Engineering Applications of

Ultrasonic Time-of-Flight
Diffraction
Second Edition
ULTRASONIC INSPECTION IN ENGINEERING SERIES
Series Editor:
2.
Doctor M. J. Whittle
Engineering Applications of Ultrasonic
Time-of-Flight Diffraction
Second Edition
J. P. Charlesworth and J. A. G. Temple
Engineering Applications of
Ultrasonic Time-of-Flight
Diffraction
Second Edition
J. P. Charlesworth
formerly with AEA Technology plc
and
J. A. G. Temple
AEA Technology plc
RESEARCH STUDIES PRESS LTD.
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Library of Congress Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Charlesworth, J. P., 1936Engineering applications of ultrasonic time-of-flight d
iffraction / J.P. Charlesworth and
J.A.G. Temple.2nd ed.
p. cm. (Ultrasonic inspection in engineering series ; 2)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-86380-239-7
1. Ultrasonic testing. I. Temple, J. A. G. II. Title. III. Series.
TA417.4.C47 2001
620.11274dc21)
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 0 86380 239 7
Printed in Great Britain by SRP Ltd., Exeter
2001019084
Editorial Preface to the Second Edition
Over a decade has elapsed since I wrote the preface to the first edition of this
book.
Over that period the Time-of-Flight Diffraction (TOFD) method of ultrasonic insp
ection has continued to find wider and wider applications as its benefits have b
een
recognised. These include the ability to scan a component, detect and recognise
defects extremely quickly compared to more conventional methods. Accurate measur
ement of defect size is another strength. Of course, correct choice of method is
essential for each different set of circumstances and there will be occasions wh
en
TOFD is not first choice. However, a very wide range of situations has now been
recognised where TOFD is the method of choice. It is, therefore, timely to re-is
sue
this book taking account of the experience which has now been gained in the appl
ication of TOFD.
Perhaps the sign that any new innovation has reached maturity is when it becomes
the subject of standards which define how it should be applied. This process
has started for TOFD with the issue of a British Standard and the launch of a dr
aft
European Standard as described in Chapter 10 of the book. The difficulties in ga
ining
acceptance of the latter indicate that this process has still some way to go. An
other
related area is that of schemes which verify and certificate the competence of t
hose
who apply the method and, here again, there is considerable scope for further in
novation.
Fortunately, the difficulty of issuing standards no longer provides an insuperab
le
obstacle to the use of new methods such as TOFD. This is due of the widespread
adoption of qualification of entire inspections as an alternative way to demonst
rate
that an inspection is capable of meeting the requirements placed on it. This pro
cess,
also referred to as performance demonstration, means that inspections do not hav
e
to be specified in detail by those requiring it (though they must still be defin
ed in
inspection procedures by those implementing the chosen inspection to ensure they
are applied in a uniform way). Instead, their performance is assessed by an inde
pendent body through the use of theoretical arguments and practical application
to test
pieces. Inspections are acceptable so long as they meet the stipulated requireme
nts
for defect detection, location and size measurement. TOFD has been subjected to
qualification of this type on a number of occasions now and has proved equal to
the
challenge.
This second edition of Engineering Applications of Ultrasonic Time-of-Flight
Diffraction therefore provides a welcome updating of the subject and again sets
out the principles of the method together with a range of recent applications. I
t
continues to be an essential reference for those with a responsibility for the w
ellbeing of engineering plant and for those who wish to apply the method.
M. J. Whittle
July 2001
v
Editorial Preface to the First Edition
Ultrasonic inspection is now established as a routine method for detecting defec
ts in
engineering structures. Unlike most non-destructive test methods, it can detect
defects when they are embedded within the material as well as at the surface. Fu
rthermore, it does not require the safety restrictions which attend the use of r
adiography,
which is the alternative method for finding buried defects. Most significantly a
nd
uniquely, it can detect cracks and other planar flaws, the defects of most struc
tural
concern, and then provide the size information required to assess their signific
ance
through the use of fracture mechanics. For these reasons the use of ultrasonics
has
grown to the point where it is the preferred method of inspection for a wide ran
ge of
plant and particularly that whose reliability is of special significance.
A consequence of the growing industrial significance of ultrasonics has been the
large body of research and development devoted to it. Work has been carried out
to establish the performance of ultrasonics, determine the factors which influen
ce
performance and so improve reliability. Other activities have sought to mechanis
e
the inspection and improve reliability by increasing automation to avoid the huma
n
factor. A further incentive here has been the desire to apply the method to inacc
essible or hostile situations such as the internals of nuclear reactors or the s
ubmerged
parts of offshore oil platforms. All these aspects will be covered by books in t
he
present series. The pace of development has been so intense that there has been
little
opportunity to take stock and present an account of the state of the art. The es
sential
information is presented in a range of research papers and conference reports. I
t is
now timely to pull this knowledge and experience together and present it in an e
asily
accessible form. That is the incentive behind the Ultrasonics in Engineering ser
ies.
The present book on Engineering Applications of Ultrasonic Time-of-Flight
Diffraction is the first of the series. The work it describes is one of the most
notable
pieces of development and application in recent times. Driven by apparent shortc
omings in the conventional approach to ultrasonic inspection, workers at Harwell
took an interesting but untried idea of Maurice Silk and turned it into an impre
ssive
and reliable alternative method for both detection and size measurement of defec
ts.
It has now been applied to a wide range of components in a wide variety of shape
s
and sizes with considerable success. Fortunately for engineering, conventional u
ltrasonics, if applied properly using well designed procedures, is now accepted
as having sufficient reliability in many applications. However, there are others
where the
Time-of-Flight method has the edge, not least in its simplicity of application.
There
are other crucial components where the availability of diverse methods of inspec
tion
provides confidence that the necessary reliability of defect rejection can be ac
hieved.
This book by Philip Charlesworth and Andrew Temple is a timely and expert drawin
g together of a wide body of work and experience. All those with an interest in
or
responsibility for the well-being of engineering plant will find it invaluable.
M. J. Whittle
March 1989
vi
Acknowledgements
Without the pioneering work of Dr Maurice Silk, there would have been no occasio
n for either edition of this book. We have been greatly encouraged in writing
the second edition by the staff at Research Studies Press who have seen the proj
ect
through from inception to completion: Mrs Veronica Wallace, Guy Robinson and
Giorgio Martinelli. We also thank Professor John Whittle for his careful reading
of
the manuscript.
We have benefited from discussions with three colleagues: Dr Tony Harker, now
at University College, London; Dr Steve Burch of AEA Technology plc; and Brian
Hawker, now with British Energy whose enthusiasm and practical understanding of
the applications of TOFD has been especially helpful.
Our greatest debt of gratitude must go to our families who have encouraged us
to complete the second edition and tolerated the anti-social habits that such a
project
entails.
We are grateful to Derek Yeomans of AEA Technology plc for permission to
use the illustration on the front cover. We repeat our acknowledgements of the f
irst
edition to: The Welding Institute (as it formerly was) for permission to quote f
rom
Report No 3527/11/81; to The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)
for permission to quote from an article by Watkins et al; to Harwell Laboratory
and
to Dr Silk to quote from AERE-12158; and to The Engineering Materials Advisory
Services and Dr Duncumb and Mr Mudge for permission to quote from the proceeding
s of the 20th Annual British Conference on NDT.
All of the figures are original although several from the first edition were bas
ed
on figures in Authority reports for which UKAEA holds the copyright. We continue
to be grateful to the UKAEA for their original permission to publish these. In
addition, we are grateful to Elsevier Science for permission to reprint Figure 3
.6.
The TSSD typesetting system we used for the first edition has unfortunately disa
ppeared without trace. However, we have found a more than adequate substitute in
LATEX, using LYX as a more user-friendly front end. The main text is in Times Ro
man with compatible mathematical symbols provided by the mathptmx package.
Most of the figures have been scanned from the original prints but some have bee
n
redrawn and some new ones added using METAPOST, a variant of Donald Knuths
METAFONT. All the programs have been run on a PC under Gnu/Linux with the
final output generated by pdfLATEX. We are grateful to the many people who have
contributed to all of these projects.
vii
Preface to the Second Edition
Ultrasonic Time-of-Flight Diffraction was invented in the early 1970s and initia
lly
developed as a research tool. Its rate of development was dramatically changed b
y
the decision at the beginning of the 1980s to plan for a Pressurised Water React
or
(PWR) in the United Kingdom. Although such reactors were common in other countri
es, a considerable body of opinion in the UK was sceptical of the safety of PWRs
.
A thorough safety case was therefore required to present to the public enquiry w
hich
was almost inevitable once a site for the power station had been named.
Nuclear reactors of the PWR type have thick steel walls withstanding considerabl
e internal pressure. It is therefore necessary to establish with a very high lev
el of
confidence that there are no cracks bigger than the critical size, in the parent
metal,
or in the welds. At about the time that the decision to build one of these react
ors in
the UK was taken, results were published which suggested that conventional ultra
sonic inspection techniques could not size planar cracks bigger than the critica
l size
as accurately as would be necessary to achieve the confidence level required.
This led the nuclear industry in both the United Kingdom and Europe, to invest
heavily in a research and development programmes aimed at improving ultrasonic
inspection of thick-section steel. The programme in the UK covered conventional
ultrasonic inspection techniques but also devoted considerable effort to ultraso
nic
Time-of-Flight Diffraction because it had already shown great promise as a tool
capable of accurately sizing planar, through-wall cracks exactly what was requir
ed.
The first edition of our book, published in 1989, came at a time when much
of the development work had been completed and several test-block trials had als
o
been undertaken. The technique had proved itself and was being adopted as one
of the essential tools, alongside enhanced pulse-echo inspection, for nuclear re
actor
inspection. Our hope then was that the technique would spread into other industr
ial
sectors. In the intervening years, this has taken place and the technique is now
a
mature one.
As we enter a new millennium, it seems the right time to bring our exposition
of the technique up-to-date. To do this we have kept much the same form as the
previous edition, starting with the theoretical background. One of the strengths
of
ultrasonic Time-of-Flight Diffraction is that theoretical understanding was deve
loped at an early stage and this has been used consistently to develop the inspe
ction
techniques used in real applications. The technique, if used correctly, is capab
le of
yielding very accurate measurements of crack size but, to achieve this, it is ne
cessary to have a good understanding of potential sources of error. We have ther
efore
considerably extended the section on errors and how to minimise them.
Since the technique now has more data to back it up, both from more complex
test-block trials and more realistic field applications, we have extended the se
ctions
covering both these aspects. As a mature technique it has begun to be specified
in
codes and standards and we have described the current status in this area.
No other industry has been pressing for such a thorough understanding as the
safety case for a PWR required, so only a small amount of additional development
work has been done since the first edition of the book. Somewhat surprisingly, s
ome
viii
of the signal processing techniques that were covered in the first edition are s
till not
regularly applied, despite computer processing power having increased a thousand
fold since then. There is room for further work in this area to demonstrate what
could be achieved with modern technology.
This book aims to provide a thorough background to the theory and practice of
the technique and we hope that it will encourage an even wider range of applicat
ions
and further advances in capability.
J. P. Charlesworth,
J. A. G. Temple,
ix
Dartmouth, Devon
Upton, Oxfordshire
January 9, 2002
Preface to the First Edition
Modern engineering has made possible longer bridges, vessels to withstand greate
r
pressures, and components generally which are expected to work under high stress
es.
Developments in materials technology have contributed to this, and, in particula
r,
many of these items rely on welded metal construction for their strength and int
egrity. The economics of designing components with huge safety margins, often
by vastly increasing the thickness of material used, has given way to designs ba
sed
on an understanding of the critical defect size and fracture properties of mater
ials,
allowing lighter, safer, structures.
Failure is often caused by cracks which enhance the local stress so failure occu
rs
at a load which would be acceptable in the absence of cracks. Fracture mechanics
has given us an understanding of the critical cracks which need to be detected a
nd
removed if a given component is to survive given applied loads. The sizing of de
fects is therefore crucial to an economic ideal of minimum lifetime cost, that i
s the
minimum sum of the cost of manufacture, of maintenance and of disposal at the en
d
of life. A crucial part of the approach to this is in-service inspection, in whi
ch any
cracks likely to pose a threat to the integrity of the component are detected an
d sized
accurately so that their significance can be determined. Accurate sizing is impo
rtant
to avoid the economic penalty of scrapping safe components and to minimize the r
isk
of failure of apparently sound ones, with the consequent threat to safety of ind
ividuals or the public at large. Although several non-destructive testing techni
ques can
be used to detect and size cracks, only ultrasound is currently capable of the s
izing
accuracy required in fracture mechanics assessments of many components, such as
those made of thick steel sections. One ultrasonic technique, that of Time-of-Fl
ight
Diffraction, has proved to be a very accurate way of measuring the through-wall
extent of cracks in such components. Since the through-wall extent of a crack is
always
one of the parameters determining the severity of the defect, and is often the m
ost
important, the ultrasonic Time-of-Flight technique is clearly of interest to any
one
concerned with structural integrity or fitness-for-purpose of components.
This book considers the need for accurate size measurement and the underlying
basis of the Time-of-Flight Diffraction method in sufficient technical detail to
enable
it to be implemented by people otherwise unfamiliar with it. Mathematical detail
has
been largely restricted to the appendices, so that the body of the text can also
be read
by non-experts. The capability of the technique is illustrated by discussions of
the
various experimental tests which have been undertaken internationally. Examples
of
its current use in the field and potential for further exploitation are given. T
here is
also an extensive bibliography in which detailed discussion of issues raised can
be
followed up in greater depth.
J. P. Charlesworth
J. A. G. Temple
Harwell Laboratory, 7th March 1989
x
Chapter 1
Introduction
Whenever we turn on a domestic appliance, fill the petrol tank of a car, travel
by road,
rail, sea or air, we rely directly or indirectly on some equipment or structure
working
reliably under stress. For example: most electricity generation involves high pr
essure steam boilers heated either by the burning of fossil fuel or by a nuclear
reaction;
gas is transported from the North Sea to the users by high pressure pipelines; h
ydrocarbon fuels are produced in refineries containing much high pressure plant;
most
modern forms of transport rely on the integrity of components subjected to large
and
rapidly varying stresses.
Components are designed with more than adequate strength to resist the stresses
arising in normal service and even to tolerate certain levels of abnormal condit
ions.
When failure occurs, it is often because the component contained a defect, norma
lly
of a crack-like nature, sufficiently large to cause a major reduction of strengt
h. Such
defects may arise from faulty manufacture or the effects of service in a corrosi
ve environment and may be enlarged by fatigue. To ensure their absence after man
ufacture
or to detect them in service, a variety of non-destructive testing (NDT) techniq
ues
may be used. Of these, ultrasonic testing is the most widely applicable, being c
apable of detecting and sizing cracks in a wide variety of locations and orienta
tions, in
many materials used in engineering and even for considerable thickness of materi
al
(greater than 300 mm in steel, for example). A particular type of ultrasonic tes
ting
technique is the subject of this book.
Ultrasonic testing makes use of high frequency, but very low amplitude, sound
waves to detect, characterise and size defects in components. The sources and re
ceivers of these ultrasonic waves are transducers, usually, but not always, made
from
a piezoelectric material which deforms under the application of a voltage. Apply
ing a voltage generates a mechanical distortion which propagates into and travel
s
through the component as a wave. When such a wave arrives at the receiver, the
piezoelectric material converts this into a voltage which depends on the orienta
tion
and magnitude of the distortion.
Other methods of creating and detecting ultrasonic waves are possible, such as
electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs) which essentially use (electro)magn
1
2
Chapter 1. Introduction
etostriction as the method of translating a distortion into a voltage and vice v
ersa, or
the use of lasers to ablate part of the surface to generate an ultrasonic pulse
coupled
with an interferometer to read the surface ripples on the component when signals
arrive back. While most of what we discuss in this book is independent of the mo
de
of generation or reception of the ultrasonic waves, we usually have in mind cera
mic
piezoelectric transducers.
The physical method of sending and receiving signals may be unimportant but
the characteristics of the signals generated and received can be important. As w
e
shall see later, the pulse length, the angular spread of the ultrasonic beam, th
e polarisation of the waves in the signal and their phase are all important.
Pulse-echo ultrasonic inspection techniques rely on the amplitude and range of
a signal returned from the defect to the interrogating equipment in order for th
e defect to be detected, sized and, possibly, characterised. The process governi
ng the
amplitude is usually specular reflection, in which any crack acts like a mirror
for the
ultrasound. For a given arrangement of ultrasonic transducers on the component u
ndergoing inspection, this process of specular reflection can only occur for a l
imited
range of orientations of the defect. In the absence of a specular reflection, th
e signals
returned will be those arising from diffuse scattering from the surfaces of the
crack
and by diffraction from the edges of the crack. These diffracted signals are of
particular interest, since, being associated with the extremities of the defect,
they may
be used to determine the size of the defect accurately and thus assess the integ
rity of
the component. The ultrasonic Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique is based on t
he
exploitation of these signals diffracted from the defect edges.
1.1
The need for accurate measurement of defect size
Engineering structures can fail catastrophically by rapid brittle fracture if th
ey contain defects above a certain critical size for the load applied. The theor
etical maximum strength of a solid, based on the chemical bond strength of the e
lements, is
never achieved in bulk solids but only in very thin fibres or whiskers [Gordon,
1976].
In practice, the resistance to brittle fracture is determined by critical cracks
either on
the surface or in the bulk of the material. When a material is strained, energy
is
stored in the elastic displacement. If the material contains a crack which incre
ases
in size, for a given applied load, then the crack will open slightly and the two
faces
become more separated. The material behind the crack faces is therefore relaxed
and
the strain energy stored there is released. However, the process creates new cra
ck
surface a process which requires a certain amount of energy. By balancing these
two energies, a relationship can be found for the theoretical critical crack siz
e ac as
[Gordon, 1976]:
ac =
2W E
2
(1.1)
where ac i in metre , W i the work of fracture of the olid in J/m2 , E i an
ela tic
modulu de
endent on the mode of tre ing, and i the a

