UPA based 3D visualization of discontinuities in great thickness EBW seam 1

Electron beam welding (EBW) is a fusion welding process in which a beam of high-velocity electrons is applied to two materials to be joined.It is a complex high-temperature metallurgical process,and the quality of welding may deteriorate because of defects caused by improper welding parameters,especially in the EBW of thickened aluminum alloy plate.Ultrasonic phased array(UPA) technology has been applied more widely in the field of nondestructive testing because of its ability of effectively controlling the shape and direction of the emitted ultrasonic beam.In present research,a specimen with EBW seam on thickened aluminum plate was tested with a linear array ultrasonic phased array probe,and a large number of B-scan images of the weld were acquired by electronic scanning in probe combined with the mechanical scanning of the probe along the weld direction.This large number of B-scan images were stacked to construct the volume data,with which the 3D image of the weld discontinuities were reconstructed,and the 3D visualization was realized.More details about weld discontinuities' spatial distribution and orientation were revealed,and this approach also made the results of non-destructive ultrasonic testing more easily to understand.