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HANDBOOK ON THE
ΐΙΜ!ΐ*ΜΜ«;«ιΜΚ7Μ·]
OF AUSTENITIC CLAD
STEEL COMPONENTS
Ί JOINT
; RESEARCH
!^J CENTRE
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
EUR 15786 EN
THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF WELDING £ΐ.Αη J"J °>0
HANDBOOK ON THE
ULTRASONIC EXAMINATION
OF AUSTENITIC CLAD
STEEL COMPONENTS
Author
RJ. Hudgell
Compiled by
COMMISSION V
Quality Control and Quality Assurance of Welded Products
IIS/IIW 1080-90 (ex. doc. V-939-90)
Published by
European Commission, Joint Research Centre
Institute of Advanced Materials
• •
JOINT
•
• •
• RESEARCH
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CENTRE
EUROPEAN COMMISSION
LEGAL NOTICE
Printed in Italy
CONTENTS
APPENDICES 45
A1 Standards and Specifications 47
A2 Effect of Cladding Macrostructure on Ultrasound 48
A3 Reflection and Refraction 54
A4 Angled EMUS-SH-wave Probes 60
List of working group members
The task of researching the material and preparing the first drafts was started
under the chairmanship of Xaver Edelmann while he was working for Sulzer-
Innotec Winterthur. The task of completing the handbook was undertaken by the
following members:
Borloo Elie
& Crutzen Serge JRC-IAM Ispra CEC
Champigny François EdF-GDL Paris France
Gribi Markus Sulzer-lnnotec Winterthur Switzerland
Hanstock David
& Booler Russell Nuclear Electric Manchester England
Heinrich Detlev MAN-Energie Nürnberg Germany
Hennaut Gerard AIB-Vinçotte Brussels Belgium
Hübschen Gerhard IzfP Saarbrücken Germany
Hudgell Robert (Chairman) AEA Technology Risley England
Jeppesen Leif FORCE Institutes Copenhagen Denmark
van Leeuwen Wim* RTD Rotterdam Holland
Moser Erwin Voest-Alpine-Stahl Linz Austria
Neumann Eberhard BAM Berlin Germany
Pers-Anderson Eva-Britt ABB-TRC Täby Sweden
Shepherd Barrie Babcock Energy Ltd Renfrew Scotland
Editing work was provided in the framework of the PISC-lll Programme Action 8
"Support to Code and Standard Organisations" sponsored by CEC, jRC and OECD,
NEA. (PISC = Programme for the Inspection of Steel Components)
The working group wishes to acknowledge valuable contributions by other
members of the companies mentioned.
The Handbook represents the agreed view of the working group experts but has
not necessarily been endorsed by the individual organisations represented.
For further background information on the subject of this handbook readers are
referred to the existing IIW publications listed below:
• List of terms in ultrasonic testing, IIW 1967.
• Handbook on the ultrasonic examination of welds IIW 1977.
• Handbook on the ultrasonic examination of austenitic welds IIW 1 986.
FOREWORD
General remarks
Austenitic cladding is commonly applied to ferritic • 0° shear wave beams have been observed when
base materials for corrosion protection. The fitness the ultrasonic beam is penetrating the cladding.
for service of the component depends on the qual These spurious beams usually give rise to
ity, integrity, and thickness of the cladding. The backwall signals which are easily indentified.
cladding structure strongly influences ultrasonic • A rough cladding surface can cause loss of
examination of the cladding itself as well as the coupling efficiency, noise, and supplementary
examination of the underlying base material and distortions of the ultrasonic beam. This can have
welds. Special procedures, therefore, are required to a severe effect on an inspection and it is usually
ensure effective examination of and through clad necessary to improve the surface.
material. • A high level of ultrasonic noise can be detected
The problems of ultrasonic examination of clad from austenitic cladding. Some types of cladding
materials are illustrated by the following effects: are more noisy than others (when examination is
performed, from the unclad side, the noise from
• An increase in sensitivity is required to achieve
fusion welded cladding is approximately
the same sensitivity as for unclad material due to
equivalent to the signal from a 3 mm 0 flat
attenuation in the cladding (the mean attenuation
bottomed hole).
in cladding increases with test frequency). Some
types of cladding have a higher attenuation than This handbook describes the problem and gives re
others, e.g. manual metal arc cladding is commendations for examining austenitic clad materi
generally more attenuative than strip cladding or als. Common cladding processes, possible irregular
rolled cladding. ities and defects and propagation of ultrasound are
• Large variations have been observed in the discussed. Simplified descriptions of wave propaga
amplitude of shear wave beams transmitted tion are included as a bridge between theory and
through cladding (generally the amplitude practical examination procedures.
variations increase with beam angle and test The information in this handbook can be used to
frequency). Amplitude variations are large at the develop examination procedures. Examination
juncture between two cladding strips. extent and defect acceptance criteria are not
• Small flaws below the cladding may be difficult to addressed. The handbook is intended for ultrasonic
detect and accurately locate using shear wave examination practitioners, procedure developers,
probes. and personnel interpreting examination results.
CLADDING PROCEDURES AND RESULTING
METALLURGICAL STRUCTURES
illiliillippiMll
ll
cladding is also used to make the cladding continu
ous where there is a change in section, such as
between a vessel shell and a nozzle.
[ 1|2 113 Wk
The grain structure of all fusion welded austenitic Transverse section, grain etch
cladding is coarse and anisotropic. The anisotropy is
Weld direction
due to the austenitic weld metal solidifying with the
<100> crystallographic axis along the direction of
the maximum thermal gradient, which is approxi
mately perpendicular to the surface (with a slight tilt
towards the welding direction). Therefore columnar
grains grow in this direction as can be clearly seen
in Figs. 2.1 and 2.2. Since no phase transition
occurs in austenitic weld metal upon cooling there
is no grain refinement as in ferritic weld metal and rrpm ΗΠ,Μ .
large grains result. I U J
Longitudinal section
Usually more than one cladding layer is deposited
and the columnar grains grow epitaxially through
Fig. 2.2: Macrographs showing transverse and longitudinal
both layers as can be seen in Figs. 2.1 and 2.2. sections of manual metal arc cladding
8
Weld step direction (defined In Fig. 2.4)
Strip D >~
Strip C ■
Welding direction
Top __
surface1
< M^åb Cladding
Clad/ »
base Ferritic
interface base
material
Strip overlap
Fig. 2.3: Macrographs showing transverse and longitudinal sections of strip cladding
In the following subsections the most important generally lower than for M M A cladding. The grain
cladding types are described. In particular attention structure is columnar, see Fig. 2.3.
is paid to: The dimensions of the grains in strip cladding are
similar to those for M M A cladding and they may
grain structure;
also be tilted slightly in the direction of welding,
surface condition; depending on the welding speed.
condition of interface between cladding and base
At the overlap of two strips there is a variable grain
metal.
tilt in the transverse direction (see Figs. 2.3 and 2.4).
2.2.1 Manual Metal Arc Cladding Both the surface and the interface of strip cladding
are flatter than that of M M A cladding. Dips or cusps
The columnar structure of Manual Metal Arc (MMA) with a width of approx. 10 mm and a maximum
cladding is rather variable. In general there is a peri depth of about 0.5 mm occur at strip overlaps and
odicity determined by the width of each weld bead. also at other random locations. Surface dips and
Grain tilt in the direction of the welding sequence interface cusps may be asymmetric (see Fig. 2.5).
occurs, but it is not very regular.
gas jet is formed between the two parts which clears risk of indicated defects
If)
Types of packages
Type A Type Β
"Sandwich" "One side"
base material
clad material welding
clad material
welding
frame
-separating
agent
clad material
base material
The contacting surfaces must be free of dust and 2.3 Surface Finish and Repairs
oxide.
• The Lukens process where galvanized nickel is It is often necessary to grind clad surfaces smooth to
enable ultrasonic inspection to be performed. This is
deposited on the cladding surface prior to making
particularly important for M M A cladding.
the sandwich.
Traditionally the grinding is performed manually,
The welded sandwich is then heated (Temperat leaving a smooth but wavy surface, but the use of
ure: 1080 to 1200 °C) and rolled to the required automatic grinding methods is increasing.
thickness. Grinding is often used to remove a defect in the
cladding, or in the base metal. For shallow excava
The production process follows the schematic dia tions the cladding may be ground smooth leaving a
grams in Fig. 2.9. It is essential to heat treat the clad dip in the surface. If deeper excavations are neces
plate after roll bonding to achieve the following sary the cladding is usually repaired by welding.
conditions: When the same weld metal as that used for cladding
is also used for repairs it is referred to as a homoge
• the desired mechanical properties of the base
nous repair. When a dissimilar weld metal is used
material
for repair it is referred to as a heterogenous repair.