lied tre (in N/m2 )
.
1.2. Hi tory of Time-of-Flight Diffraction
3
A ty
ical value of W would be 6 J/m2 for gla , a brittle material with a very
mall
critical crack ize, and a value of W for a ductile material uch a teel or al
uminium
might be in the range 104 to 106 J/m2 . The corre
onding critical crack ize ,
at
reali tic load of 100 MPa, but for
late infinitely wide and thick, would be a
bout
27 m for gla and 1.3 m for teel. For reali tic ized tructure the e critical
ize
are further reduced. The critical defect i a crack orientated
er
endicular to
the

rinci
al a

lied tre e and the critical defect
arameter i u ually the thro
ughwall extent of the e crack-like defect . Accurate mea urement of thi
aramet
er of
defect i therefore of great im
ortance in en uring the tructural integrity of
many
com
onent .
The ultra onic Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique de cribed in thi monogra
h
i one method of carrying out the mea urement of the through-wall extent of defe
ct
accurately. In the early u e of
ul e-echo ultra onic , defect could be located
but
there wa often little
reci ion in defect izing. To overcome thi limitation t
he in
ection
rocedure were u ed
rinci
ally in a te t of good workman hi
by
requiring com
onent , and welded com
onent in
articular, to have fewer than a

ecified number of defect of a given e timated ize
er unit volume (or weld l
ength).
While thi i a rea onable way of en uring the quality of the manufacture, it ca
n
lead to unnece ary re
air or re
lacement of com
onent under tre in ervice.
The move, by variou indu try ector , uch a aero
ace and the nuclear indu tr
y
in
articular, toward an a

roach to non-de tructive evaluation ba ed on fitne
for-
ur
o e con ideration ,
rom
ted con iderable develo
ment of im
roved NDT
technique ,
articularly in the field of ultra onic . Technique now available,
of
which Time-of-Flight Diffraction (TOFD) i one, have great accuracy for mea urin
g
the all-im
ortant through-wall ize of crack-like defect . Thi accuracy i , in
many
ca e better than 1 mm, and can be obtained in the wide range of material thickne
from which
re uri ed com
onent are con tructed.
1.2
Hi tory of Time-of-Flight Diffraction
The develo
ment of the Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique grew out of an a

re
ciation of the difficultie of achieving accurate defect izing with conventiona
l

ul e-echo ultra onic technique ; a brief di cu ion of uch technique i there
fore

re ented fir t. Thi i followed by an elementary de cri
tion of the ba i of t
he
Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique and a brief hi tory of it invention and de
velo
ment. More detailed de cri
tion of all a
ect of the technique a

ear in
later
cha
ter of the book. A review of earlier crack de
th mea urement by ultra onic
can be found in Doyle and Scala [1978], following early work by Cook [1972]. Det
ail of the develo
ment of Time-of-Flight Diffraction can be traced through a e
rie
of
ubli hed
a
er by Silk [1979a,e, 1982a,b,c, 1984]; Silk and Lidington [1974
b,
1975] and Silk, Lidington and Hammond [1980].
4
1.2.1
Cha
ter 1. Introduction
Conventional ultra onic te ting
Conventional ultra onic te ting u e the
ul e-echo technique. A
iezoelectric t
ran ducer, which often ha a rectangular
iezoelectric active element, fire a
hort-duration
ul e of ultra ound in a narrow beam into the metal and any echoe
coming back
are received with the ame tran ducer. The finite-width beam i a re ult of a fi
nite ized
iezoelectric cry tal element. The ultra onic echoe are normally di

layed on
a modified o cillo co
e, called a flaw detector, which di
lay the rectified wa
veform u ing a time-ba e which tart at the firing
ul e and i calibrated hori
zontally
(from a knowledge of the ultra onic velocity) in term of di tance within the me
tal.
The y tem i calibrated vertically by adju ting the am
lifier gain o that the
ignal from a tandard feature in a calibration block a

ear at a tandard heig
ht on the
creen. The am
litude of other ignal can be obtained by adju ting the calibrat
ed
gain or attenuation control to give the ame creen height. Thi e tabli he a
re
orting level, ignal larger than the level being a e ed a flaw and tho e
below
it being ignored. The ize of flaw i a e ed either im
ly from am
litude rel
ative
to ignal from a calibration reflector, in term of ( ay) flat-bottomed hole or
idedrilled hole ize for very mall flaw , or, in the ca e of larger flaw , e
ither from the
amount of
robe movement required to cau e a tandard fall in ignal trength, o
r
from ob ervation of feature in the echodynamic ignal a the
robe i canned.
Thi
i a very im
lified de cri
tion of the ba i of the method which, in an im
orta
nt
afety-related in
ection, can involve a great deal of manual kill or o
hi tic
ated
com
uter controlled canning, ignal acqui ition and
roce ing.
1.2.2
The
roblem with
ul e-echo technique
The
roblem with
ul e-echo technique i im
ly
ut. The e technique are ba ed
on the a um
tion that echoe come from
lanar feature which are uitably angle
d
to give a
ecular reflection back to the tran ducer. Clearly it mu t be quite r
are for
defect to be exactly normal to the beam a would be required for a
erfectly m
ooth
large
ecular reflector. The failure of variou national tandard in
ection co
de to
give the nece ary confidence in detecting mi oriented defect wa highlighted b
y
Haine , Lang ton, Green and Wil on [1982]. Fortunately, in
ractical ca e there
i
 ome relaxation of thi trict requirement, ince diffraction cau e reflection
energy
to be
read over a wider angle and for rough defect urface roughne will al
o

roduce an angular
read. Thu there i rather more likelihood of a randomly or
iented defect being detected than one might think and a range of beam angle i
u ed
to en ure that thi ha

en . However, method of izing by
robe movement requir
e
judgment of when the beam ha reached the edge of the defect. The net re ult i
that
thorough in
ection by the
ul e-echo technique require the u e of
robe endi
ng beam in at a range of angle de
ending on the orientation of the defect bei
ng
ought and require a very careful examination of echoe down to an am
litude le
vel
well below that ex
ected from a favourably oriented defect. The lack of ca
abili
ty of
conventional ultra onic in
ection to detect ignificant defect when the en i
tivity
i too low and the range of angle i too limited wa highlighted by the round-r
obin
1.2. Hi tory of Time-of-Flight Diffraction
5
Diffracted
mode-converted
hear wave
Diffracted
com
re ion wave
Fig. 1.1 Strobo co
ic vi uali ation of ultra onic diffraction at the ti
of a l
ot in a
gla block. The ultra onic tran ducer i at to
centre, with it beam aimed
at the ti
of the lot.
exerci e organi ed by the Programme for In
ection of Steel Com
onent (PISC I)
[PISC, 1979].
1.2.3
The diffraction
roce
The rea on that defect izing can be done at all on defect which are not favour
ably
aligned i that there are other ignal in addition to the
ecular reflection.
When an
ob tacle i
laced in the
ath of a beam of light, ome of the light i bent int
o the
hadow zone by diffraction. The effect of diffraction of light only become noti
ceable, for exam
le, for lit or to
of a few wavelength acro . The ame ef
fect can
be een with ri

le on water. If wave are
ro
agating acro a water urface,
ay
becau e a tone ha been dro

ed into otherwi e calm water, and the e ri

le en
counter an object, they reflect from the ide of the object and diffract round t
he end
of the object. In thi ca e the effect are ea y to ee becau e of the longer wa
velength
of the water ri

le com
ared to that of vi ible light. The ame
henomenon occu
r
with ela tic wave , where the wavelength (in the ca e of ultra ound) i ty
icall
y of
the order of a few millimetre , the effect are ea ily ob erved. The
icture of
ound
travelling in a gla block, Figure 1.1, taken by K. G. Hall at Briti h Rail Eng
ineering, Derby, how ome of the many interaction between an incident com
re
ion
wave and a defect and how
articularly clearly the diffracted wave which a

e
ar
to radiate from the edge of the defect. Similar re ult can be
redicted from th
eoretical modelling work u ing finite difference olution to the ela tic wave e
quation
6
Cha
ter 1. Introduction
[Harker, 1984].
Ex
erienced
ul e-echo
ractitioner make u e of the e edge wave to obtain
accurate defect ize , but they have to look for them again t a background of la
rger
and
robably variable
ecular reflection ignal .
1.2.4
The ba ic Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique
The thought
roce which led to the Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique may ha
ve
been omething like thi : if
ul e-echo in
ection, while u ually ba ed on a ea
rch
for
ecular reflection , i actually relying in ome ca e on diffracted wave
for
accurate izing, would it not be advantageou to de ign a technique which i aim
ed
directly at tho e diffracted wave and which deliberately avoid the
ecular re
flection which may ma k them? In addition, timing mea urement may be made to
high accuracy and if thi can be u ed to ize defect , the defect ize would be
mea ured accurately. Thi i the ba i of the Time-of-Flight Diffraction (TOFD)
technique invented at the National NDT Centre, Harwell, by Dr Maurice Silk. Alth
ough
Miller [1970] a

ear to have been the fir t
er on to
ubli h evidence of detec
ting
diffracted ignal from crack ti
, he did not recogni e that thi wa the ourc
e of hi
ignal and o mi ed the o

