PT.

SUCOFINDO

TRAINING
PIPELINE INSPECTOR

( 19 – 20 November 2012 )

BY PAULUS KONDA
 Fundamental of pipeline fabrication and
installation

 Lesson 1
 Overview of pipeline system
  Task

 The task is to move a certain

• Volume

• Content

• Oil, Gas , Product, Water ( Liquid/Gas)

 First what are the alternatives for transportation?

 Pipeline

 Shuttle
 Pipeline
 Linepipe
 Piping
 Flowlines
 Buried/Covered  Exposed
 Natural cover  Frozen
 Tranched  Piled
 Menchanical backfill  Guided
 Gravel dumping  Snaked
 Conrete cover
 Platform/Jacket  Shore
 J-Tube  Shore pull
 Steel riser  Trenched
 Flexible riser  Casing/Tubing
 Casing/Tubing  Flexible riser
 Material selection ( corrosion )
 Corrosion resisten
 Sweet/Sour service
 Corrosion allowance
 Installation method
 Temperature
 Liner/Clad
 Inhibitor
 Diamater versus pressure
 Temperatur
 Insulation
 Heating
 Concept
 Material type
 Material grade
 Pressure
 Temperatur
 Installation method
 Routing
 Material for pipeline system shall be selected with
due considertion of the fliid to be transported,
load, temperatur and possible failure modes during
the installation and operation
 The linepipe material will have to be selected based
on the following design aspect :
- Required pipeline diameter
- Internal and external pressure
- Applied loads
- Medium to be transported
- Cost
 The following material characteristic shall be
considered as part of the material selection :
• Mechanical properties
• Hardness
• Fracture toughness
• Fatigue properties
• Weldability
• Corrosion properties
 Suplementary requirement
- S sour service
- D Dimensions
- P Plastic deformation
 Linepipe NDT level
- Displacement controled
- Load controlled
 Engineering criticality assesment ( ECA )
 General
 Manufacture
 Qualification and production testing
 NDT
 Dimensional tolerances
 Material Properties
 Supplementary requirements
 This standard is applicable for following
steels:
- Carbon – manganese steels
- Clad/lines steels
- Duplex stainless steels
- 13% martensitic steels
- Austenitic stainless steels
- Other stainless steels
- Non ferrous matallic material
 Manufacture og linepipe shall be according to
one of the following processes :
• Submerged arc welded linepipe ( Long/spiral)
• Seamless linepipe
• High frequency welded linepipe
• Electron beam ( EWB )
• Clad steel linepipe
 Manufacturing procedure specification ( MPS )
• Before start of production, the manucfacturer
shall prepared a MPS demonstrating how the
specified properties are achieved and verified
Through the proposed manufacturing route.
• The MPS shall factors, which influence the
quality and reliabilility of production.
 Manufacturing procedure qualification ( MPQ)
• Acceptance criteria in OS-F101 or API 1104
• Validiti of MPQ is limited to the steel making,
plate rolling, fabrication facilities where
qualification has been performed
 Steel shall have adequate weldability for all
stages of manufacture, fabrication and
installation of the pipeline, including field and
contingency condition, hyperbaric welding
and anode installation
 Weldability testing shall be performed for
both the base material and the welding
consumable ( batch testing )
 Visual Inspection
 Mill Pressure testing
 Dimensional control and Weight :
- Diameter,
- Out of roundness,
- Wall thickness
- Staightness
- Radial offset
- Length
- Weight
• All fabrication involving shop, site or field
welding and PWHT
• Welding equipment, tool and personnel
• Welding consumables
• Welding procedure, specification and
qualification
• Examination and testing
• Fabrication and welding requirement
including repair and welding of components
• NDT of plate and strip at mill
• NDT of linepipe at pipe mill
• NDT of welds and base material
• NDT of girth welds and component
welds
• NDT acceptance criteria
• Qualification and calibration
• System and procedure requirement
• Evaluation and reporting
 Introduction
 Different pipeline manufacturing
processes
 Normalised, quanched and tempered
 Steelmaking
 Continously casting
 Plate rolling
 Pipe manufacturing
 Modern pipeline material require high
strength, high taoghness, good weldability,
good corrosion resistance and good
dimensional control in order to meet the
increasingly demanding market.
 What is requirement to meet these demands?
 This require
• Strict control of steelmaking
• Control of centre segragation during
casting
• Use of microaaloying element ( Nb, TI, V )
• Controlled rolling and accelerated cooling
• Advance NDT equipment in order to detect
critical defect
 External corrosion coating ( organic and
inorganic )
Passive means usully used as the primary
protection due tu cost affectiveness