• to improve the corrosion resistance of the
cladding metal Generally weld repairs are performed manually and
result in a disturbance to the grain structure of the
• stress relief.
cladding. Inconel weld metal is often used to per
The advantages of roll bonded clad plates for form heterogenous repairs of for example reheat
inspection purposes is that both the base metal and cracking, since it remains fully austenitic even after
the cladding have a fine grain structure, 16 to 32 dilution with the base metal. Fig. 2.10 shows a mac
rograph of a real repair.
pm (ASTM 7-9) and this enables high frequency
shear waves to be used for the inspection of both
materials. However precautions regarding refraction
at the clad/base metal interface may be necessary.
11
package
fabrication
Type A Type Β
package
welding
rolling of the
cladding package
controlled rolled
I2
Table 1: Manufacturing defects associated with cladding
FUSION WELDING
Lack of bond/fusion - Inadequate heat input to melt parent plate, or a layer of cladding. Clad-base metal interface,
Possibly also contamination by scale or rust preventing fusion. or between cladding layers.
Inclusions-slag or oxide - Poor welding control. Occurs between strips in strip
cladding. Usually widely
dispersed in MMA cladding.
Long lines of trapped slag can
occur in strip cladding.
Porosity cluster chimney pin hole - Not very common usually occurs due to damp flux, or Anywhere
contamination.
Cracks in cladding - Solidification cracking, mainly due to high dilution with Usually in the first layer of
the parent plate. A higher alloy is often used for the first cladding.
layer compared to the second to offset dilution.
Cracking usually branched and may be very tine.
- Hydrogen cracking due to depositing the second layer
cold, combined with no heat treatment.
Cracks in ferritic base metal - Hydrogen cracking due to damp consumables. Heat affected zone in ferritic steel.
- Hydrogen cracking caused by hydrogen charged Parallel to the cladding interface.
segregations combined with a fast cooling rate.
- Reheat cracking. This only occurs in susceptible steels Also heat affected zone. Cracks
which depends on composition. Alloying elements Cr, are small and intergranular.
Mo and Ti precipitate in grain boundaries making them
very strong and unable to yield during stress relief.
- Liquation cracking. Caused by "films" of low melting
point constituents along the grain boundaries.
Generally only occurs in materials with a large grain size
Cracks in repairs - IGSCC possibly caused by primary water in contact with Surface breaking defects
Inconel repairs
EXPLOSIVE WELDING
Lack of bond - Detonation velocity too low, see Fig. 2.7. Clad-base metal interface.
Cracking - Detonation velocity too high, see also Fig. 2.7. May be either in the cladding or
base metal. Thin sections are
vulnerable to cracking.
Volumetric flaws - Damaged surfaces. Or detonation velocity too high. Clad-base metal interface.
High stresses due to mechanical or thermal loads Surface breaking transgranular cracking.
High stresses combined with corrosive species. Surface breaking intergranular stress corrosion cracks.
13
3. INFLUENCE OF CLADDING ON PROPAGATION OF
ULTRASONIC WAVES
3.1 Introductory remarks the columnar grains are contained in the plane of
sound propagation, this being a fairly good
The presence of a welded cladding layer on a approximation to the problem of wave propagation
component can seriously affect the ultrasonic in claddings. If the columnar grains do not lie in the
inspection of the component for the following plane of sound propagation the character of the
reasons: wave modes will be changed. This will be discussed
in Appendix A2.
• the surface of the cladding is not as even as that
of the surface of the unclad base metal; Section 3.3 deals with the practical implications of
• there is an additional boundary between the the properties of claddings on ultrasonic beams.
cladding and the component;
• fusion welded austenitic cladding has a coarse
grained, anisotropic macrostructure, see Chapter 2.
3.2 The Physics of Wave Propagation in
The reader will come across several phenomena Cladding Due to Its Macrostructure
which do not exist in "normal" (isotropic) materials
and which are unfamiliar to most ultrasonic
3.2.1 Wave Mode and Polarization
operators, such as:
• Anisotropy: An anisotropic material is one in It is well known that in the bulk of isotropic
which the properties of the material, e.g. materials two different wave modes can occur,
ultrasonic sound velocity, vary with the direction in namely compression waves and shear waves. The
which they are measured. difference between the two is in the direction of
particle motion or polarization: parallel to the wave
• Beam skewing: Beam skewing is said to occur
normal direction for compression waves and
when an ultrasonic beam propagates in a
perpendicular to it for shear waves. The orientation
direction which is not perpendicular to the wave
of particle motion for shear waves can occur in any
front. This phenomenon can cause unexpected
plane, therefore the number of shear wave modes is
changes in beam direction and shape. (The term theoretically unlimited.
beam skewing as used here should not be
confused with the squint or skew angle of twin As is explained in figure 3 . 1 , for shear waves two
crystal probes.) types of polarization are in use during ultrasonic
• Scattering: The scattering of ultrasonic beams is testing;
not usually a problem when examining ferritic • For the shear waves which are transmitted by a
materials, except at high test frequencies, e.g. 10 conventional piezoelectric shear wave
M H z and above. Fusion welded austenitic transducer, particle motion is in the plane of
cladding has a coarse but regular polycrystalline incidence, (or sound propagation) which is a
macrostructure which causes significant scattering
of ultrasonic beams at relatively low test
frequencies, e.g. 2 MHz. This can lead to very
low signal-to-noise ratios for some ultrasonic
S /
examinations.
¿ί'
The extent to which the above phenomena affect
ultrasonic testing depends on many factors such as:
J- r¿- ivj
Τ
y
y
• beam direction relative to the columnar grains
• wave mode St, waves: particle motion
horizontal
• test frequency as mentioned in the "Scattering"
Sv waves: particle motion in
section. vertical plane sv -**
Section 3.2 explains the physics of ultrasonic wave
propagation in cladding due to its macrostructure as Fig. 3.1: Directions of particle motion for shear waves showing
simply as possible. En particular it is assumed that horizontal and vertical polarization
14
"vertical" plane, i.e. a plane perpendicular to the
metal surface. Therefore such a wave is called a
vertically polarized shear wave or Sv wave.
• Shear waves with the particle motion
perpendicular to the plane of incidence, which is ^ ^ ^ / POINT SOURCE
"horizontal" and tangential to the metal surface,
(a) wavefront from a point source
are called horizontally polarized shear waves or
Sh waves. For some practical applications Sh
waves may have certain advantages, which are
discussed later. They can be generated by 0o PROBE
electromagnetic acoustic transducers (E MAT; see
r | ►X
yν\ π /
WM"
Appendix A4).
and only three different wave modes may occur, (b) wavefront fromed by a 0° probe
namely one compression wave mode and two shear
Fig. 3.2: Wave fronts generated in ferritic steel by
wave modes. The directions of particle motion, the
compression wave sources
polarizations, are always mutually perpendicular,
but in general they are not parallel to the wave
normal direction for compression waves and not
perpendicular to it for shear waves; so they are
Plotting the size of phase velocity versus its
generally not pure waves. This is discussed in
direction in a polar graph one obtains the phase
Appendix A2.
velocity surface, which is three-dimensional. The
In anisotropic materials not only the polarizations of wave front in Fig. 3.2(a) can be interpreted as a
both shear waves modes are different, but their phase velocity surface which is of spherical shape.
velocities are generally different too.
The energy of the wave in ferritic steel will
propagate in the same direction as the wave fronts
3.2.2 The velocity of ultrasonic waves and have the same velocity. So the energy or group
velocity V g of the wave equals V p and the group
The velocity of compression and shear waves in velocity surface also has a spherical shape.
ferritic steel are different, but will be independent of
beam angle. Ferritic steel is therefore said to be The phase velocity V p of compression waves in
acoustically isotropic. Fig. 3.2(a) shows the cladding on the other hand is a function of the angle
propagation of compression waves in ferritic steel between the wave normal direction and the long
from a hypothetical point source. In three axis of the columnar grains. Therefore in general the
dimensions the wave front will be spherical. group velocity V g does not have the same direction
and magnitude. So neither the wave fronts of a point
Fig. 3.2(b) shows the formation of a plane wave in source (or phase velocity surface), nor the group
ferritic steel by Huygens' principle for a large velocity surface will have a spherical shape.
number of point sources across the width of an
ultrasonic 0° probe. The wave front will propagate The phase velocity V p in cladding can be calculated
in a direction at right angles to the surface and its from time-of-flight measurements on parallel sided
velocity will not vary with direction. The velocity of blocks machined from pads of weld metal as shown
a point of constant phase on the wave front in in Fig. 3.3(a).
fig.3.2(b) is called the phase velocity V p . The Fig. 3.4' shows two and three-dimensional sections
direction of V p is perpendicular to the wave front. of the phase velocity surface for all three wave
15
normal
beam
probe
cladding
__-<Á<:
a) test plate cut at an angle θ b) propagation and reflection of
to the grains wave fronts
V„ =
Λ1 At
16
• in the anisotropic case obviously the wave's
energy flow is travelling at an angle Δ to the
phase velocity V p with group velocity V g . Both
velocities are related by:
cosA = Yf.
