A CIRCULAR TRANSDUCER ARRAY FOR ULTRASONIC INSPECTION OF PLATES AND SHEETS

Several years ago, in an effort to increase the reliability of detection of randomly oriented cracks, a rotating transducer head was designed to be mounted on the carriage of an automatic ultrasonic plate inspection system. The weight of the rather sturdy motor needed to rotate this device made it impractical, but the principle was sound. Recent developments in the miniaturization of electronic circuity have made possible a substitute for rotation, namely, sequential operation of a ring of transducers. An experimental model has been built. This report describes its performance. It was not intended that it give complete coverage, that is, detect flaws of all orientations. The basis for choice of design parameters for complete coverage is discussed. Since the transducers and their attendant circuits are discrete, various modes of operation are possible, such as one transmitting and all receiving, all transmitting and receiving, and one transmitting and receiving alone. With the assistance of computer control, computer evaluation, and computer graphics the circular transducer array could become a powerful tool for characterizing and evaluating flaws.

• Corporate Authors:

  Naval Research Laboratory

  Stennis Space Center, MS  United States  39529-5004
• Authors:
  • Hart, S D
• Publication Date: 1977-5-20

Media Info

• Pagination: 18 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Analysis; Computer graphics; Cracking; Flaw detection; Information processing; Inspection; Ultrasonic tests
• Uncontrolled Terms: Computer aided analysis; Crack detection
• Subject Areas: Marine Transportation; Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00157289
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Naval Research Laboratory
• Report/Paper Numbers: NRL 8119 Final Rpt.
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 4 2003 12:00AM