Ultrasonic inspection method

• US 6,792,808 B1
• Filed: 04/30/2003
• Issued: 09/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 04/30/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: General Electric Company
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: Deaton, John Broddus Jr., Wei, Li, Batzinger, Thomas James
• Primary Examiner(s): KWOK, HELEN C
• Application Number:
  US10/426,444
• Time in Patent Office: 510 Days
• Field of Search: 735/96--00, 736/01--02, 736/24--28, 736/32, 736/41
• US Class Current: 73/602
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/011 Velocity or travel time
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/015 Attenuation, scattering
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/044 Internal reflections (echoes), e.g. on walls or defects
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/106 one or more transducer arrays
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/2694 Wings or other aircraft parts
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/11 by measuring attenuation of acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/262 by electronic orientation or focusing, e.g. with phased arrays phased arrays per se G10K11/34

Abstract

An ultrasonic inspection method includes exciting a first set of transducers in an array to introduce ultrasonic energy into a component, generating a number of echo signals using a second set of transducers in the array as receive elements, and processing the echo signals. The first and second sets of transducers are exclusive of one another, and the first and second sets of transducers are interleaved.

Claims

1. An ultrasonic inspection method comprising:

exciting a first set of transducers in a phased array to introduce ultrasonic energy into a component;

generating a plurality of echo signals using a second set of transducers in the phased array as receive elements; and

processing the echo signals,

wherein the first and second sets of transducers are exclusive of one another, and wherein the first and second sets of transducers are interleaved; and

wherein the phased array reduces a time duration of an interface signal.

2. The ultrasonic inspection method of claim 1, wherein the array and the component are separated by a standoff.

3. The ultrasonic inspection method of claim 1, wherein the array comprises a linear phased array.

4. The ultrasonic inspection method of claim 1, wherein the array comprises a two-dimensional phased array.

5. The ultrasonic inspection method of claim 1, wherein the array comprises a sectorial phased array.

6. The ultrasonic inspection method of claim 1, wherein said exciting of the first set of transducers comprises modulating a plurality of excitation signal pulses with a transmit delay profile to generate a plurality of modulated excitation signal pulses, and applying a separate one of the modulated excitation signal pulses to each of the transducers in the first set.

7. A near surface resolution method for inspecting a forging, said method comprising:

exciting a first set of transducers in a phased array to introduce ultrasonic energy into a forging;

generating a plurality of echo signals using a second set of transducers in the phased array as receive elements; and

processing the echo signals,

wherein the first and second sets of transducers are exclusive of one another, and wherein the first and second sets of transducers are interleaved; and

wherein the phased array reduces a time duration of an interface signal.

8. The near surface resolution method of claim 7, wherein the array and the forging are separated by a standoff.

9. The near surface resolution inspection method of claim 7, wherein the array comprises a linear phased array.

10. The near surface resolution inspection method of claim 7, wherein said exciting of the first set of transducers comprises modulating a plurality of excitation signal pulses with a transmit delay profile to generate a plurality of modulated excitation signal pulses, and applying a separate one of the modulated excitation signal pulses to each of the transducers in the first set.

11. The near surface resolution inspection method of claim 7, wherein the forging comprises an aircraft disk forging.