ME 367: NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

MODULE – IV:
Ultrasonic Testing

Syam Prasad G
Asst. Professor
Dept of Mechanical Engg
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SIMAT
 ULTRASONIC TESTING

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 Introduction
❖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 piece through the use of high
frequency sound waves.
❖It is a method to detect surface and internal discontinuities
such as voids, cracks, laps, seams, inclusions and lack of bond.
❖The frequencies, or pitch, used for ultrasonic testing are many
times higher than the limit of human hearing, most commonly
in the range from 500 KHz to 20 MHz.
❖It is applicable to most metallic and non – metallic materials.

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 Principle of Operation
 High frequency sound waves are introduced into a material.
 When there is a discontinuity in the wave path, a part of the energy is
reflected back from the surface of discontinuity.
 Reflected sound gives information on the material under test and
signals displayed on a CRT.

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 Contd…
 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 electrical pulses.
 Driven by the pulser, the transducer generates high frequency
ultrasonic energy.
 The sound energy is introduced and propagates through the
materials in 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 signal is transformed into an electrical
signal by the transducer and is displayed on a screen.
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 Contd…
 In the figure 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 travelled.
 From the signal, information about the reflector location, size,
orientation and other features can sometimes be gained.

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 Instruments used in Ultrasonic Testing
 Pulser/Receiver
 Ultrasonic Transducer
 Couplant
 Display Screen
 Receiver/Amplifier

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 Basic Principles of Ultrasonic Testing
Sound is transmitted in the material to be tested

The sound reflected back to the

probe is displayed on
the Flaw Detector

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 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

Signal from the backwall

9 Bottom / Backwall
10
 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

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 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
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 Thickness / depth measurement

The closer the reflector

C B A
to the surface, the
signal will be more to
the left 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
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 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 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 below.

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 Longitudinal Wave
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.

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 Contd…
 They are also sometimes called density waves because their
particle density fluctuates as they move.
 Each particle of the medium express SHM about its mean
position along the direction of propagation of waves.
 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.
 This type is most widely used in UT because of its easy
generation and reception.

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 Transverse Wave (shear wave)
In the transverse or shear wave, the particles oscillate at a right
angle or transverse to the direction of propagation.
The particles of the medium execute SHM about the mean
positions in a direction perpendicular to the direction of
propagation of the wave.

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  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.
 Shear waves require an acoustically solid material
for effective propagation, and therefore, are not
effectively propagated in materials such as liquids
or gasses.

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 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 wavelength. Surface wave can be used to detect
breaking cracks in a test specimen.

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 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
wavelength at the test frequency and where the test specimen is of
uniform thickness

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 Wave Types in Solids Particle Vibrations

Parallel to wave direction

Longitudinal
(compression)

Transverse (Shear) Perpendicular to wave direction

Surface - Rayleigh Elliptical orbit - symmetrical mode

Plate Wave - Lamb Component perpendicular to surface

(extensional wave)

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

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

Frequency: This is defined as the number of waves produced in

one second.
f = 1/T, where T represents the time required by a particle to
complete one vibration.
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 Contd…
 Velocity of Ultrasonic waves
 V = f𝝀, where f is the frequency and 𝝀 is the wavelength
 Penetration depth – it is the maximum depth in a
material, the flaws can be located by the ultrasonic
waves in testing.

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 Contd…
 Sensitivity and Resolution: Sensitivity and
resolution are two terms that are often used in
ultrasonic inspection to describe a technique's ability
to locate flaws.
 Sensitivity is the ability to locate small
discontinuities.
 Sensitivity generally increases with higher frequency (shorter
wavelengths).
 Resolution is the ability of the system to locate
discontinuities that are close together within the
material or located near the part surface.
 Resolution also generally increases as the frequency
increases.

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 Scattering
It is the reflection of the sound in directions other than its original
direction of propagation.
Scattering occurs when waves travel in an imperfect medium; they
get deflected from their straight path.

Absorption
Absorption is the conversion of the sound energy to other forms of
energy.
It is the process by which a material or object takes in sound
energy.
A part of the absorbed energy is transmitted as heat and a part is
transmitted through the absorbing body.

