Ultrasonic NDT inspection system
AssigneeIndepth Inspection Technologies Inc.
InventorsKevin Vincent Ross, Arjun Prakash Thattaliyath Kadumberi, Andrew Lindsay Burns
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method and system for the ultrasonic non-destructive testing of joints in plastic pipes using A-scans. A hand-held ultrasonic transducer is used to perform an A-scan and a comparison made on a response from the interface region of the joint used to determine a quality of the joint. Levels of result can provide a binary output to give an indication of whether or not a defect is present in the joint. Comparison techniques are described. Tests for coupling efficiency and performance are described making the system useable by an unskilled technician. The system finds application in fault detection on electro-fusion welds in plastic pipe joints.
Claims18
A method of non-destructive testing of a joint in plastic pipes, comprising:
- locating a hand-held ultrasonic transducer at a first point on an outer surface of the joint and performing an A-scan through the joint between the outer surface of the joint and a back surface of the joint at the first point;
- detecting a trace of the A-scan and identifying an interface response representing one or more reflections of a sound signal from one or more surfaces in a region between the outer surface of the coupling sleeve and the back surface;
- identifying a back surface response in the A-scan representing one or more reflections of the sound signal from the back surface;
- comparing a first peak amplitude of the interface response with a second peak amplitude of the back surface response to provide a result;
- and
- outputting the result, the result being indicative of a quality of the joint.
An ultrasonic non-destructive testing system for a joint in plastic pipes, the system comprising:
- a hand-held ultrasonic transducer, the transducer being located at a first point on an outer surface of the joint and operable to perform an A-scan of the joint between the outer surface and a back surface of the joint at the first point;
- and
- an operating unit, the operating unit including:
- a user interface with one or more inputs for a user to control the system and one or more outputs to display a result of the system;
- and
- an analysis module for receiving the A-scan, detecting the presence of an interface response representing one or more reflections of the sound signal from an interface in a region of the joint between the outer surface and the back surface, detecting the presence of a back surface response representing one or more reflections of the sound signal from the back surface, performing a comparison of a first peak amplitude of the interface response to a second peak amplitude of the back surface signal, and determining the result based on the comparison, wherein the result is outputted by the one or more outputs from the user interface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.