NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

NDT

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NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING
Examination of materials and components in
such a way that allows material to be
examinated without changing or destroying
their usefulness

NDT
Most common NDT methods:

Penetrant Testing (PT)
Magnetic Particle Testing (MT)
Eddy Current Testing (ET)
Radiographic Testing (RT)
Ultrasonic Testing (UT)
Mainly used for
surface testing
Mainly used for
Internal Testing
NDT
Which NDT method is
the best ?
Depends on many
factors and conditions
Basic Principles of Ultrasonic
Testing
To understand and
appreciate the
capability and
limitation of UT

History of Ultrasonic Testing (UT)
First came sonic testing
The piezo-electric effect discovered in
1880/81
Marine echo sounding developed from 1912
In 1929 Sokolov used vibrations in metals to
find flaws
Cathode ray tubes developed in the 1930s
Sproule made the first flaw detector in 1942
Ultrasonic Inspection
Sub-surface detection
This detection method uses high frequency sound
waves, typically above 2MHz to pass through a material
A probe is used which contains a piezo electric crystal
to transmit and receive ultrasonic pulses and display the
signals on a cathode ray tube or digital display
The actual display relates to the time taken for the
ultrasonic pulses to travel the distance to the interface
and back
An interface could be the back of a plate material or a
defect
For ultrasound to enter a material a couplant must be
introduced between the probe and specimen
Ultrasonic Inspection
UT Set, Digital
Pulse echo
signals
A scan Display
Compression probe
Thickness checking the material
Ultrasonic Inspection
defect
0 10 20 30 40 50
defect
echo
Back wall
echo
CRT Display
Compression Probe
Material Thk
initial pulse
Basic Principles of Ultrasonic Testing
The distance the sound traveled can be displayed on the Flaw Detector
The screen can be calibrated to give accurate readings of the distance
Bottom / Backwall
Signal from the backwall
Basic Principles of Ultrasonic Testing
The presence of a Defect in the material shows up on the screen of
the flaw detector with a less distance than the bottom of the material
The BWE signal
Defect signal
Defect
The depth of the defect can be read with reference
to the marker on the screen
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
60 mm
Thickness / depth measurement
A
A
B
B
C
C
The THINNER the material
the less distance the sound
travel
The closer the reflector
to the surface, the signal
will be more to the left of
the screen
The thickness is read from the screen
68 46 30
Ultrasonic Inspection
Angle Probe
UT Set
A Scan
Display
Ultrasonic Inspection
0 10 20 30 40 50
initial pulse
defect echo
CRT Display
sound path
Angle Probe
defect
Surface distance
Ultrasonic Inspection
Advantages
Rapid results
Sub-surface detection
Safe
Can detect planar defect
Capable of measuring the
depth of defects
May be battery powered
Portable
Disadvantages
Trained and skilled
operator required
Requires high operator
skill
Good surface finish
required
Difficulty on detecting
volumetric defect
Couplant may
contaminate
No permanent record
Ultrasonic Testing
Principles of Sound
What is Sound ?
A mechanical vibration
The vibrations create Pressure Waves
Sound travels faster in more elastic
materials
Number of pressure waves per second is
the Frequency
Speed of travel is the Sound velocity
Sound
Wavelength :
The distance required to complete a cycle
Measured in Meter or mm
Frequency :
The number of cycles per unit time
Measured in Hertz (Hz) or Cycles per second (cps)
Velocity :
How quick the sound travels
Distance per unit time
Measured in meter / second (m / sec)

f
V
=
Velocity
Frequency
Wavelength
Sound waves are the vibration of particles in solids liquids or gases
Particles vibrate about a mean position
In order to vibrate they require mass and resistance to change
One cycle
Sound Waves
Properties of a sound wave
Sound cannot travel
in vacuum
Sound energy to be
transmitted /
transferred from one
particle to another
SOLID LIQUID GAS
Velocity
The velocity of sound in a particular material is CONSTANT
It is the product of DENSITY and ELASTICITY of the
material
It will NOT change if frequency changes
Only the wavelength changes
Examples:
V Compression in steel : 5960 m/s
V Compression in water : 1470 m/s
V Compression in air : 330 m/s

STEEL WATER AIR
5 M Hz
Sound travelling through a material
Velocity varies according to the material
Compression waves

Steel 5960m/sec
Water 1470m/sec
Air 344m/sec
Copper 4700m/sec
Shear waves
Steel 3245m/sec
Water NA
Air NA
Copper 2330m/sec
Ultrasonic
Sound : mechanical vibration
What is Ultrasonic?
Very High Frequency sound above 20 KHz
20,000 cps
Acoustic Spectrum
0 10 100 1K 10K 100K 1M 10M 100m
Sonic / Audible
Human
16Hz - 20kHz
Ultrasonic
> 20kHz = 20,000Hz
Ultrasonic Testing
0.5MHz - 50MHz
Ultrasonic : Sound with frequency above 20 KHz
Frequency
Frequency : Number of cycles per
second
1 second
1 cycle per 1 second =
1 Hertz
18 cycle per 1 second
= 18 Hertz
3 cycle per 1 second =
3 Hertz
1 second 1 second
THE HIGHER THE FREQUENCY THE SMALLER THE
WAVELENGTH
Frequency
1 Hz = 1 cycle per second
1 Kilohertz = 1 KHz = 1000Hz
1 Megahertz = 1 MHz = 1000 000Hz

