UNIT IV

Ultrasonic Testing

L.PRABHU
Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Aarupadai Veedu Institute of Technology
Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation
Introduction
Ultrasonic techniques are very widely used for the detection of internal defec
ts in materials, but they can also be used for the detection of small surface crac
ks.
Ultrasonic non-destructive testing, also known as ultrasonic NDT or simply
UT, is a method of characterizing the thickness or internal structure of a test pi
ece through the use of high frequency sound waves.
 Ultrasonic's are used for the quality control inspection of part processed ma
terial, such as roiled slabs, as well as for the inspection of finished compon
ent. The techniques are also in regular use for the in-service testing of parts
and assemblies.
 Sound is propagated through solid media in severa1 ways and the nature of
sound will be considered first.
The frequencies, or pitch, used for ultrasonic testing are many times higher t
han the limit of human hearing, most commonly in the range from 500 KHz to
20 MHz.
Principle of Operation
Instruments used in Ultrasonic Testing
• Pulser/Receiver
• Ultrasonic Transducer
• Couplant
• Display Screen
• Receiver/Amplifier
Instruments used in
UT
• A typical UT inspection system consists of several functional units, such as
the pulser /receiver, transducer, and display devices.
• A pulser /receiver is an electronic device that can produce high voltage elec
trical pulses.
• Driven by the pulser, the transducer generates high frequency ultrasonic en
ergy. The sound energy is introduced and propagates through the materials i
n the form of waves.
• When there is a discontinuity (such as a crack) in the wave path, part of the
energy will be reflected back from the flaw surface. The reflected wave sig
nal is transformed into an electrical signal by the transducer and is displaye
d on a screen. In the applet below, the reflected signal strength is displayed
versus the time from signal generation to when a echo was received.
• Signal travel time can be directly related to the distance that the signal trave
lled. From the signal, information about the reflector location, size, orientat
ion and other features can sometimes be gained.
Types of Waves
• In solids, sound waves can propagate in four principle modes that are based
on the way the particles oscillate. Sound can propagate as longitudinal wav
es, shear waves, surface waves, and in thin materials as plate waves.
Longit udinal and shear waves are the two modes of propagation most
widely us ed in ultrasonic testing.
• The particle movement responsible for the propagation of longitudinal and
shear waves is illustrated below.
Longitudinal Wave
In longitudinal waves, the oscillations occur in the longitudinal direction or the directio
n of wave propagation. Since compressional and dilational forces are active in these wa
ves, they are also called pressure or compressional waves. They are also sometimes call
ed density waves because their particle density fluctuates as they move. Compression
w aves can be generated in liquids, as well as solids because the energy travels
through th e atomic structure by a series of compressions and expansion (rarefaction)
movements.
Transverse Wave
In the transverse or shear wave, the particles oscillate at a right angle or transverse to th
e direction of propagation. Shear waves require an acoustically solid material for effecti
ve propagation, and therefore, are not effectively propagated in materials such as
liquid s or gasses. Shear waves are relatively weak when compared to longitudinal
waves. In f act, shear waves are usually generated in materials using some of the
energy from longi tudinal waves.
Surface Wave
Surface Wave: Surface wave is also called as Rayleigh
Waves represent an oscillating motion that travels along
the surface of a test specimen to a depth of one wavelen
gth. Surface wave can be used to detect breaking cracks
in a test specimen.
Lamp Wave
Lamp Wave: Lamp wave are surface waves propagate parallel to
the test surface and have a particle motion that is elliptical. They
occur when the thickness of the test material is only a few wavele
ngth at the test frequency and where the test specimen is of
unifor m thickness
 Particle Vibrations
Wave Types in Solids

Longitudinal Parallel to wave direction

Perpendicular to wave direction

Transverse (Shear)

Surface - Rayleigh Elliptical orbit - symmetrical mode

Plate Wave - Lamb Component perpendicular to surface (extens

ional wave)
Terminologies Used in Ultrasonic Testing
Wavelength: The distance travelled by a wave during a particle of the medi
um completes one vibration is called wavelength. It is also defined as the dista
nce between any two nearest on the wave having same phase

Time Period: The time period of a wave is the time taken by the wave to tr
avel a distance equal to its wavelength

Frequency: This is defined as the number of waves produced in one second.

Sensitivity and Resolution: Sensitivity and resolution are two terms th

at are often used in ultrasonic inspection to describe a technique's ability to loc
ate flaws. Sensitivity is the ability to locate small discontinuities. Sensitivity ge
nerally increases with higher frequency (shorter wavelengths). Resolution is th
e ability of the system to locate discontinuities that are close together within th
e material or located near the part surface. Resolution also generally increases
as the frequency increases.
Scattering and Attenuation: Scattering is the reflection of the sound in direc
tions other than its original direction of propagation. Absorption is the convers
ion of the sound energy to other forms of energy. The combined effect of scatt
ering and absorption is called attenuation. Ultrasonic attenuation is the decay
rate of the wave as it propagates through material.

Acoustic impedance: Sound travels through materials under the influence of s

ound pressure. Because molecules or atoms of a solid are bound elastically to
o ne another, the excess pressure results in a wave propagating through the
solid.
The acoustic impedance (Z) of a material is defined as the product of its
densit
y (p) and acoustic velocity (V).

