PIPE

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x ME FEATURE
From Materials Evaluation, Vol. 74, No. 3, pp: 360-366.
Copyright 2016 The American Society for Nondestructive Testing, Inc.

TEST Selection of Calibration

Reflectors for Corrosion
Resistant Alloy Piping
by Anmol Birring

T he four primary calibration reflectors for weld inspections in piping are

side-drilled holes (SDHs), flat-bottomed holes (FBHs), notches, and
through-holes. The specific reflector to be used depends on the code
required for the inspection. For example, the following reflectors are listed for
each code: SDHs and notches for ASME Boiler & Pressure Code, Section V; SDHs
and FBHs for DNV-OS-F101; and notches or through-holes for API 5L (API, 2012;
ASME, 2015; DNV, 2013). All reflectors work well with shear waves in carbon
steel. There is, however, an issue when some of the reflectors are used with
refracted longitudinal waves in corrosion resistant alloys (CRAs). CRA materials
are typically UNS N06625 (alloy 625) and UNS 31803 (duplex stainless steel)
and are generally inspected by refracted longitudinal waves. Refracted longitu-
dinal waves mode convert on some of these calibration reflectors, and the reflec-
Photo credit: Hiroki Nimura, The Japan Steel Works, Ltd.

tion is not the same as that with shear waves.

Refracted longitudinal waves

mode convert on some of
these calibration reflectors
MARCH 2016 MATERIALS EVALUATION 361
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Inspection Modes for Corrosion Resistant Alloy

A625 weld
Piping
There are primarily three different configurations of
L L L L CRA piping (Birring, 2014). Inspection modes for the
Carbon Carbon four configurations are shown in Figures 1 to 4.
steel steel
pipe pipe
Corrosion Resistant Alloy Weld with Corrosion Re-
sistant Alloy Overlay
A625 overlay This configuration, as shown in Figure 1, is inspected
using refracted longitudinal waves. The inspection is
limited to the half-vee mode and therefore requires
Figure 1. Corrosion resistant alloy (CRA) weld with CRA overlay. Inspection done removal of the weld cap for full weld coverage.
with refracted longitudinal waves (L) in the half-vee mode.
A variation of this configuration with CRA butter is
shown in Figure 2. This weld is inspected using
refracted longitudinal waves. The inspection is limited
to the half-vee mode and therefore requires removal of
A625 weld
the weld cap for full weld coverage.
L L L L
Carbon Steel Weld with Corrosion Resistant Alloy
Carbon Carbon
steel
Overlay
steel
forging pipe This configuration, as shown in Figure 3, is inspected
using a combination of refracted shear waves and
A625 butter A625 overlay refracted longitudinal waves. Refracted shear waves
are used for the carbon steel portion of the weld,
while refracted longitudinal waves are for the CRA
Figure 2. Corrosion resistant alloy (CRA) weld and CRA butter with CRA overlay. material. The inspection is limited to the half-vee
Inspection done with refracted longitudinal waves (L) in the half-vee mode.
mode for weld overlay clad pipe and therefore requires
removal of weld cap for full weld coverage. Full-vee
shear wave inspection can sometimes be possible for
Carbon steel weld metallurgically bonded fine grain clad pipe with a
smooth inner diameter surface.
L/S S S L/S
Duplex Weld with Duplex Piping
Carbon Carbon
steel steel This configuration, as shown in Figure 4, is inspected
pipe pipe using refracted longitudinal waves. The inspection is
limited to the half-vee mode and therefore requires
A625 overlay removal of the weld cap for full weld coverage. Shear
waves can be used to supplement the L-wave
Figure 3. Carbon steel weld with corrosion resistant alloy overlay. Inspection done inspection.
with shear (S) and refracted longitudinal (L) waves in the half-vee mode.
Calibration Reflectors
The four different calibration reflectors used in piping
inspection are shown in Figure 5. The size of the cali-
Duplex weld bration reflector is specified in the code that is
required for inspection. SDHs and FBHs directly reflect
the sound waves whether they are shear waves or
L L L L
longitudinal waves. This is not the case with notches
Duplex Duplex
stainless stainless and through-holes that are also corner reflectors. The
steel steel main issue with notches and through-holes is that
pipe pipe they mode convert a significant amount of longitudinal
wave energy.

Figure 4. Duplex weld in duplex piping. Inspection done with refracted longitu-
dinal waves (L) in the half-vee mode.

362 MATERIALS EVALUATION MARCH 2016

 (a) (b)

(c) (d)

Figure 5. Calibration reflectors used to establish sensitivity for angle beam ultrasonic testing of welds: (a) side-drilled holes; (b) flat-bottomed
holes; (c) inside diameter notch; and (d) through-hole.

