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Eingeladener Vortrag
- nein (56)
Ultrasonic investigation of inhomogeneous anisotropic materials such as austenitic welds is complicated because its columnar grain structure leads to curved energy paths, beam splitting and asymmetrical beam profiles. A ray tracing model has potential advantage in analyzing the ultrasonic sound field propagation and there with optimizing the inspection parameters. In this contribution we present a 2D ray tracing model to predict energy ray paths, ray amplitudes and travel times for the three wave modes quasi longitudinal, quasi shear vertical, and shear horizontal waves in austenitic weld materials. Inhomogenity in the austenitic weld material is represented by discretizing the inhomogeneous region into several homogeneous layers. At each interface between the layers the reflection and transmission problem is computed and yields energy direction, amplitude and energy coefficients. The ray amplitudes are computed accurately by taking into account directivity, divergence and density of rays, phase relations as well as transmission coefficients. Ultrasonic sound fields obtained from the ray tracing model are compared quantitatively with the 2D Elastodynamic Finite Integration Technique (EFIT). The excellent agreement between both models confirms the validity of the presented ray tracing results. Experiments are conducted on austenitic weld samples with longitudinal beam transducer as transmitting probe and amplitudes at the rear surface are scanned by means of electrodynamical probes. Finally, the ray tracing model results are also validated through the experiments.
Progress in acoustical defect sizing NDT methods for the inspection of power-plant components
(2012)
The demand of improved NDT methods with proper visualization and sizing
capabilities is a persistent trend in maintenance and manufacturing quality inspection.
Especially when dealing with high quality standards in conjunction with safety-critical
components in the sector of energy and transportation quantitative NDT techniques are
vital to provide reliable quality control systems and a corresponding deeper insight into
the component structure for a further fracture-mechanical estimation. The paper thus
focuses the progress of the defect sizing capabilities of modern Ultrasonic Testing
(UT). In Ultrasonic Testing the SAFT-algorithm (Synthetic Aperture Focusing
Technique) currently experiences a renaissance. The method is based on combining the
data of different transducer positions with their corresponding varied propagating time
and it is currently applied in several industrial applications. SAFT enhances the SNR
and the spatial resolution and is thus a valuable tool when it comes to improved
defect detection and sizing. A tomographic-like data mapping is illustrated on several
examples, where adapted phased array systems were used for the inspection of turbine
components and also for a cladded mock-up of a nuclear reactor pressure vessel. In a
statistical investigation we also performed a comparison with other defect sizing
methods like TOFD (Time of flight diffraction).
GMR sensors are increasingly used for magnetic surface inspection due to their high
sensitivity and high spatial resolution. In case of simple planar or cylindrical shaped
components, the GMR-based inspection procedure can be automated easily. In order to
reduce the inspection time we present a GMR-based NDT-system consisting of a yoke
and a coil as a local magnetization unit. This way the global magnetization step and, if
necessary, the corresponding demagnetization cycle can be avoided reducing the
number of working steps. Using a local probe we measured plates, bearings, and rails,
each of which containing real fatigue cracks and reference artificial cracks of different
depths and orientations. Cracks with a depth of 40 ìm could be resolved with a signalto-
noise ratio of about 20. A reduction of the measuring time can be obtained using a
sensor array. We present an optimized sensor array for nondestructive testing
application, where gradiometric arranged GMR layers were fabricated on a board with
up to 48 GMR sensors. Each sensor detects the vertical field gradient. In our example
the baseline was chosen to be 250 ìm which efficiently suppress external background
fields without losing sensitivity for the detection of surface breaking defects.
We report on recent developments in the detection of surface breaking cracks using
flying laser spot thermography. Application of an infrared camera for mapping the
thermal radiation after excitation with a diode laser equipped with an optical scanner
allows us to examine a surface containing cracks in an entirely non-destructive,
contactless and fast way, without even moving the camera. We developed an efficient
and robust algorithm that can be applied directly to the recorded thermal sequences,
and that derives a single image containing all crack signatures. For this crack detection
technique, no specific synchronisation between laser and camera is required. Hence,
our approach is suitable for an upgrade of existing thermographic systems. The
feasibility of the proposed procedure is proven by testing an artificial test sample and a
piece of rail that comprises roll contact fatigue cracks and by comparing the results
with magnetic particle testing.
Polypropylene based ferroelectret films exhibit a strong electromechanical activity and provide a promising solution for the air coupled ultrasonic (ACUS) transducers. Ultrasonic transmission between two air coupled ferroelectret transducers in dependence on the amplitude and polarity of the high voltage exciting pulse revealed a strongly non-linear electromechanical response of the ferroelectret transmitter which provides an increase in the transmitter efficiency. The authors present a simple model describing both promotion and competition of the piezoelectric and electrostriction contributions, as well as increase in the transducer constant under high voltage excitation. Enlargement of the inverse transducer constant of the polypropylene ferroelectret film by a factor of 4 was demonstrated. The non-linear properties of the polypropylene ferroelectrets result in a strong increase in their ACUS figure of merit under the high voltage excitation, which exceeds the results of their technological optimisation. Consequently, enhancement of the ACUS system transmission by 12 dB and signal to noise ratio by 32 dB was achieved.
The paper presents numerical methods to detect and classify defects and inhomogeneities by means of active thermography. The objective is to determine the wall thickness of structure elements with an inaccessible back wall, for example, of pipes or Containers. As test specimens we used approximately 2 cm thick PVC samples with spatial variations in the back wall geometry. Flash lamps provided the heating. To know the thickness of the wall, we used two inversion methods and compared the results achieved. One is an iterative echo defect shape method and already tested on Steel test specimens with good reconstruction results. The second one is the Levenberg-Marquardt method, applied here to thermographic data for non-destructive testing. Since data capturing using active thermography and the presented numerical methods can easily be automated, the combination of these two procedures is a promising approach providing a broad area of application.