-
17
Á
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
o [degree]
The skewing a ngle for Sv wa ves is zero a t a wa ve Fig. 3.8: Ray tracing computer programme results obtained
normal to gra in a ngle of 45°, but the sign of the for 45° and 0° compression wave probes
gradient of the curve in Fig. 3.7 is the opposite of A = 8mm clad layer (vertical grains)
Β = 17mm Ferritic base material
that for compression wa ves, resulting in wide
defocused bea ms. The skewing effect for Sv waves is
much la rger tha n tha t for compression wa ves,
however Sh wa ves a re less a ffected by a nisotropy
than compression wa ves.
well, provided the pha se velocities in the
Fig. 3.8 shows the results of a pplying a ra y tra cing anisotropic ma teria l, which a re dependent on
computer progra mme to a 45° a nd· a 0° propagation direction, a re ta ken into considera tion.
compression wa ve probe pla ced on cla dding. A This section shows how to a pply Snell's la w to
beam divergence of 12° either side of the a xis ha s anisotropic ma teria ls. (Snell's la w is a lso dea lt with
been a ssumed a nd the progra mme shows the ra y in in Appendix A3 where the a mplitude of reflected
an 8 mm thick cla dding la yer with vertica l gra ins on and refra cted bea ms is also ca lcula ted.)
ferritic steel. The divergence of the 45° bea m is
Snell's la w ca n be ha ndled most elega ntly by
reduced in cla dding, while the divergence of the 0° introducing the concept of the slowness surfa ce,
beam is increa sed beca use of the focusing / which gives the inverse of the pha se velocity 1/Vp
defocusing effects described a bove. as a function of the wave norma l direction.
In isotropic ma teria l the slowness surfa ce is a two-
3.2.4 Snell's Law sheeted surfa ce of spherica l sha pe. For ferritic steel,
e. g., it consists of two spheres with ra dii of 1/5.92
Snell's la w is widely used in ultra sonic testing to
μ5/πηηι for compression wa ves a nd 1/3.23 μ5/πιηι
calculate the bea m a ngle of refra cted or mode for shea r wa ves, see fig. 3.9.
converted bea ms. The equation:
In a nisotropic ma teria l the slowness surfa ce is a
sin Θ, _ sin6 2 _ sin8 3 three-sheeted surfa ce of non-spherica l sha pe,
corresponding to one compression a nd two shea r
wave modes. Fig. 3.10 shows the slowness surfa ces
for compression (C), Sv a nd Sn wa ves in columna r
can be a pplied to isotropic ma teria ls with few grained a ustenitic steel. While by definition the
complications. It is valid for a nisotropic ma teria ls a s direction of the pha se velocity is given by a line
I8
180
Interface Plexiglass
/////////// J ///////// / ΤΤΤΤΤ7ΎΤΤ7
Ferritic steel Fig. 3.10: Slowness surface for both shear waves and com
180 pression waves in austenitic cladding
l[)
where the shear wave velocity in steel is 3.23 mnV^s
and the compression wave velocity in perspex is 180
2.73 ι ι ι φ .
PP--L
1
Vc sin36.7°
S,0 = P 1 0-sin36.7° = Vc
The above theory provides a means to calculate steel. If a closer comparison is made between the
beam angles in anisotropic material, but it does not ultrasonic examination of ferritic and austenitic
provide any information on the amplitude of welds it is apparent for the latter that:
refracted waves.
• a higher and variable level of attenuation occurs
due to the focusing / defocusing effects discussed
3.2.5 Attenuation due to Grain Boundary Scattering in the earlier part of this chapter.
The ultrasonic examination of polycrystaline • a much higher level of backscatter from grain
materials like austenitic weld metal produces low boundaries occurs.
signal amplitudes and high noise levels when Apparent attenuation due to focusing / defocusing
compared to the examination of fine grained ferritic depends on the wave mode, the shape of the beam
20
and the beam to grain angle. It is not however For practical use the following is a summary:
frequency dependent.
• For compression waves attenuation is relatively
In a textured structure, such as cladding, attenuation high for the direction along the columnar grains
due to grain boundary scattering depends on or across the grains. It is relatively low at 45-50°
polarisation, direction of sound propagation, and to the grains.
frequency, similar to what is observed for
• For Sh waves high attenuation occurs for direc
ultrasound velocity.
tions across the grains.
It is very difficult to separate the above effects
• For Sv waves the maximum attenuation occurs at
practically and measure the attenuation of austenitic
45° to the grains.
weld metal.
Grain boundary scattering arises because An ultrasonic beam propagating through a cladding
neighbouring grains will in general have different layer will be partially reflected by the change in the
crystallographic orientations as indicated in Fig. acoustic impedance which occurs at the clad/ferritic
3.12 and a sound beam crossing the boundary interface. The reflected beams will also be subjected
between grains will undergo a change in phase to back scattering, leading to noise on the flaw
velocity. This change in velocity will result in a detector screen for a range which exceeds the beam
change in acoustic impedance between the grains, path length through the cladding.
producing a partial reflection at the boundary.
A very important source of noise especially for Sv
It has not been possible up to now to theoretically waves is the specular reflection which occurs at the
model grain boundary scattering in textured
corners formed by the columnar grains and the free
structures, as austenitic weld metal, consistently
surface and the columnar grains and the clad/ferritic
with measurement results. Therefore we are
interface. This results in a high level of noise being
confined to an empirical description of the observed
phenomena. detected at full skip and possibly also half skip.
In the frequency range between 2 and 4 M H z the Fig. 3.13 illustrates the above sources of noise.
attenuation due to scattering ranges between 0.2 Additional sources of noise may arise if surface or
and 1.0 dB/mm for all three wave modes, however creep waves are generated at the free surface of the
this does not include other factors such as beam cladding.
divergence for example.
21
CORNER ECHO MECHANISM
INTERFACE
FERRITIC BASE
3.3.1 Effects of Anisotropy step the beam angle in cladding will be 19°. If the
probe is rotated through 180°, so that the beam
The underlying theory for the effects of anisotropy is
travels with the weld step, the beam angle will be
discussed in Section 3.2 and, in more detail, in
60°.
Appendix 2.
Measurements of the attenuation of 60° shear wave
(i) Flaw Location beams in M M A cladding are presented in Fig. 3.15.
As explained above, when sound beams propagate The attenuation of beams travelling with the step
through austenitic cladding the propagation direction is significantly higher than that of beams
direction may not be the same as that of the travelling against the step. The reason for the higher
incident beam, the precise direction being attenuation when the ultrasonic beam is in the weld
dependent upon the local grain orientation and the step direction is that the beam angle is much higher
angle of incidence. This variation of the sound path, than when it is directed against the weld step. The
caused by the anisotropy of the cladding, can lead higher attenuation is therefore due simply to the
to errors in locating defects. larger beam path in the cladding in the weld step
direction.
(ii) Effect of Grain Tilt The demonstrated phenomena must be expected for
As explained in Chapter 2 the columnar grains in all other wave modes and may lead to sensitivity
cladding may be tilted by up to 15° at the junction changes according to the probe orientation.
between two cladding strips, see fig. 2.4. In Fig. 2.5
strip A was deposited first, therefore the "weld step" (Hi) Generation of Multiple Beams
direction is from right to left. The effect of a 15° For certain angles of incidence in cladding it can be
grain tilt on shear wave beams generated in a shown by consideration of the slowness surface that
cladding layer can be determined from the slowness multiple beams may occur, see fig. 3.16. In
surfaces in Fig. 3.14. If a 60° probe is placed on the practice, this means that in addition to the main
cladding so that the beam travels against the weld beam, one or more additional beams may propagate
22
Against With ^^^
\ WEtD STEP DIRECTION /
the step the step \ Ζ AUSTENITIC
180 GRAIN TILT Ι^40^^40<α^44^6^0ί^ΐΑθΏ\κ&
\ MATERIAL
15 ·
14 x WITH STEP
13 + AGAINST STEP χ
12 ·
11 . x χ
10 - χ
S" 9
Ό 8 - X +
CO
CO
o 7 -
_1
6 - + χ +
5 - X χ x
xx
4 - < i
x
+ + χ
3 - X x
2 -
+ + y +
1 -
+ ι +
0 ι
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Fig. 3.15:60° shear wave losses in test blocks clad using vari
ous MMA welding procedures
23
Interface Cladding
24
180°
10
- 15
Fig. 3.18: Slowness surfaces fora 76° (i.e. 55° in the plexiglass It is invariably necessary to grind fusion welded clad
shoe) shear wave probe on cladding which results in total surfaces prior to ultrasonic examination and if the
internal reflection of the refracted shear wave
grinding is performed manually, the result is usually
an undulating surface. When using contact probes
Much larger variations than this can be observed in on an undulating surface thick couplants are
M M A cladding. These variations in tilt make all generally necessary to maintain coupling. Thick
cladding layers inhomogenous and cause phase couplant layers are always undesirable since they
distortions of the ultrasonic wave fronts as illustrated result in distorted beams if the couplant thickness
in Fig. 3.19. This figure was produced by tracing varies across the contact area of the probe.
rays from an immersion probe into a layer of
cladding, then into steel. The grain tilts that occur at
(i) Beam Shape
the junction between cladding strips have been
simulated in the ray tracing and result in distortion The properties of cladding also have a large effect
of the rays that pass through the overlap region on beam shape. Fig. 3.20 is a contour map of the
resulting in a loss of sensitivity. ultrasonic signals detected with a 1 M H z , 60°, shear
25
wave probe of a flat bottomed hole in a clad ferritic
block. Referring to fig. 3.20 which shows the
signals:
(a): before the block was clad,
(b): after cladding the block with two layers and
dressing the surface by hand grinding,
(c): after machining away part of the second layer of
cladding to produce a perfect surface for
Fig. 3.21: The effect of surface finish on the beam shape of a
scanning, focused 60° shear wave immersion probe after reflection on a
(d): after machining away all the second layer of the flat bottom hole
cladding.
