GB1118521A - Method and apparatus for ultrasonic inspection of welds - Google Patents

Abstract

1,118,521. Ultrasonic inspection devices. ITALSIDER S.p.A. 4 March, 1966 [10 March, 1965], No. 9518/66. Heading H4D. In a system for the ultrasonic inspection of elongated welds the movement of four transducers along a weld is guided by the weld seam. In the embodiment illustrated, transmitting transducers 1, (2) and receiving transducers 3, (4) arranged in a square array (Fig. 1, not shown), are carried by a gimbal and swinging- link system 45 (Fig. 9) on a tubular support 44 rotatable about a vertical axis and are coupled, through water couplant supplied down tube 44 and conduits 60, to the surface of a longitudinally welded tube being inspected. A carriage 19 supports, through telescoping members 33, 34 and cross-slides 41, 52, the tube 44 and is driven along a rail (18) mounted above and aligned with the axis of the welded tube (Fig. 6, not shown) to scan the weld. The point of intersection of the line joining the transmitting transducers 1, (2) and the line joining the receiving transducers 3, (4) is maintained on the weld seam by grooved rollers which guide the transducer movement. A record of the inspection is provided by a recorder. A section of welded pipe free of defects but provided with holes and grooves is used as a reference for the inspection and is mounted on a carriage (23) (Fig. 6) which can be moved into the position occupied by the pipe being inspected. Two light projectors 51 illuminate the weld seam to aid the alignment of the transducers at the beginning of each inspection, and a gun 54 sprays a jet of varnish through a pipe 53 to mark the pipe surface when a flaw is detected. Details of the transducer support system (Figs. 10, 11, 12, 13, none shown) and carriage 19 (Figs. 7 and 8, not shown) are given.