 Cathodic protection ( Scrificial and impressed

current )
Active means usually used as secondary
protection for areas with coating breakdown
 Types of sacrificial anodes
 Zinc alloy
- Used in subsea pipelines where temperature
do nor exceed 50ºC unless special zinc
alloy is used
 Cheap and reliable
 Aluminium alloy
 Used in unburied subsea pipelines operating
at low current densities
 More expensive than Zinc
 Main design parameters
• Design life, T ( year )
• Coating breakdown surface area, F (
m2)
• Bare steel average current density
requirement, Ɛ ( A-hr/kg)
• Design driving voltage
 Review definition of pressure
 Pressure variation along pipeline
length
 Test pressure determination according
to OS F101 or Ansi B31.4 / B31.8
 Introduction to NDT

 Overview of Six Most

Common NDT Methods

 Selected Applications
The use of noninvasive
techniques to determine
the integrity of a material,
component or structure
or
quantitatively measure
some characteristic of
an object.

i.e. Inspect or measure without doing harm.

Visua
l
 Flaw Detection and Evaluation
 Leak Detection
 Location Determination
 Dimensional Measurements
 Structure and Microstructure Characterization
 Estimation of Mechanical and Physical
Properties
 Stress (Strain) and Dynamic Response
Measurements
 Material Sorting and Chemical Composition
Determination
• Visual
• Liquid Penetrant
• Magnetic
• Ultrasonic
• Eddy Current
• X-ray
 Most basic and common
inspection method.

Tools include
fiberscopes,
borescopes, magnifying
glasses and mirrors.

Portable video inspection

unit with zoom allows
inspection of large tanks
and vessels, railroad tank
cars, sewer lines.
Robotic crawlers permit
observation in hazardous or
tight areas, such as air
ducts, reactors, pipelines.
• A liquid with high surface wetting characteristics
is applied to the surface of the part and allowed
time to seep into surface breaking defects.
• The excess liquid is removed from the surface
of the part.
• A developer (powder) is applied to pull the
trapped penetrant out the defect and spread it
on the surface where it can be seen.
• Visual inspection is the final step in the
process. The penetrant used is often loaded
with a fluorescent dye and the inspection is
done under UV light to increase test
sensitivity.
The part is magnetized. Finely milled iron particles coated with a
dye pigment are then applied to the specimen. These particles are
attracted to magnetic flux leakage fields and will cluster to form
an indication directly over the discontinuity. This indication can be
visually detected under proper lighting conditions.
The radiation used in radiography
testing is a higher energy (shorter High Electrical Potential
wavelength) version of the
electromagnetic waves that we Electrons
see as visible light. The radiation can + -
come from an X-ray generator or a
radioactive source.
X-ray Generator
or Radioactive
Source Creates
Radiation

Radiation
Penetrate
the Sample

Exposure Recording Device

 The part is placed between the
radiation source and a piece of film.
The part will stop some of the
radiation. Thicker and more dense
area will stop more of the radiation.
The film darkness
(density) will vary with
the amount of radiation
X-ray film reaching the film
through the test object.
= less exposure
= more exposure
Top view of developed film
High frequency sound waves are introduced into a
material and they are reflected back from surfaces or
flaws.
Reflected sound energy is displayed versus time, andf
inspector can visualize a cross section of the specimen
showing the depth of features that reflect sound.
initial
pulse

back surface
echo
crack
echo

crack
plate
0 2 4 6 8 10
Oscilloscope, or flaw
detector screen
 Inspection of Raw Products

 Inspection Following Secondary

Processing

 In-Services Damage Inspection

 Forgings,
 Castings,
 Extrusions,
 etc.
 Machining
 Welding
 Grinding
 Heat treating
 Plating
 etc.
 Cracking
 Corrosion
 Erosion/Wear
 Heat Damage
 etc.
Periodically, power plants are
shutdown for inspection.
Inspectors feed eddy current
probes into heat exchanger
tubes to check for corrosion
damage.

