Defect inspection apparatus and defect inspection method

• US 8,175,820 B2
• Filed: 03/24/2006
• Issued: 05/08/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IHI Corporation
• Original Assignee: IHI Corporation
• Inventors: Hatanaka, Hiroaki, Tagami, Minoru, Ido, Nobukazu
• Primary Examiner(s): Nghiem, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Suarez, Felix
• Application Number:
  US12/294,076
• Publication Number:
  US 20090105967A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,237 Days
• Field of Search: 702/33, 702/39, 702/48, 702/51, 702/179, 702/182, 702/183, 73/405, 735/82, 735/92, 735/97, 356/237.2
• US Class Current: 702/39
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0289 Internal structure, e.g. defects, grain size, texture
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/044 Internal reflections (echoes), e.g. on walls or defects
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/2693 Rotor or turbine parts
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/0618 synchronised with scanning, e.g. in real-time
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/11 by measuring attenuation of acoustic waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/12 by measuring frequency or resonance of acoustic waves measuring frequency or resonant frequency of mechanical vibrations or acoustic waves in general G01H1/06, G01H3/04, G01H13/00; acoustic resonators G10K11/04; vibration or shock testing of structures G01M7/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/38 by time filtering, e.g. using time gates
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/4445 Classification of defects
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/46 by spectral analysis, e.g. Fourier analysis or wavelet analysis spectral signal processing per se G06F17/14

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to quantitatively evaluate a distribution of defects which are generated within an inspection material. In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a defect inspection apparatus comprising: an ultrasonic wave probe; an ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving device that irradiates ultrasonic waves via the ultrasonic wave probe onto a surface of an inspection material on which a predetermined propagation medium has been provided, and that also receives as noise signals ultrasonic waves that have been scattered by defects present in the interior of the inspection material; a frequency spectrum calculation device that performs time division on the noise signals so as to divide them into time widths that correspond to positions in the depth direction of the inspection material, and calculates a frequency spectrum for each one of the time-divided noise signals; and a defect distribution detection device that, based on the frequency spectrums, calculates values showing a level of defect progression corresponding to a position in the thickness direction of the inspection material.

Claims

1. A defect inspection apparatus comprising:

an ultrasonic wave probe;

an ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving device configured to irradiate ultrasonic waves via the ultrasonic wave probe onto a surface of an inspection material on which a predetermined propagation medium has been provided, and to also receive as noise signals, ultrasonic waves that have been scattered by defects present in the interior of the inspection material;

a frequency spectrum calculation device configured to perform time division on the noise signals so as to divide them into time widths that correspond to positions in the depth direction of the inspection material, and calculates a frequency spectrum for each one of the time-divided noise signals; and

a defect distribution detection device configured to calculate values showing a level of defect progression at each of the positions in the thickness direction within the inspection material based on the frequency spectrums.

2. The defect inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an ultrasonic probe drive device that moves the ultrasonic probe along the surface of the inspection material, and also lowers the ultrasonic probe towards this surface so that the ultrasonic probe comes into contact with the surface at each inspection position on the surface of the inspection material, and wherein,

for each of the inspection positions, the defect distribution detection device calculates values showing the level of defect progression corresponding to a position in the depth direction of the inspection material, and creates two-dimensional distribution data for the value which shows the level of defect progression.

3. The defect inspection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ultrasonic probe is rotated in an in-plane direction of the inspection surface when it is being brought into contact via the propagation medium with the surface of the inspection material.

4. The defect inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving device receives via the ultrasonic wave probe, ultrasonic waves that have been reflected by the bottom surface of the inspection material as bottom surface reflected signals, and wherein

the defect inspection apparatus further comprises:

a determination device that determines whether the ultrasonic waves are being correctly irradiated onto the inspection material based on a strength of the bottom surface reflected signals.

5. The defect inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the frequency of the ultrasonic waves is set in accordance with the time widths which are obtained as a result of time division being performed on the noise signals.

6. The defect inspection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a breakage lifespan determination device that determines a lifespan before breakage of the inspection material based on the value showing the level of defect progression.

7. A defect inspection method comprising:

irradiating, using an ultrasonic wave probe, ultrasonic waves onto a surface of an inspection material via a predetermined propagation medium;

detecting, using an ultrasonic wave transmitting and receiving device, ultrasonic waves that have been scattered by defects present in the interior of the inspection material as noise signals;

performing, using a frequency spectrum calculation device performs time division on the detected noise signals so as to divide them into time widths that correspond to positions in the depth direction of the inspection material;

calculating, using the frequency spectrum calculation device, a frequency spectrum for each one of the time-divided noise signals; and

calculating, using a defect distribution detection device, values showing a level of defect progression at each of the positions in the thickness direction within the inspection material based on the frequency spectrums.

8. The defect inspection method according to claim 7, wherein the irradiating step further comprises:

irradiating ultrasonic waves onto each inspection position on the surface of the inspection material; and

the step of calculating using the defect distribution detection device further comprises;

calculating, for each of the inspection positions, values showing the level of defect progression corresponding to a position in the depth direction of the inspection material; and

creating two-dimensional distribution data for the values which show the level of defect progression.

9. The defect inspection method according to claim 7, wherein the propagation medium is oil having a density of 1 (g/cm³) or less and a kinematic viscosity of 100 (mm²/s) or less.

10. The defect inspection method according to claim 7, further comprising:

detecting the ultrasonic waves that have been reflected by the bottom surface of the inspection material as bottom surface reflected signals, and

determining whether the ultrasonic waves are being correctly irradiated onto the inspection material based on a strength of the bottom surface reflected signals.

11. The defect inspection method according to claim 7, wherein the frequency of the ultrasonic waves is set in accordance with the time widths which are obtained as a result of time division being performed on the noise signals.

12. The defect inspection method according to claim 7, further comprising determining a lifespan before breakage of the inspection material based on the value showing the level of defect progression.