 Phased Array (PA) transducers are multiple small conventional transducers (called

elements) housed in a single unit.

 Each transducer can be pulsed individually and by varying the time between
pulses from the elements.

 Example:-.

 It can be said that PA beams can be ‘steered’ and ‘shaped’ electronically

 increases POD (without moving probe sweep sound beams through a wide range
of angles)

 Can dynamically focus at different depths improves ability for sizing by improving
the signal to noise ratio.
 UT has its foundations in wave mechanics.

 What happens when the Sound waves encounter the boundary of the medium.?

 Depending on the Z, either reflect or get transmitted

 refracted depending on the velocity of sound in the second medium.

 Interference refers to the interaction of two or more waves

 Every wave front may be regarded as being composed of
secondary waves (wavelets), which unify to form a single wave
front.

 Therefore, if the position of a wave front at any instant is known, a

simple extrapolation enables its position to be drawn at any
subsequent time
 Velocity, Frequency & Wavelength along with units
 Acoustic Impedance?
 Accoustic Impedance Mismatch & its importance
Wave Interference
 Energy is distributed on interference.
 It is neither produced nor destroyed.
 It changes from constructive to destructive and vice versa.
 It is redistributed. It follows law of conservation of energy.
 Out of phase- the crest of one wave arrives at a point at the same
time as a trough of the second wave arrives, effects cancel each
other.

 In phase- two wave’s crests and troughs arrive at a place at the

same time, effects reinforce each other
Wave Properties

 Longitudinal
 Shear
 Surface
 Lamb Wave
INTRODUCTION TO PAUT
 Conventional UT probe consist of a single or two paired elements, one
for transmitting and other for receiving.

 Phased array probes, consist of up to 256 small individual elements that

can each be pulsed separately.

 Can be arranged in different shapes

 a strip (linear array), a ring (annular array), a circular matrix (circular array), or
more complex shape.
 Frequencies range from 2 MHz to 10 MHz

 A phased array system ;a computer-based instrument that is

capable of driving the multi-element probe, receiving and digitizing
the returning echoes, and plotting that echo information in various
form
 phased array systems can sweep a sound beam
 through a range of refracted angles
 along a linear path,
 dynamically focus at a number of different depths,

thus increasing both flexibility and capability in inspection setups.

 DEFINITION OF PHASED ARRAY
 Phased array system utilizes the wave physics principle of
phasing(varying the time) between a series of outgoing ultrasonic pulses
in such a way that the individual wave fronts generated by each
element in the array combine with each other to add or cancel energy
in predictable ways that effectively steer and shape the sound beam.
For additional reading ……….

 The elements will be pulsed in groups in order to improve effective

sensitivity by increasing aperture, which reduces unwanted beam
spreading and enables sharper focusing.
 Software establishes specific delay times for firing each group of
elements, taking into account probe and wedge characteristics as
well as the geometry and acoustical properties of the test material.

 The programmed pulsing sequence selected by the instrument's

operating software then launches a number of individual wave fronts
in the test material.

 These wave fronts in turn combine constructively and destructively

into a single primary wave front
 The beam can be
 dynamically steered through various angles,
 focal distances, and focal spot sizes

 All happens in small fraction of a second.

 The returning echoes are received by the various elements or
groups of elements and time-shifted.

 phased array transducer can spatially sort the returning

wave front.

 When processed by instrument software, each returned

focal law represents the reflection from a particular angular
component of the beam

 The echo information can then be displayed in any of

several formats.
 Advantages

 As the number of elements increases, sensitivity increases by

reduced beam spread and sharper beam focus.
 Increased signal to noise ratio because of focused beams.
 Software is readily available for post-processing capabilities.
 High speed electronic scanning without moving parts
 Improved inspection capabilities through software control of beam
characteristics
 Advantages

 Inspection with multiple angles with a single electronically controlled

probe increases the PoD
 Many configurations are possible: P/E, T/R, ToFD and Tandem.
 Greater flexibility for inspection of complex geometries by Optimized
focusing & beam angle
 Limitations

 Phased array instruments can be 10-20 times more costly.

 Requires trained operators
 Grating lobes are similar to side lobes which may be interfering in
the time base display.
 Dead elements in an array may inhibit constructive interference
and beam forming.
 Sweep angle restrictions must be practiced.
 Not well accepted like conventional methods.
Olympus Models

 Omniscan MX
 Omniscan MX 2
AUT Vs RT

 High Speed and more reliability

 No work delays; hence more profit
 No radiation
 Real time results can be given back to welders
 Defect sizing capability reduce false calls
Where can we use

 where conventional ultrasonic flaw detectors have..

 Weld inspection and crack detection &to profile remaining wall
thickness in corrosion survey.
 Beam steering, commonly referred to sectorial scanning, can be
used for mapping components at appropriate angles