Pipe with damage Probe

Signals produced
by various
amounts of
corrosion
thinning.
• Aircraft engines are overhauled
after being in service for a period
of time.
• They are completely disassembled,
cleaned, inspected and then
reassembled.
• Fluorescent penetrant inspection
is used to check many of the parts
for cracking.
 Sioux City, Iowa, July 19, 1989
A defect that went
undetected in an
engine disk was
responsible for
the crash of
United Flight 232.
The failure of a pressure vessel
can result in the rapid release of
a large amount of energy. To
protect against this dangerous
event, the tanks are inspected
using radiography and
ultrasonic testing.
Special cars are used to
inspect thousands of miles
of rail to find cracks that
could lead to a derailment.
• The US has 578,000
highway bridges.
• Corrosion, cracking and
other damage can all
affect a bridge’s
performance.
• The collapse of the Silver
Bridge in 1967 resulted in
loss of 47 lives.
• Bridges get a visual
inspection about every 2
years.
• Some bridges are fitted
with acoustic emission
sensors that “listen” for
sounds of cracks growing.
NDT is used to inspect pipelines
to prevent leaks that could
damage the environment. Visual
inspection, radiography and
electromagnetic testing are some
of the NDT methods used.

Remote visual inspection using

a robotic crawler.

Magnetic flux leakage inspection.

This device, known as a pig, is
placed in the pipeline and collects
data on the condition of the pipe as it
is pushed along by whatever is being
transported.
Radiography of weld joints.
ULTRASONIC
PRINCIPLES
VIBRATION
 In ultrasonic testing we use
something called “ultrasonic
vibrations.”
 We must know two facts about a
vibration:
◦A vibration is a back and forth
movement.
◦A vibration is energy in motion.
A depression of a surface from

its normal position is called a

displacement.
 Vibrations pass through a solid
material as a succession of
particle displacements. This can
be visualized as shown below:
DISPLACEMENT, CYCLE,

FREQUENCY
 If you tap a metal surface, the

surface moves inward, causing a

displacement.
 The surface will also move
through the original position and
move to a maximum distance in
the opposite direction.
 Sound : mechanical
vibration

What is Ultrasonic?
Very High Frequency sound –
above 20 KHz - 20,000 cps
 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
 ULTRASONIC TESTING
Very High Frequency -5 M Hz

Glass
High Frequency
5 K Hz

DRUM BEAT
Low Frequency Sound
40 Hz
 The best way to define sound is to
say that it is a vibration that
transmits energy by a series of
small material displacements.
 View “A” below illustrates the

“piezoelectric effect.”
VELOCITY
 The velocity of sound will change
as it moves from one medium to
another as shown below:
 The elasticity of the material is
also a factor.
A practical example of the velocity

of sound in materials is shown

below.
 It will take longer for the sound to travel

through the water than through the steel

the sound velocity in steel is approximately

four times greater than in water.

  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

STEEL WATER AIR

WAVELENGTH
 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
One cycle
Wavelength Velocity

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

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?

TEST METHOD
 There are two test methods normally
used in ultrasonic testing.
◦ “Contact testing” - where the transducer
is coupled to the material through a thin
layer of couplant.
◦ “Immersion testing” - both the material
and the transducer are immersed in a
tank of couplant (usually water).
 Todetermine the location of
discontinuities within a test part,
the CRT horizontal display is
divided into convenient
increments such as centimeters,
inches, etc.
 Sensitivity or gain controls -
determine the amount of
amplification the signals from the
discontinuity received.
 Increasing the sensitivity (gain)
increases the amplitude of the pips
on the CRT screen.
 The sweep length (material
control) expands or compresses
the display on the CRT as shown
below:
 The sweep delay control allows one to
move the viewing screen along the
depth of the test part.
 In immersion testing, the sweep delay
can be used to remove the initial
pulse from the CRT.
 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
  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

5 cycles for weld testing
 The “pulse energy” must be increased to

obtain deep penetration or to penetrate

coarse grained materials.

