ULTRASONIC EQUIPMENT

Analog

Digital

Mains or battery-operated -Lithium Ion battery pack

14 V DC, 4AH-8 Hours operation with Charge status indicator

Temp range 0 to 55 deg

Size-portable with 2 to 3 Kg weight

Generate and receive frequencies 1 to 6 MHz

Provide inspection data for Angle beam

Distance of flaw from probe index

Depth

Sound-Path

Static display of echo-heights with test parameter

data can be stored

RF and Video mode

Equipment is constructed with

Power Supply

Probe
Pulse Generator / Clock

Pulse Transmitter / Pulser

Time Base Generator / Sweep Circuit/Sweep Generator

Amplifier- Gain control

Suppression / Reject

CRT(Cathode Ray Tube)

 Analog to Digital Converter

Power Supply

On off switch with a fuse

Power from line supply

Also can operate with battery

Probe

Single or double crystal

Single crystal acts as Transmitter and receiver

Duel crystal – one acts as transmitter and the other as receiver

Receives electrical energy from the pulse transmitter

Converts this energy into mechanical vibration (ultrasonic sound by the probe).

During the receiving mode of crystal, mechanical energy is converted back to electrical energy

This is sent to receiver circuit of ultrasonic flaw detector.

Pulse Generator / Clock

Generates electrical signals

60 to 2000 pulses / sec

Send to time base generator and pulse transmitter.

This constant rate of pulses known as pulse repetition frequency (PRF)

Can be varied by range control setting.

To avoid spurious or ghost or Phantom echoes the time interval between pulses is about 60 times
longer than the pulse travelling time.

Clock pulses are used to trigger the initial pulse.

Initial pulse drives the transducer and the Sweep circuit

For single crystal, pulses are sent directly

For dual crystal, pulses sent to transmitter crystal only.

The reflected pulses are received by the receiver crystal

Pulse transmitter / Pulser

the pulse from pulse generator received by the pulse transmitter

sends high voltage pulse of short duration of about 1 to 2 kv to activate the probe.

Pulse tuning is also available in some units

Tunes the pulser and crystal to be at resonance to have maximum energy conversion

Damping or pulse length control used to cut down the ringing of transducer

High damping shortens the pulse and improves resolution

But reduces the pulse height which lowers the sensitivity

Time Base Generator/ Sweep Generator

Controls the voltage applied to the x-plates of the CRT

The time-base generator and transmitter triggered simultaneously by the clock,

Initiates pulse from the probe at the same time as the electron beam spot starts to move across
the cathode ray tube.

The transmitter pulse is triggered a little later than the sweep

so that it is visible on the left hand side of the screen a little to the right of the start of the sweep,

When a single crystal probe is used, the electrical voltage pulse supplied by the transmitter to the
probe is also fed to the receiver.

tT Main Pulse delay

tS Delay of sweep(time base)

tP time of picture
tI Time of interval

1 Voltage of PRF generator(Trigger)

2 Transmitter pulse

3 Echo pattern

4 Sweep voltage

5 bright dark voltage for CRT

It is amplified and displayed as indication called as

transmission echo

transmission pulse

initial pulse

main bang.

Amplifier circuit

The amplifier in the receiver circuit receives the low voltage signal from the probe and amplifies
the signal to about 10,000 to 1,00,000 times

Gain

The gain control regulates the amplification from the amplifier.

Controls the voltage on Y Plates to control the signal height.

Works on logarithmic base and not affects the linearity of the amplifier
 Coarse Range, Fine range and delay control

To adjust the display along X axis with time, distance or depth

Coarse and fine range controls are also called as Material calibration or material velocity control

These are used for basic calibration of Range

Suppression / Rejection

Reduces the grass or noise signals

Equipment provided a Linear reject function

Amplifier linearity is not affected

Shows the rejection level in % eg 40%

The % Indicates that all signals below 40% screen height have been filtered and removed

But the remaining signals are in the same height as before

MODE

After passing through RF amplifier, the signal enters video amplifier

Up to this the signal is in RF mode

Interpretation of RF signals is difficult

Hence Video amplifier makes the signals to go in one direction with respect to base line and filters
out the negative part

It makes the leading edge of the signal to rise vertically

a High frequency form un-modified

b Full wave rectified

c Half wave rectified-positive

d Half wave rectified- negative

 CRT

From the video amplifier it goes to CRT

In CRT the filament heated and electrons emitted by thermionic emission

Positive potential applied and electrons are attracted

Electrons pass through negative focussing ring and pushed towards the centre of the tube

Stream of electrons hit a phosphor screen

Phosphor screen gives out light and green dot appears on the screen

X and Y plates, below and above the electron stream carry potentials that deflect electron stream
side to side and up and down

Green dots move on the screen

X Plates control horizontal movement

Y Plates control vertical movement

Intensity control regulates the brightness

Focus and Astigmatism produce a sharp image

Thickness meter

In early days resonance method was used to measure thickness

Pulse echo system

D-meter or thickness meter operated by sending short pulses from high frequency probes in to the
specimen.

The elapsed time from the transmission to the reflection of the pulse is measured and converted
to an accurate digital thickness measurement.

Small and light weight

Data logging system & Data transfer facility to the PC

No A scan display

Minimum thickness measurable 0.25 mm

Temp of the part up to 50 deg C

As a further development, LED crystal display system which provides wave form information on A
scan display and digital readout of thickness is now being used

The waveform will help to identify whether the digital value displayed is from an internal reflector
or from the actual inside wall of the specimen