L2
S2

S2
S0
L0

S1
45 45 0 2 L1
S1

(a) (b)

Figure 6. Reflection from a corner reflector. Shear waves (S) versus longitudinal waves (L): (a) no mode conversion with 45 shear waves (all
energy is reflected back); and (b) longitudinal waves mode convert at every reflection and lose significant energy.

Mode Conversion at Corner Reflectors

AL1 sin 2 0 sin 2 2 2 cos 2 2 2
Corner reflectors refer to inner diameter notch and the (1) =
AL0 sin 20 sin 2 2 + 2 cos2 2 2
through-hole. The reflection from a corner reflector is
shown in Figure 6. The corner reflector comprises two
21
separate reflections: a reflection from the base and (2) =
another from the face of the reflector. Shear waves at 1 2
an incident angle of 45 are completely reflected from

0 is the incident angle,

a corner reflector. This is not the case with longitudinal where

2 is the reflected angle of mode converted shear

waves. Longitudinal waves mode convert at every
reflection and lose significant energy to shear waves.

is the Poissons ratio (Achenbach, 1999).

Equation 1 provides the reflection coefficient of waves,
longitudinal waves between an elastic body and air:

MARCH 2016 MATERIALS EVALUATION 363

ME FEATURE w
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For the steel air interface using as 0.29, longitu-
dinal wave velocity of 5.9 106 mm/s, and shear
wave velocity of 3.23 106 mm/s, 0 as 45, and
2 is 22.75, the ratio is as follows.
(3) AL1
= 0.399
AL 0
As shown in Figure 6, a notch comprises two
reflections; therefore, the net reflection is as follows.
AL 2 AL 2 AL1
= = 0.399 0.399 = 0.159
(4) AL0 AL1 AL0
or 16 dB
This large drop in the reflection of
longitudinal waves can have significant
implications in ultrasonic testing
This calculation shows that a corner reflector notch
or a through-hole will only reflect 15.9%, or 16 dB of
the 45 incident longitudinal wave signal. This is in
contrast to shear waves in carbon steel that reflect
100% of the energy.
This large drop in the reflection of longitudinal
waves can have significant implications in ultrasonic
testing (UT) of CRA pipes. Notches or through-holes, if
used as calibration reflectors, will result in an exami-
nation that is 16 dB more sensitive for internal discon-
tinuities. This will result in the unnecessary rejection of
some subsurface anomalies, such as mid-wall lack of
fusion, porosity, and so on.
Tests
Tests were conducted to compare the response
between shear waves and refracted longitudinal
waves.
Side-drilled Hole Versus Notches
The test was conducted on a 19 mm (0.75 in.) thick
carbon steel block with 2.4 mm (0.09 in.) diameter
SDH and 1 mm (0.04 in.) notch. Table 1 shows that
the shear wave signal from the notch was 5 dB higher
than the SDH. However, with longitudinal waves,
the notch signal was 13 dB lower than the SDH, a
drop of 18 dB.
364 MATERIALS EVALUATION MARCH 2016
Flat-bottomed Hole Versus Notches
The test was conducted on a 20 mm (0.79 in.) thick
carbon steel block with 3 mm (0.12 in.) diameter FBH
and 1 mm (0.04 in.) notch (5% of thickness). Table 2
shows that the shear wave signal from the notch was
4 dB higher than the FBH when using shear waves.
However, with longitudinal waves, the notch signal
was 9 dB lower than the FBH, a drop of 13 dB.
The aforementioned tests show that the measured
data match with the calculations done using Equation 1.
The measurements 18 and 13 dB drop is within 3 dB
of the calculated 16 dB drop.
Phased Array Images
The large difference in reflectivity between shear and
longitudinal waves is demonstrated by the phased
array images taken on a 19 mm (0.75 in.) thick carbon
steel test block with 1 mm (0.04 in.) notch and 2.4 mm
(0.09 in.) diameter SDHs. Figure 7 shows a strong reflec-
tion from the notch and a slightly weaker but still quite
strong reflection from the SDH with shear waves. This is
in contrast to refracted longitudinal waves that show a
dramatic drop in reflection from the notch relative to
the SDH as shown in Figure 7d.
Selection of Calibration Reflectors and
Practical Implication for Ultrasonic Testing
The choice of calibration reflector for refracted longitu-
dinal wave angle beam UT can have a significant
effect on the inspection results. As shown in Table 1,
using SDHs as calibration will result in a 13 dB loss
of sensitivity on surface connected discontinuities.
A 1 mm (0.04 in.) surface indication would only read
22% (13 dB) if the SDH were used as a reference,
and become acceptable. Similarly, a 3 mm FBH
subsurface indication would measure 281% (+9 dB)
when a 1 mm inside diameter notch is used as a
reference and become unacceptable. These differ-
ences being so large will have a significant implication
on inspection results when refracted longitudinal
 TABLE 1
Gain required for 80% full screen height reflection from a side-drilled hole (SDH) versus a notch with shear waves and longitudinal
waves
Wave 2.4 mm (0.10 in.) SDH 1 mm (0.04 in.) notch Difference
S-wave 17 dB 12 dB +5 dB
L-wave 22 dB 35 dB 13 dB
The total difference between the L-wave versus S-wave from the notch is 18 dB. Thickness is 19 mm (0.75 in.).