ortunity of inventing the TOFD technique. Time-ofFl
ight Diffraction wa develo
ed, mainly by Silk and hi co-worker at the Harwell
Laboratory, over a
eriod of about 10 year tarting in the early 1970 , from a
laboratory curio ity into a o
hi ticated full- cale in
ection method ca
able o
f detecting
and izing defect in com
onent from 1 mm thick heet or tube u
to the ma i
ve
250 mm thick hell of the
re uri ed water reactor (PWR)
re ure ve el.
In order to o
timi e the trength of the diffraction ignal and to avoid
ecula
r
reflection ignal , the
robe are de
loyed a hown in the u

er
art of Figure
2.1. A
ty
ical ignal con i t of a fir t
ul e from a wave travelling by the mo t dire
ct route,
called the lateral wave, followed by zero or more diffracted wave
ul e from de
fect
and finally a
ecular reflection from the back wall of the com
onent (a umed t
o
be a
late here). The lateral wave and the back-wall echo act a natural referen
ce
ignal , delimiting the time zone within which defect ignal can be ex
ected. N
ote
that the u

er and lower edge of the defect give ignal of fairly imilar am
l
itude
but, theoretically, at lea t, of o

o ite
ha e, o that for any individual ign
al, one
hould be able to tell from the
ha e whether it originated from a defect to
or
a
bottom.
The timing of the diffracted ignal , relative to the lateral wave and back-wall
echo can be u ed to calculate the de
th of the defect edge a hown in the u

e
r

art of Figure 2.1. Thi a ume that the defect i ymmetrically
laced between
the

robe , a
o ition which can be found by moving the
robe (while maintaining co
n tant e
aration) along the line joining them until the delay of the diffracted
ignal
become a minimum. The de
th re olution deteriorate a the in
ection urface i
a

roached but, if nece ary, de
th re olution can be maintained near the urfac
e by
moving the
robe clo er together. Thi i di cu ed in Section 2.3.2. Ex
erienc
e
and theory agree in
redicting an angular zone for accurate and reliable in
ect
ion,
tretching from about 45 to 80 to the normal to the
late urface, o thi , togeth
er
1.3. Develo
ment of ex
erimental technique for Time-of-Flight Diffraction
7
with the accuracy which mu t be achieved, determine whether the de
th zone of
intere t can be covered by one
robe e
aration. Thi i di cu ed in Section 3.
1.1.
Note that,
rovided adequate ound am
litude reache the defect and i ub equen
tly received at the receiver
robe, the nominal beam angle of the
robe do
not matter, nor ha the am
litude of the ignal any relevance
rovided the igna
l can
be recogni ed within the background noi e. The only ignificant information i i
n
the ignal timing and thi i why it ha been called the Time-of-Flight Diffract
ion
technique.
Although the technique can be, and ha been, u ed with hear wave , it i normal
ly u ed with com
re ion wave . Whenever ultra ound trike a urface or defect
at other than normal incidence, ome of the energy will be converted to other wa
ve
mode ; e.g. if the incident wave mode i com
re ion then ome hear mode energy
will be
re ent in the reflected and diffracted wave . Becau e the wave velocity
of
hear wave i only about half that of com
re ion wave , it i nece ary to kno
w
the mode of the ignal to calculate the defect de
th. The TOFD technique i nor
mally u ed with com
re ion wave
robe o that the
rimary diffracted ignal a
re
com
re ion wave and arrive well ahead of any ignal which have travelled over
all or
art of the
ath a hear wave . There i , however, no fundamental rea on
for
avoiding hear wave .
1.3
Develo
ment of ex
erimental technique for Timeof-Flight Diffraction
The technique develo
ed in the early 1970 a a laboratory, hand-held tool with
one
tran mitter tran ducer and one receiver tran ducer [Silk, Lidington, Montgomery
and
Hammond, 1976]. Thi wa u

lemented with a variety of crawler device for the
in
ection of ferritic
i
e and other geometrie [Silk, 1976]. In the early day
of the
develo
ment of Time-of-Flight Diffraction, it wa regarded a a
otentially very
accurate izing method for crack which were either readily vi ible or had been
found
by conventional ultra onic technique . Thi
laced the em
ha i on accurate mea
urement of the timing of the crack-ti
diffraction ignal ; con equently ultra
onic
flaw detector , which commonly rectify and mooth the ignal before di
laying i
t,
were con idered le uitable a a mea urement tool than were conventional o cil
lo co
e on which the unrectified ignal could be di
layed and timed to a fract
ion of
a cycle.
There ha been di cu ion from time to time of whether ingle
robe technique ,
in which the ignal i both tran mitted and received by a ingle tran ducer can
be
included under the title Time-of-Flight Diffraction. Provided a ingle
robe tec
hnique make a timing mea urement and relie
rimarily on diffracted wave energy
,
rather than
ecular reflection, the author ee no rea on why it hould not be
included. However, we are mainly concerned in thi book with technique u ing tw
o
or more
robe , and refer briefly to ingle
robe technique only when they have
ome
articular feature of intere t.
8
1.3.1
Cha
ter 1. Introduction
The fir t digital gauge
The technique wa initially a

lied to crack growing from the in
ection urfac
e
and for thi
ur
o e the total length of the diffracted
ul e i not of much ig
nificance a long a the time of arrival of the leading edge can be accurately a
e ed.
It wa recogni ed at an early tage that com
re ion wave hould be u ed o tha
t
the diffracted com
re ion wave
ul e would arrive at the receiver before any m
ode
converted
ul e. By thi mean ambiguitie of mode identification were avoided.
Commercial angled com
re ion wave
robe were not available, o im
le narrow
band
robe were con tructed by clam
ing di c of PZT (lead zirconate titanate)
to

oly tyrene hoe of the a

ro
riate angle. Two uch
robe were mounted, with
their beam
ointing toward each other, in a holder which maintained a con tant

robe e
aration and orientation while allowing the a embly to be manually or m
echanically canned along the defective am
le. Provided that the diffracted ig
nal
could be recogni ed in the o cillo co
e trace, very accurate mea urement could
be
made of crack de
th.
Becau e the tran it time in the
robe hoe i ignificant, it mu t be accurately
known if the tran it time of the diffracted wave within the work
iece i to be m
ea ured. In
rinci
le, thi calibration
roce i be t done by timing a ignal
along a
known
ath, clo e to that of the diffracted ignal of intere t. Hence, block co
ntaining calibration lot were ometime u ed. However it wa found that a uff
iciently
accurate calibration on
arallel ided
late could be obtained by timing either
the
direct ub urface ignal, later alway referred to a the lateral wave, or the r
eflection
from the back urface of the am
le, u ually called the back-wall echo.
Thi method of o
eration led to the develo
ment of a digital gauge which could
be u ed to mea ure the time of arrival of the diffracted ignal, relative to tha
t of a direct ub urface ignal in an uncracked
art of the am
le. However, it

roved difficult
to en ure that the gauge alway triggered on the correct ignal. Later develo
me
nt ,
to be de cribed, moved away from thi kind of y tem. Other work on correction
to ultra onic time-delay mea urement of crack de
th [Silk and Lidington, 1974a]
,
and crack de
th mea urement u ing a ingle urface wave
robe [Lidington and Sil
k,
1975], con olidated the foundation laid for thi technique of accurate izing f
or the
through-wall dimen ion of crack .
1.3.2
The B- can di
lay
The accurate re ult which had been obtained in the early tage led to inclu io
n
of the Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique in a tudy organi ed by the Welding
In titute on izing of internal defect in butt weld . In thi ca e the location
of the
defect wa not known and, although they could have been fir t located by
ul ee
cho ultra ound, that wa found to be unnece ary. For a given, fixed,
o ition o
f
the tran mitter and receiver relative to a defect, the unrectified ignal am
lit
ude a
a function of time ob erved at the receiver i called an A- can ( ee, for exam
l
e
the lower
art of Figure 2.1). A the tran mitter and receiver moved relative to
the defect, the
eak and trough in the A- can will come at different time . By
1.3. Develo
ment of ex
erimental technique for Time-of-Flight Diffraction
9
ca
turing A- can from a number of con ecutive
robe
o ition , and di
laying
them in a tacked formation ide by ide, a di
lay called a B- can i
roduced
( ee
Section 5.2 for a de cri
tion of B- and D- can and Figure 2.2 for an exam
le of
a
B- can).
Initially, a im
le B- can di
lay wa im
lemented by
roducing a lowed down
re
re entation of the ignal by mean of a boxcar integrator and di
laying the
out
ut
a a quantified grey-level line on a fac imile recorder. A the
robe a embly w
a
canned along the work
iece, the ucce ive trace on the fac imile recorder bui
lt
u
a
icture of the
attern of ignal , from which identification and mea uremen
t
of the diffracted ignal , relative to a uitable timing reference, could be car
ried out
directly.
Becau e the ignal for the fac imile recorder wa
roduced by wee
ing a gate
through the ultra onic ignal by mean of an analogue wee
generator, there wa
no fixed relation hi
between the time cale of the original ignal and that on
the
B- can. It wa nece ary therefore to calibrate the B- can
icture and the mo t
convenient method
roved to be to u e the
o ition (along the time axi ) of the
lateral
wave and back-wall echo ignal vi ible on the B- can, together with the
robe
e
aration,
robe hoe delay,
late thickne and ultra onic velocity. If all the
e item
of information are known, it i an over-determined y tem and o can be checked
for con i tency. If u
to two
iece of information are unknown they can be dete
rmined from the other . In
ractice, the
robe delay and the velocity were u ual
ly
treated a unknown and the de
th calibration worked out in term of the other kn
own

arameter , without ex
licit calculation of
robe delay and velocity.
Thi method
roved very ucce ful for defect detection becau e the characteri t
ic
attern and
ha e coherence of the unrectified ignal were ea y to recogni e
even when the ignal were little above the noi e level. Thi u e of vi ual a e
ment of
ha e coherence to e timate the ignificance of a ignal ha been a fe
ature of
the Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique ince that time but there i no rea on
why
it hould not be a

lied to
ul e-echo ignal ,
rovided they are di
layed befo
re
rectification. Problem were, however, encountered with obtaining accurate throu
gh
thickne ize for internal defect becau e, with narrow band
robe , the long
duration of the ignal diffracted from the to
edge of a defect would often cau
e it to
overla
the tart of the diffracted ignal from the bottom edge. To combat thi

roblem, heavily dam
ed
robe ,
roducing
ul e of about 1.5 cycle , were intro
duced.
Thi greatly im
roved the re olution of ignal in the time domain and al o fir
t drew
attention to the fact that ignal from the to
and bottom edge of a defect are
in anti
ha e. The ignal from the e
robe had lower am
litude, however, than
the narrow
band one u ed earlier and thi led to a earch for way of further im
roving th
e
ignal-to-noi e ratio, above what could be achieved with the boxcar y tem.
1.3.3
Digital ignal
roce ing
At about the time that hort
ul e
robe were introduced, mall minicom
uter h
ad
become inex
en ive enough to be u ed a an NDT re earch tool and the
o ibiliti
e
of digital ignal
roce ing had become a

arent. A tart wa made by u ing a
10
Cha
ter 1. Introduction
Tektronix Digital Proce ing O cillo co
e to digiti e the ignal from the boxca
r
integrator, ince the digiti ation rate wa till too low to be u ed directly. T
he data
wa di
layed either a a tack of A- can , or a a B- can on a Tektronix torag
e ty
e
gra
hic terminal. Thi enabled ra
id
lotting of B- can
icture with two inten
ity
level or, by the u e of hading
attern , much lower
lotting of four level
i
cture ,
each level re
re enting a range of ignal voltage. Hard co
ie of the e
icture
could
be
roduced directly from the terminal on a Ver atec electro tatic
rinter/
lott
er and
oftware wa ub equently develo
ed to
lot B- can with about ten di tingui hab
le
grey level directly on the Ver atec, from the tored data. The e technique wer
e
u ed throughout the later tage of the Welding In titute tudy ( ee Section 8.3
).
The re ult of that tudy ugge ted that the Time-of-Flight Diffraction techniqu
e had

erformed ignificantly better in through thickne izing than any other techni
que.
1.3.4
Fir t a

lication to thick- ection teel
The technique had been confined to the in
ection of mall com
onent and eemed
,
therefore, to be mainly of academic intere t u
to that time. However, with the
deci ion of the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) to build a
re uri
ed water
reactor at Sizewell, cou
led with the
ublic concern which had been ex
re ed ab
out
the integrity of the
re ure ve el, it became urgent to demon trate that there
were
NDT technique available which could en ure that the ve el wa free from ignif
icant defect . The re ult of the Welding In titute tudy encouraged the view th
at the
Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique had reached a tage of develo
ment at which
it could take
art in a large cale com
arative trial on am
le which reali tic
ally
imulated critical region of the
re ure ve el. The Defect Detection Trial (
DDT)
were organi ed by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) for thi

ur
o e ( ee Section 8.4).
The DDT am
le
o ed a number of new
roblem for the technique which
had not been addre ed before. The am
le were about 250 mm thick, being re
re
entative of the actual thickne of a
re ure ve el, wherea the thicke t am

le

reviou ly tudied were only 90 mm thick. The
late were covered on one face
by a double layer of au tenitic tri
cladding which how marked ani otro
y in
it
ultra onic
ro
ertie . One of the
late had mall defect extending only a few
millimetre into the ferritic ba e material from the interface between
late and
cladding.
Finally one of the am
le wa a full ize imulation of the nozzle crotch corne
r
region of the ve el,
re enting by it com
lex geometry,
roblem both of inter

retation of the ignal and of accurate location of the defect relative to ur
face of
com
ound curvature.
Becau e of the cale of the exerci e, it wa clear that a great increa e in o
h
i tication wa needed quickly at that time. Fortunately, much better digiti er
and
di
lay became available, together with more
owerful com
uter . Scanning had,
in the
a t, been done very im
ly by mounting the relatively mall am
le on t
he
bed of a modified milling machine o that they could be moved under the
robe a
embly. The new te t-block were too large for thi technique o a 2 m quare X-
Y
canning frame wa
rocured. The frame wa driven by te