 The “reject control” or “suppression
control” is used to eliminate or
reduce “grass” or very low amplitude
pips along the base of the sweep
line. This control may affect the
vertical linearity of the presentation.
A“flaw alarm” or “gating circuit” is
used to establish zones along the
sweep line within which pips of
predetermined amplitude will
activate either an alarm or a
recording system.
 “Distance / amplitude control” in
ultrasonic testing the amplitude of the
pip from a discontinuity of a given size
decreases as the depth increases.

 To compensate for this “attenuation,” an

electronic control has been added to
many ultrasonic units.
 Some of the common names for this

control are:

DAC - Distance Amplitude Correction

TCG - Time Corrected Gain

STC - Sensitivity Time Control

 This control is very useful when
used in conjunction with the flaw
alarm and with recording systems.
 MODES OF

ULTRASONIC WAVE
 Velocity can be defined as the distance a

wave will propagate through a medium in a

given unit of time, usually a second.

 Listed below is a table of impedance,
velocity and density values.
◦ This information will be useful later
in this lesson for performing basic
ultrasonic calculations.
 The angle at which the wave

strikes the interface is known as

the “angle of incidence” as shown

below.
 Angle of Incidence = Angle of Reflection

60o 60o
 The incident wave is said to have normal

incidence when its direction of

propagation is perpendicular to an

interface.
 As shown below the angle of

incidence is zero.
  Sound will be either transmitted across or
reflected back

Reflected

How much is reflected and

Interface transmitted depends upon the
relative acoustic impedance of
the 2 materials

Transmitted
 Air Steel

Steel
Air
Large Acoustic Impedance Large Acoustic Impedance
Ratio Ratio

Steel Aluminum

Steel
Steel

No Acoustic Impedance Small Acoustic Impedance

Difference Difference
 The angle of reflection at an
interface or boundary always
equals the angle of incidence.
Angle “A” = Angle “B”
 Ultrasonic vibrations travel in many
modes, and the most common are:
◦ Longitudinal (compression)
◦ Shear (transverse)
◦ Surface (Raleigh)
◦ Plate (lamb).
 Longitudinal (compressional)
waves have particle vibrations in a
back and forth motion in the
direction of wave propagation.
 Vibration and propagation in the same
direction / parallel
 Travel in solids, liquids and gases

Particle vibration

Propagation
 Vibration at right angles / perpendicular to
direction of propagation
 Travel in solids only
 Velocity  1/2 compression (same material)

Particle vibration

Propagation
 In some materials, the velocity of a

shear wave is about ½ that of

longitudinal waves.
MODE CONVERSION
 Mode conversion in the case
presented below produces two
reflected beams:
one beam consists of longitudinal
waves; the other beam consists of
shear waves.
 The ultrasonic angle beam transducer

uses the following example.

 Snell’s law can be used to
determine angular relationships
between media for both
longitudinal and shear waves.
 The following example calculates the angle
of refraction for a longitudinal wave
passing through a water-to-steel interface.
 When the refraction angle of a

longitudinal wave reaches 90 degrees,

the wave emerges from the second

medium and travels parallel to the

interface or surface.
 Thisis called its first or lower “critical
angle” above approximately 28
degrees with a plastic-to-steel
interface, only shear waves are
generated in the part.
 When the angle of refraction for

the shear wave is 90 degrees, then

we have reached the upper or

second critical angle which

produces surface waves.

 Asshown below, total reflection of
both longitudinal and shear waves.
 With
a plastic-to-steel interface, this
happens at approximately 58 degrees.
 When the incident beam is at its

second critical angle, a third type

of wave is developed, called a

Raleigh or surface wave.