Z = pV
Mode Conversion in UST
When sound travels in a solid material, one form of wave energy can be transf
ormed into another form.
For example, when a longitudinal waves hits an interface at an angle, some of t
he energy can cause particle movement in the transverse direction to start a
she ar (transverse) wave. Mode conversion occurs when a wave encounters an
inte rface between materials of different acoustic impedances and the incident
angl e is not normal to the interface.

it was pointed out that when sound waves pass through an interface between
materials having different acoustic velocities, refraction takes place at the inter
face. The larger the difference in acoustic velocities between the two materials,
the more the sound is refracted. Notice that the shear wave is not refracted as
much as the longitudinal wave. This occurs because shear waves travel
slower than longitudinal waves. Therefore, the velocity difference between the
inciden t longitudinal wave and the shear wave is not as great as it is between
the incid ent and refracted longitudinal waves.
Also note that when a longitudinal wave is reflected inside the material, the ref
lected shear wave is reflected at a smaller angle than the reflected longitudinal
wave. This is also due to the fact that the shear velocity is less than the longitu
dinal velocity within a given material.
Snell's Law holds true for shear waves as well as longitudinal waves and can b
e written as follows.
Where:
VL1 is the longitudinal wave velocity in material
1. VL2 is the longitudinal wave velocity in
material 2. VS1 is the shear wave velocity in
material 1.
VS2 is the shear wave velocity in material 2.
Ultrasonic Testing Methods
Ultrasonic testing is a very versatile inspection method, and inspections can be
accomplished in a number of different ways.
Ultrasonic inspection techniques are commonly divided into three primary
clas
sifications.
–Pulse-echo and Through Transmission (Relates to whether reflected or tran
smitted energy is used)
–Normal Beam and Angle Beam (Relates to the angle that the sound energy e
nters the test article)
–Contact and Immersion (Relates to the method of coupling the transducer
to the test article)
Transmission Through Method
In this method, the defect can be identified on quantifying the rec
eived sound waves.
Test Procedure:
Two transducers located on opposing sides of the test specimen ar
e used. One transducer acts as a transmitter, the other as a receive
r.
Discontinuities in the sound path will result in a partial or total lo
ss of sound being transmitted and be indicated by a decrease in th
e received signal amplitude.
Through transmission is useful in detecting discontinuities that ar
e not good reflectors, and when signal strength is weak. It does n
ot provide depth information.
The result can be seen through CRT screen
display

Digital display showing r

eceived sound through ma
terial thickness.

Digital display showing

loss of received signal d
ue to presence of a disco
ntinuity in the sound
fiel d.
Pulse-Echo Testing Methods
Test Procedure:
In pulse-echo testing, a transducer sends out a pulse of energy an
d the same or a second transducer listens for reflected energy (an
echo).
Reflections occur due to the presence of discontinuities and the s
urfaces of the test article.
The amount of reflected sound energy is displayed versus time, w
hich provides the inspector information about the size and the loc
ation of features that reflect the sound.
The pulse-echo technique allows testing when access to only one
side of the material is possible, and it allows the location of reflec
tors to be precisely determined.

Digital display showin

g signal generated fro
m sound reflecting
off back surface.

Digital display showing t

he presence of a
reflector midway
through material
, with lower amplitude ba
ck surface reflector.
Contact Testing Technique
Contact testing are used for direct contact inspections, and are ma
nipulated manually. As the name suggests , this transducer has
dir ect contact with this specimen.

These transducers are designed in such a manner so that it is easy

to grip and move along a surface.

To get useful levels of sound energy into a material, the air betwe
en the transducer and the test article must be removed. This is ref
erred to as coupling.

In contact testing, a couplant such as water, oil or a gel is applied

between the transducer and the part.
Immersion Testing Technique
In immersion testing, the part and
the transducer are place in a water
bath. This arrangement allows bett
er movement of the transducer
whi le maintaining consistent
coupling.

Immersion technique is typically u

sed inside a water tank
Dual – crystal testing
Straight Beam testing Methods
In normal beam testing, the sound beam is introduced into the test article at 90
degree to the surface.
It is also called straight beam technique. In this technique, mostly transducer is
in direct contact with specimen.
In this technique, determination of the location of a discontinuity in a part or st
ructure is done accurately measuring the time required for SHORT Ultrasonic
pulse generated from the or the surface of a discontinuity and be returned to
th e transducer.
 Angle Beam Testing
In angle beam testing, the sound beam is introduce
d into the test article at some angle other than 90.
In this technique, the refracted beam is used to ins
pect angle beam transducers and wedges are used
to introduce a refracted shear wave in to the test m
aterial.
An angles sound path allows the sound beam to co
me in from the side thereby improving
detectabilit y of deflects and flaws in and around
test specime n.
The choice between normal and angle beam inspe
ction usually depends on two considerations:
-The orientation of the feature of interest – the sou
nd should be directed to produce the largest
reflect ion from the feature.
-Obstructions on the surface of the part that must
be worked around.
Resonance testing