ing motor under com-
1.4. Outline of the remainder of the book
11

uter control. The te t
late were et u
level in a water tank which wa trad
dled
by the frame. In order to horten the in
ection
roce , rather than carrying o
ut
everal can with different
robe e
aration ucce ively, an array of
robe
wa
con tructed enabling many combination of tran mitter and receiver at different
e
aration and lateral di
lacement to be u ed within the ame traver e of the

late
( ee Cha
ter 4).
To avoid the
roblem with multi
lexing, 8 e
arate tran mitter unit drove the
8 tran mitter
robe and could be inde
endently triggered from the com
uter. The
eight receiver
robe were connected to eight 20 MHz CAMAC-com
atible digiti er
each triggered from a delay generator.
While even more com
lex y tem have been u ed for the in
ection of large
com
onent of com
lex geometry, the a

lication of Time-of-Flight Diffraction to
more routine ta k wa al o ea ed by the a

earance on the commercial market of
integrated digital ultra onic te t et . One uch early
iece of equi
ment, call
ed Zi
can, grew directly out of the Harwell work de cribed above and wa manufa
ctured
under licence by Sonomatic Ltd. It
rovided all the hardware and oftware for a


lication of the Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique in a ingle
ortable
acka
ge.
Sonomatic till make equi
ment which i ba ed on the
rinci
le de cribed in thi
book, although modern electronic ha allowed a con iderable reduction in the ov
erall ize of the equi
ment. A fairly ty
ical modern in trument i de cribed bri
efly
in Section 4.5. In trument of imilar ty
e are now a
art of tandard ultra oni
c
in
ection equi
ment and available from variou ource .
1.4
Outline of the remainder of the book
One of the trength of the Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique i that many a

ect
of the underlying theory were u ed in the develo
ment of the technique. Thi boo
k
follow the ame cour e; giving the underlying theoretical background, including
a
theoretical treatment of mea urement error , before giving detail of
ractical
a

lication . In the next cha
ter, ba ic theoretical a
ect of Time-of-Flight D
iffraction
are reviewed together with a di cu ion of error in it u e for mea urement of
defect ize . Under tanding ource of error i the ba i of ucce ful im
leme
ntation
of the technique. Even if you are im
atient to read about
ractical a

lication
of the
technique, Cha
ter 2 hould not be ki

ed. The cha
ter end with a brief di cu
ion
of ome ingle
robe technique which com
lement the more generally acce
ted u e
of two or more
robe .
In Cha
ter 3 we con ider theoretical
rediction of the am
litude of the diffract
ed
 ignal. Thi cha
ter could be ki

ed at a fir t reading but i
laced here in i
t
logical relation hi
to the other material. In thi cha
ter we al o com
are Time
of-Flight Diffraction with other method . A an exam
le, an early critici m of t
he
Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique wa that the ignal am
litude are mall co
m
ared with tho e from conventional technique . While thi i true if
ecular
ignal
are com
ared with diffracted ignal , in many conventional in
ection for defec
t
of arbitrary orientation, ignal of com
arable magnitude to diffracted ignal
may
12
Cha
ter 1. Introduction
have to be u ed. Thi a
ect of Time-of-Flight Diffraction i di cu ed in Cha
t
er 3
together with a di cu ion of the angular range over which the diffracted ignal
can
be received and the choice of o
timum beam angle . The relative in en itivity of
Time-of-Flight Diffraction to the tilt or kew of defect i contra ted with the
narrow range of defect orientation that can be ucce fully detected and ized
with
technique ba ed on
ecular reflection when only one tran ducer i u ed.
With the e e ential underlying theoretical a
ect covered, Cha
ter 4 deal wit
h
the de ign of Time-of-Flight Diffraction equi
ment for ituation where the in

ection geometry i of im
le flat-
late form. Choice of frequency i governed by
a com
romi e between re olution and ignal attenuation. The arrangement of the

robe
and canning
attern for variou defect orientation , uch a defect nearly
a
rallel
or nearly
er
endicular to the weld direction, are di cu ed. Near urface defec
t
require a lightly different treatment.
Thi cha
ter al o de cribe the characteri tic of an in trumentation y tem ui
table for u e with the TOFD technique.
Cha
ter 5 deal with the di
lay and analy i of Time-of-Flight Diffraction ign
al . Part of the ucce of the technique i the B- can di
lay in which the hum
an
eye ha
roved ade
t at detecting the characteri tic arc ari ing from defect i
gnal
a the
robe can over the in
ection urface. Although the technique doe not
rely
on ignal am
litude, it i often nece ary to increa e the ignal-to-noi e ratio
. Thi
can be readily carried out by ignal averaging. Fitting of ha
ed cur or to the
characteri tic arc i one way of di criminating between valid defect ignal a
nd other
unwanted information in the image. The mea urement of defect through-wall extent
and length together with characteri ation of defect are all covered.
While the Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique give an accurate mea urement
of defect through-wall ize, the mea urement of defect length i carried out in
a
imilar way to that u ed in conventional technique . Variou method of im
rovin
g
the accuracy of length mea urement exi t and ome of the e,
articularly ynthet
ic
a
erture
roce ing, are di cu ed in Section 5.8.1.
A

lication of the technique to com
lex geometrie i another com
lication
which we treat in Cha
ter 6. In
ection of nozzle and a ociated weld i at le
a t
a im
ortant an engineering
roblem a the in
ection of flat
late . Ex
erience
ha
been gained on
ecimen re
re enting nozzle of nuclear reactor
re ure circui
t
and the node of off hore tructure .
Additional com
lexitie may interfere with either defect detection or inter
reta
tion of ignal o that defect become more difficult to ize correctly. Some of
the e
com
lexitie are di cu ed in Cha
ter 7. In
articular, we con ider the effect
of
a cladding layer which i i otro
ic only in one
lane, or of a bulk material whi
ch
may be wholly ani otro
ic. The effect of com
re ive tre on crack and how t
hi
affect the ignal and the effect of com
onent curvature are all di cu ed.
The re ult of the ex
erimental te t of ca
ability of the technique over the la
t
25 year or o are covered in Cha
ter 8. Some caveat concerning the validity of
te t-block trial are noted before we examine the detailed re ult of everal e
t of
trial , including a collaborative
roject with the Welding In titute, the Defect
De-
1.4. Outline of the remainder of the book
13
tection Trial organi ed by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, and the
international PISC I, II and III erie of trial . The trial are di cu ed in h
i torical
order ince te t-block trial them elve evolved through increa ing attem
t at
reali m. Such attem
t were not alway wholly ucce ful ince it i actually re
latively
difficult to make artificial defect clo ely re emble tho e that occur naturally
. The
cha
ter bring out the e difficultie . Some maller trial involving com
ari on
of
TOFD with other NDT technique are al o de cribed. We end the cha
ter with a
brief di cu ion of the im
lication of the re ult of te t-block trial for the
tructural
integrity of
re uri ed com
onent .
In Cha
ter 9, we look at the wide range of engineering a

lication of the techn
ique which have been re
orted in the literature. While little fundamental develo

ment of the technique took
lace through the 1990 , much wa done in e tabli hi
ng the technique in variou indu try ector . Part of the maturing
roce for n
ew
non-de tructive te ting technique i the a imilation of the technique into cod
e
and tandard . We
re ent a relatively brief review of thi a
ect of Time-of-Fl
ight
Diffraction in Cha
ter 10.
An exten ive A

endix contain the more mathematical theory relevant to ome
of the cha
ter and the book i com
leted by a bibliogra
hy and an index.
Thi
age intentionally left blank
Cha
ter 2
Theoretical Ba i of
Time-of-Flight Diffraction
In thi cha
ter we con ider the technique from a theoretical
oint of view. We d
o not

re ent detailed theory but we illu trate conclu ion drawn from modelling work
and
di cu the way in which the e conclu ion affect the de ign of TOFD in
ection.
We give the ty
e of wave which can
ro
agate and exam
le of their wave
eed .
We ex
lain elementary diffraction with em
ha i on the radiation of the diffract
ed
energy into a wide range of angle . Thi give the technique one of it advantag
e
over conventional method of defect detection and izing it relative in en itiv
ity
to defect orientation. We ex
lain how the TOFD technique i u ed to mea ure defe
ct
ize and we di cu the accuracy of uch mea urement in con iderable detail. W
e
al o de cribe ome im
ortant feature of the ignal ob erved when a TOFD
robe
a embly i canned acro the location of a defect. Finally, we very briefly de
cribe
way of u ing diffracted ignal with only a ingle tran ducer.
2.1
Wave in homogeneou and i otro
ic media
The term ultra ound i u ed to de cribe ound wave with frequencie above the
audible range. While ound i commonly under tood a a wave motion in ga e uch
a air, the term i al o u ed for ela tic wave in olid . The
o ible wave mot
ion in
olid are, however, more com
lex than tho e ari ing in ga e . A ga cannot u


ort
hear tre and o the
article di
lacement i alway
arallel to the directio
n of

ro
agation of the wave . The e wave con i t of alternate region of com
re io
n
and rarefaction in a
eriodic
attern. A olid body can u

ort hear tre , o
the
di
lacement u, now a vector, need not be
arallel to the direction of
ro
agatio
n of
the wave.
At thi tage we need only con ider i otro
ic and homogeneou media. Two di tinc
t ca e emerge: fir t the di
lacement i
arallel to the direction of
ro
agati
on
15
16
Cha
ter 2. Theoretical Ba i of Time-of-Flight Diffraction
and thi wave i called a com
re ion wave; econd, the di
lacement i
er
endi
cular to the direction of
ro
agation and the wave i a hear wave. In a hear w
ave, the
di
lacement can be in any direction
er
endicular to the direction of
ro
agati
on
but for convenience i u ually re olved into two
er
endicular direction . The e
two
direction define the
olari ation of the hear wave. In an i otro
ic medium, re
mote
from boundarie , all hear wave
olari ation are equivalent but, at boundarie
between media, the behaviour of the wave de
end on the direction of
olari atio
n. It
i u ual, therefore, to re olve a hear wave of arbitrary
olari ation into com

onent
with mutually
er
endicular
olari ation direction defined with re
ect to the

lane
of the boundary.
The common terminology for the different ty
e of wave i taken from ei mology.
The urface of the com
onent on which the tran ducer are
laced i taken to
define the direction along which the
olari ation of the hear wave i re olve
d; in
ei mology thi urface i , of cour e, the urface of the Earth. Shear wave
ro

agating at ome angle to the normal to thi urface are aid to be SV wave if
the
article
di
lacement lie in the
lane,
er
endicular to the urface, containing the dir
ection
of
ro
agation, and SH wave if the
article di
lacement i
arallel to the ur
face.
The term SV and SH tand for hear-vertical and hear-horizontal with obviou
inter
retation for the ei mologi t but le clear de cri
tive
ro
ertie for th
e NDT

ractitioner; neverthele the term are commonly u ed. The com
re ion wave i
often al o called a P wave, which tand for
rimary wave, a it i the fir t i
gnal
to arrive at the receiver. Mo t Time-of-Flight Diffraction tudie carried out t
o date
have u ed com
re ion wave rather than hear wave for thi very rea on.
2.1.1
Wave
eed in term of ela tic con tant
We hall u e the ymbol C
and C for the
eed of com
re ion wave and of
hear
wave re
ectively. In an i otro
ic material there can be only two di tinct ela
tic
con tant . The e quantitie are u ually denoted , and are caed Lam constants.
The wavespeeds are reated to these eastic constants of anisotropic materia th
rough
the reations:

+ 2
Cp =
(2.1)


Cs =

(2.2)
whee , ae the Lam constants and is the density. Othe eastic constants ae
Youngs moduus E, Poissons atio ad the bulk modulus K ad these are related
to the Lam costats through the relatioships:
E=
(3 + 2)
+
(2.3)
2.1. Waves in homogeneous and isotopic media
17
Tabe 2.1 Wavespeeds and densities fo some common mateias
Mateia
Compession
wavespeed
(mm/s)
Shea
wavespeed
(mm/s)
Reative
density
642
47
589
308
59
607
42
304
21
322
143
32
313
24
27
86
897
09
79
45
71
132
685
74
75
60
64
391
43
31
377
40
493
40
78
266
Pespex
Poyethyene
Poystyene
268
195
235
110
054
112
118
09
106
Gyceine
Ice
Wate
192
359
1498
181
126
09
10
Auminium
Bass
Nicke
Sodium
Stee
Titanium
Zinc
Aumina
Haematite
Manganese suphide
Matensite
Siica
=

