Ultrasonic Testing

Day 1

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 TWI
Training & Certification

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 Course Layout
• Duration : 9.5 Days (Mon – Fri)
• Start : 8:30 am
• Coffee Break : 10:00 – 10:30 am
• Lunch : 12:30 – 1:30 pm
• Tea Break : 3:00 – 3:30 pm
• Day End : 5:00 pm
• Course Objective: To train and prepare
participants to obtain required skill and
knowledge in Ultrasonic Testing and to meet the
examination schemes requirements.

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 NDT
Most common NDT methods:
Penetrant Testing (PT)
Mainly used for
Magnetic Particle Testing (MT) surface testing
Eddy Current Testing (ET)

Radiographic Testing (RT)

Mainly used for
Ultrasonic Testing (UT) Internal Testing

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 NDT
• Which method is the best ?
Depends on many factors and conditions

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 Basic Principles of Ultrasonic
Testing
• To understand and
appreciate the
capability and
limitation of UT

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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

Bottom / Backwall
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 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
to the surface, the signal
will be more to the left of
C B A
the screen

30 46 68
The thickness is read from the screen

The THINNER the material

C the less distance the sound
travel
B

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Ultrasonic Testing

Principles of Sound
 Sound
• Velocity :
How quick the sound travels
Distance per unit time
– Measured in meter / second (m / sec)
• Frequency :
The number of cycles per unit time
– Measured in Hertz (Hz) or Cycles per second (cps)
• Wavelength :
The distance required to complete a cycle
– Measured in Meter or mm

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 Properties of a sound wave
• Sound cannot travel
in vacuum
• Sound energy to be
transmitted /
transferred from one
particle to another

SOLID LIQUID GAS

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 Velocity
• The velocity of sound in a particular material is CONSTANT
• It is the product of DENSITY and ELASTICITY of the
material
• It will NOT change if frequency changes
• Only the wavelength changes
• Examples:
V Compression in steel : 5960 m/s
V Compression in water : 1470 m/s
V Compression in air : 330 m/s

5 M Hz

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STEEL WATER AIR
 Velocity
What is the velocity difference in steel compared with in
water?
4 times

If the frequency remain constant, in what material does

sound has the highest velocity, steel, water, or air?
Steel
If the frequency remain constant, in what material does
sound has the shortest wavelength, steel, water, or air?
Air
Remember the formula
=v/f
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 ULTRASONIC TESTING
Very High Frequency
5 M Hz

Glass
High Frequency
5 K Hz

DRUM BEAT
Low Frequency Sound
40 Hz

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 Ultrasonic
• Sound : mechanical vibration

What is Ultrasonic?
Very High Frequency sound – above 20 KHz
20,000 cps

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 Acoustic Spectrum
Sonic / Audible
Ultrasonic
Human
> 20kHz = 20,000Hz
16Hz - 20kHz

0 10 100 1K 10K 100K 1M 10M 100m

Ultrasonic Testing
0.5MHz - 50MHz
Ultrasonic : Sound with frequency above 20 KHz
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 Frequency
• Frequency : Number of cycles per
second

1 second 1 second 1 second

1 cycle per 1 second = 3 cycle per 1 second = 18 cycle per 1 second

1 Hertz 3 Hertz = 18 Hertz

THE HIGHER THE FREQUENCY THE SMALLER THE

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 Frequency
• 1 Hz = 1 cycle per second
• 1 Kilohertz = 1 KHz = 1000Hz
• 1 Megahertz = 1 MHz = 1000 000Hz

20 KHz = 20 000 Hz
5 M Hz = 5 000 000 Hz

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 Wavelength
Wavelength is the distance required to complete a cycle.
Sound waves are the vibration of particles in solids, liquids or
gases.
Particles vibrate about a mean position.
wavelength
Displacement

 The distance
taken to
wavelength complete one
cycle

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 Wavelength Velocity

V

f

Frequency

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 Frequency & Wavelength

1 M Hz 5 M Hz 10 M Hz 25 M Hz

LONGEST SMALLEST
=v/f

F  F 
Which probe has the smallest wavelength?

