Ultrasonic flaw detection method and apparatus

• US 6,640,632 B1
• Filed: 04/30/2002
• Issued: 11/04/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/02/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries Company Limited
• Inventors: Arakawa, Takahiro, Shibata, Saburo, Hatanaka, Hiroaki
• Primary Examiner(s): MOLLER, RICHARD ALAN
• Application Number:
  US10/135,307
• Publication Number:
  US 20030200809A1
• Time in Patent Office: 553 Days
• Field of Search: 735/96, 735/97, 735/98, 736/02, 736/27, 736/28
• US Class Current: 73/598
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0421 Longitudinal waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0422 Shear waves, transverse waves, horizontally polarised waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/044 Internal reflections (echoes), e.g. on walls or defects
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/102 one emitter, one receiver
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/2675 Seam, butt welding
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/043 in the interior, e.g. by shear waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/0645 Display representation or displayed parameters, e.g. A-, B- or C-Scan
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/069 Defect imaging, localisation and sizing using, e.g. time of flight diffraction [TOFD], synthetic aperture focusing technique [SAFT], Amplituden-Laufzeit-Ortskurven [ALOK] technique
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/265 by moving the sensor relative to a stationary material
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/348 with frequency characteristics, e.g. single frequency signals, chirp signals measuring frequency of mechanical vibrations or acoustic waves in general G01H1/06, G01H3/04; measuring frequency or analysing frequency spectra G01R23/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/40 by amplitude filtering, e.g. by applying a threshold or by gain control
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/42 by frequency filtering or by tuning to resonant frequency
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/4454 Signal recognition, e.g. specific values or portions, signal events, signatures
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/46 by spectral analysis, e.g. Fourier analysis or wavelet analysis spectral signal processing per se G06F17/14

Abstract

In the ultrasonic flaw detection method and apparatus, wideband longitudinal ultrasonic waves are irradiated from an ultrasonic wave generator probe onto a weld portion of a coarse grained material; from the waveforms of flaw detection echoes that are subsequently obtained, the highest frequency component that can be extracted using time frequency analysis is then extracted; subsequent ½ magnification frequency components are then extracted sequentially; waveforms of a necessary plurality of frequency bands from among each of the frequency bands that were extracted and have undergone waveform separation are then multiplied, and waveform peaks that are formed by the multiplication are detected as being defect portion echoes generated by defect portions in the coarse grained material weld portion; and, as a result, information on the defect portion is obtained from the detected defect portion echo.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic flaw detection method in which:

wideband longitudinal ultrasonic waves are irradiated from an ultrasonic wave generator probe onto a weld portion of a coarse grained material;

from waveforms of flaw detection echoes that are subsequently obtained, the highest frequency component that can be extracted using time frequency analysis is then extracted;

subsequent ½

magnification frequency components are then extracted sequentially;

waveforms of a necessary plurality of frequency bands from among each of the frequency bands that were extracted and have undergone waveform separation are then multiplied, and waveform peaks that are formed by the multiplication are detected as being defect portion echoes generated by defect portions in the coarse grained material weld portion; and

information on the defect portion is obtained from the detected defect portion echo.

2. A flaw detection method in which:

an ultrasonic wave generator probe for generating wideband longitudinal ultrasonic waves and an ultrasonic wave receiver probe are disposed symmetrically at positions on both sides of the coarse grained material weld portion;

wideband longitudinal ultrasonic waves are irradiated from the ultrasonic wave generator probe onto the coarse grained material weld portion while the respective probes are moved in parallel along the coarse grained material weld portion;

from waveforms of flaw detection echoes that are subsequently obtained, the highest frequency component that can be extracted using time frequency analysis is then extracted;

subsequent ½

magnification frequency components are then extracted sequentially;

waveforms of a necessary plurality of frequency bands from among each of the frequency bands that were extracted and have undergone waveform separation are then multiplied, and waveform peaks that are formed by the multiplication are detected as being defect portion echoes generated by defect portions in the coarse grained material weld portion; and

position information and size information about the defect portion are obtained by displaying the detected defect portion echoes as an image by plotting them on XY coordinates that take an amount of movement of the probes as one axis and a length of time lapsed from a transmission of an ultrasonic wave by the ultrasonic wave generator probe as another axis.

3. An ultrasonic flaw detection apparatus comprising:

an ultrasonic wave generator probe for generating wideband longitudinal ultrasonic waves;

an analysis section for extracting the highest frequency component that can be extracted using time frequency analysis from waveforms of flaw detection echoes of ultrasonic waves that are irradiated from the ultrasonic wave generator probe onto a weld portion of a coarse grained material and thereafter extracting in sequence subsequent ½

magnification frequency components;

a storage section for temporarily storing waveforms of each of the frequency bands that have been extracted and then undergone waveform separation in the analysis section; and

a waveform analyzer having a calculation section that multiplies waveforms of a necessary plurality of frequency bands from among each of the frequency bands stored in the storage section, and detects waveform peaks that are formed by the multiplication as being defect portion echoes generated by defect portions in the coarse grained material weld portion.

4. An ultrasonic flaw detection apparatus comprising:

an ultrasonic wave generator probe for generating wideband longitudinal ultrasonic waves;

an ultrasonic wave receiver probe;

an analysis section for extracting the highest frequency component that can be extracted using time frequency analysis from waveforms of flaw detection echoes of ultrasonic waves that are irradiated from the ultrasonic wave generator probe onto a weld portion of a coarse grained material and received by the ultrasonic wave receiver probe, and thereafter extracting in sequence subsequent ½

magnification frequency components;

a storage section for temporarily storing waveforms of each of the frequency bands that have been extracted and then undergone waveform separation in the analysis section;

a waveform analyzer that multiplies waveforms of a necessary plurality of frequency bands from among each of the frequency bands stored in the storage section, and detects waveform peaks that are formed by the multiplication as being defect portion echoes generated by defect portions in the coarse grained material weld portion; and

an image processing apparatus that, when the respective probes are moved in parallel along the coarse grained material weld portion, displays the defect portion echoes detected by the waveform analyzer as an image on a monitor screen by plotting them on XY coordinates that take an amount of movement of the probes as one axis and a length of time lapsed from a transmission of an ultrasonic wave by the ultrasonic wave generator probe as another axis.