2( + )
K=+
2
3
(2.4)
(2.5)
but we sha use ony the wavespeeds C p , Cs and the density to chaacteise
isotopic media. Typica wavespeeds encounteed in engineeing mateias ae giv
en
in Tabe 2.1. We use natua (metic) units thoughout this text. In utasonic
testing,
we ae usuay deaing with fequencies of a few Megahetz, waveengths and comp
onent dimensions in miimetes, and times of a few micoseconds. Theefoe, we
quote fequencies in the fomuae in Megahetz, inea dimensions in miimetes
,
the times in micoseconds and hence wavespeeds in miimetes pe micosecond.
It is woth obseving that, in non-destuctive testing appications, the ampitu
de
of the waves is vey sma and so the mateias behave in a inea eastic way.
In
othe appications, whee ampitudes may be age enough fo non-inea behaviou

to occu, wave popagation can be moe compicated than descibed hee.
18
2.1.2
Chapte 2. Theoetica Basis of Time-of-Fight Diffaction
Othe wave motions in isotopic media
So fa we have ony mentioned the waves which exist in infinite unbounded media,
athough we have pointed out that the diffeent poaisations of shea wave ae
ony
defined when thee is a efeence suface. Once such a suface exists, as it aw
ays
wi in pactice, vaious compications aise. The fist compication is that, a
t such
a fee suface, which is taken to be stess fee, incident waves which ae pue
y
compession o puey shea (SV) give ise, in genea, to efected waves conta
ining
both compession and shea (SV) components. This is known as mode convesion.
Buk waves can tave paae to fat intefaces. A compession wave taveing
paae to a fat suface does not satisfy the stess-fee bounday conditions
by itsef
and a shea wave is aso geneated taveing away fom the suface at the citi
ca
ange. The compession wave taveing paae to the fat suface we ca a a
tea wave and is sometimes efeed to by othe authos as a ceeping wave. The
shea wave which is geneated by the compession wave taveing paae to the
fat
suface is caed a head wave. We eseve the tem ceeping wave fo those waves
which foow cuved sufaces by continuay inteacting with the suface cuvatu
e
and these ae discussed in Section 7.3.
The second compication comes fom the fact that othe wave motions become
possibe at boundaies. The most impotant wave which occus at stess-fee boun
daies is caed a Rayeigh wave afte Lod Rayeigh who fist studied it. A Ray
eigh
wave is confined to the suface with an ampitude which decays exponentiay wit
h
distance fom the suface. The Rayeigh wave popagates aong the suface at a
speed which is distinct fom the speed of the waves in the body of the mateia.
This
speed, denoted by C , is given by the soution of Equation A.6 in Section A.2 o
f
the Appendix, and has a vaue of C 0.92Cs in stee. Because the Rayeigh wave
expands in ony two dimensions,
consevation of enegy equies that the ampitude
of the wave fas off ony as 1/ , wheeas the body waves tansmitted into the
medium fom a point souce expand in thee dimensions and so have an ampitude
which fas off as 1/, whee  is the distance fom the souce. In seismoogy i
t is
the Rayeigh wave which causes most destuction because it caies enegy futhe

fom the epicente; in utasonic non-destuctive testing age signas aising
fom
Rayeigh waves geneated eithe at inspection sufaces o cack faces can be con
fused with buk wave signas in cetain cases.
2.2
Diffaction of waves
When waves of any sot: eectomagnetic waves such as ight o adio waves; soun
d
waves in ai; waves on the suface of wate, o eastic waves in soids; impinge
on
discontinuities of mateia popeties they ae scatteed by the discontinuity.
At the
edges of the discontinuity, the waves wi be diffacted. Diffaction is a esu
t of
bocking o attenuation of pat of the oigina wavefont by the discontinuity a
nd
is not a popety of the edges as such. Howeve, it is convenient to visuaise t
he
pocess as one of scatteing at the edges, as this coecty gives the shape of
the
2.2. Diffaction of waves
19
ensuing wavefont. In this way, enegy which oiginay may have been popagatin
g
in one diection can be adiated into a wide ange of anges. Famiia exampes
of this ae: the way in which waves fi a habou no matte which way the incid
ent
pedominant sea swe appoaches the habou mouth; and the poduction of intens
ity
finges of ight passing though sma apetues. Diffaction thus esuts in en
egy
being edistibuted into a geate ange of anges, with a consequent eduction
in
the enegy taveing in the oigina diection of popagation. A famiia examp
e
of edge diffaction is that of ight waves at a staight edge, poducing a patte
n of
finges in the shadow zone. This iustates that the dependence of the enegy o
n
the popagation ange fom the edge can be compicated. The diffaction of pane
SH-waves at a semi-infinite pane cack edge is anaogous to the optica case, w
hie
futhe compications aise fo compession and SV-waves. Thus whie the simpe
pictue of diffacted enegy adiating fom the edge is a usefu one, it is nece
ssay to
conside in moe detai the distibution of enegy with ange to see whee detec
tabe
signas wi occu.
2.2.1
Diffaction of pane eastic waves by infinite staight cack
edges
The esuts of the mathematica anaysis of diffaction of eastic waves ae imp
otant fo the successfu impementation of Time-of-Fight Diffaction studies a
nd ae,
theefoe, noted in the next chapte and epoduced in moe detai in Section A.
4 of
the Appendix. It tuns out that the angua distibution of diffacted enegy f
om a
smooth cack edge, ike efection fom a smooth suface, does not depend on the
fequency of the wave. This means that thee is no natua ength scae in the d
iffaction pobem, so the angua distibution of enegy can be found by sovin
g a kind of
univesa pobem caed a canonica pobem. Fo a cack in a pane pependicu
a
to the ine joining the tansmitte and eceive index points, with the defect s
tadded
by the two tansduces, as is common in TOFD inspections, the canonica pobem
is that of an infinitey ong cack, infinitey thin but with no contact between
the cack faces. Athough it may seem stange that such an appaenty uneaisti
c
mode can give coect esuts, expeiments have shown that this mode is a good
one in many ea cases, as we show in Section 3.1.2. The esuts wee fist pod
uced
by Maue [1953] and wee deveoped by Coffey and Chapman [1983] as the basis
of a mode of puse-echo and tandem inspection of misoiented smooth fat cacks
.
The theoetica appoaches of Maue and Coffey and Chapman wee compaed by
Ogivy and Tempe [1983], who aso deived esuts appopiate to the deveopmen
t
of Time-of-Fight Diffaction technique. A compete theoetica desciption of t
he
diffaction fom cacks at abitay anges, incuding both tit and skew, has b
een
given by Achenbach, Gautesen and McMaken [1982].
20
2.3
Chapte 2. Theoetica Basis of Time-of-Fight Diffaction
Time-of-Fight Diffaction in Isotopic Media
As we have aeady pointed out, the Time-of-Fight Diffaction technique is base
d
on timing measuements made on the signas diffacted by the cack. The genea
situation is depicted in Figue 2.1. Let us conside a buied cack in a pate o
f some
isotopic and homogeneous mateia. The tansmitting tansduce Tx emits a shot
bust of utasound into the component. This enegy speads out as it popagates
into a beam with a definite angua vaiation, as descibed in Section A.3.2 of
the
Appendix. Some of the enegy is incident on the cack and is scatteed by it. If
the
cack face is smooth, thee wi be a mio-ike efection of the wave inciden
t on
the face. This, just ike an optica efection, occus at an ange of efectio
n equa to
the ange of incidence, both anges measued fom the noma to the cack face.
In many ea situations the cack, which tends to gow in a pane pependicua
to
the diection of maximum stess, wi be oiented much as shown in Figue 2.1 an
d
the efected enegy wi be diected away fom both tansmitte and eceive t
ansduces. Fo a ough cack some enegy is scatteed in a diections. Fo any
cack,
whethe smooth o ough-faced, scatteing fom the edges of the cack, popey
caed diffaction, causes some faction of the incident enegy to tave towad
s the
eceiving tansduce Rx . If the cack is big enough, the signas fom the two e
xtemities of the cack wi be sufficienty sepaated in time to be ecognised
as coming
fom sepaate souces. As we as these two signas, thee wi be some enegy w
hich
aives at the eceive diecty fom the tansduce by the shotest possibe pa
th, the
atea wave just beow the suface of the component and thee may be an echo
fom the back wa. Such a set of actua signas is dispayed in the owe pat
of
Figue 2.1. This type of time tace is known as an A-scan.
A typica expeimenta esut showing these signas is pesented in Figue 2.2,
athough the defect in this case is a hoe, not a cack. This type of pesentati
on
is known as a B-scan and is ceated by stacking togethe A-scans ecoded at suc
cessive positions of the tansduce pai. The votage fuctuations in the A-scan
ae
epesented by intensity vaiation in the B-scan. In the exampe shown, the tan
sduces wee moved, at constant sepaation, in the vetica pane containing the
i index
points, ove a cyindica hoe died pependicua to that pane. The signas
appeaing ae, fom the top of the figue to the bottom, the atea wave, sign
as fom
the top and bottom of the hoe, mode conveted signas fom the top of the hoe,
and
finay the back-wa echo. The significance of the mode conveted signas wi
be
descibed in the next section.
Fom the time diffeences indicated in Figue 2.2, the though-wa extent of
the cack o othe defect and its depth fom the inspection suface can be obtai
ned,
povided the speed of the waves in the component is known. This is whee the
assumption that the mateia is isotopic and homogeneous is impotant. In such
mateia the speeds of popagation of diffeent types of eastic wave ae consta
nt
and independent of diection. This is not tue of mateias which ae anisotopi
c o
inhomogeneous, and we etun to this point in Section 7.1.
2.3. Time-of-Fight Diffaction in Isotopic Media
21
2S
Receive
Tansmitte
Inspection suface
Tx
p1

Lateral wave
p2
d
p3
Trasducer
beam profile
(schematic)
Rx
p4
Crack
Isotropic
material
H
Ba
ck
wa
ll
ec
ho
a
Backwall
tBW
Sigal at receiver
t1
Time
tL
t2
t0
mode
coverted
pulse
Fig. 2.1 The two probe basis of the Time-of-Flight Diffractio techiue. The lo
catios of the tips of the crack are determied from the time differeces betwee
 the lateral wave ad the pulses which follow paths p1 + p2 or p3 + p4 .
These paths correspod to t1 ad t2 respectively i the lower figure.
22
Chapter 2. Theoretical Basis of Time-of-Flight Diffractio
Fig. 2.2 Experimetal diffractio sigals from a buried hole.
2.3.1
Through-wall size ad depth of cracks
I order to simplify the discussio of calculatig the depth from which the diff
ractio sigals origiate, we shall assume that the ultrasoic wavefrot ca be
treated
as comig from a poit source ad covergig o a poit detector. Although this
is clearly a approximatio, it will be sufficietly accurate provided that two
coditios are fulfilled. The first coditio is that the diffractio sources ar
e well ito the
far field of the trasmitter ad receiver probes, i.e. the rage from each probe
substatially exceeds the ear-field distace, defied as D2 /4 , whee D is the
effective
diamete of the vibating eement of the pobe, teated as a piston souce and i
s the
utasonic waveength. Fo 10 mm diamete pobes vibating at 5 MHz in stee, th
e
nea-fied distance woud be about 21 mm. The second condition is that the diff
action souce ies easonaby cose to the beam axes of the tansmitte and ece
ive
pobes. The centa obe of the beam extends to an ange of appoximatey /D ad
ians fom the beam axis and fo the pobe quoted above woud be itte moe than
8 . If the e condition are fulfilled, we hould be able to mea ure the time inte
rval
between ignal following different
ath to a mall fraction of a
eriod. In
r
actice
the e condition are often not com
letely fulfilled but it i convenient to
o t

one
di cu ion of the con equence until later in the cha
ter. The effect of workin
g in
the near field on the
attern of ignal ob erved will be di cu ed in Section 2
.3.4.
The effect of finite
robe ize and the con equent limited beam width on the acc
u-
2.3. Time-of-Flight Diffraction in I otro
ic Media
23
racy with which ignal can be timed will be di cu ed in Section 2.3.2.7. For t
he
initial di cu ion, we hall al o ignore the tran it time of the ultra ound in t
he
robe
a emblie ,
robe hoe , cou
ling media etc., and a ume that we can mea ure the
travel time in the work
iece accurately, relative to the tran mitter firing
ul
e. We
hall return to a di cu ion of
robe, hoe and cou
ling effect in Section 2.3.
2.
To calculate the crack through-wall ize and de
th from the in
ection urface
require nothing more than Pythagora theorem. Su

o e, at
re ent, that the cra
ck
i oriented in a
lane
er
endicular to both the in
ection urface and the line
joining
tran mitter and receiver along the in
ection urface. Su

o e al o that the cra
ck i
midway between the tran mitter and receiver (i.e. the
robe
air ha been moved
until the time-of-flight of the defect ignal i at the minimum), with the extre
mity
neare t the in
ection urface at a de
th d below it, and that the crack it elf
ha
through-wall extent a. Referring to Figure 2.1, if the e
aration between the ce
ntre
of the tran mitter Tx and receiver Rx i taken to be 2S, and the
eed of
ro
ag
ation
of ela tic wave i taken to be C, then the arrival time of the variou ignal
are
tL =
2S
C

2 S2 + d 2
t1 =
C
t2 =

2 S2 + (d + a)2
C

2 S2 + H 2
tbw =
C
(2.6)
(2.7)
(2.8)
(2.9)
where tL , t1 , t2 and tbw are a marked on Figure 2.1 and H i the
late thickn
e . The
time t1 and t2 are the arrival time of the ignal diffracted by the extremiti
e of the
crack. The fir t ignal to arrive, tL , i due to the lateral wave and that mark
ed tbw i
the time of arrival of a back-wall echo. C i taken to be either C
or C , the

eed of

ro
agation of bulk com
re ion or hear wave re
ectively.
Rearranging the above equation , we find the de
th of the to
of the crack from
the in
ection urface i d with
d=
1 2 2
C t1 4S2
2
(2.10)
and the throughwa extent a is given by
a=
1 2 2
C t2 4S2 d
2
(2.11)
24
Chapter 2. Theoretica Basis of TimeofFight Diffraction
and the vaue of the separation of the probes need not be known, since we can su
bstitute
2S = CLtL
(2.12)
for this, where CL is the speed of the atera wave. On a fat pate this speed
is
identica to the buk wave veocity C p or Cs of compression or shear waves resp
ectivey. This brings out an interesting question: which wave mode woud be most
advantageous to use? The shear wave has a waveength roughy haf that of compre
ssion waves and therefore offers an enhanced resoution but has the disadvantage
that the speed of propagation is ony haf that of the compression waves. This s
ower
speed means that in many cases the signas of interest from the defect wi arri
ve in
amongst other, possiby spurious, signas generated by mode converted compressio
n
waves which have traveed further, or by Rayeigh waves. Hence, in many cases,
the shear wave signas wi be more difficut to interpret than those from compr
ession waves. For this reason the norma choice is to use compression wave signa
s.
Athough compression waves are usuay preferabe, because of their earier arri
va
time than shear waves, there may be other considerations, such as the anisotropy
of
the materia to be inspected, which might make the use of shear waves preferabe
in
certain cases, and this wi be discussed in Section 7.1.
If compression wave signas are to be used, we can choose the probe separation
so that any signas which trave over their compete path as shear waves arrive
after
the compression wave backwa echo. Referring to Figure 2.1, this wi be the c
ase
if
tL (shear) > tbw (compression)
(2.13)
or