Which probe has the longest wavelength?

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 Wavelength is a function of frequency and velocity
Therefore:

 V or f V or V f 
f 
5MHz compression
wave probe in steel

5,900,000
  1.18mm
5,000,000
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 • Which of the following compressional
probe has the highest sensitivity?
• 1 MHz
• 2 MHz
• 5 MHz
• 10 MHz

10 MHz

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 Wavelength and frequency
• The higher the frequency the smaller the
wavelength
• The smaller the wavelength the higher the
sensitivity
• Sensitivity : The smallest detectable
flaw by the system or
technique
• In UT the smallest detectable flaw is ½ 
(half the wavelength)
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 The Sound Beam
• Dead Zone
• Near Zone or Fresnel Zone
• Far Zone or Fraunhofer Zone

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 The Sound Beam

NZ FZ Main
Beam

Intensity
varies

Exponential Decay

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 The side lobes has multi
minute main beams
Two identical defects may
give different amplitudes of
signals

Near
Side Lobes
Zone
The main beam or the centre
beam has the highest
intensity of sound energy

Main Lobe Any reflector hit by the main

beam will reflect the high
amount of energy
Main Beam

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 Sound Beam
Near Zone Far Zone
• Thickness • Thickness
measurement measurement
• Detection of defects • Defect detection
• Sizing of large • Sizing of all defects
defects only

Near zone length as small as possible

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 Near Zone

2
D
Near Zone 
4
V

f
2
D f
Near Zone 
4V
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 Near Zone
• What is the near zone length of a 5MHz
compression probe with a crystal diameter
of 10mm in steel?
2
D f
Near Zone 
4V
10  5,000,000
2

4  5,920,000
 21.1mm
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 Near Zone
2 2
D D f
Near Zone  
4 4V
• The bigger the diameter the bigger the
near zone
• The higher the frequency the bigger the
near zone
• The lower the velocity the bigger the near
zone
Should large diameter crystal probes have a high
or low frequency?
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 Which of the following probes has the longest Near Zone ?

1 M Hz
5 M Hz
1 M Hz 5 M Hz

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 Near Zone
2 2
D D f
Near Zone  
4 4V
• The bigger the diameter the bigger the
near zone
• The higher the frequency the bigger the
near zone
• The lower the velocity the bigger the near
zone
Should large diameter crystal probes have a high
or low frequency?
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 Far Zone
• In the far zone sound pulses spread out
as they move away from the crystal

/2


 K KV
Sine  or
2 D Df
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 Beam Spread
 K KV
Sine  or
2 D Df
Edge,K=1.22
20dB,K=1.08
6dB,K=0.56
Beam axis
or Main Beam

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 Beam Spread
 K KV
Sine  or
2 D Df
• The bigger the diameter the smaller the
beam spread
• The higher the frequency the smaller
the beam spread

Which has the larger beam spread, a compression

or a shear wave probe?
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 Beam Spread
• What is the beam spread of a 10mm,5MHz
compression wave probe in steel?

KV
Sine 
2 Df
1.08  5920

5000 10
 0.1278  7.35 o

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Which of the following probes has the Largest Beam Spread ?

1 M Hz
5 M Hz
1 M Hz 5 M Hz

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 Beam Spread
 K KV
Sine  or
2 D Df
• The bigger the diameter the smaller the
beam spread
• The higher the frequency the smaller
the beam spread

Which has the larger beam spread, a compression

or a shear wave probe?
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 Testing close to side walls

When using narrow calibration blocks, the

beam is constantly spreading out similar to
the light from a torch, this spreading of the
beam may cause spurious echo’s off the
block

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 Ultrasonic Pulse
• A short pulse of electricity is applied to a
piezo-electric crystal
• The crystal begins to vibration increases
to maximum amplitude and then decays
Maximum

10% of
Maximum

Pulse length
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 Pulse Length
• The longer the pulse, the more
penetrating the sound
• The shorter the pulse the better the
sensitivity and resolution

Short pulse, 1 or 2 cycles Long pulse 12 cycles

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 Ideal Pulse Length

5 cycles for weld testing

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