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 Attenuation
The combined effect of scattering and absorption is
called attenuation.
It refers to any reduction in strength of a signal or wave.
When sound wave travels through a medium, its intensity decreases
with distance.
Ultrasonic attenuation is the decay rate of the wave as it propagates
through material.
It is the measure of the energy loss of sound wave propagation in a
medium.

A = A0e-αz
Where, A0 = initial amplitude
α = attenuation coefficient
z = distance (m)

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 Contd…
Acoustic impedance:
It is the resistance to sound wave propagation.
For more dense material, the acoustic impedance is more.
Sound travels through materials under the influence of sound
pressure.
Because molecules or atoms of a solid are bound elastically to
one 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 density (ρ) and acoustic velocity (V).

Z=ρV

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  Reflection & Transmission Coefficient
 The difference in acoustic impedance (z) offers resistance
due to which ultrasonic waves are reflected at
boundaries.
 When the acoustic impedance on both sides of the
material are known, the reflection coefficient can be
calculated as:
 Reflection coefficient,
R = ((z2 – z1)/( z2 + z1))2
 Since the amount of reflected energy + the amount of
transmitted energy is equal to the total amount of incident
energy, the transmission coefficient is calculated as:
 Transmission coefficient ,
T = 1- R

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  Beam Divergence & Beam Spread
 It is the measure of the angle from one side of the sound
beam to the central axis of the beam in the far field.
 Beam divergence is the measure of the angle from one
side of the sound beam to the central axis of the beam.
 Beam spread is a measure of whole angle from side to
side of the main lobe of the sound beam in the far field.
 The beam spread is twice the Beam divergence

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 Mode Conversion in UT
When sound travels in a solid material, one form of wave energy
can be transformed into another form.

Mode conversion is the state of transfer of propagation of sound

from one form to other while passing through a material.

For example, when a longitudinal waves hits an interface at an

angle, some of the energy can cause particle movement in the
transverse direction to start a shear (transverse) wave.

Mode conversion occurs when a wave encounters an interface

between materials of different acoustic impedances and the
incident angle is not normal to the interface.
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 Contd…
 It was pointed out that when sound waves pass through an
interface between materials having different acoustic velocities,
refraction takes place at the interface.
 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 is because shear waves travel slower than longitudinal
waves.
 Therefore, the velocity difference between the incident
longitudinal wave and the shear wave is not as great as it is
between the incident and refracted longitudinal waves.

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 When a longitudinal wave is reflected inside the material, the reflected 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 longitudinal
velocity within a given material.
Law of mode conversion of longitudinal wave & shear wave
Snell's Law holds true for shear waves as well as longitudinal waves and can
be 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.

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 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 classifications.
–Pulse-echo and Through Transmission (Relates to
whether reflected or transmitted energy is used)
–Normal Beam and Angle Beam (Relates to the angle that
the sound energy enters the test article)
–Contact and Immersion (Relates to the method of
coupling the transducer to the test article)

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 Transmission Through Method
In this method, the defect can be identified on quantifying the
received sound waves.

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 Test Procedure:
Two transducers located on opposing sides of the test
specimen are used.
One transducer acts as a transmitter, the other as a
receiver.
Discontinuities in the sound path will result in a partial
or total loss of sound being transmitted and be indicated
by a decrease in the received signal amplitude.
Through transmission is useful in detecting
discontinuities that are not good reflectors, and when
signal strength is weak.
It does not provide depth information.

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The result can be seen through CRT screen display

Digital display showing

received sound through
material thickness.

Digital display showing

loss of received signal
due to presence of a
discontinuity in the
sound field.

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 Through Transmission Technique
Tx Rx
Transmitting and
receiving probes on
opposite sides of the
specimen

Presence of defect
indicated by
reduction in
transmission signal

No indication of
defect location

Fail safe method

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 Through Transmission Technique
Advantages Disadvantages
 Less attenuation  Defect not located
 No probe ringing  Defect can’t be identified
 No dead zone  Vertical defects don’t show
 Orientation does not matter  Must be automated
 Need access to both
surfaces

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 Transmission with Reflection
T R

Also known as:

Tandem Technique or
Pitch and Catch Technique

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 Pulse-Echo Testing Methods
Test Procedure:
In pulse-echo testing, a transducer sends out a pulse of energy
and the same or a second transducer listens for reflected energy
(an echo).
Reflections occur due to the presence of discontinuities and the
surfaces of the test article.
The amount of reflected sound energy is displayed versus time,
which provides the inspector information about the size and the
location of features that reflect the sound.