2S 2 S2 + H 2
>
Cs
Cp
(2.14)

Since C p  2Cs , the condition reduces to S > H/ 3. We cannot, however, excude t

he possibiity of signas which trave part of their path as compression waves
and part as shear waves, undergoing a mode conversion at a defect. Some such sig
nas appear in the ower part of Figure 2.2. Their main intensity arises where t
he
shear wave beam from one transducer intersects the compression wave beam from
the other. Since there are two such positions, a singe defect gives rise to two
 sets of
signas, compression wave converting to shear waves and vice versa.
Effects of this kind can be confusing in isoation, but a consideration of a t
he
signas arriving and their reation to each other wi normay make cear the o
rigins
of each; where any ambiguity remains, an additiona scan with a different transd
ucer
separation wi resove it. In some circumstances these mode converted signas c
an
be used to advantage. This is further discussed in Section 5.5.1.
2.3. TimeofFight Diffraction in Isotropic Media
25
20
Crack depth (mm)
15
10
5
RMS error 0.3mm
0
0
5
10
Distance across wed (cm)
15
Fig. 2.3 Sizing a fatigue crack with TimeofFight Diffraction. The fied and
open
circes are TOFD measurements at beam anges of 10 and 20 to the normal, from the
urface from which the crack grew. The olid line give the
actual crack
rofile determined de tructively.
2.3.2
Accuracy of through-wall ize mea urement
An exam
le of the accuracy achievable over a limited range of defect de
th, betw
een
about 8 and 15 mm, i
re ented in Figure 2.3 where the mea ured defect de
th a
re

lotted again t the actual defect de
th for a defect with an irregular
rofile.
The defect in thi ca e i a fatigue crack. On the figure, the actual
rofile i
given
by the olid line, while the ex
erimental value are given by the circle and ar
e taken
from Silk [1979a]. The root-mean- quare (RMS) error i found to be 0.3 mm.
The accuracy of de
th mea urement by the Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique w
a di cu ed in detail by Lidington, Silk, Montgomery and Hammond [1976].
The im
ortance of the ubject i uch, however, that it i worth
re enting it a
gain
here from a omewhat different view
oint.
2.3.2.1
Probe hoe effect
The ideali ed di cu ion of the
reviou ection ha ignored ome im
ortant feat
ure
of actual mea urement . In order to
ro
agate the ultra ound into the work
iece
at
an a

ro
riate angle and to receive the diffracted ignal , the
robe , if of th
e contact
ty
e, will have to have wedge- ha
ed hoe , or, if cou
led by immer ion, have th
eir
axe tilted, in order to achieve the a

ro
riate angle of incidence on the in
e
ction
urface. The
rimary effect of thi i to increa e the tran it time of all igna
l by the
26
Cha
ter 2. Theoretical Ba i of Time-of-Flight Diffraction
time required to travel through the hoe or cou
ling layer . To a fir t a

roxi
mation
the increa e can be a umed to be the ame for all
ath and treated a a con ta
nt

robe delay added to the tran it time of all ignal .
If the
robe e
aration i ymmetric around the crack, and the beam entry
oint
are e
arated by a di tance 2S, then the crack de
th d i given, to a rea onable
degree
of accuracy by

(Ct)2
d=
(2.15)
S2
4
where t i the tran it time in the com
onent. However, from our mea uring in trum
ent , we can only mea ure the interval t0 between the tran mitter firing
ul e an
d
the arrival of the diffracted ignal; to arrive at the tran it time in the com
o
nent, we
need to ubtract the
robe delay. The
robe delay i mo t ea ily determined from
the
time of occurrence of the lateral wave ignal. If it occur at a time tL0 after
the firing

ul e, the
robe
i given by

= tL0 tL = tL0 2S/C
(2.16)
An equivaent approach is to measure the difference between transit time of the
atera wave and that of the defect signa. Then the defect depth can be obtaine
d from

(2.17)
Ct = 2 S2 + d 2 2S

d=
Ct
+S
2
2
S2
(2.18)
The assumption of a fixed probe deay amounts to ignoring the fact that the path
ength in the probe shoes or couping ayer wi vary with ange. The degree to
which this is justified needs to be examined in more detai. Because of refracti
on at
the component surface, the exact reationship is the soution of three simutane
ous
equations [Lidington et a., 1976]


h
d
t = 2
(2.19)
+
C1 co C2 cos
S = h tan + d tan
(2.20)
C1 sin = C2 sin
(2.21)
where h is the vertical thickness of the probe shoe at the centre of the probe f
ace, d
is the through-wall depth of the diffracting crack edge, is the beam angle in th
e
probe shoe, is the refracted beam angle in the component, C1 is the elastic wave
speed in the probe shoe, C2 is the elastic wave speed in the component and 2S is
the
2.3. Time-of-Flight Diffraction in Isotropic Media
27
0.3
Depth error (mm)
0.2
0.1
0
70
robe
60
robe
45
robe
Calibrated on backwall echo
0.1
0.2
0.3
0
20
40
True depth (mm)
60
Fig. 2.4 The effect of probe shoes on the accuracy of depth estimation. The sepa
ration of the centres of the probe eements is 80 mm, the shoe thickness at
that point is 5 mm and the various curves show the effect of different ways
of estimating the effective probe separation (see text for detais).
separation of the centres of utrasonic vibrating eements. t i the total tran i
t time,
including that within the
robe hoe
Although an ex
re ion for the de
th can be obtained from the e equation , it
i com
licated and doe not readily bring out the ize of the effect . An exam
l
e i
more illuminating. Figure 2.4 how the difference in the calculated de
th deriv
ed
from Equation 2.19 2.21, compared with that derived from Euation 2.17, for
probes on 5 mm thick shoes and a nominal separation of 80 mm. Note that the shap
e
of the variation with depth depends on what is assumed for the effective probe s
eparation. The usual practice is to derive the probe index points (and hence the
effective
probe separation) b projecting the beam axes from the probe crstals, through t
he
shoes, to meet the inspection surface. Figure 2.4 shows the effect of making thi
s
assumption for 45 , 60 and 70
robe . It i clear that thi
rocedure i ati facto
ry, in that the maximum de
th error for defect near the beam axi will be very
mall. However, the
rocedure i not nece arily o
timum. An alternative i to u
e
a figure for the effective
robe e
aration which will reduce the de
th error to
zero
at ome
articular de
th. Thi can mo t ea ily be achieved by calibrating on a
ignal at known de
th. A common
ractice i to u e the reflection from the back w
all
of the work
iece a a calibration
oint. Thi ha often been a

lied a a mean
of
checking the ultra onic velocity, a di cu ed below, but, in thi ca e, it woul
d be
u ed to derive a figure for the effective
robe e
aration, u ing a velocity fig
ure obtained ome other way. The additional curve in Figure 2.4 how the re ult
of thi
28
Cha
ter 2. Theoretical Ba i of Time-of-Flight Diffraction
De
th error (mm)
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0
20
40
True de
th (mm)
60
Fig. 2.5 De
th error a a function of de
th, for a 1 mm error in S when S = 40 m
m.
a

roach. It en ure accurate re ult near the two urface and the calculated d
e
th
at intermediate de
th will be a light overe timate.
It hould be noted that, unle very thick hoe , or cou
ling layer , are u ed,
the
hoe or cou
ling layer correction to the calculated de
th are mall enough to b
e
ignored in all but the mo t accurate work.
2.3.2.2
Probe e
aration error
One of the feature which come out of the above di cu ion i that the figure u
ed
for the
robe e
aration ha a noticeable influence on the accuracy of de
th mea
urement. To ex
lore thi further, let u di card the added com
lication of the
hoe and
go back to im
le
oint
robe on the in
ection urface. We hall again mea ure
the tran it time t of a diffracted ignal relative to that of the lateral wave. W
e can
im
lify Equation 2.17 thu
(Ct)2 + 4Ct S = 4d 2
(2.22)
Here t i what we have mea ured and we want to look at the effect of the value we
u e for S on the derived value of d. Treating d a a function of S and different
iating,
we obtain
d Ct
=
S
2d
(2.23)
Thu , for mall change in S, the de
th error i
ro
ortional to the error in S.
A an
exam
le, for
robe with S= 40 mm, (i.e. e
arated by 80 mm), for a defect on th
e
2.3. Time-of-Flight Diffraction in I otro
ic Media
29
centreline of a 60 beam, every 1 mm error in S give an error of 0.27 mm in d. To
calculate the de
th de
endence, it i nece ary to ub titute for Ct in term of
S and
d from Equation 2.17, obtaining

d
S2 + d 2 S
=
(2.24)
S
d
Figure 2.5 shows how the depth error varies with true depth for a 1 mm error in
S,
when S = 40 mm.
2.3.2.3
Couping fim thickness
In order for contact probes to act as efficient transmitters and receivers of u
trasound
on a workpiece of typica surface finish, there must be a thin fim of some coup
ing
medium, usuay a fuid or ge, between the probe face and the workpiece. Norma
y
this couping fim is so thin that its infuence on the timing of the utrasonic
signas is
negigibe. However, there may be circumstances where a thicker fim is necessar
y.
In the case of immersion probes, the couping ayer takes the pace of the shoe
on a
contact probe but its thickness may vary during probe traversa, for instance be
cause
the workpiece surface is not fat. The effects of couping ayers, or other aye
rs such
as wear protection coatings, can be taken into account by adding to the mode re
presented by Equations 2.16 2.18, one or more extra ayers of uniform thickness,
between the shoe and the workpiece. The effect is again best iustrated by an e
xampe. Using the same arrangement as for the data in Figure 2.4 but adding a co
uping
ayer 0.5 mm thick, having the same utrasonic properties as water, the resuts
shown
in Figure 2.6 are obtained.
The effect of the couping ayer is very sma compared with the effect of the
shoe. For contact probes, variations in couping ayer thickness of 0.5 mm, or g
reater,
woud be unusua, so the effect can normay be negected, in comparison with ot
her
sources of error. Simiary, for immersion probes, maintaining the standoff of t
he
probe faces from the inspection surface to this degree of constancy woud ensure
that the errors from variations in standoff were negigibe. However, carefu de
sign
of probe mountings may be necessary to ensure that much arger variations do not
occur in automatic immersion scanning of arge components.
In the above discussion of errors, we have assumed that the defect signas were
timed reative to the atera wave signa. To iustrate how critica this proce
dure is to
the achievement of accurate measurement, we show, in Figure 2.7, the depth error
s
that woud resut if we increased the couping ayer thickness by 0.5 mm but ign
ored
the resutant change in the atera wave time.
Such arger errors woud, of course, be intoerabe. In inspections where the
atera wave cannot be monitored, it is highy desirabe, if not aways absoute
y essentia, to find some other signa which can be reied upon as a depth cai
bration. In
a pate workpiece, the obvious candidate is the backwa refection; in more co
mpex workpieces, there may be other signas which can be used. This issue wi
be
revisited in Chapter 6, where compex geometries are discussed.
30
Chapter 2. Theoretica Basis of TimeofFight Diffraction
0.2
Depth error (mm)
Shoe and couping ayer
Shoe ony
0.1
0
0.1
0
20
40
True depth (mm)
60
Fig. 2.6 Effect on depth error of adding a 0.5 mm ayer of couping medium betwe
en
the shoes and the workpiece. The couping ayer has the same utrasonic
properties as water. An effective vaue of 38 mm has been assumed for S.
12
Depth error (mm)
10
8
6
4
2
0
0
20
40
True depth (mm)
60
Fig. 2.7 Effect of the same added couping ayer as in Figure 2.6 but ignoring t
he
change in atera wave timing caused by the couping ayer.
2.3. TimeofFight Diffraction in Isotropic Media
2.3.2.4
31
Variations in veocity
Thus far we have assumed that the veocity of the appropriate mode of utrasonic
wave in the workpiece is known accuratey. For a pate workpiece of uniform, hom
ogeneous, isotropic materia, this requirement is easiy met by timing the inter
va
between backwa refections for a beam norma to the surface. In more compex
geometries or with materias with ess idea properties, the inaccuracy of veoc
ity estimates, or variations in veocity with position or direction may become a
significant
source of error. To see how a change in veocity woud effect the depth measurem
ents, we start, again, with Equation 2.22, treating it as expressing d as a func
tion
of C for constant t and S. Differentiating with re
ect to C and d, we obtain
d
Ct(Ct S)
=
C
4Cd
Expressing Ct in term of S and d from Equation 2.17, we get