When dealing in ultrasonic testing with inhomogeneous and anisotropic material structure such as
diverse types of components made from austenitic or nickel based cast, which are currently used
for modern power plant concepts, data interpretation is quite difficult. For better understanding of
the complex interaction between the sound field and the component under test, the mathematical
modeling of sound propagation in solids is a substantial task to increase the probability of
detection of relevant defects.
First we present a mathematical approach for modeling the three dimensional transient
particle displacement as a function of time in each point in a half space excited by an impulsive
point load at the surface. The transient ultrasonic field of a rectangular array element is calculated
with this approach by a point source synthesis. Based on this solution we model the wave
propagation of a phased array transducer by time delayed superposition of the wave field of the
transducer elements.
Next we use an electrodynamic technique to visualize the grazing sound field at the surface
of a test block radiated by a phased array probe. By detecting the grazing beam at the samples
surface with a small electrodynamic probe, we measured the particle displacement as a function of
time. It allows for measuring the displacement in all three spatial directions. This comprises the
detection of the horizontal and vertical particle displacement with respect to the surface and thus
also the detection of longitudinal and shear waves is possible.
The calculated and measured wave fields will be compared for different delay laws in
isotropic and transversely isotropic media. The results support the theoretical activities to model
the wave propagation and to find optimal testing parameters for different components and
configurations.
Fast defect parameter estimation based on magnetic flux leakage measurements with GMR sensors
(2011)
We present a fast inverse scheme that is capable of simultaneously estimating the parameters depth, opening and length for rectangular 3D geometries of surface-breaking defects. The parameter estimation is realized by an iterative least-squares minimization using the trust-region reflective algorithm. A semi-analytic magnetic dipole model that allows the sensor characteristics to be incorporated is used for predicting the stray magnetic fields. Giant magneto-resistance (GMR) measurements were carried out on a test specimen that includes a series of artificial defects. For the estimation of the defect depths relative errors between 0.6% and 15.9% have been obtained. Due to its very low computational costs, the inverse scheme can suitably be employed in automated production environments.
In dieser Arbeit wird ein kameragestütztes Verfahren zur Flying-
Spot-Thermografie vorgestellt. Die Anregung wird über einen Diodenlaser mit einem optischen Scanner realisiert. Bei der Auswertung kommt ein effizienter und robuster Algorithmus zum Einsatz, der direkt auf die mit der Kamera aufgenommene Thermografiesequenz angewendet werden kann, ohne auf eine
Synchronisation zwischen Kamera und Lasersystem angewiesen zu sein. Daher eignet sich diese Herangehensweise besonders zur Nachrüstung bestehender Thermografiesysteme.
Die prinzipielle Eignung dieser Methode wird anhand einer Messung an einem Schienenstück mit Rollkontaktermüdungsrissen gezeigt. Als Referenzverfahren werden die Magnetpulverprüfung und eine auf GMR (Giant Magnetoresistance)- Sensoren basierende Streufeldmessung herangezogen. Mit dem thermografischen Verfahren konnten sämtliche enthaltenen Fehler erkannt werden. Dabei wurden Risse im mm-Abstand getrennt nachgewiesen, was etwa der geometrischen Auflösung der eingesetzten Kamera entspricht.
In diesem Beitrag werden numerische Verfahren zur Erkennung und Charakterisierung von Fehlstellen, Schichtdicken, Wanddicken und Inhomogenitäten mittels aktiver Thermografie vorgestellt. Eine uantitative Beurteilung der nicht immer zugänglichen Rückwand eines Bauteils (Minderdicken) ist durch Inversion thermografischer Messdaten möglich. Diese quantitativen Informationen können durch iterative Methoden vom Gauß-Newton-Typ (Inversion) gewonnen werden. Als reale Prüfobjekte werden ca. 2 cm dicke PVC-Platten mit örtlich variierender Rückwandgeometrie untersucht. Die Erwärmung erfolgt mit
Blitzlampen, welche die PVC-Platte kurzzeitig um mehrere K erwärmt. Ein wichtiger Teil der Inversion ist die Simulation des Experiments, welche mit Finite-Elemente-Methoden (FEM) in 2D realisiert wird. Da Inversion und active Thermografie automatisierbar sind, bietet die Kombination breite Anwendungsgebiete innerhalb der Industrie.
Die Kombination der Synthetic Aperture Focusing Technique (SAFT) mit der Tauchtechnik stellt eine besondere Herausforderung dar. Zwei für SAFT notwendige Bedingungen – die große Schallbündeldivergenz und die Kenntnis über den Ort des Senders bzw. des Empfängers, der für die phasenrichtige Überlagerung der Echosignale genau bekannt sein muss – lassen sich einfach erfüllen, wenn kleine, fast punktförmige Sensoren direkt auf der Oberfläche des Prüfobjektes ankoppeln. Diese Anordnung ist in der Regel nicht vereinbar mit den praktischen Ansprüchen an die Signalqualität und die Flexibilität der Prüftechnik.
Werden jedoch Prüfköpfe mit üblichen Abmessungen und zudem noch mit Vorlaufstrecken verwendet, dann ist die Bestimmung der Sensororte und der Schalllaufwege durch die brechende Fläche nicht mehr trivial, wenn man die für SAFT geforderte Genauigkeit in Rechnung stellt.
Etwas anderes, aber ein im Prinzip einfacher Weg zur räumlichen Lokalisation von Echoquellen ist die Auswertung des 2D Sektorscans eines Matrixarrays und dessen dreidimensionale Darstellung. Durch gezielte Steuerung des Arrays gelingt auf einfache Weise die ortsrichtige Zuordnung.
