 Ultrasonic nondestructive testing, also

known as ultrasonic NDT or simply UT, is a

method of characterizing the thickness
or internal structure of a test piece
through the use of high frequency sound
waves.
 Ultrasonic testing is often performed on
steel and other metals and alloys,
though it can also be used on concrete,
wood and composites, albeit with less
resolution. It is used in many industries
including steel and aluminum
construction, metallurgy,
manufacturing, aerospace, automotive
and other transportation sectors.
 In ultrasonic testing, an ultrasound
transducer connected to a diagnostic
machine is passed over the object being
inspected. The transducer is typically
separated from the test object by a
couplant (such as oil) or by water, as in
immersion testing. However, when
ultrasonic testing is conducted with an
Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducer
(EMAT) the use of couplant is not required.
1. Reflection
 In reflection (or pulse-echo) mode,
the transducer performs both the
sending and the receiving of the pulsed
waves as the "sound" is reflected back to
the device. Reflected ultrasound comes
from an interface, such as the back wall
of the object or from an imperfection
within the object.
 The diagnostic machine displays these
results in the form of a signal with an
amplitude representing the intensity of
the reflection and the distance,
representing the arrival time of the
reflection.
2. Attenuation
 In attenuation (or through-transmission)
mode, a transmitter sends ultrasound
through one surface, and a separate
receiver detects the amount that has
reached it on another surface after
traveling through the medium.
Imperfections or other conditions in the
space between the transmitter and
receiver reduce the amount of sound
transmitted, thus revealing their presence.
Using the couplant increases the efficiency
of the process by reducing the losses in the
ultrasonic wave energy due to separation
between the surfaces.
 In industrial applications, ultrasonic
testing is widely used on metals, plastics,
composites, and ceramics. The only
common engineering materials that are
not suitable for ultrasonic testing with
conventional equipment are wood and
paper products. Ultrasonic technology is
also widely used in the biomedical field
for diagnostic imaging and medical
research.
 Ultrasonic testing is completely
nondestructive. The test piece does not
have to be cut, sectioned, or exposed to
damaging chemicals. Access to only one
side is required, unlike measurement with
mechanical thickness tools like calipers and
micrometers. There are no potential health
hazards associated with ultrasonic testing,
unlike radiography. When a test has been
properly set up, results are highly
repeatable and reliable.
 High penetrating power, which allows the detection of
flaws deep in the part.
 High sensitivity, permitting the detection of extremely small
flaws.
 In many cases only one surface needs to be accessible.
 Greater accuracy than other nondestructive methods in
determining the depth of internal flaws and the thickness
of parts with parallel surfaces.
 Some capability of estimating the size, orientation, shape
and nature of defects.
 Some capability of estimating the structure of alloys of
components with different acoustic properties
 Non hazardous to operations or to nearby personnel and
has no effect on equipment and materials in the vicinity.
 Capable of portable or highly automated operation.
 Results are immediate. Hence on the spot decisions can
be made.
 Disadvantages of ultrasonic inspection
as a method of Non-Destructive
Examination are: A high degree of
operator skill and integrity is needed.
 In most examinations, there is no
permanent record of the inspection as
there is in radiography, however more
recent equipment does offer this facility.
 Manual operation requires careful attention
by experienced technicians. The
transducers alert to both normal structure of
some materials, tolerable anomalies of
other specimens (both termed “noise”) and
to faults therein severe enough to
compromise specimen integrity. These
signals must be distinguished by a skilled
technician, possibly requiring follow up with
other nondestructive testing methods.
 Extensive technical knowledge is required
for the development of inspection
procedures.
 Parts that are rough, irregular in shape, very
small or thin, or not homogeneous are
difficult to inspect.
 Surface must be prepared by cleaning and
removing loose scale, paint, etc., although
paint that is properly bonded to a surface
need not be removed.
 Couplants are needed to provide effective
transfer of ultrasonic wave energy between
transducers and parts being inspected
unless a non-contact technique is used.
Non-contact techniques include Laser and
Electro Magnetic Acoustic Transducers
(EMAT).
 Inspected items must be water resistant,
when using water based couplants that do
not contain rust inhibitors.
 Ultrasonic flaw detection requires a trained
operator who can set up a test with the aid of
appropriate reference standards and properly
interpret the results. Inspection of some
complex geometries may be challenging.