Focused immersion probes with diameters of at least (ii) Effects of Surface Finish on the Relative
100mm are routinely used to examine clad nuclear Attenuation of Cladding
components such as LWR pressure vessels. Fig. 3.21 Figs. 3.22 and 3.23 show the effect of the surface
shows a set of beam contours for a 1 M H z finishes detailed below on the amplitude of back
immersion probe with a focal length of 150mm wall signals detected with 45° shear wave probes:
generating a 60° shear wave beam in the same test
block with the same flat bottomed hole reflectors as Surface finish
that from the contact probe. Therefore pictures a,b,c
• as clad surface, no dressing,
and d are directly comparable in the two figures.
• after machining away 1 mm,
It is apparent from Fig. 3.21 that the focused • after machining away 4 mm,
immersion probe is much less affected by the • after machining away all the cladding leaving
cladding than the contact probe described only the heat affected zone.
τ:
refe rence 0
¡l·; 10 dB
Γ
} 20 dB
30 dB
40 dB
as clad 1 mm 4 mm clad
surface finish removed removed removed
Fig. 3.20: The effect of surface finish on the beam shape of a | 2 Mhz Focused 2 Mhz Contact
60° shear wave contact probe after reflection on a flat bottom
hole
(a) = without clad (c) = machined finish Fig. 3.22: The effect of cladding surface finish on the amplitude
(b) = hand ground finish (d) = second layer removed of a backwall signal measured with 45° shear wave probes
2b
Figure 3.22 is a condensed presentation of many
data sets like Fig. 3.23. In Fig. 3.22 results are
presented for 1 MHz and 2 MHz unfocused contact
probes and focused immersion probes. The
experimental arrangement is illustrated at the top of
Fig. 3.23. The following conclusions can be
deduced from these results:
• Variations in the amplitude of the back wall
signal of 20 to 30 dB are apparent for 2 M H z
unfocused probes, and this is not substantially
improved by machining the surface of the
cladding smooth. This can only be due to the
highly anisotropic properties of the cladding and
also to grain tilt at the junction between cladding
strips.
• The amplitude of the back wall signal measured
for the 1 MHz probes was higher than that
measured for the 2 MHz probes. Therefore the
attenuation was lower for the 1 MHz probes than
for the 2 M H z probes.
1 mm of clad removed
3.3.3 Comparison of M M A and Strip Cladding
Fig. 3.23: Attenuation measurements on clad blocks using 1 As mentioned in Section 3.3.1 the grain tilt of the
MHz 45° shear wave contact probes cladding has a large effect on the propagation
27
Manual Metal Arc (MMA) Cladding
,shear wave probe
1MHz For M M A cladding, each individual weld bead,
20«ZZmm typically less than 10 mm wide, can be regarded as
"strip". Hence, the overall grain structure is
complex and large variations in the attenuation
occur across the whole clad surface.
¡¡¡¡¡¡¡j/Tg
Cladding
Fig. 3.24: Spurious lobe at nearly normal incidence detected at
the back wall and caused by beam distortion in the cladding;
single pass strip cladding, amplitude dynamic range -9 dB to
-32 dB, amplitude of the spurious lobe -20 dB.
28
4. GUIDELINES FOR THE INSPECTION PROCEDURE
Τ = cladding thickness.
Horizontal and Depth Corrections as defined in fig. 4.1
29
For a correct understanding of inspection results, the For optimum inspection capability the cladding sur
cladding thickness should be measured at the fol faces must allow free movement of the probe(s) and
lowing locations: provide satisfactory conditions for the transmission
of ultrasonic waves. As a minimum requirement the
• Where deviations in the cladding procedure may surface must be free of visible flaws, undercut, weld
have occurred. spatter, loose scale, machining and grinding parti
• Where an important defect has been found. cles and any other foreign matter. The surface
roughness should not exceed a centreline average of
20 μιη and the waviness should not exceed ±0.5
4.2.3 Surface F inish
mm over any 50x50 mm area, except at the boun
Section 3.3.2 describes the effects of surface finish daries between two adjacent strips of cladding.
on ultrasonic inspection. Poor surface finish or error These requirements are important to minimise atten
uation and distorsion of the ultrasonic beam.
of form will adversely affect the inspection.
Table 4: Techniques for the examination of the weld from the clad surface. Techniques also applicable for the inspection of the base
material
S
Laminations In basematerial compression wave, 15 MHz
Slag and pores in weld
Lack of fusion JCZD Single probe, 35°60°, shear Capability depends on the
Defects in near surface wave, 12 MHz, full skip cladding
Correction for attenuation
advisable
M)
Attenuation (claddinginfluence) n^R 2 single probes in TR arrange Used to establish correction
Detection of defects large ment (Vpath), 45°, shear wave, factor for the influence of
enough to cause significant 12 MHz the cladding
beam obscuration
Defects In weld and HAZ τ^π Γ-^e 2 single probes In TR arrange Timeofflight diffraction
W
ment 35°60°, compression wave, technique (TOFD)
25 MHz Special equipment needed
Thickness measurement
Defects In cladding
Bonding defects in cladding
S Twincrystal probe, 0°, compres
sion wave, 25 MHz
and interface
Defects in cladding Single probe 45°, shear wave 1 2 Due to shear waves the
Surface breaking cracks in MHz performance depends on
cladding the Influence of the cladding
Subcladding cracks Correction for attenuation
is advisable
Ί^ζ
Attenuation measurement 2 single probes in T-R arrange Used to establish
(cladding influence) ment (V-path), 45° shear wave, correction factor for
1-2 MHz cladding influence
Table 7: Techniques for examination of weld from unclad surface. Techniques also applicable to inspection of base material
TC\
- Defects being perpendicular to 2 single probes in tandem - Capability depends on the
the surface arrangement, 45°, shear wave, local Influence of the
12 MHz cladding
- Correction for attenuation
DÙ advisable
- Defects In weld and HAZ Single probe, 35°60°, shear wave - Capability depends on the
local influence of the
- Lack of sidewall fusion
Af 12 MHz
cladding for full ship
examination
kU
- Attenuation (cladding influence) 2 single probes in TR arrange - Used to establish
- Detection of defects large
enough to cause significant
beam obscuration , A"
T<¿3 f>
ment (Vpath), 45° shear wave,
12 MHz
factor for cladding influence
- Defects In weld and HAZ 2 single probes in Τ-Ή arrange - Time-of-flight diffraction
317'
T
ÖT3 R
ment, 35°-70°, compression
wave, 2-10 MHz
technique (TOFD)
- Special equipment needed
33
Twin Crystal Compression Probes
beam axis
6 dB beam edge The crystals in a twin crystal probe are usually
inclined to one another so that their ultrasonic beam
axes intersect to produce a quasi focusing effect.
compression wave beam Figure 4.4(b) shows a DAC curve for a twin crystal
probe. At ranges close to the quasi focus the sensi
tivity and signaltonoise ratio are higher than those
for an equivalent single crystal probe, i.e. a probe
with an identical crystal to the transmitter or
receiver crystal in the twin crystal probe.
The disadvantage of quasi focusing is that several
twin crystal probes with different focal lengths are
required to examine a thick component as indicated
Fig. 4.3: Echodynamic with compression and shear wave
in Fig. 4.5.
beams
The crystals in a twin crystal probe are usually posi
tioned side by side as shown in Fig. 4.6, but they
The other factors which affect performance are as may also be positioned one behind the other. This
follows: figure also shows the amplitude of the beam as a
function of distance in two directions, one of which
• For a given test frequency compression wave
is the DAC curve.
probes have twice the wavelength of shear wave
probes. Therefore the beam spread of the The construction of the twin probe considerably
compression wave component is twice that of the reduces the effect of reverberations within the probe
shear wave component. Secondly the range wedge, leading to a very short dead zone.
resolution of the compression wave component is
only half that of the shear wave component. A complication which arises with the twin crystal
compression wave probes is that the beam angle is
• Compression wave probes are generally only
a function of range for any material. Generally the
used at ranges up to the half skip distance. This is
beam angle decreases as the range increases. For
because the intensity of the reflected compression
wave is reduced to a low level by mode
conversion to a shear wave upon reflection.
34
Creep waves decay very strongly with range and for
amplitude
probe 1 probe 2 probed this reason they are usually generated by twin crys
tal probes with short focal length. Creep wave
80%
probes also have a very strong shear wave beam at
approximately 33°.
60%
ƒ \ \ Focused Probes
40%
Ultrasonic beams can be focused with curved crys
20% - tals or lenses in contact or immersion probes, the
zone I zone II zone III
focusing can also be achieved with phased arrays,
but these are beyond the scope of this handbook.
depth (thickness)
A contact probe which has proved very useful for
the detection of cracks in cladding is a twin crystal
Fig. 4.5: Several probes required to maintain sensitivity'over 70° compression wave probe with a quasi focal
full wall thickness length of 15-25 mm. True focusing is also achieved,
with approximately the same focal length as the
quasi focus, by using curved crystals. This combina
tion of focusing techniques produces a sharply
focused compression wave beam with a high angle
ι beam which is often essential for the detection of vertical
intersection planar flaws in and under the cladding.
35
the use of EMATs is desirable for certain inspection
CURVED LENS OR TRANSDUCER applications. In particular, Sh waves combine the
WITH TWO DIFFERENT CURVATURES
good transmission (see Appendix 3) and low
distortion properties of compression waves with the
corner reflection properties of Sv waves.
Furthermore the amplitude coefficient for the corner
reflection for Sh waves is unity for all beam angles
whereas this is true only for a limited range of
angles for Sv waves. Thus Sh waves are particularly
useful for the detection of defects that are at, or
near, the far surface.
LONG FOCUS SHORT FOCUS In deciding whether the use of EMATs is appropriate
one must carefully consider the inspection situation
such as the defects under investigation and the
Fig. 4.7: Focused sound field due to a lens or curved crystals
cladding macrostructure through which the beam
has to propagate. Further details of the design and
performance of EMATs is given in Appendix 4.
On the other hand when inspecting from the clad
side of a component the effect of small irregularities
in the cladding layer, such as at the overlap
4.5 Calibration Blocks
between cladding strips, is less for large diameter
focused immersion probes than for contact probes.
Calibration blocks are ideal reference blocks for set
This is due to the averaging effect of the larger beam
ting the inspection parameter such as sensitivity in a
diameter of immersion probes at the cladding sur reproducible manner. The following calibration
face compared to contact probes. types are recommended for the inspection of clad
ding layers or of clad components:
Electromagnetic Acoustic Transducers (EMAT's)
Sh waves, which have advantages over Sv and
compression waves for certain applications, cannot 4.5.1 Cladding Thickness Measurement
be transmitted across a liquid couplant layer and The calibration block should consist of ferritic base
hence piezoelectric transducers cannot be used for material with stepped cladding e.g: as shown in
most inspections where the probe has to be scanned Fig. 4.8. Accurate thickness measurement depends
over the surface. Consequently, Sh waves are on the representative cladding being used, both in
generated using EMATs which excite the surface of terms of material and cladding procedure. The
electrically conducting materials with pulsed block may be used for the calibration of the inspec
electromagnetic fields using a combination of eddy tion from both the clad and the unclad side.
currents and magnetic fields. Thus no liquid
couplants are needed and the direction of the
applied magnetic and electric fields determines the 4.5.2 Lack of Bond Detection
wave mode that is generated. The efficiency of the The calibration block should be manufactured from
process for generating ultrasonic pulses is typically clad ferritic material. Flat bottomed holes are intro
30 to 40 dB lower than for piezoelectric devices duced from the backwall to provide suitable planar
and so special electronic hardware is required. reflectors between the clad layers and at the clad to
Although the generation of Sh waves is more ferritic interface. The block is used for inspection
complicated and the efficiency of generation is from the clad side and an example is shown in
relatively poor the benefits which they offer means Fig. 4.9.
36
For the examination of cladding layers the calibra
tion block should contain side drilled holes at
A -► depths of t/2, t and 2t where t is the thickness of the
cladding layer. This will enable a DAC curve to be
constructed for ultrasonic probes with short focal
Block lengths for the inspection of cladding.
-+^-φ-^V V Similarly, for the examination of base material and
Cladding welds below cladding the calibration block should
contain artificial flaws such as e.g. side drilled holes
at depths of T/4, T/2 and 3T/4, where T is the thick
2 4 6 8 10 mm
ness of the clad component.
37
delay using a radius echo once the angle
| 15% of measurements: sensitivity too low
compression probe is connected.
8 5 % of measurements: sensitivity too high
Calibrate by using a minimum of two reflectors at
different but known ranges, e.g. 50 mm and 100 transfer correction
mm radiused calibration blocks.
calibr. block
clad component
4.6.2 Sensitivity Calibration
If the calibration block is unclad a transfer correc Fig. 4.10: Transfer correction (unclad calibration block)
tion must be applied in order to compensate for the
effects of cladding. The reference sensitivity then
becomes the gain at which the DAC curve was con
4.7 Recording Level and Desirable
structed, plus the transfer correction.
Signal-to-Noise Ratio
To calculate the transfer correction for a probe used
in the procedure the loss in signal amplitude by The recording level is established by adjusting the
transmission through the cladding must be meas reference sensitivity, incorporating the transfer cor
rection as applicable, to a level at which recordable
ured. Since this can vary from place to place on the
indications exceed the marked DAC curve. For
cladding many measurements have to be made and
instance, if the required recording level is 10%
it is recommended that an amplitude distribution
DAC, the gain is increased by 20 dB.
curve is constructed for each probe included in the
procedure. For angled probes this usually involves V In some cases the prescribed sensitivity setting may
path attenuation measurements. lead to a high level of noise due to grain scattering
which results in an unacceptable number of false
It will then be necessary to choose a value for the calls. If this occurs attempts should be made to opti
transfer correction, which is always a compromise. mize the inspection technique e.g. by using alterna
As an example in Fig. 4.10, a transfer correction has tive probes. If this is not possible the recording level
been chosen which results in an inspection sensitiv must be changed, thus accepting a reduction in the
ity that is too high for 85% of the cladding and too sensitivity of the inspection. As a rule of thumb the
signal-to-noise ratio should be at least 8-10 dB.
low for the remainder. Obviously the low percent
age figure should be minimised, but the incidence
of false indications must also be minimised. If the
transfer correction is too high it may be necessary to
4.8 Reporting and Evaluation
change the inspection procedure.
38
- permit the examination to be repeated by the Acceptance criteria are usually specified in terms of
same or another operator; signal amplitude relative to the recording level, the
length of the indication and possibly also the
As a minimum, the following data shall be reported:
through wall dimension and the position of the indi
• Date of examination.
cation in the component. The cladding can perturb
• Names and levels of examination personnel. the ultrasonic beam as discussed in Section 3.3 and
• Examination procedure, including revision. false indications do occur and the operator should
• Identification of the calibration block be aware of this. Questionable indications should
• Identification and location of the component be examined and their position located with a
examined, including, if necessary, marked up variety of probes with different beam angles before
drawings or sketches. The report shall include making a final judgement on acceptance.
observations of any geometrical feature which
has limited access compared to the reference
block or in other ways reduced the effectiveness
4.8.3 Additional Investigations
of the examination.
• Surface from which examination is conducted, For each probe used, indications detected at the
scanning direction, orientation of the probe(s). specified testing sensitivity shall be examined by
Nonconformity of surface condition with regard probe movement in two mutually perpendicular
to specification should be included. directions. Angle beam scans shall be made in
• Identification of the apparatus, the probe(s) brand directions towards and away from the reflector, and
name, type, serial number, fabrication or at right angles to these directions. The response of
identification number. each defect shall be noted, and the defect shall be
• Attenuation correction classified in terms of Patterns 1 to 3, as detailed
• If applicable, a record of reportable indication(s) below.
including: The properties of the cladding will influence the
- peak amplitude, in dB or percent of DAC, range echo dynamic response detected from flaws, but it
to reflector, search unit position, and sound is very difficult to determine quantitatively what the
beam path direction;
effect will be, and care must be taken when
- defect length or locations of the reflector end discriminating between echodynamic patterns.
points where the amplitude crosses the However it is still appropriate to proceed with the
recording level o r - 6 dB points; investigations described below:
- plot of reflector location on a cross section
sketch showing O D profile and ID geometry, Pa ffern 7
such as root and counterbore, in the case of
A single sharp signal rising smoothly in height to a
pipe welds;
maximum then falling smoothly to zero (see
- t h e location of any subsidiary peaks in the
Fig. 4.11).
amplitude response as the probe is moved
towards or away from the reflector, if they are
pronounced.