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41
 The pulse-echo technique allows testing when access to only one
side of the material is possible, and it allows the location of
reflectors to be precisely determined.

Digital display
showing signal
generated from sound
reflecting off back
surface.

Digital display showing

the presence of a
reflector midway through
material, with lower
amplitude back surface
reflector.

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 Contact Testing Technique
Contact testing are used for direct contact inspections, and are
manipulated manually. As the name suggests , this transducer has
direct contact with this specimen.
They have elements protected in a rugged casing to withstand
sliding contact with a variety of materials
These transducers are designed in such a manner so that it is
easy to grip and move along a surface.
They often have replaceable wear plates to increase their useful
life.
To get useful levels of sound energy into a material, the air
between the transducer and the test article must be removed. This
is referred to as coupling.
In contact testing, a couplant such as water, oil or a gel is
applied between the transducer and the part.

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 Immersion Testing Technique
In immersion testing, the part
and the transducer are placed in
a water bath.
Both the probe and the test
specimen are immersed in
water.
This arrangement allows
better movement of the
transducer while maintaining
consistent coupling.
Immersion technique is
typically used inside a water
tank

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 Contd…
 Immersion techniques are mainly for laboratory and for
large installations carrying out automatic ultrasonic testing
of large number of components.
 The ultrasonic beam is directed through the water into the
test specimen either as a normal beam or as an angle beam.
 With immersion testing, an echo from the front surface of
the part is seen in the signal but otherwise signal
interpretation is the same for the two techniques.
 Advantages of immersion testing:
i. Uniform couplant conditions are obtained
ii. Longitudinal and transverse waves can be generated with
the same probe simply by changing the inclination of the
probe

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Immersion Testing
 Component is placed in a
water filled tank
 Item is scanned with a
probe at a fixed distance
above the surface
 Immersion Testing

Water
path
distance

Front surface Back surface

Defect

Water path distance

 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.

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 Contd…
 Location of a discontinuity in a part or structure is determined
by accurately measuring the time required for short Ultrasonic
pulse generated by a transducer:
 To travel through a material,
 Reflect from the back or the surface of a discontinuity and
 Be returned to the transducer.
 Distance from the surface to the discontinuity in the test piece
is expressed as:
 d= V*t/2
 Where V is the velocity of sound waves in the material
 t is the measured round-trip travel time

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 Angle Beam Testing
In angle beam testing, the sound beam is introduced into the test article at
some angle other than 90.
In this technique, the refracted beam is used to inspect; angle beam
transducers and wedges are used to introduce a refracted shear wave in to
the test material.
An angled sound path allows the sound beam to come in from the side
thereby improving detectability of defects and flaws in and around test
specimen.

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 •The choice between normal and angle beam inspection usually
depends on two considerations:
•The orientation of the feature of interest – the sound should be
directed to produce the largest reflection from the feature.
•Obstructions on the surface of the part that must be worked
around.

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52
 Dual – Crystal Testing Technique

•These transducers are used for special applications such as

inspection of course grained materials due to their good
sending and receiving capabilities.
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  It is a crystal based one consisting of two independently
operated elements in a single housing.
 One of the two elements transmits while the other receives
the ultrasonic signal.
 The two elements are angled towards each other to create a
crossed – beam sound path in the test material.
 These transducers are well suited for making measurements
in applications when reflectors are very near the transducer.
 Dual element transducer is very useful when making
thickness measurements of thin materials and when
inspecting for near surface defects.