 Asshown below, the wave travels with
an elliptical particle motion. Surface
waves are useful in detecting surface
cracks, but only penetrate about one
wavelength.
 Incident

Transmitted
The sound is refracted due to differences in
sound velocity in the 2 DIFFERENT materials
  Only occurs when:
The incident angle is other than 0°
30°

Water Steel Water

Steel Steel Steel

Refracted
Only occurs when:
The incident angle is other than 90°;
The Two Materials has different
VELOCITIES
30°
30°

Steel Water

Steel Steel
65°
30°

No Refraction Refracted
 Normal

Incident I
Material 1

Material 2 Refracted
R
C
20

Perspex

Steel

48.3
C
C
15

Perspex

Steel

34.4
C
C
20

Perspex

Steel
48.3

C
24
S
 C
C When an incident beam of sound
approaches an interface of two
different materials:
REFRACTION occurs

Perspex
There may be more than one waveform
Steel transmitted into the second material,
example: Compression and Shear

When a waveform changes

into another waveform:
C
C MODE CHANGE

SS
 If the angle of Incident is
C increased the angle of
refraction also increases

Up to a point where the

Compression Wave is at
Perspex 90° from the Normal

Steel 90° This happens at the

FIRST CRITICAL ANGLE

C
S
C 27.4 Compression wave refracted
at 90 degrees

33

S
C
C
57

S (Surface Wave)
90

Shear wave refracted at 90 degrees

Shear wave becomes a surface wave

 1st Critical Angle Calculation
C 27.2

Perspex
C
Steel

S
 2nd Critical Angle Calculation
C C
57.4

Perspex
S
Steel
 Before the 1st. Critical Angle: There
1st. are both Compression and Shear
wave in the second material
C
At the FIRST CRITICAL ANGLE
2nd. Compression wave refracted at 90°
Shear wave at 33 degrees in the
material

90° Between the 1st. And 2nd.

Beyond the 2nd. Critical Angle: Only SHEAR
Critical Angle: All wave in the material.
waves are reflected Compression is reflected out
out of the material. NO of the material.
wave in the material.
S C At the 2nd. Critical Angle: Shear
is refracted to 90° and become
33° SURFACE wave
  Elliptical vibration
 Velocity 8% less than shear
 Penetrate one wavelength deep

Easily dampened by heavy grease or wet finger

Follows curves but reflected by sharp corners or
surface cracks
 As shown below, surface waves have the ability
to follow the surface contour as long as the
contour does not sharply change.
 However, the surface wave can be almost
completely absorbed by excess couplant or by
touching your finger to the surface of the part
ahead of the transducer.
 Plate waves or lamb waves have the

ability to propagate through thin

plates in a variety of wave modes

depending on plate thickness,

transducer frequency and incident

angle.
 Plate waves are generated by using
longitudinal waves which develop
either symmetrical or asymmetrical
waves as shown below.
 Produced by the manipulation of surface
waves and others
 Used mainly to test very thin materials /
plates
 Velocity varies with plate thickness and
frequencies

SYMETRIC ASSYMETRIC
 Plate waves occupy the entire

thickness of the part.

 Without “saturating” the part, the

wave cannot exist.

 To generate plate waves, you adjust

the incident angle to the point that

maximum reflections are observed on

the CRT screen from a known

reflector.
 It is not possible to generate shear

or surface waves on materials

thinner than one-half wavelength.

 Therefore, plate waves are useful

as shown below.
 SUMMARY
• Standard angle probes between 1st and 2nd
critical angles (45,60,70)
• Stated angle is refracted angle in steel
• No angle probe under 35, and more than 80: to
avoid being 2 waves in the same material.
One Defect Two Echoes

C S

S
 Theamount of beam spread is
determined by the following
equation:
 NZ FZ Main
Beam

Intensity
varies

Exponential Decay

Distance
 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
Near Zone Far Zone
 Thickness measurement  Thickness measurement

 Detection of defects  Defect detection

 Sizing of large defects  Sizing of all defects

only

Near zone length as small as possible

 2
D
Near Zone 
4
V
 
f
2
D f
Near Zone 
4V
 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 . 1 mm
  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?
Which of the above probes has the longest Near Zone ?

1 M Hz
5 M Hz
1 M Hz 5 M Hz
  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?
 In the far zone sound pulses spread out as
they move away from the crystal

/2

Edge,K=1.22
20dB,K=1.08
6dB,K=0.56
Beam axis
or Main Beam
  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?
 What is the beam spread of a 10mm,5MHz
compression wave probe in steel?
Which of the above probes has the Largest Beam
Spread ?