2 + d2
2 + d2 S
S
S
d
=
C
Cd
For d very much smaer than S, this simpifies to
(2.25)
(2.26)
d
d
=
(2.27)
C 2C
from which we deduce that a 1% error in C gives a 0.5% error in d, for d  S.
d/C increases with d but not very rapidy, so that for S = 40 mm, the depth error
has increased to 0.67% for a depth of 60 mm (Figure 2.8).
These resuts show that it is we worth obtaining an accurate vaue for the ve
ocity and that where veocity variations occur, significant depth errors can ari
se. This
issue wi be revisited in Chapter 7, when anisotropic materias are discussed.
One way of maintaining a check on the veocity is to monitor the timing of the
backwa echo. From Equations 2.6 and 2.9, we can show that
2H
C= 
2 t2
tbw
L
(2.28)
Here, it shoud be noted that tbw and tL are the trave times within the workpie
ce and
they can ony be measured if the probe deay is accuratey known. However, atho
ugh
the probe deay may be regarded as a property of the probe assemby aone, it ca
n
ony be measured by appying the probes to a workpiece for which the utrasonic
veocity is aready known. The discussion of probe shoe effects, above, shows th
at
the precise vaue of probe deay which woud be measured in such a caibration
depends on both the thickness of the caibration pate and its utrasonic veoci
ty. We
concude that, for the most accurate work, it is preferabe to use some other me
thod
of measuring the utrasonic veocity in the workpiece and to use the backwa e
cho
as a means of estimating an effective probe separation which wi minimise the p
robe
shoe effects. In a workpiece in which the veocity may vary, the backwa echo
may
provide a usefu means of monitoring those variations.
32
Chapter 2. Theoretica Basis of TimeofFight Diffraction
0.5
Depth error (mm)
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0
20
40
True depth (mm)
60
Fig. 2.8 Effect of a 1% veocity error on the accuracy of depth estimation for
C = 5.9 mm/s and S = 40 mm.
2.3.2.5
Inspection surface characteristics
The discussion of accuracy has been based on the assumption that the inspection
surface is a smooth fat pane. Minor departures from fatness wi obviousy de
grade the accuracy somewhat because the probes wi be dispaced up or down from
the assumed position. The depth errors wi be of the same order as, or ess tha
n,
the dispacements of the probes. Major departures from fatness introduce geomet
ric considerations and wi be considered in more detai in the chapter on comp
ex
geometries. If the surface is rough, on a scae comparabe with the utrasonic w
aveength, the accuracy may be degraded by variations in the thickness of the co
uping
ayer, as discussed above, or by changes in the shape of the utrasonic puse re
suting
from a variation of couping efficiency with frequency.
2.3.2.6
Effect of time resoution on depth resoution
Returning to the equations for the depth and throughwa extent of the crack de
tected
and sized by the TimeofFight Diffraction technique, we see that the resoutio
n
of the throughwa position and extent is determined by the resoution of a tim
ing
measurement. The depth resoution d can be derived in terms of the resoution in
the time measurement (t), by differentiation of Equation 2.15 a [Silk, 1978],
d =
C (t)
2 co
(2.29)
2.3. Time-of-Flight Diffraction in Isotropic Media
Through wall resolution (mm)
3
T
33
R
Beam
angle
2
1
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Beam angle (degrees)
70
80
90
Fig. 2.9 Depth resolution of Time-of-Flight Diffraction in the through wall dire
ction
for buried or surface breaking defects in steel. A time resolution of 50 ns is
assumed.
where is the angle, measured from the normal to the inspection surface, of the
ra joining the tip of the defect to the transmitter centre, as shown in Figure
2.1. A
plot of this function for (t) = 50 n i hown in Figure 2.9, and i di cu ed in
Section 3.1.1.
The re olution of time mea urement, (t), i related to both the ignal frequency
and the digital am
ling rate. Sam
ling rate of 20 MHz are common and
rate u
to 200 MHz are readily available. A re olution of 1 am
ling interval (
50 n
at 20 MHz) i ea ily obtainable and higher re olution can be obtained, in favour
able
circum tance , by inter
olation [Charle worth and Lidington, 1985]. A am
ling
interval of 50 n give ati factory re olution for thick material where an accu
racy
of 1 mm i ufficient but for in
ecting thin-walled tube of wall thickne le
than
1 mm it would be nece ary to u e higher frequencie and a higher digiti ation r
ate.
The higher am
ling rate are only advantageou if the ignal ha frequency com

onent which require the higher rate (i.e. a

roach half the am
ling frequency
)
and if the time tability of the electronic y tem i ufficiently good. The fre
quency
content of the ignal i
artly determined by the de ign of the ultra onic tran
ducer
and
artly by the
ro
agation characteri tic of the material being in
ected. W
e
hall not di cu tran ducer de ign in thi book, but ome di cu ion of the eff
ect of
material
ro
ertie on
ro
agation will be introduced in Section 7.1 with refere
nce
to ani otro
ic media.
The other im
ortant feature of Equation 2.29 i the co term in the denominator.
This encapsulates the decline in resolution
for near surface defects. It should be

clear that, since cos is simpl d/ S2 + d 2 , the definition of near-surface sca

les
with S. Thus the resolution available on a 10 mm deep defect measured with 80 mm
34
Chapter 2. Theoretical Basis of Time-of-Flight Diffraction
probe separation is the same as that on a 2 mm deep defect measure with 16 mm
probe separation. It might appear from this that a small probe separation should
alwas be used but other considerations also affect the choice. If deep defects,
as
well as shallow ones, are sought, the beam angle and probe separation have to be
a compromise between the reuirements for deep and shallow defects. In critical
cases, separate scans for defects in different depth zones ma be necessar.
2.3.2.7
Effect of timing accurac
In addition to the considerations set out above which refer to how small an inte
rval
of time can be accuratel measured, we have to consider other possible errors in
the
time measurement.
The tpical signal pulse from a well-damped ultrasonic transducer, at a point
near the beam axis, consists of two or three ccles of the resonant freuenc wi
th an
approximatel Gaussian envelope. It is eas to make accurate timing measurements
on a signal of that tpe and common practice is to base such measurements on the
first reall well defined zero crossing of the signal. Although such a measureme
nt
ma be accurate, in its own terms, to a small faction of a period of the dominan
t
freuenc, it does not necessaril follow that defect depths or sizes calculated
from
it will be correspondingl accurate. For that to be the case, the form of the si
gnal
pulse would need to be the same for all the signals involved, a condition which
is
rarel completel fulfilled in practice.
Two disturbing factors need to be considered: first, measurements often involve
pulses which travel b routes far enough from the axis of one or both transducer
s
for distortion of the pulse shape to arise; secondl the phase of pulses can var
,
depending on what processes of diffraction, or reflection the undergo en route.
We
shall consider these two factors separatel.
The theor of the variation in pulse form with angle from the beam axis is set o
ut
in Section A.5 of the Appendix. Here, we merel draw on two important features o
f
that theor:
For a beam travelling at an angle from the beam axis greater than the nominal
beam width, the pulse is split into leading and trailing components which appear
to have originated from the nearest and furthest
of the transducer
points

face. B the nominal beam width we mean sin1 D where D is the transducer diameter
and is the waveength at the centre frequency of the onaxis
puse.
Because the beam width is frequency dependent, ow frequency components
become reativey more dominant as the ange from the beam axis increases
and can strongy affect the puse shape, especiay at anges very much greater
than the nomina beam width. The extent to which this effect is observed
depends on the owfrequency response of the receiver ampifier.
The effect of these offaxis effects on defect signas is iustrated in the upp
er part
of Figure 2.14 and discussed in more detai in Section 2.3.4. It is demonstrated
in
2.3. TimeofFight Diffraction in Isotropic Media
35
the ower part of Figure 2.14 that the effects can be very much reduced by reduc
ing
the effective probe diameter. Here we concentrate on the most important situatio
n
where defect signas originate from cose to the beam axis of both probes but th
e
atera wave is used as a timing reference.
It is shown in Section A.5 that, provided the ow frequency components are atten
uated by the receiver ampifier, the characteristic shape of the atera wave pu
se
is that of a centra puse with eading and traiing sateites of about haf th
e ampitude. In practice, the sateites seem to be smaer than that and someti
mes hard to
detect on a greyscae Bscan. There is some evidence in Figure 2.2 of a traiin
g
aterawave sateite and the eading one may have been present prior to the st
art of
the recording gate. On the whoe it seems unikey that the sateites wi be 
arge
enough to be a confusing factor.
The centra puse has fewer cyces than the onaxis puse and a sighty ower
frequency. In shape, it matches the centra part of the onaxis puse we and,
in
particuar, its centra zero crossing aigns with the centra zero of the onaxi
s puse.
It is cear that this is the measurement point to use and any other wi incur s
ome
error. If the receiver ampifier has a fat response down to very ow frequencie
s, the
centra puse of the atera wave can be burredout as far as the sateite puse
s into
something ike a singe cyce. In this case the centra zero crossing is sti a
n accurate
timing reference.
It is difficut to be precise about the magnitude of errors which might arise fr
om
a fauty choice of measurement points, because it is very dependent on the puse
shape. However, it is cear that errors of at east one cyce at the nomina fre
quency
coud occur, eading to errors in depth measurement of severa mm at 5 MHz for
our typica 80 mm probe separation. This is arger than any of the errors previo
usy
discussed, except perhaps for uncorrected variations in couping ayer thickness
.
We now come to the question of signa phase. In the discussion of puse shape
we have impicity ignored the effect of the diffraction process on the phase. T
he
theory is described in detai in Section A.4 but the essence of it is that, for
the probe
anges in common use, 45 70 , the
ha e of the ignal from the bottom of a crack
hould lag that of the lateral wave by /4, while that from the to
of the crack l
ead
by 3/4. Raven croft, Newton and Scruby [1991] obtained good agreement with
theory for an o
en fatigue crack but found rather variable re ult for other def
ect .
The conventional a

roach to ignal
ha e ha been to a ume that the ignal fro
m
the bottom of the defect ha the ame
ha e a the lateral wave and that from th
e to

of the defect ha o

o ite
ha e (vice-ver a relative to the back-wall echo). Me
a urement ba ed on the e a um
tion are likely to be, on average, in error by
about one
eighth of a
eriod at the centre frequency of the
ul e, although error
erha

twice
a large could occur, de
ending on the nature of the defect. Thi error i ty
ic
ally le
than one digital am
ling interval, o i not a major ource of error although i
t might
be ignificant in the mo t accurate work. Burch and Ram ey [1986] demon trated
how ignal
ha e can be accurately mea ured digitally ( ee Section 5.8.2) and, b
y
im
lication, how accurate ignal timing can be obtained irre
ective of
ha e. F
or
very accurate work, de
th error ari ing from
ha e difference could be elimina
ted
36
Cha
ter 2. Theoretical Ba i of Time-of-Flight Diffraction
Tran mitter
Receiver
Tx
Rx
t1
Diffraction edge
t2
Elli
e with foci Tx , Rx i the locu
of
oint with t1 + t2 = con tant
Fig. 2.10 Elli
tical locu of
oint with con tant travel time from tran mitter
Tx to
receiver Rx .
by u ing thi method.
From thi di cu ion, we can derive ome u eful guideline for a

lying TOFD to
obtain accurate mea urement .
U e the malle t
robe con i tent with adequate ignal trength becau e they
will have a larger beam width and o off-axi ignal , uch a the lateral wave,
will be le di torted than with large
robe .
If the lateral wave i to be u ed for timing, examine it ha
e, relative to tha
t
of a ignal from near the beam centreline and choo e the
reci e mea urement

rocedure with care, bearing in mind that the true corre
ondence i between
the centre of the lateral wave ignal and the centre of the defect ignal. If th
e
fir t well-defined zero cro ing of a defect ignal i u ed for mea urement, a
correcting off et may need to be added to the lateral wave time.
For
robe angle of much le than 60 , it may be
referable to u e the backwall
echo a a reference. Alternatively, on a flat work
iece of con tant thickne , i
t may be better to mea ure the
robe e
aration and
robe delay accurately by ca
libration on a te t block of the ame material a the in
ection
work
iece and u e the e figure , rather than a lateral wave or back-wall echo
time to calculate the defect de
th .
Examine the
ha e of the defect ignal carefully and choo e the mea urement
o
int corre
ondingly, otherwi e there could be a much a a half
eriod
error in the mea ured time of a defect to
relative to a defect bottom.
In a material with high attenuation, ignificant change in
ul e ha
e with de

th
may occur. Thi ari e becau e the attenuation almo t alway increa e with fre-
2.3. Time-of-Flight Diffraction in I otro
ic Media
37
70mm
Tx
Tran it time 17
30mm
Rx1
Rx2
Tran it time 20
Fig. 2.11 The elli
tical loci of a crack ti
determined by time difference . A t
ran mitter and two receiver are hown; two tran mitter and one receiver
would
roduce an equivalent diagram. The defect ti
i at the inter ection of th
e two elli
e .
quency, o that ignal travelling by a longer
ath have their high frequency co
m
onent relatively more attenuated than their low frequency com
onent . In thi
ca e,
a mea urement of the interval between equivalent feature of the waveform may be
difficult to carry out, or may be ubject to y tematic error, o the accuracy o
f the
technique may be degraded in thi ty
e of material.
2.3.3
Locu of e timated crack through-wall ize or de
th
So far, we have con idered the im
lified ca e, where the crack i ymmetrically

laced between tran mitter and receiver, but thi i not the mo t general relati
ve

o ition of the
robe and defect. In general the crack will lie omewhere betwe
en
the two
robe hown in Figure 2.1, but not nece arily midway between them. The

o ible location of the crack ti
lie on loci of con tant travel time, which
are arc
of elli
e with the centre of the two
robe a foci. Thi i hown in Figure
2.10.
From thi figure, it i clear that ome ambiguity exi t in the actual de
th fro
m
the urface and the through-wall extent of a crack ized with ju t two
robe , a
lthough thi error will be relatively mall if the defect i clo e to the midway

