The anisotropy and inhomogeneity exhibited by austenitic steel in welds poses a challenge to nondestructive testing employing ultrasonic waves, which is predominantly utilized for the inspection of welds in power plants. In this study, we assess the reliability of phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) by analyzing the flaw detection sensitivity of ultrasonic beams in anisotropic welds, based on the inspection conditions. First, we simulated the sectorial scan technique, frequently employed for the inspection of actual welds, while taking into account the ultrasonic wave mode, frequency, and shape and position of a flaw. Subsequently, we analyzed the flaw sensitivity by comparing A-scan signals and S-scan results. The sensitivity analysis results confirmed the detection of all flaws by considering at least two inspection methods based on the shape and position of the flaw. Furthermore, we verified our model by performing an experiment under the same conditions as the simulation and found that the results were in agreement. Hence, we find that the simulation modeling technique proposed in this study can be utilized to develop suitable inspection conditions, according to the flaw characteristics or inspection environment.

Pipes of various shapes constitute pipelines utilized in industrial sites. These pipes are coupled through welding, wherein complex curvatures such as a flange, an elbow, a reducer, and a branch pipe are often found. Using phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) to inspect weld zones with complex curvatures is faced with different challenges due to parts that are difficult to contact with probes, small-diameter pipes, spatial limitations due to adjacent pipes, nozzles, and sloped shapes. In this study, we developed a flexible PAUT probe (FPAPr) and a semi-automatic scanner that was improved to enable stable FPAPr scanning for securing its inspection data consistency and reproducibility. A mock-up test specimen was created for a flange, an elbow, a reducer, and a branch pipe. Artificial flaws were inserted into the specimen through notch and hole processing, and simulations and verification experiments were performed to verify the performance and field applicability of the FPAPr and semi-automatic scanner.

In this study, a reliability evaluation of the phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) method was performed to examine the applicability of the method for tube weld specimens with flaws having the same specifications as the tubes in the boilers of thermal power plant facilities. To this end, test specimens were fabricated by inserting flaws into tube welds with identical materials and specifications to those used in the thermal power plant. PAUT data acquisition was obtained using a round robin test (RRT) on the fabricated specimen, and the data were compared with the results of radiographic testing (RT) for a comparative evaluation of the flaw detection performance. In addition, for quantitative reliability analysis, the flaw detection performance (probability of detection; POD) and the error in the sizing accuracy (root-mean-square error; RMSE) were calculated with different materials of the specimens (carbon steel, stainless steel, dissimilar metal) and flaw types (volumetric, planar). In the analysis results, for high-risk planar defects, the PAUT technique exhibited superior flaw detection performance to the RT technique. A POD analysis of the PAUT technique indicated that flaws of 6.9 mm length were detected at 80% probability for total tube specimens. Furthermore, a reliability analysis was performed for test specimens of different materials and flaw types, and the results were derived. Through the findings of this study, the applicable range of the PAUT technique was examined, and a technical basis for PAUT in lieu of RT was established.

This paper describes the acoustic nonlinearity parameter (β) determination for fluids using a pulse-echo method with the stress-free boundary. A newly derived β formula requires the measurement of the fundamental and second harmonic displacements with appropriate corrections for attenuation, diffraction, and boundary reflection. Measurements are composed of two steps: receiver calibration and harmonic generation. The β values calculated for water at several distances between the planar transducer and the water-air interface are in good agreement with literature, providing a validation for the method.

In nonlinearity parameter ( β ) measurements of solids, the pulse-echo method is more desirable than the through-transmission method. Dual element transducers consisting of an outer ring transmitter and an inner disk receiver have been found to be an efficient alternative to single element transducers because such configuration provides an improved second harmonic generation and dependence on the total correction in the pulse-echo mode. For accurate and reliable measurements of β for relatively thin samples, further improvement is needed by optimizing the transmitter and receiver size of dual element transducers for a given sample thickness and frequency. The optimized transducer should provide the largest possible second harmonic reception and a total correction value close to one. In this paper, optimization of the dual element transducer is performed for 1 cm thick Al specimen at 5 MHz fundamental frequency, and the results are presented for the received second harmonic amplitude and the total correction. The optimized dual element transducer is fabricated and experimentally characterized to be applied to determine the absolute β of Al specimens whose microstructure changes due to precipitation heat treatment. The experimental results validate the transducer optimized for pulse-echo β measurements on 1 cm specimens, and provide a quantitative correlation between the β and the microstructural change.

In nonlinear acoustic measurements involving reflection from the stress-free boundary, the pulse-echo method could not be used because such a boundary is known to destructively change the second harmonic generation (SHG) process. The use of a focusing acoustic beam, however, can improve SHG after reflection from the specimen boundary, and nonlinear pulse-echo methods can be implemented as a practical means of measuring the acoustic nonlinear parameter (β) of solid specimens. This paper investigates the optimal sensor design for pulse-echo SHG and β measurements using Fresnel zone plate (FZP) focused beams. The conceptual design of a sensor configuration uses separate transmission and reception, where a broadband receiver is located at the center and a four-element FZP transmitter is positioned outside the receiver to create a focused beam at the specified position in a solid sample. Comprehensive simulations are performed for focused beam fields analysis and to determine the optimal sensor design using various combinations of focal length, receiver size and frequency. It is shown that the optimally designed sensors for 1 cm thick aluminum can produce the second harmonic amplitude and the uncorrected nonlinear parameter corresponding to the through-transmission method. The sensitivity of the optimal sensors to the changes in the designed sound velocity is analyzed and compared between the odd- and even-type FZPs.