ULTRASONIC TESTING - BASICS

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 ULTRASONIC INSPECTION
UT Set, Digital
Pulse echo
signals
A scan Display

Compression probe
BSS Non DestructiveThickness
Testing Pvt.Ltd checking the material
 ULTRASONIC INSPECTION

defect Back wall

initial pulse echo echo

Material Thk
defect

0 10 20 30 40 50

Compression Probe CRT Display

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF UT

The distance the sound traveled can be displayed on the Flaw Detector
The screen can be calibrated to give accurate readings of the distance

Signal from the backwall

Bottom / Backwall
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF UT (Cont’d)

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

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF UT (Cont’d)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

60 mm

The depth of the defect can be read with

reference to the marker on the screen
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
 THICKENSS / DEPTH MEASUREMENT

The closer the reflector

to the surface, the signal
will be more to the left
C B A
of the screen

30 46 68

The thickness is read from the screen

The THINNER the material

C the less distance the sound
travel
B

A
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
 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’

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 BASICS OF ULTRASONICS

Sound : mechanical vibration

What is Ultrasonic?
Very High Frequency sound – above 20 KHz
20,000 cps

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 BASICS OF ULTRASONICS

Examples of oscillation
ball on pendulum rotating
a spring earth

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 BASICS OF ULTRASONICS

Pulse
The ball starts to oscillate as soon as it is pushed
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
BASICS OF ULTRASONICS

Oscillation

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 BASICS OF ULTRASONICS

Movement of the ball over time

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 BASICS OF ULTRASONICS

Frequency

Time

From the duration of one oscillation T One full

the frequency f (number of oscillations oscillation T
per second) is calculated:

f=1/T

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

BASICS OF ULTRASONICS

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

  Sound waves are the vibration of particles in
solids liquids or gases
 Particles vibrate about a mean position
 Sound follows a waveform
wavelength
Displacement

 The distance
taken to
wavelength complete one
cycle
One cycle
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
BASICS OF ULTRASONICS

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 BASICS OF ULTRASONICS

Ball = atom Spring = elastic bonding force

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 UNDERSTANDING WAVE PROPOGATION

The transmission of ultrasonic vibrations through a

material is related to the elastic property of the
material. And it is this property which permits energy
to move through a material as waves of ultrasonic
sound

An ultrasonic wave may be visualized as an infinite

number of oscillating masses or particles connected by
means of elastic springs. Each individual particle is
influenced by the motion of its nearest neighbour and
both inertial and elastic restoring forces act upon each
particle.

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

BASICS OF ULTRASONICS

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 BASICS OF ULTRASONICS

distance travelled

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 BASICS OF ULTRASONICS

During one oscillation T the wave

T front propagates by the distance :

Distance travelled

From this we derive:

v = /t or v = f Wave equation

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
 BASICS OF ULTRASONICS

Wavelength Velocity

V

f

Frequency
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
 BASICS OF ULTRASONICS
Wavelength :

The distance required to complete a cycle

The distance between successive peak of a wave
(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)

Period:
Time taken for one complete cycle
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
 Properties of a sound
 Sound cannot travel in
vacuum
 Sound energy to be
transmitted / transferred
from one particle to
another

GAS LIQUID SOLID

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
 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

5 M Hz

STEEL WATER
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd AIR
 SOUND TRAVELLING THROUGH A MATERIAL

Velocity varies according to the material

Compression waves Shear waves

• Steel 5960m/sec • Steel 3245m/sec

• Water 1470m/sec • Water NA

• Air 344m/sec • Air NA

• Copper 4700m/sec • Copper 2330m/sec

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 ACOUSTIC SPECTRUM

Sonic / Audible
Ultrasonic
Human
> 20kHz = 20,000Hz
16Hz - 20kHz

0 10 100 1K 10K 100K 1M 10M 100M

Ultrasonic Testing
0.5MHz - 50MHz
Ultrasonic : Sound with frequency above 20 KHz
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
 FREQUENCY

Frequency: Number of cycles per second

1 second 1 second 1 second

1 cycle per 1 second = 3 cycle per 1 second = 18 cycle per 1 second

1 Hertz 3 Hertz = 18 Hertz

THE HIGHER THE FREQUENCY THE SMALLER THE

BSSWAVELENGTH
Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
 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

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 FREQUENCY

DRUM BEAT
Low Frequency Sound
Glass
40 Hz
High Frequency
5 K Hz

High Frequency
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd 5 MHz
 WAVE LENGTH & 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 ½  (half the

wavelength)
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
 WAVE LENGTH & FREQUENCY

V

f
5MHz compression wave probe in steel

5,900,000
  1.18mm
5,000,000BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
 WAVE LENGTH & FREQUENCY

1 M Hz 5 M Hz 10 M Hz 25 M Hz

LONGEST SMALLEST
=v/f

F  F 
Which probe has the smallest wavelength?

Which probe has the longest wavelength?

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
Which of the following compression probe has
the highest sensitivity?
1 MHz
2 MHz
5 MHz
10 MHz

10 MHz
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
What is the velocity difference in steel compared with in
water?
4 times

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
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
 SOUND WAVEFORMS

Sound travels in different waveforms in different

conditions

•Compression wave
•Shear wave
•Surface wave
•Lamb wave

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 SOUND PROPOGATION

Atomic structures
gas liquid solid

• low density • medium density • high density

• weak bonding forces • medium bonding • strong bonding forces
forces • crystallographic
structure
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
 SOUND PROPOGATION

Longitudinal wave /
Compression Wave Direction of propagation
Direction of oscillation

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 SOUND PROPOGATION (Cont’d)

Vibration and propagation in the same direction /

parallel

Travel in solids, liquids and gases

Particle vibration

PropagationBSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 SOUND PROPOGATION (Cont’d)

Transverse wave /
Shear Wave
Direction of propagation
Direction of oscillation

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 SOUND PROPOGATION (Cont’d)

Vibration at right angles / perpendicular to direction

of propagation
Travel in solids only
Velocity  1/2 compression (same material)

Particle vibration

Propagation
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
 Compression Vs Shear

Frequency Compression Shear

0.5MHz • 11.8 • 6.5
1 MHz • 5.9 • 3.2
2MHz • 2.95 • 1.6
4MHz • 1.48 • 0.8
6MHZ • 0.98 • 0.54

The smaller the wavelength the better the

sensitivity
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
 Sound Travelling through a material

Velocity varies according to the material

Compression waves Shear waves

• Steel 5960m/sec • Steel 3245m/sec

• Water 1470m/sec • Water NA

• Air 344m/sec • Air NA

• Copper 4700m/sec • Copper 2330m/sec

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 SURFACE WAVE OR RAYLEIGH WAVE

Surface (or Rayleigh) waves travel the surface of a relatively thick

solid material penetrating to a depth of one wavelength.

Surface waves combine both a longitudinal and transverse

motion to create an elliptic orbit motion
The major axis of the ellipse is perpendicular to the surface of
the solid. As the depth of an individual atom from the surface
increases the width of its elliptical motion decreases.
BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd
 SURFACE WAVE OR RAYLEIGH WAVE

Surface waves are generated when a longitudinal wave intersects a

surface near the second critical angle and they travel at a velocity
between .87 and .95 of a shear wave. (8% less than shear)

Rayleigh waves are useful because they are very sensitive to surface
defects (and other surface features) and they follow the surface
around curves. Easily dampened by heavy grease or wet finger.

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd

 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 BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.LtdASSYMETRIC

BSS Non Destructive Testing Pvt.Ltd