Thermoacoustic generation of airbone ultrasound using carbon materials at the micro- and nanoscale
(2011)
Progress in Acoustical Defect Sizing NDT Methods for the Inspection of Power Plant Components
(2011)
In this contribution a simulation tool is developed to compute the energy skewing angles and energy coefficients
for the reflected and refracted plane waves in following general cases: (1) reflection and refraction
of plane elastic waves at an interface between isotropic and transversely isotropic solid, (2) reflection
and refraction of plane elastic waves at an interface between transversely isotropic and isotropic solid, (3)
reflection and refraction of plane elastic waves at an interface between two general transversely isotropic
solid and (4) reflection of plane elastic waves from a stress free boundary of a transversely isotropic solid.
Computational results for analytically evaluated acoustic wave energy skewing angles and energy reflection
and transmission coefficients in acoustically anisotropic materials such as austenitic steel materials
exhibiting columnar grain orientation are presented. The obtained results show that the acoustic energy
skewing angles and coefficients in austenitic steel materials strongly depend upon the columnar grain
orientation and are less influenced by the grain orientations which are parallel and perpendicular to the
interface.
Active thermography is a nowadays widely used NDT method making use of thermal material properties for defect detection. Basically, the sample is heated and the resulting surface temperature is recorded by an IR camera. For laser thermography a laser is used to heat the sample locally. The resulting spherical heat flow allows the detection of voids in arbitrary orientation. In this work, a method is presented which is suitable for the quantitative characterization of depth and angle of surface cracks. The main idea is to evaluate the crack-caused asymmetries of the laser's thermal footprint. The heat is introduced at fixed reference positions relative to the crack. In this paper a data analysis procedure is presented which allows the crack depth and angle to be described by only two characteristic scalar parameters. By investigating artificial test specimens with spark eroded notches, the feasibility of this method is validated. Furthermore, the behavior of the characteristic parameters with variations of crack angle, depth and experimental conditions is studied systematically by FEM simulations, showing that these parameters are well behaved.
GMR-Sensor Arrays ermöglichen eine örtlich hoch aufgelöste Messung magnetischer Streufeldamplituden an Stahlbauteilen, bei der abhängig von der Größe der zu prüfenden Oberfläche erhebliche Datenmengen erzeugt werden.
Eine automatische Detektion von Rissen kann anschließend mittels digitaler Bildverarbeitung erreicht werden, welche hauptsächlich auf einer Kantenerkennung basiert. Diese wurde anhand einer Magnetometer-Messung getestet, die an einem zylindersymmetrischem Bauteil mit funkenerosiv eingebrachten Rissen geringer Tiefe durchgeführt wurde. Die erzielte Selektion der Defekte wird für eine angestrebte Rekonstruktion der Defektgeometrie benötigt.
The structures and properties of silver selenide samples strongly depend on the method of preparation. Thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) contain lamellae of two low-temperature modifications of Ag2Se whose structures were analyzed in detail by electron microscopy techniques. Besides the stable and known Naumannite-type phase (LT1), a metastable phase was observed (LT2), and the phase transformation was examined in situ. Via cooling and annealing, LT2 becomes dominant in thin films, thus enabling solving the structure of LT2 by electron diffraction. These experiments and HRTEM point to an Acanthite-type (stable low-temperature modification of Ag2S) structure of LT2. Rapid-quenching procedures were applied for the first synthesis of LT2 as bulk sample. Depending on the conditions of melt spinning experiments, well-defined products were formed. In one series, we found a separation of LT1 and LT2 into distinct morphologies, i.e. microspheres and dendrites, respectively. The results on the magnetoresistance of the rapidly quenched materials support previous work.
High-precision magnetic field sensors are of increasing interest in non destructive testing (NDT). In particular GMR-sensors (giant magneto resistance) are qualified because of their high sensitivity, high signal-to-noise ratio and high spatial resolution. We performed magnetic flux leakage measurements of artificial cracks with a GMR-gradiometer and a 3-axes GMR-magnetometer. Cracks of a depth of 44 μm still could be detected with a sufficient high signal-to-noise ratio. A semi-analytic magnetic dipole model was used for swiftly predicting magnetic stray fields. The reliable reconstruction based on measurements of artificial rectangular-shaped defects is demonstrated.
In diesem Beitrag wird ein neuartiger Ansatz zur Erzeugung von Luftultraschall vorgestellt, der auf dem thermoakustischen Prinzip beruht. Mikro- und nanostrukturierte Kohlenstoffmaterialien werden dabei mit einem harmonischen Wechselstrom gespeist und erfahren durch ohmsche Verluste eine Temperaturänderung, die sich auf das umgebende Fluid überträgt. Daraus resultieren Druckmodulationen, und es wird eine ausbreitungsfähige Schallwelle erzeugt. Dabei tritt Frequenzverdopplung gegenüber der Anregungsfrequenz auf. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass der entscheidende Parameter für die Effizienz der Methode, d.h. für ein möglichst großes Verhältnis von Schalldruck zu eingebrachter Leistung, die Wärmekapazität pro Flächeneinheit ist. Da dieser Quotient für Kohlenstoffmaterialien sehr klein sein kann, erlaubt das thermoakustische Prinzip hier die effiziente Erzeugung von Luftultraschall. Schalldruckmessungen an verschiedenen Materialproben wurden bis 100 kHz mit einem Mikrofon durchgeführt, oberhalb von 100 kHz wurde eine laservibrometrische Schnellemessung eingesetzt. In experimentellen Untersuchungen wurde die Schallerzeugung in Abhängigkeit der Materialeigenschaften analysiert und systematisiert. Die experimentellen Ergebnisse wurden mit numerischen und analytischen Berechnungsergebnissen verglichen.
