At the round table dedicated to the use of phased arrays in the framework of the exhibition-conference Territory NDT 2019 a report summarizing successful examples of the introduction of flaw detection for the control of welded joints and base metal using phased array technologies and digital antenna focusing is made. Further ways of improving these technologies are outlined.
The results of studying the effect of cyclic loading according to the zero-tension scheme with an amplitude approximately corresponding to the conditional yield strength on the magnetic and acoustic parameters of hot-rolled pipe steel 08G2B, including the longitudinal and transverse sound velocities, are presented. An AUGUR-ART flaw detector and a technique developed by the ECHOPLUS Company were used to determine the speed of sound without an etalon. The parameters that uniquely change with an increase in the number of loading cycles are determined, which makes it possible in principle to use them for the development of non-destructive methods for monitoring fatigue degradation of the material of structures made of the studied steel.
The report on UZDM-2019 made a general analysis of the technologies of narrowly inaccessible (problematic) welded joints, such as: austenitic welds, seams welded into a narrow section, branch pipe welds, seams with limited access to accommodate piezoelectric converters.
All these tasks are solved using AUGUR series systems developed and manufactured by the ECHOPLUS Company.
The presentation describes the main difficulties and ways to solve them during ultrasonic inspection of welded joints of welding pipes, flanges and bosses and welding. The possibility of using the technology of phased antenna arrays for narrowly specified welds is shown. The reliability of the control is achieved by selecting the parameters of the phased array and the scanning zone, building a three-dimensional model of the object of control. This technology can be implemented using AUGUR-ART or GEKKO flaw detectors.
The article discusses modern methods of automated ultrasonic inspection of welded joints of main gas pipelines. Among these methods, the most powerful are high-tech methods using coherent methods of processing ultrasonic echo signals. They allow solving a wide range of practical tasks, from detecting small defects against the background of structural interference of metal to diffraction flaw detection in thick-walled control objects. Thus, the implementation of the three-dimensional method of coherent image reconstruction made it possible to completely solve the problem of controlling the under-lining welded joint of welded tees with overlays. The task is complicated by the limited access to the welded joint, as well as the presence of the influence of the welded joints of the lining in the control area. It is impossible to solve the problem at the required level of sensitivity by traditional methods. The article discusses the main provisions of the technology of automated control of such objects, the main results of certification and practical tests. The use of a combination of different methods for obtaining visual data allowed us to combine productivity, high quality and complete documentation of control. An example of such a combination is the new AUGUR-TF system, which successfully passed certification tests at VNIIGAZ in 2017. The system uses methods of antenna array phasing, multi-zone control according to the tandem scheme, the diffraction-time method, as well as the method of digital focusing of the antenna. During the control process, the first three methods are used simultaneously, while maintaining a high scanning speed.
The overview report analyzes the current achievements and prospects in the field of advanced ultrasonic inspection technologies: automation, robotization, access to the cloud, protection of documents from forgery, self-diagnosis of equipment..
AUGUR-Analysis software has a built-in function that allows for the headlights or CFR images of defects to determine the phase difference of two glare, which allows you to specify the type of defect - volumetric or planar. This information is used in advanced data analysis techniques.
In an interview with the "Газета.Ру" we talk about our main achievements and plans
An example of using an AUGUR-ART flaw detector to visualize the entire section of a plexiglass CO-1 sample using CFA-X processing (combining digital antenna focusing and mechanical scanning) is shown. A significant increase in the signal-to-noise ratio is shown when using phase-manipulated complex signals