Seminar on

Ultrasonic Technique For

Corrosion Detection

Pranab Phagetra
1180/14
 Plan of Presentation
Introduction
Non-Destructive Test
Overview
Principle
How it works
How it used
Advantages
Limitations
Conclusion
 Introduction

Corrosion is one of the serious problem affecting air

force and other avitation industries. It affects the
aircraft on its wings, surface, between joints and
fasteners.The presence of corrosion underneath the
paints and between joints are not easy to be detected.
The unnoticed presence of corrosion may cause the
aircraft to crash leading to human and money loses.
To detect the corrosion present on the metal surface,
various methods and non-destructive test are used.
 Non Destructive test as the name suggest is
testing procedure without damage to the part being
tested. The various non- destructive methods used
are
Visual Inspection.
X-Ray Inspection.
Ultrasonic Inspection.
Magnetic Particle Inspection.
Eddy current Inspection.
Ultrasonic inspection uses high frequency sound
energy to conduct examinations and make
measurements.
This inspection can be conducted on wide variety of
material forms including casting, welds and
composites.
A considerable amount of information can be
collected from the object which is being inspected
such as presence of discontinuity, corrosion etc.
 Principle of Ultrasonic Inspection
Ultrasonic waves are introduced into a material
where they travel in a straight line and at a constant
speed until they encounter a surface.
At surface interfaces some of the wave energy is
reflected some is transmitted.
The amount of transmitted or reflected energy can
be detected and provides information about the
size of the reflector.
The travel time of the sound can be measured and
this provides information on the distance that the
sound has traveled.
How it works

o In ultrasonic testing, an ultrasound transducer

connected to a diagnostic machine is passed over
the object being inspected. The transducer is
typically seperated from the test object by a
couplant such as oil.
o There are two methods of receiving ultrasound
waveform :
i. Reflection
ii. Attenuation
 In reflection mode, the transducer perform both
the sending and the receiving of the pulsed waves
as the sound is reflected back to the device.
Reflection occurs due to presence of
discontinuities and surface of test article.
 How it is used

Ultrasonic waves can be used in three

regimes depending on inspection distance :-
Short range (<<1m)
Medium range (up to about 5m)
Long range (up to around 100m)
Advantages :-
High penetration power, which allows the
detection of flaws deep in the part.
Greater accuracy than other non
destructive test.
Non hazardous to operations.
Electronic equipment provides
instantaneous result.
Limitations :-

Surface must be accesible to transmit ultrasound.

Manual operation requires carefull attention by
experienced technicians.
Parts that are rough, irregular in shape, very small
or thin are difficult to inspect.
It requires a coupling medium to promote transfer
of sound energy into test specimen.
 CONCLUSION

IN THE PAST, NDT OF HIDDEN CORROSION WAS A

DIFFERENT CHALLENGE. HOWEVER IN THE LAST
DECADE SUBSTANTIAL ADVANCES IN NDT
METHODOLOGY AND SOFTWARE HAVE MADE THE
CHALLENGE SUCH MORE TRACTABLE. IN SUMMARY,
THE FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT FOR EXISTING
TECHNIQUES AND FOR IMPROVING FIELD NDT
CAPABILITY TO DETECT HIDDEN CORROSION.