Vor allem in der Automobilindustrie wird das Widerstandpunktschweißen im großen Unfang zur Verbindung von Blechen im Karosseriebau verwendet. Durch den anhaltenden Trend zum Leichtbau und den immer höheren Anforderungen an die passive Sicherheit kommt es hier zu einem verstärkten Einsatz innovativer hochfester Stähle. Obwohl es sich beim Punktschweißen um ein lange erprobtes Verfahren handelt, das sich anhand der Prozessparameter und regelmäßiger zerstörender Prüfung überwachen lässt, ist durch diese Entwicklung die Suche nach geeigneten zerstörungsfreien Prüfverfahren wieder aktuell. Wegen der hohen Produktionsgeschwindigkeiten in der automatisierten Fertigung muss sich das Prüfverfahren für eine hundertprozentige Prüfung vollautomatisch mit der typischen Taktrate von etwa einem Hertz durchführen lassen.
In dieser Arbeit wird zuerst die prinzipielle Durchführbarkeit der thermografischen Prüfung von Punktschweißverbindungen an speziell präparierten Proben überprüft. Auf dieser Grundlage wird eine Serienuntersuchung an 75 Proben, die sich auf drei Gruppen von Schweißparametern aufteilen und neben optimal geschweißten Proben typische Fehlerbilder repräsentieren, eine Serienuntersuchung gezeigt. Hierzu wird eine Blitzlichtanregung in Transmissionsanordnung verwendet.
Es kann gezeigt werden, dass sich mit einer geeigneten Datenaufbereitung die einzelnen Gruppen sicher trennen lassen. Durch eine statistische Bewertung der Ergebnisse kann unter Verwendung eines angepassten Gütekriteriums die Trennschärfe noch deutlich erhöht werden.
Impulse and lock-in thermography have been applied to detect delaminations of prototype solder joints, similar to those to be produced between Cu shunts and Cu busbar stabilisers at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. Two infrared cameras with different detector materials and with different spectral ranges and two excitation techniques have been tested and compared for their ability to detect delaminations behind 2 and 3 mm thick Cu shunts. We have analyzed the signal to noise ratio (SNR) for each detected defect and are able to detect defects down to a nominal edge length of 4 mm behind 2 mm thick Cu shunts by using fast impulse thermography and a camera with a microbolometer array. For the 3 mm thick Cu shunt, on the other hand, the nominal 4 mm defect is only visible in the lock-in thermography phase images and the highest SNR has been achieved with a cooled InSb-based camera. In addition, numerical simulations show the influence of the minimum detectable defect size on the shunt thickness and that the developed on-site testing technique is sufficient to find all defects that are detectable theoretically.
Ferroelectrets are promising materials for air-coupled ultrasonic transducers. A transducer made of polarized cellular polypropylene, including its electronic interface, was developed and compared with conventional air-coupled probes. Test pieces of fiber-reinforced polymer containing impact flaws and flat-bottom holes were inspected in transmission. The ferroelectret transducers achieved a considerably higher signal-to-noise ratio. The impacts were clearly visible with all transducers, but less noisy with ferroelectret transducers. The flat-bottom holes were better detectable than with a conventional probe with about the same focus size.
Untersuchungen zur 2D- und 3D-Rekonstruktion von Rückwandgeometrien in der Impuls-Thermografie
(2012)
Ultrasonic examination of anisotropic inhomogeneous austenitic welds is challenging, because of the columnar grain structure of the weld leads to beam skewing and splitting. Modeling tools play an important role in understanding the ultrasound field propagation and optimization of experimental parameters during the ultrasonic testing of austenitic welds as well as the interpretation of the test results. In this contribution, an efficient theoretical model based on the ray tracing concepts is developed to calculate the ultrasonic fields in inhomogeneous austenitic welds quantitatively. The developed model determines the ultrasound fields by taking into account the directivity of the ray source, the inhomogenity of the weld as well as ray transmission coefficients. Directivity of the ray source in columnar grained austenitic materials (including layback orientation) is obtained in three dimensions based on Lamb's reciprocity theorem. Ray energy reflection and transmission coefficients at an interface between two general columnar grained austenitic materials are calculated in three dimensions. The ray tracing model predictions on inhomogeneous austenitic weld material are compared against those from CIVA, a commercial non-destructive modeling and simulation tool. The ultrasonic modeling tools in CIVA are based on semi-analytical solutions. For beam propagation simulation, a so-called 'pencil method' is used, which involves modeling the probe as a set of individual source points, each radiating 'a bundle' of diverging rays into the medium and integrating those elementary contributions. Inhomogenity in the weld region is approximated by mapping the grain orientations on weld macrograph. Simulation results for ultrasonic field profiles for an austenitic weld are shown to be in good agreement with the corresponding experimental results.
Spot welding is one of the most important technologies for joining sheet metal. While there are lot of approaches to non-destructive testing, quality assurance still mainly relies on welding parameter monitoring and destructive testing, leading to significant failure rates. In this paper an approach to spot weld testing using flash thermography is presented. The main focus of attention is on the identification of two typical error classes: stick welds and welds at the splash limit. Besides investigating the principal feasibility of thermography for zinc plated samples the results of a series test of spot welds joining 1 mm thick TRIP steel are shown. Based upon these results a statistical criterion is developed which allows a reliable classification of the named error classes.