D 1 2 3 4 S 0 5
L_ | _ I J
39
Pattern 2 For Pattern 1 behaviour, it is not possible to estimate
A single sharp signal rising smoothly in height to a the defect size. Such indications are often asso
maximum which is held with or without minor ciated with volumetric defects, but it is recom
amplitude fluctuations with probe movement and mended that indications of this type be assessed by
falling smoothly to zero (see Fig. 4.12). other angles of probe to confirm their volumetric
character.
Range - Probe P osition - These techniques should only be applied when the
operator has a clear understanding of the principles
A-Scan Echo Envelope
involved.
t\
4 S
i
1 '\
0 1 2 3 4 S
.y
r "· Of
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1 Probe P osition —
iL
il' 10
Echo Envelope
& 1 2 S 4 5 S 7 8 9
(B) Range -
A-Scan
40
5. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS
The ultrasonic inspection of clad components is for positioning and sizing of defects. Alternatively,
possible, although the capability which can be such corrections can be obtained from
achieved is usually inferior to that of unclad measurements on clad reference blocks.
components. High angle (60°) shear waves can in many cases
The key parameters affecting the ultrasonic not be propagated in austenitic cladding because
inspectability of clad components are the surface total internal reflection occurs at the boundary.
finish and the cladding macrostructure. The use of large focussing probes improves the
The macrostructure of the cladding is dependent signal to noise ratio for the examination from the
upon the cladding process. In all cases of fusion cladded surface.
deposited cladding, however, a coarse There are many advantages to using Sn waves for
anisotropic grain structure results which gives rise the inspection of cladding since it is the wave
to an increased ultrasonic attenuation and mode which is least affected by the properties of
skewing of the beam. cladding. Sh waves can be generated with
The presence of cladding can result in the electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMAT's).
propagation of 0° shear wave beams which may Special precautions are necessary to achieve a
give rise to false indications arising from the correct sensitivity setting for the examination of
backwall. This is most pronounced when using clad components. This involves either the use of
45° shear wave beams. unclad calibration blocks and measurements of
The acoustic properties of strip cladding are the loss in signal amplitude caused by the
relatively uniform except at the strip overlaps cladding, or the use of representative clad refer
where increased attenuation and beam skewing ence blocks.
occurs. In contrast, M M A cladding results in a Operators who are to perform the inspections
variable attenuation, across the width of the should receive specialized training and have a
cladding. good understanding of the problems associated
The propagation direction of ultrasound through with inspecting austenitic materials.
clad material can be predicted using the slowness For inspections, performance demonstration may
surface. Hence, simple corrections can be made be required to prove inspection capability.
41
6 - GLOSSARY OF TERMS
Elastic constants
Anisotropy
Elastic constants are those parameters which
An anisotropic material is one in which the elastic
describe the elastic properties of materials. Materials
properties vary with direction, (see chapter 3)
with a cubic structure require three whereas
textured materials such as austenitic weld metal
Back-scattering
require five
These are ultrasonic waves randomly reflected by a
coarse grained material, which return back towards EMAT
the transducer, resulting in a high noise level which This is an acronym for Electromagnetic Acoustic
is present for several milliseconds after a transmitter Transducer.
pulse.
Epitaxial growth
Buttering layer This is the property of a crystal structure to maintain
These are layers of weld metal deposited on fusion a certain growth pattern across boundaries, such as
faces before welding between materials with weld runs.
different physical or chemical properties, i.e.
Delta (δ) ferrite content of cladding
dissimilar welds. The properties of the buttering
This is the delta ferrite iron present in cladding
should be intermediate between those of the two
which is added to reduce the incidence of
dissimilar materials involved.
solidification cracking.
Columnar grains (dendrites) Fibre texture
These are the long grains which grow through Some materials are said to have a fibre texture when
austenitic weld metal along thermal gradients they possess a crystal structure which is elongated
during solidification due to mechanical work, or the solidification of
columnar grains in austenitic welds.
Coupling
• coupling a probe to a metal surface. Croup velocity
• when one wave mode couples to another See velocity.
boundary.
Heat affected zone
Crystallographic axis This is the zone in the parent plate adjacent to
welds (HAZ) which has been heated to a high
On an atomic scale all metals have a
temperature by the welding process but has not
crystallographic structure which has a particular
been melted.
type of symmetry, such as body centred cubic (bcc)
for ferritic steel, or face centred cubic (fee) for Isotropic properties
austenitic steel (see phase transition). Materials with isotropic properties have uniform
The crystallographic structure is defined by its properties in all directions.
system of crystallographic axes, such as the cube
edges (100), (010), and (001) are the axes for the Lorentz force
cubic structure. The symmetry of the elastic This is the force exerted on a conducting material
properties follows from the symmetry of the by the combination of a magnetic field and an
structure. electric field and the force is the vector product.
42
Macrostructure Sheeted surfaces
The macrostructure of a metal is that which is seen This expression refers to the surfaces created by
when it is polished and etched and viewed at low plotting the velocity of elastic waves in three
magnifications, i.e. x1 to x3. dimensions.
43
Appendices
The following are references of some of the existing BUREAU VERITAS (8-28) 1985 Edification
standards, Codes or Specifications dealing with Rules and Regulations
welding and testing of clad materials. For the Classification of Steel Ships and Offshore
ASTM A 578/A 578M-85 = ASME SA-578 units Materials 1985
Standard Specification for StraightBeam Ultrasonic Amendments and Additions to the Rules and
Examination of Plain and Clad Steel Plates for Regulations
Special Applications For the Construction and Classification of Steel
Ships and Offshore units Materials
ASTM/B-432-76a (Reapproved 1989)
No. 1 November 1988
Standard Specification for Copper and Copper Alloy
Clad Steel Plate DIN 54123 Okt. 1980
Zerstörungsfreie Prüfung von Schweiß, Walzund
SIS 21 91 30
Sprengplattierungen
Svensk Standard
Kompoundplat Tekniska leveransbestämmelser Nondestructive testing; ultrasonic method of testing
Clad steel plate Technical delivery requirements claddings produced by welding, rolling and explo
sion
BS 5996: 1980
Methods for Ultrasonic testing and specifying qual AD-Merkblatt: WS Ausgabe juli 1987
ity grades of ferritic steel plate Plattierte Stähle
Werkstoffe für Druckbehälter
ASTM A 435/A 435M - 82 (Reapproved 1987)
Standard Specification for StraightBeam Ultrasonic SEL 075
Examination of Steel Plates StahlEisenLieferbedingungen 075 2. Ausgabe
Plattierte E rzeugnisse
ASTM A 264-89a
Standard Specification for Stainless Chromium NF-A 36-250 Juni 1987
Nickel SteelClad Plate, Sheet, and Strip Norme Française
ASTM A 263-89 Produits sidérurgiques
Standard Specification for CorrosionResisting Tôles plaquées (Iron and steel Plated sheet)
Chromium SteelClad Plate, Sheet and Strip
Λ
CODAP 85-M/65 (M5)
ASTM A 20/A 20M-89a Regies Applicables Aux Aciers Plaqués
Standard Specification for General Requirements for
RCC-MR
Steel Plates for Pressure Vessels
Tome IIIMéthodes de Contrôle, 1988
ASME Sect. V, Art. 5
RCC-MR
Ultrasonic examination methods for materials and
fabrication Tome IVSoudage, 1988
47
APPENDIX A2
Effect of Cladding Macrostructure on Ultrasound
Chapter 3 gives a brief explanation of some of the The precise value of each of the constants depends
effects encountered by ultrasonic beams passing upon the chemical composition of the material.
through anisotropic austenitic weld metal. This
For many cases predictions of ultrasonic
appendix provides more theoretical detail of these
effects for those readers interested in the subject. propagation through austenitic weld metal, such as
ray tracing, are only mildly sensitive to small
changes in the elastic constants. There are cases
however, for instance the propagation of high angle
A2.1 Features of columnar grained cladding beams in cladding, where the predictions can be
very sensitive to small changes in the constants.
This section defines the features of austenitic
cladding that are important to understand the To theoretically model the propagation of
behaviour of ultrasound in this materia!. It also ultrasound in cladding it is assumed that
defines the necessary assumptions that are made to • the ultrasound is a plane, monofrequent wave.
quantify the effects of grain structure on ultrasound This assumption is a fairly good model, since the
propagation. ultrasonic transducer generally has large
Acoustic anisotropy of austenitic weld metal or dimensions as compared with the ultrasonic
cladding is caused by the fact that the grains with wavelength. Of course, effects of diffraction and
cubic single crystal symmetry form an ordered mode conversion at the aperture edges of the
columnar structure, similar to a fibre texture. One of ultrasonic transducer, e.g. generation of surface
the three crystallographic axes of the cubic crystal waves, or creeping waves, are excluded by this
system has approximately the same direction for all assumption.
grains, whereas both other crystallographic axes are • the columnar grains are normal to the surface,
randomly distributed, see Section 2.2. The
therefore they always lie in the plane of wave
unidirectional fibre texture is said t o be transversely
incidence. There are obviously exceptions to this,
isotropic and therefore rotationally symmetrical.
such as at the overlap between cladding strips
The ultrasonic properties of the material are defined where the grain tilt may be 15°, see Section 2.2.
by the elastic constants. Or, for positional manual metal arc cladding
For a single cubic crystal such as a single grain of where the grain tilt may be much larger.
austenitic weld metal there are only three
Two types of columnar grain tilt may occur:
independent elastic constants, d 1, d 2, and c44.
• The columnar grains may be tilted in the plane of
For transversely isotropic materials such as the bulk
sound incidence. This would change the sound
of austenitic weld metal there are five elastic
velocity, see section A2.2.
constants c 1 1 , c12, c13, c33, c44, all of which can
be derived from the single crystal elastic constants • The columnar grains may be tilted from the plane
using the texture coefficients of the orientation of sound incidence. This would change the
distribution function for the columnar grains in the character of the wave modes (namely both sound
clad metal. Alternatively they can be calculated velocity and polarisation) and their energy flow
from the phase velocity surface measured on would be no longer in the plane of sound
austenitic weld metal as shown in Fig. 3.3.
propagation, see section A2.3.
Throughout this handbook the following elastic
stiffness constants derived from phase velocity For strip cladding sound propagation is modelled to
measurements on pads of X 6 CrNi 18 11 weld take place in the meridian plane of the columnar
metal are used: grain texture, i.e. the plane containing the columnar
ell =2.4110 χ Ι Ο " Ν/ιτ)2 grains and the incident ultrasonic beam, see
c12 = 9.6916 χ 10l°N/m2 Fig. A 2 . 1 . Since the transversely isotropic structure
c13 = 1.3803 χ I O " N/rri2 is rotationally symmetrical about the columnar grain
c33 = 2.4012 χ 1 0 " N/nri2 axis, the meridian plane is any section through the
c44 = 1.1229 χ 1 0 " N/m2 material containing the columnar grain axis.
4H
0°
30V>r ■S. 30°
i
.1
cö
·. ;. ·
>Q\\
Plane of Wave Incidence is In Plane A B C D ££
»4— »
60°/ yc ,·■' A \ 6 0
°
»E A
// / /s
¿f
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r
s
A 1 90°- ■"-'•"•ïV/Î;
V<
\
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>
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o
o
m . 3f 4. 5 \Vp\
. / - · . . mml'■■-/·
-90°
■ ■ ' ' / / ; ■
150°^
180°
F/g. Λ 2 . 1 Gra/n direction, plane of incidence, and axis of Fig. A2.2: Section of the two sheeted spherical phase velocity
rotational symmetry surface for ferritic steel
A2.2 The velocity surfaces the same numerically and in direction. However, as
we shall see later on, this is not the case for
This section defines the group velocity and phase
anisotropic materials.
velocity surfaces in a more formal manner than the
treatment given in chapter 3. In acoustically anisotropic material, e.g. cladding,
the propagation behaviour of ultrasound is quite
Imagine a small, randomly polarized acoustic
different. Generally in such a material there are
source located within acoustically isotropic
three and only three wave modes, one compression
material, e. g. ferritic material, then the ultrasonic
and two shear wave modes which propagate. They
pulse emanating from this source would form a two
are in general nöncoplanar, i.e. V g is not in the
sheeted spherical wave surface, e. g. Fig. A2.2. The
outer sphere represents the compression (C) wave plane of propagation.
and the inner sphere the shear (S) wave. These Imagine again a small, randomly polarized acoustic
spheres are the loci of the phase velocities and they source now located within the acoustically aniso
are sometimes referred to as normal surfaces, or tropic material. The ultrasonic pulse, emanating from
phase velocity surfaces. this source, would form the group velocity surface
consisting of three sheets, e.g. Fig. A2.3. The three
There is an additional parameter, the group velocity
sheets correspond to the three wave modes with
(Vg), that needs to be defined in order to understand different polarisations. The group velocity surface is a
the propagation of ultrasound through anisotropic plot of the group velocity V g versus the energy flux
materials. The group velocity is the velocity at direction. The group velocity surface, which is
which the energy propagates through a material and generally nonspherical, represents the propagation
the direction of the group velocity is often referred of acoustic energy. It is the appropriate surface for
to as the ray or beam direction. In isotropic Huygens' construction of wave propagation. The
materials such as ferritic steel the distinction phase velocity surface shown in Fig. A2.4, which is
between the phase velocity and the group velocity also nonspherical in acoustically anisotropic
is not normally made, since the two velocities are material, is a plot of the phase velocity V p versus the
49
wave vector direction. The pha se velocity surfa ce is
not identica l to the group velocity surfa ce, since the
velocities of a coustic energy a nd wa ve fronts a re
different in size a nd in direction. The energy flow
direction is therefore skewed a t a n a ngle to the
wave vector.
Because of the rota tiona l symmetry of columna r
grained a ustenitic cla dding, the pha se- a nd group-
velocities of a ll three wa ve modes, during
propagation in the meridia n pla ne, a re independent
of the pola r a ngle. Their ma gnitude a nd direction
depend only on the a ngle θ between the columna r
grain a xis a nd the wa ve vector a nd a lso on the
polarisations. In the ca se of a ustenitic cla dding
shown in Fig. A2.4, the pha se velocity of qua si-
compression (qC), horizonta lly pola rized shea r (Sh),
and vertica lly pol a rized qua si-shea r (qSv) wa ves
could va ry up to 20%, 30% and 50%, respectively.
50
If the displacements have predominantly compression
or shear wave character, they are called quasi-
compression or quasi-shear, respectively.
51
ι Quasi—shear wave
θ [degree]
52
Fig.A2.8: Relationship between phase velocity surface and
group velocity surface, demonstrated for the quasi-shear (qSv)
wave in the meridian plane of austenitic clad metal : Group
velocity surface as envelope of the phase velocity surface;
phase velocity surface as pedal surface of the group velocity
surface
53
APPENDIX A3
Reflection and Refraction
This appendix discusses the reflection and refraction Appendix 2 shows that for the case where the plane
of ultrasound at boundaries between anisotropic of polarization is perpendicular to the plane
cladding and parent material. Much of this containing the columnar grains (horizontally
appendix is contained within the main text of this polarized shear waves) there is no coupling to any
handbook but provides a more thorough treatment of the other wave modes. Consequently only
for the interested reader. reflected and refracted Sh waves are generated at a
boundary for an incident Sh wave. Conversely,
Throughout this appendix it is assumed that the
compression waves and Sv waves are coupled at an
grains in the cladding are perpendicular to the interface and so the following combinations may
ferritic base, so that they are in the plane of sound exist:
incidence and that the clad/ferritic interface is
smooth. • incident compression wave;
refracted and reflected compression waves and
refracted and reflected Sv waves.
• incident Sv waves;
A3.1 Effect of Boundaries on Wave refracted and reflected Sv waves and refracted
Propagation and reflected compression waves.
54
cladding interface for waves incident from the
ferritic base metal. Since the reflected and refracted
waves must have the same component of k
tangential to the interface and since k ~ 1/Vp then
the component of slowness parallel to the interface
must be the same for the reflected and refracted
waves. Therefore the phase velocity of the refracted
and reflected waves can be readily derived for
anisotropic cases. Also the group velocity can be
obtained by constructing the perpendicular to the
slowness surface.
55
than 90° a nd so it propa ga tes into the cla dding.
Fig. A3.3 shows a s a n exa mple the group velocity
direction a nd the wa vefronts for the two
components of the qua si-shea r wa ve in cla dding
generated by a Sv wa ve incident from the ferritic
base meta l under a n a ngle of 75°. The energy
associated with this second component of the quasi-
shear wa ve is discussed in the next section.