1 M Hz
5 M Hz
1 M Hz 5 M Hz
  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?
 ATTENUATION,

ACOUSTIC IMPEDANCE,

AND

RESONANCE
 As shown below, a beam of sound energy
will spread out (diverge) as it moves
through the specimen, and the intensity
(energy) decreases with distance away from
the transducer and away from the center of
the beam.
 Another phenomenon which

pertains to the interrelationship of

the sound and material properties

is “acoustic impedance”.

 This term should not be confused

with “attenuation.”
 “Acoustical impedance” (z) is defined

as the product of the density (ρ) and

sound velocity (v) within a given

material is

Impedance = density x velocity,

or z = ρv
 Impedance values for typical materials

are shown below:

 Attenuation is defined as the loss

of energy (acoustic) per unit of

distance.
 For ultrasonic wave propagation, the

attenuation constant ‘α’ is given by:

 If
acoustic energy is transmitted into
two pieces of perfectly bonded
identical steel, we find the sound has
the same velocity through both, with
an impedance ratio of 1 to 1.
 The angle beam technique is often

used for weld shown below:

 Typically, the weld should be
inspected in the 1st or 2nd leg
whenever possible as shown below:
ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCERS

AND

STANDARD REFERENCE

BLOCKS
 The ultrasonic transducer is the

heart of the UT test system.

 The crystal material in an ultrasonic

transducer is made of piezo-electric

materials such as quartz, lithium

sulfate and polarized ceramics.

 Quartz was the first material used. It
has very stable frequency
characteristics.
 However, quartz is a poor generator
of acoustic energy and has generally
been replaced by more efficient
materials.
 Lithium sulfate is a very efficient

receiver of acoustic energy, but it

is fragile, soluble in water and

limited to use at temperatures

below 165º f.
 Polarized ceramics produce the
most efficient generators of
acoustic energy but they do have
a tendency to wear.
 Common polarized ceramics
include Barium Titanate, lead
metaniobate, and lead zirconate /
titanate.
 The capability of a transducer is described by
three terms:
◦ Sensitivity the ability to detect small
discontinuities.
◦ Resolution the ability to separate the sound
reflections from two discontinuities close
together in depth or time.
◦ Efficiency energy conversion effectiveness.
 Sensitivity of a transducer is rated

by its ability to detect a certain

size flat-bottom hole, at a

specified depth, in a standard

reference block.
 The reference block is necessary, because
even transducers of the same size,
frequency and material do not always
produce the same amplitude signal from a
given reflector.
 Resolution is the ability to separate
(distinguish between) the sound
reflections from a discontinuity close
to a boundary or two discontinuities
close together in depth or time.
 The higher the frequency of a transducer, the
less the sound beam will spread and the greater
the sensitivity and resolution. When the sound
beam is spread as shown below, less sound is
likely to be reflected from a small discontinuity.
 As shown below, contact

transducers can be either “straight

beam” or “angle beam.”

 As shown above, the Lucite wedge
protects the face of the crystal and
determines the angle of incidence of
the sound beam on the test part.
 As has been discussed, when sound
waves are directed into the test part at
an angle, they are divided into
longitudinal and shear waves by
refraction.
 Sphericallyground and cylindrically
ground acoustical lenses are
commonly added to immersion type
transducers. They are used to:
◦ Improve sensitivity and resolution.
◦ Compensate for test part contours.
◦ Examine a given depth of the test
part more carefully.
 As shown below, cylindrically ground lenses
focus the sound energy to a line. Spherically
ground lenses focus the sound energy to a point.
 STANDARD

