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Organisationseinheit der BAM
Within a know-how transfer project funded by the government conventional ultrasonic
technique was replaced by phased array technique for automated round-bar testing. Instead of
applying a great number of conventional probes to achieve acceptable volume coverage we used
curved linear arrays. The benefits of phased array technique such as programmable skew angles,
beamforming and beam positions, led not only to a significant decrease in inspection time, but also the
number of probes could be substantially reduced . Finally, the testing parameters for a large range of
bar-diameters could be adapted by software control instead of time-consuming mechanical
replacement. The probe-design was carried out by a proprietary modelling program. Both the
theoretical calculations as well as the latter experimental verifications revealed significant advantages
of curved arrays versus the planar types. A radial oriented probe offers perfect adaption to the
cylindrical shape of the specimen allowing wide variations of the sound field. Thus beam direction,
beam size and beam position could be optimized with respect to a minimum of inspection cycles, as
inspections have to be executed in-line during the production. A number of laboratory tests were
carried out on special test components. In order to achieve an optimal performance of the reference
rod we implemented three different types of reference reflectors: (i) flat-bottom-holes with diameters
of 0.8 mm and 1.2 mm, (ii) side-drilled-holes with a diameter of 0.7 mm for the detection of
volumetric flaws, and (iii) notches with a depth of 0.2 mm and 0.5 mm for the detection of surfaceoriented
defects. All laboratory tests were carried out with the COMPAS-XXL inspection system, a
proprietary development of BAM.
Non-destructive testing (NDT) helps to find material defects without having an influence on the material itself. It is applied as a method of quality control, for online structural health monitoring, and for inspection of safety related components. Due to the ability of automation and a simple test setup ultrasonic testing is one major NDT technique next to several existing options. Whereas contact technique allows the use of higher frequencies of some MHz and phased array focusing, air-coupled ultrasonic testing (ACUT) shows different advantages. Most significant for ACUT is the absence of any coupling fluid and an economical test procedure respective time and costs. Both contact technique and ACUT have been improved and enhanced during the past years. One important enhancement is the development of airborne transducers based on ferroelectrets, like charged cellular polypropylene (cpp), which makes the application of any matching layers being mandatory in conventional piezoelectric transducers unnecessary. In this contribution we show ultrasonic inspection results of specimens made of carbon- and glass-fibre-reinforced plastic. These specimens include defects represented by drill holes and artificial delaminations of various size and depth. We compare inspection results achieved by using contact technique to those achieved by ACUT. For ACUT, conventional piezoelectric transducers and transducers based on cpp were used, both focused as well as non-focused types. Contact inspections were performed with a multi-channel matrix array probe. Once the inspection data is recorded it can be analysed in order to detect and evaluate defects in the specimen. We present different analysing strategies and compare these regarding detection rate and sizing of defects.
The inspection of the sealing weld is an important phase for the evaluation of the acceptability of final disposal canister, but the weld is only a part of the 3D shielding of copper shell. The main tasks for reliable NDT evaluation requires an extensive evaluation of the parameters which contains typical inspection related items like repeatability, S/N ratio, POD, setting up the equipment for inspection, and all practices for inspections. The other parameters are material parameters, their variation must be taken into account in the evaluation of NDT reliability. Further parameters include human factors, i. e. human inspectors and their interaction with technical systems; their effects were studied on an example of the evaluation of eddy current data. Final parameters are related to evaluation of detected defects, which means sizing and base for acceptance and this can be done in different ways. Some examples are given and results are compared with different methods for instance between radiographic testing and ultrasonic testing by raw data analysis and PA-SAFT results. Also, preliminary curves for the evaluation of metallographic results of 55 defects will be shown by EB weld measurements. Some practical items concerning copper inspections will be also discussed related to acceptability.
In order to test their suitability different non-destructive methods were performed to inspect a GFRP plate with artificial defects. These defects were manufactured by means of thin PTFE sheets inserted between two plies in three different depth. The inspection methods were microwave reflection, flash thermography and phased array ultrasonics, all applied to the same specimen. Selected results are shown for all methods demonstrating opportunities and limits of the particular inspection methods. The achieved detection limits and further application aspects are compared directly to provide a useful information for the planning of inspection tasks.
Quantitative NDE methods play a key role when it comes to inspect components,
which requires high operational safety. UT-SAFT is one of the well-known reconstruction tools,
which provides information about the defect size. In this work we studied the use of phased array
technique in combination with the SAFT algorithm to inspect power plant components. As a first
example we inspected a real-sized mock-up model representing a part of a reactor pressure vessel with
a 180 mm-thick ferritic base material followed by a 6 mm-thick austenitic cladding layer. The phased
array probe was coupled at the outer ferritic surface. We detected and sized fatigue cracks within the
cladding with a depth ranging from 4 mm to 10 mm. Secondly, we investigated a mock-up model
resembling a nozzle including a thermo sleeve inlet and a maximum wall thickness of about 37 mm.
Artificially inserted notches with a depth of 3 mm could be detected and sized, where the thermo
sleeve is welded at the inside of the nozzle.
The spatial resolution in ultrasonic testing as a wave phenomenon in nature is limited to a
certain fraction of the wavelength, usually defined to be close to the Rayleigh criterion. In case of
complicated reflector surfaces – such as stress corrosion cracking - this limitation prevents an exact
visualization of the defect shape. There exist a few approaches to improve the spatial resolution, whose
reconstruction quality all in common also depend on the achieved signal-to-noise ratio of the raw data. In this
work we present a specific SAFT analysis, in which a high number of different angles of incidence produce a
sufficiently high number of different reflections at the crack edges resulting in an improved SNR. In doing
so, we reconstruct a coherent crack structure. First investigations were made at artificially simulated crack
configurations with different contours and curvatures in flat and cylindrical test blocks. The measurements
results visualized by representative scans – show details of crack design and crack orientation. We also will
present a comparison of the SAFT analysis between modelling and phased array measurements.