Method and apparatus for mapping the wall thickness of tubes during production
First Claim
1. An apparatus for mapping out wall thickness of a tube or other object having motion in two directions, comprising:
- first laser means for generating ultrasound propagating inside tube wall over a particular generation spot on a surface of said tube;
second laser means coupled to an interferometric means for detecting produced ultrasonic echoes over a detection spot on said surface;
processing means operating on recorded ultrasonic echoes and using a given value of ultrasonic velocity and the distance between said generation spot and said detection spots for determining wall thickness at a mid-point between the generation and detection spot;
optical displacement measuring means for determining a displacement in two dimensions between said generation spot and arbitrary starting spot; and
display means for displaying wall thickness values over surface of said tube.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus and method for mapping out wall thickness of a tube or other object having motion in two directions. The device includes a first laser for generating ultrasound propagating inside tube wall over a particular generation spot on a surface of the tube, a second laser coupled to an interferometer for detecting produced ultrasonic echoes over a detection spot on the surface. A processor is provided for operating on recorded ultrasonic echoes and using a given value of ultrasonic velocity and the distance between the generation spot and the detection spots for determining wall thickness at a mid-point between the generation and detection spot. An optical displacement measuring device determines a displacement in two dimensions between the generation spot and arbitrary starting spot and a display for displaying wall thickness values over the surface of the tube.
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Citations
26 Claims
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1. An apparatus for mapping out wall thickness of a tube or other object having motion in two directions, comprising:
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first laser means for generating ultrasound propagating inside tube wall over a particular generation spot on a surface of said tube; second laser means coupled to an interferometric means for detecting produced ultrasonic echoes over a detection spot on said surface; processing means operating on recorded ultrasonic echoes and using a given value of ultrasonic velocity and the distance between said generation spot and said detection spots for determining wall thickness at a mid-point between the generation and detection spot; optical displacement measuring means for determining a displacement in two dimensions between said generation spot and arbitrary starting spot; and display means for displaying wall thickness values over surface of said tube. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for mapping out wall thickness of tubes or other objects having motion in two directions comprising the steps of:
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directing a first laser beam over a particular generation spot at a tube surface for generating ultrasound propagating inside the tube wall; directing a second laser beam onto a detection spot at said tube surface; receiving light from said detection spot and demodulating it in an interferometer to provide a signal representative of ultrasonic echoes; processing said signal, using a given value of ultrasonic velocity and distance between said generation spot and said detection spot to determine wall thickness at the mid-point between said generation spot and said detection spot; measuring optically tube displacement in two dimensions between said generation spot and an arbitrary starting spot; and displaying wall thickness values over said tube surface. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification