See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/331537575

Basic Procedure manual for first time users on OmniScan MX2

Experiment Findings · March 2019

CITATIONS READS

0 2,422

1 author:

Kathir Marimuthu
The University of Queensland
1 PUBLICATION   0 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Quantitative analysis of through thickness impact damage of laminated structures View project

OmniScan MX2 Basic study View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Kathir Marimuthu on 06 March 2019.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 OMNISCAN MX2
Manual Inspection Setup procedure:

The following are the steps to be followed for manual inspection in Omniscan MX2:

✓ Select Single on the top left corner

✓ Choose Menu screen
✓ Select New in the File menu
✓ Click File and Select Wizard for wizard setup

Wizard:

1. Part and Weld:

Select Start to proceed
Thickness (mm) Material CSC Mode Weld
Measure the thickness Select the type of Choose plate if the The type of weld can be
of the specimen to be material that is being material is non-spherical selected
tested and enter the used
value
Select composite for any
composite material
inspection

Velocity can be seen For cylindrical materials, If the part does not have
adjacent to the material enter ID (Inner dia) and any weld, choose None
name OD (Outer dia)
Select Finish to end

2. Setup:
Select Start to proceed
Operation Current Group Group mode Application
Select the group option Refers to the group that Refers to the type of Based on the type of beam
✓ Create has to selected from technique that should focusing, select the
✓ Modify the list of created be used application
✓ Delete groups ✓ UT ✓ Weld (for angular
Conventional beam)
Ultrasound ✓ Corrosion,
(using UT composite (linear
connector) beam)
✓ UT
Conventional
Ultrasound
(using PA
connector)
✓ PA Phased
array
Generally, Modify
option is selected for Select PA Phased array Note: Do not use “Other”
single probe single to use Phased array option for basic
inspection technique inspections
Click Next
Probe and Wedge selection
Select/Edit Probe Auto Wedge
Click on Select option to select the Auto select option automatically Select wedge manually using the
probe and wedge selects the connected probe wizard

The user can still manually select The user can still manually select
the probe the wedge
Click Next

Select Law Configuration

Law Configuration Wave type Element Quantity

Select the type of law Based on the selection of the Law Determines the number of
configuration to be used configuration, the wave type is elements to be used for each
✓ Sectorial (Angular selected automatically ultrasonic beam
Sector) – Provides ✓ SW (Shear wave)
multiple-angle scan ✓ LW (Linear wave)
✓ Linear (Linear Sector) –
Provides linear angle at a This can be changed manually to For Sectorial type, all the
configured angle the other wave option for elements are used by default.
✓ Linear at 0° (Linear Sectorial and Linear type This can be changed manually by
Sector with overlap) – the user.
Provides a linear beam at
zero degree

Choose Linear at 0° as this is For Linear at 0°, the wave type is 6 elements can be used for
limited to single group set to LW effective beam focusing
configuration
Click Next

Figure 1: 1-Sectorial, 2-Linear, 3-Linear at 0°

Probe element selection
First Element Last Element Element Step Angle (deg.)
This specifies the first This specifies the total Element step For Sectorial or Linear
element from which the number of elements determines the sector type, the angle
first ultrasonic beam used in the probe number of elements has to be specified
starts between each pulsing

Generally, element 1 is Specifying 32, for For instance, choosing For Linear, the angle
selected instance, with element 1 element 1 as the first can be selected from -
as the first element element and element 90 to +90 depending
means that 32 elements quantity as 6 specifies on the scan direction.
are used for beam that the first beam This is generally set to
focusing pulse is generated by 45 deg.
elements 1-6 and the
second pulse starts
from 2-7 and the third
from 3-8 and so on till
the last element
specified
For Linear at 0°, the
angle is set to 0 which
cannot be changed.
Click Next

Generating Focal Law

Focus Depth (mm) Skew (deg.) Index Offset (mm) Scan Offset (mm)
Specifies the depth to Generally, 90deg for This is used for weld This is used for weld
be focussed by the linear beam inspection inspection
beam

Generally, focus depth For angular beam, This can be set to zero This can be set to zero
is greater than the near specify the angle to be for general and for general and
field distance. skewed from the scan composite inspection composite inspection
axis

Maximum value to be
entered should be
greater than
2*thickness of the
material for effective
beam focusing
Click Generate to finish

3. Calibration:

This is set to default settings

 ✓ Click Wizard and Select UT Settings

UT Settings:

1. General:

Gain (dB) Start (mm) Range (mm) Wedge Delay (𝝁𝒔) Velocity (m/s)
Gain value Starts the A-scan Specifies the range This is set to zero Velocity is set
represents the after the specified of ultrasonic beam when no wedge is automatically
amplitude value of value used depending on the
the A-Scan material selected

This has no specific This has no specific This is helpful for When used, the This can be
value but it is value but it is choosing the area wedge delay is entered manually
changed according changed according of interest calculated using but changing the
to the A-Scan the A-Scan graph. the given focal law default velocity of
graph. This helps in the material
setting the gate selected changes
location to a the range
specific area of selection
interest.

Set the gain value Choosing positive Set the range

before inspection. starting point can value before
This can be sometimes neglect inspection. This
changed during the front wall echo can be changed
the inspection if during the
required. inspection if
required.

Choose a negative Choosing range

value to view the much higher than
front wall echo the thickness of
which would help the material can
in differentiating result in many
the reflection from reflections.
the front wall and
a surface defect Range should be
near the front wall selected with a
view of back wall
echo

2. Pulser, Receiver, Beam, Advanced:

These are set to their default settings

 ✓ Click UT Settings and Select Gates/Alarms

Gate Selection:

1. Gates:

Gate Parameters
Select the Position Geometry Start Width Threshold
required gate (Positions Select True Specifies the Specifies the Specifies the
for inspection the gate in depth value at which length of the value of
A-Scan) the gate starts gate horizontal
Select gate A for location of gate
primary Synchronization Peak Selection Measure
inspection Select Pulse to The result readings will Select Peak for weld
synchronize the gate be based on the peak inspection
Mode with the beam pulse selection of the beam
(Used for
inspection) Select Max Peak to Select Edge for
determine the corrosion/composite
maximum value of the applications
flaw

Gates B and C are used for advanced level of inspection.

2. Alarm, Output, Analog, Thickness:

These are set to their default settings

Display selection:

Layout:

Layout is the different scan views that can be viewed in the inspection process.

✓ A-S scan view is set to default before starting the inspection

✓ A-C-S scan view is set once the wizard set up is done
✓ It is possible to change the scan view from Layout option available in the title bar

Figure below is an ABCS scan view with cursor placed on one of its defects

A-Scan:

✓ A-Scan is the basic representation of UT data

✓ In this scan view, the echo amplitude and the time taken for the reflected wave to reach the
transducer are plotted
✓ The horizontal axis represents the amplitude while the vertical axis represents the time of flight
(referring to the figure shown below)
✓ Gate is a tool that is placed in the A-Scan to select a portion of the wave
✓ A-Gate is typically red in color while there are other gates like B-gate (yellow) and I-gate (green)
The figure below shows a typical A-Scan view with an A-gate.
S-Scan:

✓ The sectorial scan (S-Scan) is unique to phased array technique

✓ It displays the sum of all A-Scans in a group
✓ S-Scan is the 2D visualization of all A-Scans in true depth on the index axis
✓ These scans use fixed apertures and steer through a sequence of angles

C-Scan:

✓ C-Scan is the 2D presentation of data displayed as a top view which is generated by the position
and mode of gate
✓ Amplitude or depth in the gated region of the A-Scan result in a particular C-Scan
✓ The type of C-Scan available for the group depends on the law configuration that is selected in the
focal law wizard
✓ Two types of C-Scan:
o Amplitude C-Scan (Based on amplitude of gate signal)
o Thickness C-Scan (Based on the position or thickness of gate signal)

B-Scan:

✓ B-Scan is the 2D visualization of all A-Scans on the scan axis

✓ A single value B-Scan is used to plot the depth of reflectors with respect to their linear position
✓ Encoders are employed for scanning either manually or in automated systems

Note:

✓ Cursors are placed on the respective scans by right-clicking on the scan

✓ A menu pops up with options of setting reference cursor, measurement cursor and data cursor

Report Generation:

✓ Once the flaws are detected and cursors are placed wherever necessary, the reading are noted
✓ Right clicking on the status bar, a menu pops up showing the option “Add Indication”. Click on all
the flaw values needed to be stored
✓ After the indication table entries are updated, the file should be saved to retain the table

Indication table:

✓ The indication table can be displayed/hidden using Menu-> Measurements-> Indication Table->
Mode: Setup-> Show Table: On/Off
✓ The image of the current data view can be added to the report using Menu-> Measurements->
Indication Table-> Mode: Setup-> Save Image: On
Additional notes:

In PA, probes and wedges plays an important role and hence the selection criteria are vital in the inspection
process.

Probes:

4 primary 1D probe types are available to use with OmniScan SX\MX2:

1. Angle beam probes

2. Curved probes
3. Immersion/Straight beam probes
4. Integrated wedge probes

Probes in Composite Lab:

UQ Composite Lab offers three types of probes for the users.

1. 10L32: Couplant must be used.

2. 5L32: Water wedge must be used. The screw head must be tightened evenly else the Aqualene
may deform and the image may not be level giving bad results.
3. 5L60: Either couplant or water wedge can be used.

Probes for defined applications:

1. Universal Probes (A10, A11 and A12): Manual or automatic inspection in thick welds, castings,
forgings, pipes, tubes, cracks
2. Near-wall Probes (NW series): Composite channel inspection and C-Scan inspection of composites
(delamination, disbanding and porosity)
3. Deep penetration Probes (A3, A4 and A5): Inspection of thick plates and welds, forging and noisy
or granular material

Probes for Composite Inspection:

1. Glass fibre: Lower frequency (2.25MHz, 1MHz, 500KHz) straight beam probes can be used for
thickness of about 75mm due to sound scattering.
2. Carbon fibre: More transmissive than glass fibre and hence these composites can be tested with
up to 5MHz for better resolution.

Factors influencing performance:

1. Frequency: High frequency transducers can detect smaller flaws due to their shorter wavelength
whereas lower frequency transducers penetrate high distance. This is because the attenuation
decreases with frequency.
2. Diameter: Large dia transducers can scan more quickly while small diameter transducers will have
better response to small reflections
3. Bandwidth: Narrowband transducers penetrate long distance but have reduced near surface
resolution. Broadband transducers penetrate lesser but possess excellent near surface resolution.

Wedges:
3 types of 1D wedges are used in OmniScan MX2:
1. Shear wave angle beam
2. Longitudinal wave angle beam
3. Longitudinal wave straight beam
Some of them uses couplant feeding in some inspection applications but the major use of having wedges
is to reduce the wear and tear of the probes surface.

View publication stats