Für die luftgekoppelte Ultraschall-Prüfung wird der Prototyp eines neuartigen Prüfkopfes vorgestellt. Statt eines piezokeramischen Ultraschall-Wandlers mit einer λ/4-Anpassschicht wird eine Ferroelektret-Folie aus schaumförmigem Polypropylen eingesetzt. Durch die außerordentlich geringe akustische Impedanz der Folie reduzieren sich die Reflexionsverluste an den Grenzschichten zur Luft so stark, dass bei diesem Prüfkopf auf eine λ/4-Anpassschicht verzichtet werden kann. Außerdem ist die Folie hochspannungsfest. Sie konnte mit Spannungen von mehr als 3500 V angesteuert werden und erlaubte eine Vorspannung am Ultraschall-Wandler des Empfangsprüfkopfes von 2000 V. Mithilfe der hohen Anregungsspannung stieg die Amplitude des akustischen Prüfimpulses auf das 11,2-Fache. Die Empfindlichkeit des Empfängers erhöhte sich durch die Vorspannung weiter um den Faktor 4,3. Insgesamt steigt die Amplitude am Empfänger also auf das 48-Fache, bei gleichbleibendem Rauschpegel. Ein abschließender Vergleich mit kommerziellen Luftultraschall-Prüfköpfen belegt die Überlegenheit der Folien-Prüfköpfe. Damit rückt der Einsatz einer vollwertigen Impuls-Echo-Technik auch bei der luftgekoppelten Ultraschallprüfung deutlich näher.
In this contribution we present a novel thermo-acoustic approach for the generation of broad band airborne ultrasound and investigate the applicability of resonance-free thermo-acoustic emitters for very short high pressure airborne ultrasound pulses. We report on measurements of thermo-acoustic emitter consisting of a 30 nm thin metallic film on a usual soda-lime glass substrate, generating sound pressure values of more than 140 dB at 60 mm distance from the transducer and compare the results with conventional piezoelectric airborne ultrasound transducers. Our experimental investigations show that such thermo-acoustic devices can be used as broad band emitters using pulse excitation.
Epitaxial thin films of nitrogenated La0.65Sr0.30MnO3 were grown on MgO(100) substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The nitrogenation was achieved by a continuous nitrogen flow in the PLD chamber with pressures of up to 0.12 mbar. The chemical analysis of the samples regarding the exchange of oxygen by nitrogen was achieved by time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry, sputtered neutral mass spectrometry (SNMS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) and yielded a content of incorporated nitrogen ranging from 0.6% to 3.8%. Without nitrogenation the electrical resistivity of La0.65Sr0.30MnO3 exhibited a metalinsulator (MI) transition at about 180 K. The magnetoresistance (MR) effect (ΔR/R(0)) was about -50% at the transition temperature. Our nitrogen contents affected the MI transition so as to completely disappear and resulted in a resistivity increase of more than three orders of magnitude as well. By carefully reoxidizing the samples with subsequent heat treatments in air the MI transition reappeared at lower temperatures and we found a continuously enhanced MR ratio for decreasing temperatures. MR ratios of more than -99% were observed for a magnetic field of 10 T. The results are interpreted as a percolation phenomenon of ferromagneticmetallic domains within an antiferromagneticsemiconducting matrix.
Visualization of material defects - modern approaches in acoustical and electrical NDE-methods
(2008)
Increasing demands in materials quality and cost effectiveness have led to advanced
standards in manufacturing technology. Especially when dealing with high quality
standards in conjunction with high throughput quantitative NDE techniques are vital to
provide reliable and fast quality control systems. Fast NDE-systems using a high degree
of automatisation can be used for both determining the degree of integrity of the
components under test and indicating a change of production parameters as well.
However, independently of the applied NDE method and the underlying physical
principle a reliable visualisation of hidden defects within the component under test is
based on a sufficient high signal to noise ratio (SNR) and a high spatial resolution. In this
talk we illuminate two standard NDT methods such as Ultrasonic Testing and Eddy
Current Testing and show their physical principles also discussing the interaction
between sound waves or induced eddy currents with different kinds of material defects.
This introduction substantiates the attainable SNR and spatial resolution of both methods
with respect to defect sizing and defect classification. As a first future prospect we report
on the SAFT-algorithm to improve SNR and spatial resolution paving the way for a flaw
sizing approach in ultrasonic inspection. As a second modern NDE approach we
represent the use of small magnetoresistance sensor arrays for EC testing of Al-laser
welds or for testing superconducting wires. The high sensitivity and small extent of GMR
sensors results in a remarkably SNR and spatial resolution offering new visualisation
techniques for defect localisation, defect characterization and tomography-like mapping
techniques.
Aufgrund eines anhaltenden Trends der Miniaturisierung von Bauteilen sowie eines gesteigerten Qualitätsanspruches in Fertigung und Instandhaltung besteht ein wachsender Bedarf für hochauflösende zerstörungsfreie Prüfverfahren. Ein derzeit vielversprechender Lösungsansatz in der elektromagnetischen Prüfung wird durch die magnetischen Mikrosysteme eröffnet. Insbesondere die jüngst mit dem Physik-Nobelpreis ausgezeichnete GMR-Technologie bietet neben einer hohen Feldempfindlichkeit zugleich hervorragende Ortsauflösungen mit Schichtabmessungen bis in den unteren µm-Bereich. Hierdurch werden magnetische Feldverteilungen bei der Wirbelstromprüfung oder der Streuflussprüfung mit einem gegenüber Spulensystemen erhöhten Signal/Rausch-Verhältnis (SNR) und einer verbesserten Ortsauflösung gemessen. Im vorliegenden Beitrag wird das Potenzial der MR-Technologie anhand der Wirbelstromprüfung von Drähten verdeutlicht. Hierbei wird ein kreuzförmiges GMR-Sensor-Array um den zu untersuchenden Draht positioniert. Jeder einzelne GMR-Sensor misst dabei mit einer Feldempfindlichkeit von etwa 200pT/√Hz und einer Ortsauflösung von 100µm. Der Nachweis von im Durchmesser etwa 200µm großen Defekten in einer Tiefenlage von 200µm unterhalb der Drahtoberfläche gelingt mit einem SNR von über 400. Oberflächendefekte ähnlicher Größenordnung können mit einem SNR von nahezu 104 detektiert werden. Ein derart hohes SNR birgt in Kombination mit der hohen örtlichen Auflösung Potenzial für eine 3D-Fehlerlokalisierung. Unter Verwendung eines analytischen Ansatzes sowie auf FEM beruhende Dateninversionsalgorithmen können Defekte mit einer Abmessung von größer 200µm auf einige 10µm exakt lokalisiert werden.