20 KHz =
20 000 Hz
5 M Hz = 5 000 000 Hz
Pg 21
DRUM BEAT
Low Frequency Sound
40 Hz
Glass
High Frequency
5 K Hz
ULTRASONIC TESTING
Very High Frequency
5 M Hz
Wavelength and frequency
The higher the frequency the smaller the
wavelength
The smaller the wavelength the higher the
sensitivity
Sensitivity : The smallest detectable
flaw by the system or
technique
In UT the smallest detectable flaw is
(half the wavelength)
High Frequency Sound
f
V
=
5MHz compression
wave probe in steel
mm 18 . 1
000 , 000 , 5
000 , 900 , 5
= =
Frequency
1 M Hz 5 M Hz 10 M Hz 25 M Hz
Which probe has the smallest wavelength?
SMALLEST LONGEST
Which probe has the longest wavelength?
= v / f
F
F
Which of the following compressional
probe has the highest sensitivity?
1 MHz
2 MHz
5 MHz
10 MHz
10 MHz
4 times
What is the velocity difference in steel compared with in
water?
If the frequency remain constant, in what material does
sound has the highest velocity, steel, water, or air?
Steel
If the frequency remain constant, in what material does
sound has the shortest wavelength, steel, water, or air?
Air
Remember the formula
= v / f
Sound Waveforms
Sound travels in different waveforms in
different conditions
Compression wave
Shear wave
Surface wave
Lamb wave
Compression / Longitudinal
Vibration and propagation in the same
direction / parallel
Travel in solids, liquids and gases
Propagation
Particle vibration
Shear / Transverse
Vibration at right angles / perpendicular to
direction of propagation
Travel in solids only
Velocity ~ 1/2 compression (same material)
Propagation
Particle vibration
Compression v Shear
Frequency
0.5MHz
1 MHz
2MHz
4MHz
6MHZ
Compression
11.8
5.9
2.95
1.48
0.98
Shear
6.5
3.2
1.6
0.8
0.54
The smaller the wavelength the better the
sensitivity
Sound travelling through a material
Velocity varies according to the material
Compression waves

Steel 5960m/sec
Water 1470m/sec
Air 344m/sec
Copper 4700m/sec
Shear waves
Steel 3245m/sec
Water NA
Air NA
Copper 2330m/sec
Surface Wave
Elliptical vibration
Velocity 8% less than shear
Penetrate one wavelength deep
Easily dampened by heavy grease or wet finger
Follows curves but reflected by sharp corners or
surface cracks
Lamb / Plate Wave
Produced by the manipulation of surface
waves and others
Used mainly to test very thin materials /
plates
Velocity varies with plate thickness and
frequencies
SYMETRIC ASSYMETRIC
The Sound Beam
Dead Zone
Near Zone or Fresnel Zone
Far Zone or Fraunhofer Zone
Sound Beam
Near Zone
Thickness
measurement
Detection of defects
Sizing of large
defects only
Far Zone
Thickness
measurement
Defect detection
Sizing of all defects
Near zone length as small as
possible balanced against
acceptable minimum
detectable defect size
The Sound Beam
NZ
FZ
Distance
Intensity
varies
Exponential Decay
Main
Beam
Main Lobe
Side Lobes
Near
Zone
Main Beam
The main beam or the centre
beam has the highest
intensity of sound energy
Any reflector hit by the main
beam will reflect the high
amount of energy
The side lobes has multi
minute main beams
Two identical defects may
give different amplitudes of
signals
Near Zone
V
f D
f
V
D
4
Near Zone
4
Near Zone
2
2
=
=
=

Near Zone
What is the near zone length of a 5MHz
compression probe with a crystal diameter
of 10mm in steel?
mm
V
f D
1 . 21
000 , 920 , 5 4
000 , 000 , 5 10
4
Near Zone
2
2
=

=
=
Near Zone
The bigger the diameter the bigger the
near zone
The higher the frequency the bigger the
near zone
The lower the velocity the bigger the near
zone
V
f D D
4

4
Near Zone
2 2
= =

1 M Hz 5 M Hz
1 M Hz
5 M Hz
Which of the above probes has the longest Near Zone ?
Beam Spread
In the far zone sound pulses spread out
as they move away from the crystal
Df
KV
D
K
Sine or
2
u
=
u
u/2
Beam Spread
Df
KV
D
K
Sine or
2
u
=
Edge,K=1.22
20dB,K=1.08
6dB,K=0.56
Beam axis
or Main Beam
Beam Spread
What is the beam spread of a 10mm,5MHz
compression wave probe in steel?
o
Df
KV
Sine
35 . 7 1278 . 0
10 5000
5920 08 . 1
2
= =