TABLE 2
Gain required for 80% full screen height reflection from a flat-bottomed hole (FBH) versus a notch with shear waves and longitudinal
waves
Wave 3 mm (0.12 in.) FBH 1 mm (0.04 in.) notch Difference
S-wave 15 dB 11 dB +4 dB
L-wave 25 dB 34 dB 9 dB
The total difference between the L-wave versus S-wave from the notch is 13 dB. Thickness is 20 mm (0.79 in.).

(a) (b)

3/4 T hole
3/4 T hole

1 mm notch 1 mm
notch

(c) (d)

Figure 7. Phased array images taken on a 19 mm (0.75 in.) thick carbon steel block with 1 mm (0.04 in.) notch and 2.4 mm (0.09 in.) side-
drilled holes using shear and longitudinal waves: (a) shear wave setup; (b) longitudinal wave setup; (c) shear wave image showing a strong
signal from the notch; and (d) longitudinal wave image showing an extremely weak notch signal.

MARCH 2016 MATERIALS EVALUATION 365

ME FEATURE w
x selection of calibration reflectors
waves are used for inspection. Welds can be unneces-
sarily rejected if only the inside diameter notch is used
as a reference, and conversely significant inside
diameter connected surface discontinuities could get
accepted if SDHs or FBHs are used as reference. The
approach for calibration with refracted longitudinal
waves should be to use an inside diameter reference
for inside diameter surface connected discontinuities
and SDHs or FBHs for subsurface discontinuities.
Another option to address this issue would be to
use shear waves for surface connected discontinuities
using an inside diameter notch as a reference. While
shear waves may not penetrate the weld volume, they
can generally transmit through the base metal and
CRA layer and detect inside diameter connected
discontinuities at the weld root.
Codes and Standards
Most codes and standards for weld inspection are
written for angle beam testing with shear waves.
Shear waves can use any type of reflector for calibra-
tion, for example, SDHs or notches. Tests have shown
that this approach does not work for longitudinal
waves because of significant differences in sensitivity
between notches and SDHs or FBHs. This is caused by
losses from mode conversion on notches. This paper
has shown that extending shear wave calibration to
angle beam longitudinal wave can result in either
unnecessary rejection of subsurface discontinuities or
acceptance of rejectable inside diameter connected
discontinuities. It is recommended that codes and
standards address these effects at the earliest and
include a separate calibration process for refracted
longitudinal waves. SDHs and FBHs should be limited
to subsurface discontinuities and not used for estab-
lishing sensitivity for surface connected discontinu-
ities. Similarly, sensitivity for surface connected
discontinuities such as inside diameter cracks should
be established on notches and not SDHs or FBHs.
366 MATERIALS EVALUATION MARCH 2016
Conclusions
CRA materials are finding increased use in the oil
industry and the use of ultrasonic inspections in these
situations is becoming quite common. Ultrasonic
inspection techniques for CRA are different than for
carbon steels. Unlike carbon steels that are inspected
with shear waves, weld inspection of CRA requires
refracted longitudinal waves. While shear waves at 45
reflect all the energy from corner reflectors, longitu-
dinal waves at 45 mode convert on corner reflectors
and lose 16 dB in signal amplitude. Subsurface
discontinuities that are acceptable using subsurface
reference reflectors may become rejectable flaws when
surface notches are used to establish sensitivity.
Similarly, inside diameter connected discontinuities
can become acceptable if SDHs or FBHs are used as
calibration reflectors. The differences in sensitivity with
refracted longitudinal waves between notches and
SDHs or FBHs is quite large and cannot be ignored.
The shear wave approach of using a single type of
reference reflector for both surface and mid-wall flaws
cannot be used for refracted longitudinal waves. It is
recommended that codes and standards be updated
to account for these differences in sensitivity when
using refracted longitudinal waves. w x
AUTHOR
Anmol Birring: ASNT NDT Level III, NDE Associates, Inc.,
Houston, Texas; e-mail nde@nde.com.
REFERENCES
Achenbach, J.D., Wave Propagation in Elastic Solids, North
Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1999.
API, API 5L: Specification for Line Pipe, American Petroleum
Institute, Washington, D.C., 2012.
ASME, Ultrasonic Examination Methods for Welds,
Article 4, ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section V,
American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York, New
York, 2015.
Birring, A., Ultrasonic Inspection of Welds in Corrosion
Resistant Alloy Piping, Materials Evaluation, Vol. 72,
No. 12, 2014, pp. 14681474.
DNV, DNV-OS-F101, Submarine Pipeline Systems, DNV GL,
Hovik, Norway, October 2013.