Influence of surface properties on the detection and quantification of voids in concrete structures
(2008)
Defect sizing is required for a quantitative assessment of the quality and reliability of safety relevant components and materials using ultrasonic non-destructive testing. The SAFT (Synthetic Aperture Focussing Technique) and the TOFD technique (Time Of Flight Diffraction) are such promising sizing candidates, extracting more information from the raw ultrasound echo data and the corresponding crack tip response. In this work the phased array technique is used to inspect a clad mock-up model of a pressure vessel section. The full scale model contains artificial test reflectors which are located in the weld and in the cladding region as well. The defects—representing typical flaws at a very early stage—are analysed with different frequencies, beam angles and directions of incidence.
For the reconstruction of reflector indications a SAFT algorithm is applied to the phased array measurement results. Additionally the reflectors are analysed by means of the TOFD technique, using different beam angles at the same time. Both analysis methods are performed using different directions of incidence considering the complex cladding structure underneath the inner surface of the mock-up model. A direct comparison of the SAFT and TOFD techniques shows that, besides the clarity of the results, the detection and sizing capabilities of SAFT are far better.
We present a generalized analytical model of thermo-acoustic sound generation based on the analysis of thermally induced energy density fluctuations and their propagation into the adjacent matter. The model provides exact analytical prediction of the sound pressure generated in fluids and solids; consequently, it can be applied to arbitrary thermal power sources such as thermophones, plasma firings, laser beams, and chemical reactions. Unlike existing approaches, our description also includes acoustic near-field effects and sound-field attenuation. Analytical results are compared with measurements of sound pressures generated by thermo-acoustic transducers in air for frequencies up to 1 MHz. The tested transducers consist of titanium and indium tin oxide coatings on quartz glass and polycarbonate substrates. The model reveals that thermo-acoustic efficiency increases linearly with the supplied thermal power and quadratically with thermal excitation frequency. Comparison of the efficiency of our thermo-acoustic transducers with those of piezoelectric-based airborne ultrasound transducers using impulse excitation showed comparable sound pressure values. The present results show that thermo-acoustic transducers can be applied as broadband, non-resonant, high-performance ultrasound sources.
NDT is a multidisciplinary research area fusing the disciplines of natural Science and engineering. Particularly in the early development stages of a new testing method, feasibility investigations focus on the fundamental physical interaction between the sensing mechanism and specimen. Research activities during subsequent phases of modular prototype development, technical System Integration and Validation primarily attempt to solve the practical engineering and real-life aspects of a testing method. We show several examples of new methods in different stages of development and highlight the potential for further industrial use. The first section deals with Steel surfaces of lightweight components which are
inspected with pm-sized magneto resistive sensor arrays. This quantitative magnetic stray field approach combines high spatial resolution and very high sensitivity, enabling the user to detect even very small micro-defects. Tuming to CFRP components we also show new developments in airbome ultrasonic testing. Here we use ferroelectret foils to reduce the acoustical mismatch between transducer and air, which enhances the signal-to-noise ratio. A further example illuminates the use of metallic nano layers as a broadband thermo acoustical emitter. Their use provides both high sound pressures and very broadband Signal characteristics. When it comes to CFRP components and other anisotropic and highly Scattering materials, ultrasonic matrix arrays in conjunction with many angles of incidences per transducer position can help to enhance the statistics of a testing problem. In the field of conventional water-coupled UT testing we also show the use of matrix array transducers
providing a tomographic-like 3D-image of impact damage in CFRP samples.
The ultrasonic transmission between two air-coupled polypropylene (PP) ferroelectret (FE) transducers in dependence on the amplitude of the high-voltage exciting pulse revealed a strongly nonlinear electromechanical response of the FE transmitter. This phenomenon is described by a linear increase of the inverse electromechanical transducer constant t33(1) of the PP FE film with an increase of the exciting electrical pulse amplitude. Enlargement of t33(1) by a factor of 4 was achieved by application of 3500 V exciting pulses. The electrostriction contribution to t33(1) can be attributed to the electrostatic force between electrodes and the Maxwell stress effect. The nonlinear electromechanical properties of the PP FE result in a strong increase of its air-coupled ultrasonic (ACUS) figure of merit (FOM) under the high-voltage excitation, which exceeds results of the PP FE technological optimization. The FOM increase can be related to the increase of PP FE coupling factor and/or to the decrease of its acoustic impedance. A significant enhancement of the ACUS system transmission (12 dB) and signal-to-noise ratio (32 dB) was demonstrated by the increase of excitation voltage up to 3500 V. The nonlinear electromechanical properties of the PP FEs seem to be very important for their future applications.
The determination of magnetic distortion fields caused by inclusions hidden in a
conductive matrix using homogeneous current flow needs to be addressed in multiple tasks of
electromagnetic non-destructive testing and materials science. This includes a series of testing
problems such as the detection of tantalum inclusions hidden in niobium plates, metal inclusion in
a nonmetallic base material or porosity in aluminum laser welds. Unfortunately, straightforward
tools for an estimation of the defect response fields above the sample using pertinent detection
concepts are still missing. In this study the Finite Element Method (FEM) was used for modeling
spherically shaped defects and an analytical expression developed for the strength of the response
field including the conductivity of the defect and matrix, the sensor-to-inclusion separation and the
defect size. Finally, the results also can be useful for Eddy Current Testing problems, by taking the
skin effect into consideration.
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.
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.
