Weld inspection system with dual flaw detection
AssigneeUnited States Steel Corporation
InventorsEdwin Blair Henry, Jr., John A. Patsey, Ralph G. Rudolph, Donald G. Schindler
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Abstract
A weld inspection system uses fluoroscopic flaw detection particularly sensitive to volumetric type weld flaws and ultrasonic flaw detection particularly sensitive to planar type weld flaws. Both inspections are performed simultaneously throughout the pipe length. Each system marks the pipe with a distinguishing mark to identify the location of the flaw detected by that system. The fluoroscopic system is a high resolution system, the ultrasonic system avoids detection of minor non-rejectable variation in weld bead geometry and is calibrated to a desired sensitivity level.
Claims10
A method for inspecting the longitudinal weld in a pipe comprising the steps of
- traversing the weld along a path past a pair of adjacent flaw detection systems operating at the same time and located along a path parallel to the longitudinal axis of the pipe, the first system being a fluoroscopic system particularly sensitive to volumetric type flaws and the second system being an ultrasonic system particularly sensitive to planar type flaws,
- maintaining the position of the weld with respect to the path along which the systems are located,
- placing a mark on the pipe wall location wherever the first system detects a flaw,
- placing a mark on the pipe wall location wherever the second system detects a flaw, and
- recording the location, as a distance from the end of the length of pipe, of a flaw detected by the first system on one record and a flaw detected by the second system on a second record.
A weld inspection system using dual flaw detection comprising
- means for traversing the weld along a path for inspection,
- a source of radiation mounted at a first location along the path for directing the radiation through the weld as the weld moves along the path,
- means positioned at the first location for converting the radiation passed through the weld onto an image on a television monitor screen,
- an ultrasonic inspection head mounted at a second location along said path for directing ultrasonic energy into and receiving ultrasonic energy from the wall of the material adjacent the weld at one side of the weld, and
- an ultrasonic inspection unit connected to the ultrasonic inspection head and responsive to ultrasonic energy received from the ultrasonic inspection head for providing an indication of a flaw.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.