and makes it possible to detect, not only such flaws as discontinuities in metal and displacement of edges, but also flaws caused by failures in welding regimes, such as burns and cohesion of edges near a welded joint.     

Application of an ultrasonic antenna array for registering echo signals by the double-scanning method for obtaining flaw images

The prospects for applying the double-scanning mode in ultrasonic nondestructive testing for recording echo signals are considered. A variant of implementing the double-scanning mode using a phased antenna array is proposed. Algorithms for reconstructing flaw images by the method of projection in the spectral space and the combined SAFT (C-SAFT) method are presented. It is shown that, to obtain high-quality flaw images, the ultrasound propagation velocity in a tested object must be known to within a high accuracy (at least 0.5%). The results of numerical and model experiments in which images were obtained by these methods are presented.     

A technique of ultrasonic testing of articles with curvilinear surfaces

The results of development of a technique, specimens, and special transducers for ultrasonic testing of valves (taps) for high-pressure pipelines and for the compressed part of pipeline taps (elbows) are discussed. Specific features of adjustment of the scan duration, a depth gauge, and the sensitivity of a flaw detector are considered.     

Determination of the profile of the surface of a test object during automated nondestructive ultrasonic testing in the immersion mode and reconstruction of flaw images using the SAFT method

The problem of using an elastic organosilicon polymer (??aquapolymer??) as an immersion medium for providing a stable acoustic contact between a test object and a piezoprobe in the process of automated ultrasonic testing of objects with rough surfaces is considered. The use of an ??aquapolymer?? allows one to decrease the consumption of water during ultrasonic testing. Flaw images were reconstructed using a modification of the SAFT method, which takes the profile of a test object into account; this allows improvement of the image quality. An algorithm for obtaining information on the profile of the surface of a test object and taking this profile into account during reconstruction of flaw images with the SAFT method is proposed. Model experiments yielded flaw images with the refraction of beams on a rough surface taken into account.     

A universal attachment for standard ultrasonic flaw detectors and thickness gages

A brief analysis of facilities for nondestructive testing with the use of a contactless EMA method of exciting and detecting ultrasonic vibrations has been performed. A universal electromagnetic-acoustic (EMA) attachment for standard ultrasonic flaw detectors and thickness gages is described. The characteristics of the attachment and its main components—devices for generating radio signals, a generator of probe pulses, a preamplifier, a generator of biasing pulses, and EMA transducers—are presented. Examples of the use of this attachment are given.     

Application of a Double Scanning Method in Ultrasonic Nondestructive Testing to Improve the Quality of Flaw Images

An algorithm for obtaining flaw images by a double scanning method for application in ultrasonic nondestructive testing, in which a radiator and a receiver move independently along parallel straight lines, is considered. A formula for reconstruction of flaw images is presented. The advantages and drawbacks of the double scanning method are discussed in comparison with the method of projection in the spectral space (PSS), which is also used for a coherent reconstruction of flaw images. The efficiency of the double scanning technique in suppressing the phantom images produced by transformed and rescattered pulses is shown in numerical and model experiments. The immunity of this method to the distortions introduced by an irregular measurement surface and the higher noise immunity compared to the PSS method are also demonstrated.     

Interaction of pulse ultrasonic signals with reflectors of different types

The results of experimental studies of the processes of interaction of pulse ultrasonic signals with artificial reflectors of different types are presented. To estimate nonstationary frequency characteristics of echo signals, it is proposed to use an algorithm for determining the instantaneous frequency that is based on the use of a wavelet transform characterized by increased noise immunity. It is shown that the instantaneous frequency of the reflected pulse signal may substantially differ from the rated frequency of a piezoelectric transducer for different types of reflectors. The frequency difference has a minimum value at a minimum curvature of the reflected-wave front. The obtained results must be considered during implementation of conventional methods of ultrasonic nondestructive testing because disregarding the effect of frequency deviation from the rated value may lead to a violation of the requirements of the acting standards for the tolerance for the operating frequency of a piezoelectric transducer. The difference of the instantaneous frequency from the rated frequency depends on the reflector type and can be used as an informative indicator of a flaw’s shape.     

Application of linear interpolation for improving the quality of flaw images obtained by the spectral projection method during ultrasonic nondestructive testing

The possibility of applying the linear interpolation of a 2D spatial spectrum during reconstruction of flaw images by the Fourier transform synthetic aperture focusing technique (FT-SAFT) from the data of ultrasonic nondestructive testing is considered. Different interpolation algorithms are analyzed. The results of numerical and model experiments in which images were obtained with and without interpolation are presented. The efficiency of applying the algorithm proposed for improving the quality of images obtained by the FT-SAFT method is shown.     

Restoring the image of reflectors using the C-SAFT method during multiple reflection of echo signals from the boundaries of a cylindrical inspection object

A modified method of combined SAFT (C-SAFT) for restoring the images of reflectors is considered; it allows the multiple reflection of a pulse from the boundaries of the wall of a cylindrical inspection object. To verify the efficiency of the proposed algorithm, images of a crack were restored from echo signals that were calculated using the CIVA software package, which is intended for modeling the propagation and scattering of ultrasonic pulses. It was shown in a model experiment that the consideration of changes in the pulse phase during reflection from the inspection-object boundaries at various incident angles of an S-wave in the image-restoration algorithm increases the frontal resolution by more than two times. The consideration of five reflections from the inspection-object boundaries made it possible to obtain images of reflectors by the M-C-SAFT method using many acoustic schemes. The images allow one to determine the type of defects, as well as their dimensions and location in the depth of the wall of a pipeline that is 720 mm in diameter.     

Recognizing imperfections with an artificial neural network of a special type

Recognition of imperfections with the use of signals from nondestructive testing devices is considered. A new type of neural network that allows separation of signals from imperfections of different types is proposed. Concepts of the neural network’s operation are considered. An example of recognition of signals from an ultrasonic flaw detector is given.