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 Resonance Testing Technique

Principle: This technique is based in the fact that “ a good bell /

wine glass will ring with a good note, while a cracked bell / wire
glass will ring with a cracked note or will clunk instead of ringing”.
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  It is a fast inspection technique which differs from other
ultrasonic techniques.
 It is basically used to determine the thickness of test
specimen.
 This technique involves varying the frequency of ultrasonic
waves to get a maximum amplitude in the body for the
purpose of determining the thickness and velocity resonance
of laminar discontinuities.
 By hitting a material and measuring its response, we can
find the discontinuity and also the thickness of the material.

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 Instruments used in Ultrasonic Testing
 Pulser/Receiver
 Ultrasonic Transducer
 Couplant
 Display Screen
 Receiver/Amplifier

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 Ultrasonic Transducers
 They are used to transfer the electrical energy to ultrasonic
waves and vice – versa.
 In UT, transducer is a major component to transfer and
receive pulses.
 The subsequent echoes generate a voltage in the transducer,
which is sent back to the pulser/receiver.
 They are also called as probes or search units or test heads.

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 Types of Transducers

1. Piezo - electric transducers.

2. Polyvinylidine Flouride Transducers

3. Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers (EMAT)

(Non – contact)

4. Laser Generated Ultrasound

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 Piezo-electric Transducer
 This transducer consists of materials which generate electric
charges when mechanically stressed.
 We know that a piezo-electric crystal generates electricity
when it is vibrated mechanically.
 Thus piezo-electric material is mounted at the front end of
transducer.
 When electric pulse is applied to piezo electric crystal, it
produces high frequency ultrasonic waves due to its
vibrations.
 This ultrasonic waves are propagated through the test
material to carry out inspection.

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 Contd…

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 Contd…
 Advantages
 Compact
 Simple in construction
 Offers high output
 Has high frequency

 Disadvantages
 Difficult to get required shape of piezoelectric element.
 Additional circuits are needed to reduce acoustic
impedance.

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 Polyvinylidene Fluoride Transducers
 Polymer based piezo-electric transducers are available
in Non – destructive testing using ultrasonics.
 Polymer materials like PVDF exhibit piezo-electric
activity.
 Relatively high activity is found to exist in polarized
polyvinylidene fluoride.

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 Contd…

 Advantages
 High frequency range
 Easily shaped to focus the beam
 Transfers energy efficiently

 Disadvantages
 Not applicable in contact application
 Requires additional circuits for high power

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 Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers
(EMAT)
 It is also a method of generating and receiving
ultrasonic energy.
 This transducer is made up of coils, which are placed
close to the test piece.
 So it is basically non-contact type.
 It actually produces a magnetic field that interacts with
the metal, producing a deformation in the surface of the
material which in turn produces ultrasonic energy.

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 Contd…

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 Contd…
 Advantages
 No need of couplant
 Can be used to inspect high temperature component
 Beam can be well focused

 Disadvantages
 Low efficiency
 Large in size

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 Laser Generated Ultrasound
 This method uses laser to produce waves also for
inspection purpose.
 There are two separate laser, one is to heat the surface and
produce the wave and a second is to detect the defects from
reflected wave.
 Due to this surface heating, acoustic propagation is
accomplished.
 This heating causes thermal expansion on the surface,
which results in the formation of a wave that travels
through the material.

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 Contd..
 Advantages
 No need of couplant
 Acoustic impedance is reduced easily

 Disadvantage
 Relatively high cost

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 Modes of Display
 Communicating the flaw size and shape to others is a
very crucial part of the NDT process.
 Decisions on removal of the part, repair or continued
service need full information on the flaw
characteristics.
 In UT, the ultrasonic signals are transferred to the
CRT screen to obtain the image of the defects.
 The presentation of defects in the CRT screen are of
different types
 A – Scan
 B – Scan
 C – Scan
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 A – Scan

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 B - Scan

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 C - Scan

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 Reference blocks with artificially created defects

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  Specified by ASTM, IIW, AWS etc.
 Material: Al, Steel, titanium etc.
 Artificial defects such as flat bottom holes, side derived
holes, notches, step wedges are usually provided in blocks.
 A search unit is positioned in the surface of a block to
obtain on a display of the instrument a max of an echo
reflected from an artificial defect.
 Sensitivity is calibrated by adjusting the gain, so that the
echo yields a desired amplitude.

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 Time of Flight Diffraction (TOFD)

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