In diesem Beitrag wird eine Methode zur Charakterisierung von
offenen Oberflächenrissen mittels aktiver Thermografie präsentiert. Hierzu wird die
Probe ortsfest lokal mit einem Laser erwärmt und die resultierende
Oberflächentemperatur mittels Infrarotkamera aufgenommen. Bei einer ungestörten
Probe ergibt sich ein rotationssymmetrisches Temperaturprofil. Betrachtet man
hingegen einen Bereich mit einem Oberflächenriss, so kommt es durch die Störung
des lateralen Wärmetransports zu einer unsymmetrischen Temperaturverteilung.
Durch die quantitative Analyse diese Unsymmetrie lassen sich Aussagen über
geometrische Parameter des Risses treffen.
High speed non-destructive rail testing with advanced ultrasound and eddy-current testing techniques
(2009)
Today the rails face increased exposure to heavy loads, higher speeds and a very dense overall traffic. A continued development of testing methods for the rail inspection trains became necessary to match the modern needs for a fast detection and detailed classification of defects. To guarantee the safe operation of rail traffic non-destructive inspection techniques with combined ultrasound and eddy current testing methods are used to detect damages on rails. One of the main actual challenges of automated rail testing is the high inspection speed which is very close to the physical limits. To overcome these limits digital signal processing algorithms have to be used which maintain resolution and detection quality independent of operation speed. This paper presents a recently developed state of the art rail inspection system which uses advanced ultrasonic and eddy current testing techniques. Testing results are shown in a newly developed so called Glassy-Rail-Diagram which is capable to present data with a fixed resolution independent of inspection speed.
Dispersions of very small non-magnetic metal particles or inclusions in a non-magnetic semiconductor matrix are well known to produce unusually large and linear magnetoresistance effects. So far these materials were limited to the binary silver-rich chalcogenides Ag2Se and Ag2Te. In this contribution Ag3AuTe2 was selected as a first candidate for a ternary matrix material, thus offering enhanced capabilities for the generation of heterogeneous microstructure and spatially varying composition on the nanoscale. In gold-rich Ag3Au1.1Te2 two kinds of inhomogeneities are present, namely Au deposits with a size on the micron scale and an inhomogeneous distribution of Au and Ag within the matrix. The matrix consists of micron-sized grains with the structure type of Ag3AuTe2 as studied by electron microscopy. Like the binary silver chalcogenide phases, the material also shows a large and linear magnetoresistance effect. The transversal magnetoresistance effect was measured between 20 K and 270 K in magnetic fields up to B = 5 T. The results are discussed on the basis of existing models for a large and linear positive MR effect.
In recent years the demand for airborne ultrasound techniques for non-destructive materials testing has increased remarkably. The applications for non-contact airborne ultrasound techniques are very broad and range from detection of flaws in composite laminates, solar cells and printed circuit boards to the applications in medicine and food industry. Conventional piezoelectric ultrasound transducers are mostly narrowbanded, show large resonance oscillations after a short excitation and therefore are generally not suitable for pulse-echo applications. In this contribution we present a novel thermoacoustic approach for the generation of broad band airborne ultrasound and investigate the applicability of resonance-free thermoacoustic emitters for very short high pressure airborne ultrasound pulses. We report on measurements of thermoacoustic emitters consisting of metal film below 50 nm thickness, generating sound pressure values of more than 140 dB in 60 mm distance and compare the results with piezoelectric airborne ultrasound transducers. Our experimental investigations show that such thermoacoustic devices can be used as a broad band emitters using pulse excitation.
Thermoacoustic generation of airborne ultrasound using carbon materials at the micro- and nanoscale
(2012)
The generation of airborne ultrasound is presented using the thermoacoustic principle applied to carbon materials at the micro- and nanoscale. Such materials are shown to be capable of emitting ultrasound when being fed by an alternating current. We tested the acoustic performance of carbon fibers, bucky papers and electrospun polyacrylonitrile-derived carbon nanofibers and determined the sound pressure for frequencies up to 350 kHz. A comparison between the experimental results and the theoretical prediction showed remarkable agreement for frequencies up to 150 kHz. Beyond 150 kHz, we found slight deviations from the expected sound pressure dependence on the square root of the frequency.
Progress in Acoustical Defect Sizing NDT Methods for the Inspection of Power-Plant Components
(2012)
A method has been developed for the generation of airborne ultrasound using the thermoacoustic principle applied to carbon materials at the micro- and nanoscale. Such materials are shown to be capable to emitting the ultrasound. We tested the acoustic performance of electrospun polyacrylonitrile-derived carbon nanofibers tissues and determined the sound pressure for frequencies up to 350 kHz. The experimental results are compared to analytic calculations.
Electromechanical response of polypropylene ferroelectret transducers under application of high-voltage pulses was measured by laser Doppler vibrometry and compared with results of ultrasonic through-air transmission between two ferroelectret transducers. The electromechanical response was completely explained by piezoelectric and electrostrictive effects. The electrostrictive effect dominates at high voltages and provides significant enlargement of the transducer constant, up to factor of 2.5. The induced strain of 1.7% was achieved at – 2000 V. The nonlinear ultrasonic transmission was shown to be well described by the piezoelectric and electrostrictive response of transmitter, except in the range of high negative exciting voltages where some limitation of the transmitted signal was observed. This limitation seems not to be a fundamental one and does not abolish the advantages of high-voltage excitation of polypropylene ferroelectret transducers.
