Engineering Services to Determine Acceptance Limits of Ultrasonic Transducers for Nondestructive Inspection.
Abstract
Electrical, ultrasonic, and flaw response performance were characterized for 23 ultrasonic transducers used by the Air Force to inspect aircraft components. Wide variation was noted in the response of these transducers to sample flaws, including a flat-bottom hole, an Elox notch, and two laboratory generated fatigue cracks. Seventeen parameters descriptive of the characteristics of these transducers were defined and correlations between these parameters and the flaw detection performance analyzed. Good correlation between loop sensitivity and ability to detect the sample flaws was shown for each transducer in the set. Other parameters of significance appear to be transducer center frequency, beamwidth spectrum inflection, and beam inflection. Definitions of these parameters are presented. A performance rating based on the significant parameters was developed, and, on the basis of this rating, only two of the 23 transducers were judged to be good and eleven fair. In the case of fatigue cracks the response of individual transducers ranged from signals several times the noise background permitting easy crack detection and a transducer rating of good to no signal which means the crack would not be detected and a transducer rating of poor.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1978
- Accession Number
- ADA056648
Entities
People
- Cecil M. Teller
- Robert K. Swanson
- V. Devon Smith
Organizations
- Southwest Research Institute