=
=
u
1 M Hz 5 M Hz
1 M Hz
5 M Hz
Which of the above probes has the Largest Beam
Spread ?
Beam Spread
The bigger the diameter the smaller the
beam spread
The higher the frequency the smaller
the beam spread
Df
KV
D
K
Sine or
2
u
=
Which has the larger beam spread, a compression
or a shear wave probe?
Ultrasonic Pulse
A short pulse of electricity is applied to a
piezo-electric crystal
The crystal begins to vibration increases
to maximum amplitude and then decays
Maximum
10% of
Maximum
Pulse length
Pulse Length
Pulse Length
The longer the pulse, the more
penetrating the sound
The shorter the pulse the better the
sensitivity and resolution
Short pulse, 1 or 2 cycles Long pulse 12 cycles
Pulse Length
Ideal Pulse Length
5 cycles for weld testing
Resolution
RESOLUTION in Pulse Echo Testing is the ability to
separate echoes from two or more closely spaced
reflectors.
RESOLUTION is strongly affected by Pulse Length:

Short Pulse Length - GOOD RESOLUTION
Long Pulse Length - POOR RESOLUTION

RESOLUTION is an extremely important property in
WELD TESTING because the ability to separate ROOT
GEOMETRY echoes from ROOT CRACK or LACK OF
ROOT FUSION echoes largely determines the
effectiveness of Pulse Echo UT in the testing of single
sided welds.
Resolution
Good resolution
Resolution
Poor resolution
Loses intensity
due to
Sound travelling through a material
Attenuation
Sound beam comparable
to a torch beam
Reduction differs for small
and large reflectors
Energy losses due to
material
Made up of absorption
and scatter
Beam Spread
Scatter
The bigger the grain
size the worse the
problem
The higher the
frequency of the
probe the worse the
problem
1 MHz 5 MHz
Beam Spread
The sound beam
spread out and the
intensity decreases
Beam spread and Attenuation
combined
Repeat Back-wall Echoes Beyond The Near Zone
ZERO ATTENUATION ATTENUATION 0.02 dB/mm
Sound at an Interface
Sound will be either transmitted across
or reflected back
Reflected
Transmitted
Interface
How much is reflected and
transmitted depends upon the
relative acoustic impedance of
the 2 materials
Acoustic Impedance
Definition
The Resistance to the
passage of sound
within a material
Formula

V Z =
Measured in
kg / m
2
x sec
Steel 46.7 x 10
6

Water 1.48 x 10
6
Air 0.0041 x 10
6
Perspex 3.2 x 10
6
= Density , V = Velocity
% Sound Reflected at an
Interface
ref lected
Z Z
Z Z
% 100
2
2 1
2 1
=
(

% Sound Reflected + % Sound Transmitted = 100%

Therefore
% Sound Transmitted = 100% - % Sound Reflected
How much sound is reflected at a steel to water
interface?
Z
1
(Steel) = 46.7 x 10
6

Z
2
(Water) =1.48 x 10
6
reflected % 100
48 . 1 7 . 46
48 . 1 7 . 46
2
=
(

reflected % 100
18 . 48
22 . 45
2
=
(

reflected % 88.09 100 93856 . 0

2
=
How much sound transmitted?
100 % - the reflected sound
Example : Steel to water
100 % - 88 % ( REFLECTED) = 12 % TRANSMITTED
The BIGGER the Acoustic Impedance Ratio
or Difference between the two materials:
More sound REFLECTED than transmitted.
Steel
Air
Steel
Air
Steel
Steel
Aluminum
Steel
Large Acoustic Impedance
Ratio
Large Acoustic Impedance
Ratio
No Acoustic Impedance
Difference
Small Acoustic Impedance
Difference
Interface Behaviour
Similarly:

At an Steel - Air interface 99.96% of the
incident sound is reflected

At a Steel - Perspex interface 75.99% of
the incident sound is reflected
Sound Intensity
1
0
10 ..
20
H
H
Log dB =
2 signals at 20% and 40% FSH.
What is the difference between them in dBs?
2 .. 20
20
40
20
10 10 ..
Log Log dB = =
3010 . 0 20 = dB
dB dB 6 =
1
0
10 ..
20
H
H
Log dB =
2 signals at 10% and 100% FSH.
What is the difference between them in dBs?
10 .. 20
10
100
20
10 10 ..
Log Log dB = =
1 20 = dB
dB dB 20 =
Amplitude ratios in decibels
2 : 1 = 6bB
4 : 1 = 12dB
5 : 1 = 14dB
10 : 1 = 20dB
100 : 1 = 40dB