New Generation of Air-Coupled Ultrasonic Testing
Transcript of New Generation of Air-Coupled Ultrasonic Testing
New Generation of Air-Coupled Ultrasonic Testing
Ultrasonic Testing - Made in Germany
World’s 1st Non-Contact Phased-Array Inspection System
SONOTEC US Inc. in New York, USA SONOTEC GmbH in Halle (Saale), Germany
Headquarters, R&D and Production
Ultrasonic Testing - Made in Germany
Sales and Stock Office for Americas
Company – Location
Ultrasonic Testing - Made in Germany
Worldwide sales and support
More than 50 distribution partners
Standard products and customized solutions
Founded in 1991
Strong technology leadership philosophy
>200 employees (>30 R&D engineers)
All products 100% made in Germany
In-house piezo-composite production
>30,000 transducers manufactured annually
Company – Info
Ultrasonic Testing - Made in Germany
Company – Business Units
Preventive Maintenance
Noninvasive Fluid Monitoring
Nondestructive Testing
Ultrasonic Testing - Made in Germany
Air-coupled UT in the Past
First systems in the 1970s
Niche application in aerospace industry
Change towards lightweight material makes technology more interesting
Until today: Many times no testing at all (e.g. wind power, automotive)
Challenges of Air-coupled UT
Test Object
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Large acoustic impedance difference between Air and Solid Test Objects
>99% of the ultrasonic signal are reflected on the material surface
Less than 1% of the transmitted signal are received
Impedance Air = Zair = 400 Rayl
Impedance Plastic = Zplastic = 3 MRayl
Reflection + Transmission = 1
T = 1 - R
Tair to plastic = 0,03%
Couplant such as water, oil, etc.
Need for large gantry systems and water tanks
Corrosion or maceration
Complicated discharging process of water
Expensive and time consuming drying processes
Challenges of Conventional UT
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Conventional vs. Air-coupled UT
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Conventional UT SONOAIR
Frequency Range 0.5 MHz … 25 MHz 50 kHz … 1 MHz
Pulser Energy < 0.5 kW 2 kW
Noise < 80 nV/ √Hz 1 nV / √Hz
Modes T-T, Pitch-Catch, P-E T-T, Pitch Catch
Air adapted and highly sensitive probes
High power and high energy sending electronics
Very sensitive and low noise receiving electronics
Flexible evaluation algorithms
Requirements for Air-coupled UT
Test Object
Receiver Amplifier and
Scanner
Sound Intensity
Sender
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SONOAIR – Probes
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50 … 500 kHz
In-house made piezo-composite elements
Less lateral sound losses = higher sensitivity
Improved matching layer for air
SONOAIR – Probes
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CF 400 3E
First air-coupled phased array probe
Electronic depth focusing
Closer near field = smaller offset to test part
Less sound losses = higher sensitivity and resolution
Unfocused vs. Focused Sound Field
Grey: 200 kHz Unfocused Probe
Red: 400 kHz Unfocused Probe
Blue: 400 kHz Focused Probe
SONOAIR – Electronics
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Single or multi-channel systems available
Up to 800 V sender voltage
Continuous wave operation possible
2 kW pulser power (burst or single pulse)
Low noise amplification (1 nV/√Hz) with up to 120dB
GaGe 16 bit A/D converter (or custom)
100 MS/s data acquisition rate
SONOAIR – Software
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A-, B-, C- and D-Scan signal evaluation
Data post processing (Filters, FFT, etc.)
Automatic defect recognition and threshold levels
Access to all data and levels
Export interface (MatLab, LabView, etc.)
Software development kit available
SONOAIR – Scanning Mechanics
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Custom scanners according to requirements
Standard scanners for R&D/lab applications
Robot arms for complex geometries
Integration in gantry systems possible
Traditional: Through-transmission
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Applications
New: Single-sided Pitch-catch
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Standard Reference Block in Aerospace
Steps: 10, 8.8, 6.6, 4.4, 2.2 mm
300 kHz probe frequency
Top View
Applications – CFRP Aerospace Step Block
Side View
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60 mm complex geometry NOMEX structure
Standard reference from aerospace customer
200 kHz probe frequency
Applications – NOMEX Honeycomb 1
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14 mm NOMEX core
1 mm CFRP top and bottom layer
Impact damages
200 vs. 300 vs. 400 kHz focused
200kHz C-Scan 300kHz C-Scan
400kHz electronically focused phased-array C-Scan
Applications – CFRP Laminated NOMEX Honeycomb
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Heavy delaminations
Applications – GFRP Wind Turbine Rotor Blade
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Top and bottom: 1 mm aluminum
Core: 20 mm aluminum
Clear detection of reference defects
Visibility of cooling channels
Applications – Full Aluminum Honeycomb
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Applications – High Performance Ceramics/ Refractories
Metal production industry (steel plants, etc.)
Aerospace industry (shuttle protection, etc.)
Up to 800 mm thickness
Fresh or or burnt material
Pressing defects/ delaminations
Detection of inhomogeneities
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Applications – Welded and Glued Metal Plates
Common in automotive industry
Few mm steel or aluminum plates
Different color codes (standard or traffic light)
Glue level dependend intensity differences
Spot weld inspection (high intensity = good weld)
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Applications – Automotive Brake Pads
High safety critical parts
Cast iron and ceramic bond
60 mm thickness
Strong signal = good bonding No or weak signal = disbonding
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Applications – Plastic Multiwall Plates
Missing connection
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Applications – Laser Welded Aluminum Plates
Weld inspection of plates with different thicknesses
Common in the automotive industry
Single-sided testing on welding robot simultaneously to production possible
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Summary – Advantages of the SONOAIR System
No liquid couplant needed
First air-coupled phased-array system in the world
Multi-channel capability for fast scanning or electronic focusing
Modular system with custom hardware and software
Intelligent data post processing for clear results
Signal intensity and time of flight evaluation
Up to 800 V pulser voltage
2 kW high power pulser
Up to 120 dB gain
Fast data acquisition up to 100 MS/s
Digitizer Resolution 16 bit
Low noise amplification 1 nV/√Hz
Highly sensitive piezo composite probes
Extensive training and support
Quality made in Germany
Interested in Air-coupled UT Training?
In Cooperation with the Ultrasonic Research Center Halle and TB3 NDT
Ultrasonic Testing - Made in Germany
Thank you
for your
Attention.
Have an
Ultrasonic
Day!
Ultrasonic Testing - Made in Germany