Ultrasonic thickness gages must be calibrated
with respect to the material being measured,
and applications requiring a wide range of
thickness measurement or measurement of
acoustically diverse materials may require
multiple setups. Ultrasonic thickness gages are
more expensive than mechanical
measurement devices.
 A transducer is any device that converts
one form of energy into another. An
ultrasonic transducer converts electrical
energy into mechanical vibrations
(sound waves), and sound waves into
electrical energy. Typically, they are
small, hand-held assemblies that come
in a wide variety of frequencies and style
to accommodate specific test needs.
 An ultrasonic thickness gage is an
instrument that generates sound pulses in a
test piece and very precisely measures the
time interval until echoes are received.
Having been programmed with the speed
of sound in the test material, the gage
utilizes that sound velocity information and
the measured time interval to calculate
thickness via the simple relationship
[distance] equals [velocity] multiplied by
[time].
 Under optimum conditions, commercial
ultrasonic gages can achieve accuracies
as high as +/- 0.001 mm (0.00004"), with
accuracies of +/- 0.025 mm (0.001") or
better possible in most common
engineering materials. Factors affecting
accuracy include the uniformity of sound
velocity the test material, the degree of
sound scattering or absorption, the surface
condition, and the accuracy and care with
which the instrument has been calibrated
for the application at hand.
 A major use for ultrasonic gages is the
measurement of remaining wall thickness in
corroded pipes and tanks. The
measurement can be made quickly and
easily without needing access to the inside
or requiring the pipe or tank to be emptied.
Other important applications include
measuring the thickness of molded plastic
bottles and similar containers, turbine
blades and other precision machined or
cast parts, small diameter medical tubing,
rubber tires and conveyor belts, fiberglass
boat hulls, and even contact lenses.
 Sound waves traveling through a material
will reflect in predictable ways off of flaws
such as cracks and voids. An ultrasonic flaw
detector is an instrument that generates
and processes ultrasonic signals to create a
waveform display that can be used by a
trained operator to identify hidden flaws in
a test piece. The operator identifies the
characteristic reflection pattern from a
good part, and then looks for changes in
that reflection pattern that may indicate
flaws.
 A wide variety of cracks, voids, disbonds,
inclusions, and similar problems that
affect structural integrity can all be
located and measured with ultrasonic
flaw detectors. The minimum detectable
flaw size in a given application will
depend on the type of material being
tested and the type of flaw under
consideration.
 Ultrasonic flaw detectors are widely used
in critical safety-related and quality-
related applications involving structural
welds, steel beams, forgings, pipelines
and tanks, aircraft engines and frames,
automobile frames, railroad rails, power
turbines and other heavy machinery,
ship hulls, castings, and many other
important applications.
 Ultrasonic imaging systems are used to
generate highly detailed pictures similar to x-
rays, mapping the internal structure of a part
with sound waves. Phased array technology
originally developed for medical diagnostic
imaging is used in industrial situations to create
cross-sectional pictures. Large scanning
systems are used by the aerospace industry
and metalworking suppliers to check for
hidden flaws in both raw materials and finished
parts. Ultrasonic pulser/receivers and signal
analyzers are used in a variety of materials
research applications.
 In solids, sound waves can propagate in
four principle modes that are based on the
way the particles oscillate. Sound can
propagate as longitudinal waves, shear
waves, surface waves, and in thin materials
as plate waves. Longitudinal and shear
waves are the two modes of propagation
most widely used in ultrasonic testing. The
particle movement responsible for the
propagation of longitudinal and shear
waves is illustrated.
 In longitudinal waves, the oscillations occur
in the longitudinal direction or the direction
of wave propagation. Since compressional
and dilational forces are active in these
waves, they are also called pressure or
compressional waves. They are also
sometimes called density waves because
their particle density fluctuates as they
move. Compression waves can be
generated in liquids, as well as solids
because the energy travels through the
atomic structure by a series of compressions
and expansion (rarefaction) movements.
 In the transverse or shear wave, the
particles oscillate at a right angle or
transverse to the direction of
propagation. Shear waves require an
acoustically solid material for effective
propagation, and therefore, are not
effectively propagated in materials such
as liquids or gasses. Shear waves are
relatively weak when compared to
longitudinal waves. In fact, shear waves
are usually generated in materials using
some of the energy from longitudinal
waves.
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