GMR sensors are widely used in many industrial segments such as information technology, automotive, automation and production, and safety applications. Each area requires an adaption of the sensor arrangement in terms of size adaption and alignment with respect to the field source involved. This paper deals with an analysis of geometric sensor parameters and the arrangement of GMR sensors providing a design roadmap for non-destructive testing (NDT) applications. For this purpose we use an analytical model simulating the magnetic flux leakage (MFL) distribution of surface breaking defects and investigate the flux leakage signal as a function of various sensor parameters. Our calculations show both the influence of sensor length and height and that when detecting the magnetic flux leakage of µm sized defects a gradiometer base line of 250 µm leads to a signal strength loss of less than 10% in comparison with a magnetometer response. To validate the simulation results we finally performed measurements with a GMR magnetometer sensor on a test plate with artificial µm-range cracks. The differences between simulation and measurement are below 6%. We report on the routes for a GMR gradiometer design as a basis for the fabrication of NDT-adapted sensor arrays. The results are also helpful for the use of GMR in other application when it comes to measure positions, lengths, angles or electrical currents.
GMR sensors are increasingly used for magnetic surface inspection due to their high sensitivity and high spatial resolution. In case of simple planar or cylindrical shaped components, the GMR-based inspection procedure can be automated easily. We present GMR measurements of real fatigue cracks. In addition, we present a probe design using a local magnetization unit and commercially available GMR sensors. The design was carried out by means of finite-element method (FEM) simulations. Using the local probe we measured bearings containing artificial reference cracks of different depths and orientations. Cracks with a depth of 40 µm could be resolved with a signal-to-noise ratio better than 6. A further reduction of the measuring time can be obtained using a sensor array. For this purpose we present a study of the optimized size of the sensing GMR-layers for a NDE-adapted sensor array. The geometric sensor parameters were investigated through simulations of the magnetic flux leakage of surface cracks using an analytic model.
Charakterisierung der Wandler für Luftultraschallprüfung aus zellulärem Polypropylen-Ferroelektret
(2011)
In den letzten Jahren stieg die Anfrage für zerstörungsfreie Prüfung (ZIP) mit Luftultraschall deutlich. Die klassische ZfP mit Ultraschall nutzt Flüssigkeiten als Koppelmittel zwischen dem Wandler und dem Prüfkörper. Für die Prüfung von Gegenständen mit empfindlicher Oberfläche, die das Koppelmittel beschädigen oder verunreinigen kann, ist deswegen Luftultraschall besser geeignet. Eine mögliche Anwendung ist beispielsweise der Nachweis von Delaminationen in glas- und kohlefaserverstärkten Verbundwerkstoffen sowie Sandwichbauteilen, die in der Luftfahrt- und der Automobilindustrie eingesetzt werden.
The extremely low acoustic impedance of polypropylene ferroelectret combined with its piezoelectric properties makes this material suitable for construction of aircoupled ultrasonic transducers for non-destructive testing. For the fabrication of transducers with a stable quality, the reproducibility of their key parameters is of interest.
The reproducibility was evaluated by means of (i) impedance spectroscopy and (ii) pulse-echo measurements. (i) Impedance spectroscopy was applied to identify the resonance frequency, the coupling factor and the acoustic impedance of several nominally identical transducers. (ii) Pulse-echo measurements yielded the signal form of these transducers.
The variation of the signal amplitude measured with pulseecho technique was about 10 dB. A part of this variation Comes from the deposition of transducer electrodes and another part from local variations of ferroelectret properties. The variation of the signal amplitude was caused by the observed variation of the coupling factor, which was also about 10 dB. The variation of the acoustic impedance was only about 1 dB, thus having no effect on the variation of the signal amplitude.
These results indicate that the variability can be reduced by improving the control of electrode deposition and by optimizing the production technology affecting the reproducibility of material properties.
Ultrasound propagation in inhomogeneous anisotropic materials is difficult to examine because of the directional dependency of elastic properties. Simulation tools play an important role in developing advanced reliable ultrasonic non destructive testing techniques for the inspection of anisotropic materials particularly austenitic cladded materials, austenitic welds and dissimilar welds. In this contribution we present an adapted 2D ray tracing model for evaluating ultrasonic wave fields quantitatively in inhomogeneous anisotropic materials. Inhomogeneity in the anisotropic material is represented by discretizing into several homogeneous layers. According to ray tracing model, ultrasonic ray paths are traced during its energy propagation through various discretized layers of the material and at each interface the problem of reflection and transmission is solved. The presented algorithm evaluates the transducer excited ultrasonic fields accurately by taking into account the directivity of the transducer, divergence of the ray bundle, density of rays and phase relations as well as transmission coefficients. The ray tracing model is able to calculate the ultrasonic wave fields generated by a point source as well as a finite dimension transducer. The ray tracing model results are validated quantitatively with the results obtained from 2D Elastodynamic Finite Integration Technique (EFIT) on several configurations generally occurring in the ultrasonic non destructive testing of anisotropic materials. Finally, the quantitative comparison of ray tracing model results with experiments on 32 mm thick austenitic weld material and 62 mm thick austenitic cladded material is discussed.
Quantitative evaluation of ultrasonic C-scan images in homogeneous and layered anisotropic austenitic materials is of general importance for understanding the influence of anisotropy on wave fields during ultrasonic non-destructive testing and evaluation of these materials. In this contribution, a three dimensional ray tracing method is presented for evaluating ultrasonic C-scan images quantitatively in general homogeneous and layered anisotropic austenitic materials. The directivity of the ultrasonic ray source in general homogeneous columnar grained anisotropic austenitic steel material (including layback orientation) is obtained in three dimensions based on Lamb's reciprocity theorem. As a prerequisite for ray tracing model, the problem of ultrasonic ray energy reflection and transmission coefficients at an interface between (a) isotropic base material and anisotropic austenitic weld material (including layback orientation), (b) two adjacent anisotropic weld metals and (c) anisotropic weld metal and isotropic base material is solved in three dimensions. The influence of columnar grain orientation and layback orientation on ultrasonic C-scan image is quantitatively analyzed in the context of ultrasonic testing of homogeneous and layered austenitic steel materials. The presented quantitative results provide valuable information during ultrasonic characterization of homogeneous and layered anisotropic austenitic steel materials.