yore Feestil 0 20 « ” ‘THE ULTRASONIC FLAW DETECTOR (FLOW DIAGRAM OF A TYPICAL A SCAN FLAW DETECTOR ae ¥ Suppression ejeed Pulse a Y¥-plates cr) Xeplates Pulee enersior peaeror ‘The Pulse Generator, also known as the clock or timer this circuit controls the synchronisation of the’ flaw detector. It sends an electrical signal to the timebase generator and to the pulse wansmitter simultaneously. These electrical signal frequencies are mown as PRF/PRR (Pulse Repetition Frequency/Pulse Repetition Rate). It i usually controlled automatically by the range (coarse) control setting, this in tur ultimately controls the maximum depth of inspection and the ultimate scanning speed, ‘The Timebase generator or sweep generator, upon receiving the electical signal from the pulse generator this circuit controls the voltage or charge on the X-plates causing the electron beam in the cathode ray ube to sweep across the screen ina linear motion. ‘The pulse transmitter or pulser circuit, the electrical signal from the pulse generator triggers this circuit to send a burst of electrical energy, about 1 to 2Kv, to activate the probe. 5 ‘The probe or search nit, converts the electrical energy, sent by the pulse transmitter, into pulses of ultrasound by means of a piezo electric erystal (Tx). The returning ultrasound from the test material is converted back into electrical energy by the probe (Rx) and seat to the amplifier. ‘The receiver amplifier circuit accepts and amplifies the incoming electrical pulses. ‘The amplification required is about 10,000 to 100,000 times and the output must be linear with the input. The amplifier must also be capable of accepting a range of different frequency signals to accommodate the range of probe frequencies used. Broad band amplifiers accept a very wide array of frequencies producing an accurate representation of signal shape. This enhances defect interpretation (type) but the signal to noise ratio will be poor, so defect detection may be adversely affected, ic. a reduction in sensitivity, because of high noise (or grass) levels. Narrow band amplifiers, on the other band, suppress the parts of the signal that are outside the frequency band that it operates at (the pass frequency). This creates = cleaner signal (although not a true representation of the input signal), which means that the gain (amplification) can be increased which in turn enhances defect detectability (Gensitivity), ‘The disadvantage of this is thatthe altered shape of the signal means that ‘defect interpretation is more difficult. ‘The Attenuator or gain control reduces the amplification from the amplifier by controlling the voltage or charge on the Y-plates in the C.R.T., which will control signal heights, bringing them down to a readable level. ‘The controls works on logarithmie base and it does not affect the linearity of the amplificr.