30 60 90 c 75°^
θ (Sy-wave i. fer. mat.) [°] Oy /
ILI 11//
Fig. A3.2: Direction of refracted phase and group velocities in
ívmm. Ferritic steel
ρκ
the cladding versus Sv-wave incidence angle θ in the ferritic
plate material
Cladding y
56
A 3 . 4 Energy R e f l e c t i o n a n d R e f r a c t i o n
Coefficients
The calculation of reflection and transmission 40. 50. 60. 70. 80. 90.
coefficients at the cladferritic interface leads to the θ (S(,—Wave from Anisotropic Face) [Degrees]
following conclusions:
The case of Sh waves is the most straightforward Fig. A3.5: Energy reflection and transmission coefficients for a
horizontally polarized shear (Sh) wave incident at the
since there is no coupling to either of the other
clad-ferritic interface from the cladding
wave mode types. E nergy transmission is nearly
100% over a large range of angles of incidence for I 1
waves incident from both the ferritic and the clad
riqCN
side (see Figs. A3.4 & A3.5). 0.80 1 Ι
Since both Sh and compression waves have good θ (C—Wave from Isotropic Face) [Degrees]
transmission properties at the clad/ferritic interface
the choice of wave modes must be dictated by other Fig. A3.6: Energy reflection and transmission coefficients for a
compression (C) wave incident at the clad-ferritic interface
from the ferritic base metal
I I
1 1
1 1
1 1
T3 c 0.80
«8
O oj
O o ÌTqSj
— O
Λ Ν
S" ' Ι Ν L L —- — t —
·— c ¡_> o
cu o J, L*.
PE /
tu m t
Ι Ι ¡RS V
c c Ι Ι
LU o aicu
h CC
Ι
/ ιι ιιι
10. 20. 30. 40. 50. 60. 70. 80. 90. . 2 0ι . 30t í 40 ι i r " "Ά
0 10 50 60 70 80 90
θ (S^Wave from Isotropic Face) [Degrees] θ (C-Wave from Isotropic Face) [Degrees]
Fig. A3.4: Energy reflection and transmission coefficients fora Fig.A3.7: Energy conversion coefficients for reflection and
horizontally polarized shear (Sh) wave incident at the transmission fora compression (C) wave incident at the clad-
clad-ferritic interface from ferritic base metal ferritic interface from the ferritic base metal
57
1.00-
ι y
ITC ¡ "f, r 1 / "|"fqSvj" Ys''\ ARS ν
ι \ "RqC
Ι ι
1 1 1 1 1 '.
1 1 1 1 1
1 1 1 . ,TqS v
C ¡£ I l l C ¡£
O oj
'*
1 | 1 | J ...'. .. Ο QJ
0.60- 1 1 1 4- V- L!
u O 1 1 1 1 1 ■JJO
O
0>
*- c
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1 8°
*- c s
\
a> o 1 1 1 1 1 CU o
1 1 1 1 1
o:·,«
r r """ι ι ι τ 1
FE I I I 1 PE
O) in
Ι Ι Ι Ι ι ' cu t/1
c c 1 1 1 1 1
uj σ 0.20 UJ ρ
RSV
0.
■ 1 ■ 1 ■ 1 ■ 1 ■ 1 ■ h-τ-Ί
10. 20. 30. 40. 50.
¡Rqq7;
60. 70.
.. | ,
80. 90.
0.00-
0.
! ! \J ï
10. 20. 30. 40.
Ί ;
Fig.A3.8: Energy reflection and transmission coefficients fora Fig.A3.10: Energy reflection and transmission coefficients for
quasi-compression (qC) wave incident at the clad-ferritic a vertically polarized shear (Sv) wave, incident at the
interface from the cladding clad-ferritic interface from the ferritic base metal
TqS„(2L·-
cu m
ë£
*- m
0.25
¡2 o TqC i
0.04
E.2 TqC
o " 0.03
0.02
0.01 VÄC
0.00·
0. 10. 20. 30. 40. 50. 60. 70.
Θ ( S v - W a v e f r o m Isotropic F a c e ) [Degrees]
Fig. A3.9: Energy conversion coefficients for reflection and Fig. A3.11: Energy conversion coefficients for reflection and
transmission fora quasi-compression (qC) wave incident at transmission of a vertically polarized shear (Sv) wave, incident
the clad-ferritic interface from the cladding at the clad-ferritic interface from ferritic base metal. (Note that
the coefficients of the transmitted quasi-compression wave
(TqC) and the reflected compression wave (RC) are on a
separate scale)
considerations. For instance, the Sh wave makes
good use of the high corner reflectivity to detect
defects at the far surface whereas compression
respectively. The critical angle for the compression
waves are best utilised for defects away from the
wave mode occurs at approximately 35° and at
surface and, in particular, subcladding cracks.
higher angles the energy balance is achieved by
The usefulness of vertically polarized quasishear redistribution to other reflected and refracted wave
(qSv) waves is restricted to small angles of modes. At angles of incidence higher than
incidence. Figs. A3.10 A3.11 and Figs A3.12 approximately 58° it is the second quasishear wave
A3.13 show the situation for Sv waves incident from mode, qSv(2), that is the dominant shear wave mode
the ferritic side and qS v waves from the clad side in cladding, see Fig. A3.11.
58
the probe and the clad surf ace. Figs. A3.14 and
A3.I5 show the energy transmission coef f icients f or
both ref racted wave types which are similar to those
for the case of a perspex/isotropic steel interf ace.
Fig. A3.14 shows that the second quasi-shear wave
mode qSv(2), although present, is very weak and
can be ignored during ultrasonic testing.
* Glycerin
Silicon J U
solid contact
o
υ
Γ
Fig. A3.12: Energy reflection and transmission coefficients for
"**N *,
a vertically polarized quasi-shear (qSv) wave, incident at the ,ΐ 0.2
clad-ferritic interface from the cladding ΤςίΛ
c
I- ^
\Γ
ι
|ι_ . TqS,(2) _
1
I / 1
I
I
/ 1
1 - ^ _ .... .... ■ f t ' f ' f ' ■t* t ■ A f * · - τ - ^ 1 1—
IS 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
i fË I ö ( C W a v e from Perspex Wedge) [Degrees]
* w
/Re Sv(2¡)
CU c
o o
L 1
ι Γ 1
ι /
1
1
Fig. A3.14: Energy transmission coefficients of the quasi-
ι / 1
compression (qC) wave generated in the cladding at the
1/ 1
TC 1
coupling layer between the perspex wedge of the ultrasonic
5« / RqC / 1
1 probe and the cladding. Testing frequency: 2 MHz, solid
cndJ / I contact and fluid contact. Thickness of the coupling layer in the
/ 1
/ 1 1 case of fluid contact: 20 μ-rn
/ 1
L-
1
ƒ 1
.00- ■ I . -*—
0. 10. 20. 30. 40. 50. 60. 70. 80. 90.
È0.1
t
>!
A3.4.2 The Ultrasonic Probe's Coupling Layer bo
cu
C
The special case of Sh waves is not treated here LU 3 10 20 30 40 50 60
since they are not normally generated using liquid θ (CWave from Perspex Wedge) [Degrees]
couplants and require electromagnetic techniques
(see Appendix 4).
Fig. A3.15: Energy transmission coefficients of the quasi-shear
In addition to the energy transmission coef f icients (qSv) wave generated in the cladding at the coupling layer
between the perspex wedge of the ultrasonic probe and the
across the interf ace it is also important to know the
cladding. Testing frequency: 2 MHz, solid contact and fluid
efficiency with which energy is transmitted across contact. Thickness of the coupling layer in the case of fluid
the coupling layer between the perspex wedge of contact: 20 μ./η
59
APPENDIX A4
Angled EMUS-Sh-wave Probes
A4.1 Introduction
Permanent magnets Instantaneous value and
Section 4.4.2 briefly describes how the use of the Sn direction of r.f. current
wave mode can be more beneficial than Sv or
compression waves in certain inspection appli
cations. Conventional piezoelectric transducers
N S N S
cannot generate Sh waves in most inspection * * -
situations and EMATs are required. At the time of Periodic forces in the
writing this handbook, the use of EMATs, generating surface
Sh waves, is beginning to see increasing use for the
ultrasonic inspection of austenitic welds and Beam angle
60
Several separate
d r.f. coils
30
f «ι, / Κ—H
I I uf
y Si S2 S3 | S4 >
/
/ γ
Beam angle for ArV
a phased array Ot/S. >y
90
2 3
Frequency Mhz
Fig. A4.2: S/, wave beam angle for an EMAT probe as shown inFig. A4.3: Changing the beam angle by the time delay
Fig. A4.1(a) assuming Vt = 3.2 mm/ßs, d in mm
Fig. A4.1(b) shows a meander r.f. coil in which the sequentially as a phased array with a time delay At
direction of the current in each line element between each current pulse, a Sh wave with a plane
alternates and the magnetic fields that are generated wave front is produced with a beam angle α given
perturb the main bias field H. The periodic forces in by:
the surface are produced by magnetostriction due to
the superposition of the static magnetic field with VtAt
since ; (3)
the dynamic magnetic fields generated by the
current in each line element. These forces combine,
by constructive interference, in the same way as in The use of phased arrays effectively eliminates the
Fig. A4.1(a) to produce an Sh wave with a beam energy transmitted in the backward direction and
angle given by equation (1). there are no limitations to the pulse length.
61
r.f. - coil —/ 6. segment Array of high strength
Æ ^~5 permanent magnets
~Æ Έ:
^—Æ 2^3.
z£ ΈΓ2.
Æ 2~i.
Pole shoe
62
European Commission
R.J. Hudgell