REFERENCE BLOCKS
 Reference blocks come in many
different shapes and sizes and this
lesson will discuss only a few of those
commonly used.
 A typical block is shown below.
 Most reference blocks have the
following in common:
◦ They are made from carefully selected material
◦ The material must have the proper attenuation, grain size,
heat treatment and be free of discontinuities.
◦ All dimensions must be precisely machined.
◦ Side drilled hole diameter must be carefully controlled.
◦ All holes must be flat-bottomed and have a specific
diameter to be an ideal reflector
 Threecommonly used sets of
standard reference blocks are:
◦ Area amplitude blocks.
 Area amplitude blocks provide standards for
discontinuities of different sizes, at the same
depth.
◦ Distance amplitude blocks
 Distance amplitude blocks provide standards
for discontinuities of the same size at
different depths.
◦ ASTM basic set of area and distance
amplitude blocks.
 The ASTM basic set of area distance
amplitude blocks consists of ten, two
inch diameter blocks as shown below:
 Another type of calibration block is the IIW block
(international institute of welding). It provides
the following:
◦ Verification of known distances & angular relationships,
◦ Verifies transducer angle and beam exit point and
checks transducer resolution.
 As shown below, the transducer is moved back
and forth until the pip on the CRT reaches
maximum amplitude.
 The focal point on the IIW block then
corresponds with the beam exit point of the
transducer.
 Verification of the transducer angle is
accomplished as shown below:
 The plastic wedge of the angle beam transducer
is subject to wear in normal use. This wear can
change the beam exit point and the angle of the
sound beam.
 From the position shown above, the transducer is
moved back and forth until the reflection from
the 2 inch hole shows maximum amplitude on
the CRT.
 The far field resolving power of the
test equipment can be estimated by
placing a normal beam transducer on
the IIW block as shown below:
 Good resolution will be indicated

if the instrument can satisfactorily

separate the pips from all three

reflectors.
 The miniature angle beam block can
also be used to calibrate the
instrument for angle beam inspection.
 Specialcalibration standards:
◦ Special standards are often used for
items such as weldments, castings,
and piping.
◦ The standards are normally of the
same material and product form to
be tested.
◦ Reference reflectors such as notches
or holes are artificially added to the
standard.
ULTRASONIC CONTACT

TESTING
 Through transmission testing

usually uses the pitch-catch

technique as shown below:

 Tx Rx
Transmitting and
receiving probes
on opposite sides
of the specimen

Presence of defect
indicated by
reduction in
transmission signal

No indication of
defect location
 T R

Also known as:

Tandem Technique or
Pitch and Catch Technique
 Considerations:
◦ A higher frequency will provide the greatest
sensitivity for detecting small defects.
◦ A lower frequency will give greater power to
penetrate more deeply.
◦ A larger diameter transducer may be required
when testing thicker materials.
◦ At any frequency, the larger the crystal, the
straighter the beam.
◦ For a transducer of a given diameter, there is
less beam spread at higher frequencies.
 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
  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

5 cycles for weld testing
 As shown below, when the angle of incidence
increases, refraction of the longitudinal wave
increases until there comes a point where total
reflection of this wave occurs, and all that is left
is a shear wave. This point is called the 1st
critical angle of incidence.
Example:
 Assume that you have a Lucite wedge with
an angle of 50 degrees, referring to the
chart, what angle shear waves will be
produced in the test specimen?
 What problem would be encountered
using a 50 degree longitudinal wave?
(#1 = about 65 degrees) , (#2 = shear
wave also exists)
 In angle beam testing, when the wedge

angle is increased to the point that the

shear wave is equal to 90 degrees, we have

what is known as the 2nd critical angle.

 However, sound energy still exists parallel
to the interface and is known as “surface
waves” or “Raleigh waves” as discussed
previously.
 Most forgings are good objects for
ultrasonic testing. Common discontinuities
found in forgings are shown below.
 Most types of discontinuities found in
plate that are perpendicular to the
scan surface will be found with angle
beam testing.
 Straight beam testing requires that the
surface of the weld be ground smooth as
shown below.
 However, lacks of fusion, cracks,
insufficient penetration are not easily
detected with straight beam techniques.
 To scan the welded seam, it is necessary to move the
transducer forward and backward as shown below.

 At ½ skip distance, the beam strikes the bottom

of the plate and at 1 skip distance the beam will
strike the top of the plate as shown.
 Beam angle selection is determined by:
◦ Code or procedure requirements
◦ weld joint design
◦ specimen configuration
 Example:

The surface distance to a point

directly above the discontinuity can be
calculated according to the formula:
Example:
 With a properly calibrated 70 degree
probe, what is the distance “d” from the
exit point of the probe to the
discontinuity? Distance “s” shows on the
CRT at 4.6 (do not consider the sound
travel in the Lucite wedge).
◦ s x sin Ф= .939 multiplied by sound path of 4.6 equals
a surface distance “d” of 4.332 inches.
 Calibration procedure for the IIW block using
angle beam transducers:
◦ A 5 MHz straight beam transducer can be used to
calibrate the instrument for angle beam inspection as
shown below in view “A”.
◦ Change to the proper angle beam transducer as shown in
view “B” below and adjust only sweep delay to the 4”
mark.
 Another method of calibrating the UT instrument for
angle beam inspection involves using multiple echoes
from the curved surface of the IIW block.
 As shown in view “B” above, places the transducer on the
block and adjusts the instrument to get a pip on the CRT
at exactly 4 and 8 inches.
 Skip distance can be found by
using the following formula:
 Example:

what is the skip distance on a 3/8

inch plate with a 70 degree

transducer?
NON RELEVANT ULTRASONIC

INDICATIONS
 Non relevant indications can usually be identified
as one of the following:
◦ Electrical interference.
◦ Interference from the transducer (search unit)
◦ interference from the surface of the specimen
◦ interference caused by mode conversion of the
sound beam
◦ Interference caused by the shape of the
specimen
◦ Interference caused by material structure
 Search unit interference is common
and is often caused by the reflection
of sound energy from the interface
between the wedge and test specimen
surface.
 In immersion testing, air bubbles

either on the transducer or specimen

can cause reduced signal amplitude

from the back surface and at times

also from the front surface.

Surface interference:
 A small amount of surface wave energy is
usually transmitted in all directions around
a transducer as shown below.
 If the transducer is near the edge of a
plate, a signal may appear on the CRT.
 When inspecting with shear waves, it is
possible to detect a surface discontinuity
with the small amount of surface waves
generated. (See below)
 You can determine if the reflection is from
a surface wave by running your finger
along the surface in front of the
transducer.
 If the reflection is due to surface waves,
the amplitude of the pip will drop on the
CRT when your finger is between the
transducer and the interface producing the
signal.
 Surface wave indications may not

be cause for rejection, but they

should be evaluated.
 Interference can be caused as a result of
mode conversion in the test specimen as
shown below.
 However, all of these reflections can be
ignored as they will appear on the CRT
after the first back reflection.
 The shape of the specimen can cause
false indications as shown below.
 The ultrasonic operator should always
know the configuration of the part so
that these false indications can be
identified.
 A nonrelevant indication may occur when using a
transducer with a large beam spread as shown
below.
 This indication is easily identified as it is always
behind the first back reflection of the part and
would probably be continuous along the surface
of the part.
 A large grain size may also cause “noise”
or “hash” on the CRT screen.
 Abnormally large grains may result in total
loss of back reflection.
 A lower examination frequency may help
alleviate this problem.
 During weld inspection, non relevant
indications may result from the crown
and root of the weld and possibly
from the heat affected zone.
 As is shown below, the reflection from
the root and crown of the weld may
appear for the entire length of the
weld.
 If the non relevant signal is coming from
the crown of the weld, it can often be
identified by placing your finger wet with
couplant over the suspected area.
 If the sound beam is striking the crown, it
will be dampened by your finger, a surface
examination, PT or MT, can be used to
reduce the possibility of a surface crack
causing the reflection.
 Nonrelevant indications can often be identified
by discontinuity on an ultrasonic calculator
similar shown below.
 The horizontal scale measures distance from the
exit point of the transducer to the discontinuity.
 The vertical scale represents specimen thickness
and the arc represents the refracted angle of the
sound beam.
 Example: a single vee weld with an
opening of 30 degrees in a 1” steel
plate using a 70 degree transducer is
shown below:
 Draw a line representing the sound path from
the upper left corner to the 70 degree mark on
the arc, extending to the 1” point representing
plate thickness.
 Make a full skip by doubling the 2-3/4”.
 Draw the 30 degree, single vee weld on plastic
or transparent paper.
 Of the weld is 2-3/4”, then the discontinuity is
as shown above.
 If the sound path distance on the CRT shows 3”,
and the distance from the exit point to the
center.
 THANK YOU