o ition
a umed in deriving Equation 2.10 and 2.11. If we add another tran mitter, or a
nother receiver, a hown in Figure 2.11, then the ambiguity i removed at lea t
for
infinitely long defect .
For truly three-dimen ional defect , at lea t four
robe , or the equivalent ach
ieved
by multi
le can at different e
aration , are required for unambiguou locatio
n and
izing. Often further redundancy, involving more
robe
air , i an im
ortant
a
rt
of en uring reliable detection and accurate izing of crack in thick walled mat
erial,
uch a the
re ure ve el of a
re uri ed water reactor. The rationale for de

loyment of multi
le
robe i di cu ed in more detail in Section 4.1.2 and ex

erience
38
Cha
ter 2. Theoretical Ba i of Time-of-Flight Diffraction
130
T7/R6 t=17.90 ec
140
150
To
of defect
y = 30 5mm
x = 160 1mm
T6/R6 t=20.85 ec
T7/R7 t=13.75 ec
T7/R6 t=20.10 ec
T6/R7 t=16.70 ec
T6/R6 t=24.35 ec
160
T7/R7 t=16.25 ec
170
T6/R7 t=19.50 ec
180
190
100
x
Bottom of defect
y = 35  5mm
x = 175  1mm
0
y
100
Fig. 2.12 Loci indicating possibe sites of diffraction edges from individua ob
servations coectivey ocate the top and bottom in both x and y. The zcoordina
tes are determined directy from the graphica presentation [from
Hawker, 1983].
with depoyment of compex probe arrays in the Defect Detection Trias is discus
sed
in Section 8.4. An exampe of oci from severa pairs of transmitters and receiv
ers
obtained in scans over a defective region of one of the pates in the Defect Det
ection Trias is given in Figure 2.12 [from Hawker, 1983] with the z (throughwa
)
coordinates determined directy from the graphica presentation.
2.3.4
Diffraction arcs
Athough deveoped initiay as a too for sizing cracks whose ocation was are
ady
known, the TimeofFight Diffraction technique has usuay been appied in prac
tice
to detect the defects as we. This is made possibe by use of the Bscan presen
tation
aided by the exceent sensitivity of the human eye and brain for spatia cohere
nce.
The spatia coherence in the Bscan image takes the form of signa arcs generate
d as
the transducers approach and recede from the defect. It is cear that, with the
defect
symmetricay between transmitter and receiver, crossing the pane passing throu
gh
both transmitter and receiver and norma to the inspection surface, the transit
time of
the puse is at a minimum. As the transducers move away from this position, aon
g
a scan ine perpendicuar to the pane of the defect, the transit time wi incr
ease.
Hence, if the transducers are scanned from one side of the symmetrica position
to
the other, the transit time of the diffracted signa wi reduce to a minimum an
d then
2.3. TimeofFight Diffraction in Isotropic Media
39
increase again, forming an arc on the Bscan presentation. Such an arc is cear
y
visibe in Figure 2.2 for a scan over a buried sidedried hoe.
In order to iustrate some of the properties of these arcs we consider a simpi
fied
situation in which the transmitting and receiving transducers ocated on a fat
pate
surface and we cacuate the timeoffight for a puse scattered by a sma sph
erica
pore at a depth d. This defect is essentiay a point scatterer. To cacuate th
e effect
of scanning the transducers, it is easier to fix the transmitter and receiver an
d et the
defect move aong some ine parae to the pate surface. The timeoffight ca
n then
be obtained as a function of the distance of the defect aong its scan direction
from
some arbitrary origin. The origin of coordinates is taken to ie in the surface
and we
fix the transmitter at (S, 0, 0) and the receiver at (S, 0, 0). Let the defect po
sition be
(x, y,d), then the timeoffight t is given by


1
2
2
2
t=
(x + s) + y + d +
(x s)2 + y2 + d 2
(2.30)
C
where C is the appropriate signa veocity. This equation is for a fixed positio
n of the
sma pore. If we simuate a transducer scan by aowing the defect to move aon
g a
path parae to the surface given by a straight ine such as
y = mx + constant
then we get an equation which is not of any we known form. There is, however,
one specia case, when the transducers scan parae to the yaxis with the defe
ct
symmetricay paced between them (a Dscan). In this case, x = 0 and
C2t 2 y2
2 =1
4k2
k
(2.31)
where y gives the scan position and k2 S2 + d 2 is a constant. Equation 2.31 is
recognised as the equation of a hyperboa. This has two branches; in the one of
physica interest, t is at a minimum at the point where the scattering point ie
s in the
pane defined by the two beam axes and it increases as the point moves away from
that pane. From physica arguments it is cear that signa oci, athough hyper
boic
ony in the specia case referred to above, wi be of the same genera shape fo
r a
scan paths in this simpe geometry. In particuar, the signa oci for a scan pa
rae
to the pane defined by the beam axes (a Bscan) wi ook very ike hyperboae
for
deep defects but wi appear increasingy fattened near the minimum as the surf
ace
is approached (see Figure 5.5).
When the defect is we away from the beam axes of the transducers even simpe
defects can yied compex patterns of arcs. These arise because signas generate
d
at the separate transducer edges can trave to the defect and back to the receiv
er as
distinct wavepackets without interference, making it appear as though for each p
air
of probes there were in fact two transmitters and two receivers giving four poss
ibe
arcs for each defect extremity. These effects are ony striking in the near fie
d of the
transducers. Figure 2.13 shows schematicay the geometry used in the foowing
40
Chapter 2. Theoretica Basis of TimeofFight Diffraction
2S
150mm
Tx
2p
Rx
2p
h
S
b
b
a
Paths to/from
inner and outer
edges of transducers
b
c
50mm
d
x
Displacement of probe pair
Transit time (microsec) including time spent in shoe
33
34
35
36
2
1
1:
2:
3:
4:
a+d
a+c
b+d
b+c
3
1
37
4
3
38
4
2
60
40
20
0
20
40
60
Dispacement of probe pair from symmetrica position (mm)
Fig. 2.13 Mutipe arcs produced by the inside and outside edges of the transmit
ter
and receiver probes. The probes are 15 mm in diameter, have a beam ange
of 60 and are e
arated by 150 mm; the defect ti
i located 50 mm below
the urface.
2.3. Time-of-Flight Diffraction in I otro
ic Media
41
di cu ion of the origin of the e multi
le arc and how
rediction of their
ha
e
for
robe of diameter 15 mm, e
arated by l50 mm, canning over a
oint defect
50 mm below the urface. For a crack, there would be a imilar
attern of arc f
or
both the to
and bottom crack edge ,
rovided the defect through-wall dimen ion
wa greater than the
ul e length, or bigger than about 2 .
In the geomety shown in Figue 2.13 the pobes ae sepaated by 2S as usua,
each pobe is of diamete 2p, the defect is at depth z, and x denotes the hoizo
nta
distance of the defect fom the pane midway between tansmitte and eceive, i
.e.
the offset of the pobes fom the position of minimum signa tave time. If the
fu
geomety of the pobe shoes and the Snes Law efaction at the wokpiece sufac
e
is incuded in the anaysis, a soution can ony be obtained numeicay and tha
t is
the way the cuves in Figue 2.13 have been cacuated. Howeve, an appoximate
soution can be obtained by using a constuction due to Coffey and Chapman [1983
],
in which the pobes and shoe assembies ae epaced by vitua pobes of adius
p = a (cos / cos ), where a is the true probe radius and and are the beam
angle and shoe angle respectivel. The virtual probes are centred at the index p
oints
on the workpiece surface, and aligned normal to the beam axes. Paths from these
probes to points in the interior of the workpiece are treated as ling entirel
within
the workpiece material; i.e. the surface is deemed to have been removed.
We define u = p sin and v = p cos . Then, with these changes, the travel times
become ti , with i = 1, 2, 3, 4, given b
1
ti =
C


1
2
2
(S + i v + x) + (z i u) +
(S + i v x)2 + (z i u)2 (2.32)
C
where the p ths re l
elled: i = 1 for r ys + d, on Figure 2.13, with i = i = +
1;
i = 2 for r ys + c with i = +1, i = 1; i = 3 for r ys
+ d with i = 1,
i = +1; nd i = 4 for r ys
+ d with i = i = 1.
is the
e m ngle. Arcs
c lcul ted from these formul e gree very closely in sh pe with the ones shown i
n
Figure 2.13,
ut,
ec use the time spent
y the ultr sound in the pro
e shoes h
s

een ignored, they re displ ced on the time xis

y const nt mount to e rlie
r
time.
The rcs themselves show the differences in tr vel time long the different p th
s

ut when considering the effect on the o

served sign ls, the effect of the pulse
sh pe
h s to
e considered. In gener l, pulses tr velling
y different p ths will over
l p nd
interfere with e ch other so th t the received pulse sh pe is modified. The prec
ise
effects will depend on the fund ment l freuency of the pulse nd the sh pe of i
ts
envelope. We here ssume typic l pulse with n pproxim tely G ussi n envelope
centred on 5 MHz. In the p rticul r c se which Figure 2.13 illustr tes, p irs of
rcs
re lmost coincident over much of their length, so the effect is to split the s
ign l into
two rcs e ch with pulse sh pe which differs from the
sic pulse sh pe only i
n
h ving freuency components which re well
ove the centre freuency somewh t
ttenu ted. However, where ll four rcs cross in the centre, the effects re mo
re
severe. Here, destructive interference occurs t the fund ment l freuency, le v
ing
severely distorted pulse with domin nt low freuency component.
42
Ch pter 2. Theoretic l B sis of TimeofFlight Diffr ction
These ch r cteristics re
orne out in Figure 2.14 which shows such rcs recorde
d
from
lock cont ining sidedrilled holes. The upper picture shows the sign ls
o
t ined from 15 mm di meter tr nsducers. The multiple rcs from the upper surf
ce
of the holes reduce the ccur cy of depth me surement nd the sign ls from the
lower surf ce of the holes re o
scured. A solution, for immersion pro
es, is to
m sk the tr nsducer f ces with
sor
ent m teri l such s polytetr fluoroethylen
e
(PTFE) le ving only sm ll perture. The perture c n
e circul r or, to llow
more
energy through, slotsh ped, with the long xis ligned perpendicul r to the pl
ne
cont ining the
e m xes. The perture width defines the tr nsducer width for th
e
c lcul tion of ne rfield dist nce nd so c n
e chosen to ensure th t the defec
ts of
interest re effectively in the f r field. The results of m sking the tr nsducer
s with
3 mm wide slots re shown in the lower p rt of Figure 2.14. The sign l rcs from
the
upper surf ces of the holes re now single nd, for the left h nd hole, the sign
l from
the lower surf ce is now cle rly defined.
The conclusion is th t, for sizing defects t short r nge, m sking the tr nsduce
r
f ces will
ring improved sizing ccur cy, euiv lent to the use of sm ller di m
eter
tr nsducers. We c n go further nd st te s gener l principle th t, for
est
ccur cy,
the sm llest di meter tr nsducers th t will provide deu te sign l strength sho
uld

e used.
2.4
Altern tive Methods of Cr ck Depth Estim tion
V rious methods of determining the cr ck depth
sed on timeofflight inform ti
on
re v il
le nd do not rely on symmetric l disposition of the pro
es round
the
cr ck. Curtis nd H wker [1983] nd H wker [1983] used the inform tion from up
to 42 com
in tions of tr nsducer nd receiver p irs, out of tot l possi
le 64
com
in tions, to loc te the tips of cr cks in ll three dimensions
y finding th
e common
intersection of the elliptic l loci, s shown in Figure 2.12.
M k [1985] descri
ed sever l theoretic l ppro ches to the identific tion of the
depths of defect fe tures. For pulseecho configur tion with two tr nsducers s
ep r ted
y n mount 2S, the depth of the cr ck tip is found from

d =C
P12
1
4

2S P12 P22
+
C2
2S

where P1 nd P2 re the pulseecho tr vel times from e ch tr nsducer to the tips
of
the cr ck, nd C is the prop g tion speed of el stic w ves in the test m teri l.
In
nother method the two tr nsducers re used with one s tr nsmitter nd the othe
r s
receiver. The tr vel time round the cr ck is me sured nd then the tr nsducers
re
moved or more th n one p ir of tr nsducers is used, nd the tr vel time recorded
.
If p11 nd p12 re the origin l loc tions of tr nsducers, then the cr ck tip lie
s on n
ellipse with foci (p11 , 0) nd (p12 , 0). If the new loc tions of the tr nsduce
rs, or the
loc tions of nother p ir, re (p21 , 0) nd (p22 , 0), then the cr ck depth is
o
t ined
2.4. Altern tive Methods of Cr ck Depth Estim tion
43
Fig. 2.14 The upper im ge shows ex mples of multiple diffr ction rcs c used
y
sign ls tr velling sep r tely to nd from e ch of the edges of
oth tr nsducers.
The lower im ge shows improvement o
t ined
y m sking the
pro
e f ces.
44
Ch pter 2. Theoretic l B sis of TimeofFlight Diffr ction
from [M k, 1985]

d =
1

x x12
1
21

where 1 nd
1 re the semim jor nd semiminor xes of the ellipse of tr vel
times
for the first pro
e positions. x1 is the centre of the first ellipse (o
t ined

y ver ging
the loc tions of the pro
e centres) nd x, the loc tion of the cr ck tip, is o
t
ined s
root of the eu tion

M2 M22 4L2 N2
x=
2L2
where



L2 = 2
1 + 1
2 2
2 1
2
M2 = 2 22
21 x1 + 2 21
22 x2
nd

2
2
2
2
N2 = 2
1 x1 + 1 2
2 1
2 x2 1 2
1
So f r the
e m entry points into the m teri l
eing inspected h ve
een ssumed
to
e fixed on the coustic xis, th t is, on the xis of m ximum mplitude in t
he

e m profile. Since use is m de of divergent

e ms to detect cr cks which re no
t
on the coustic xis, it is useful to
e
le to correct for the ctu l
e m ent
ry points.
These will not usu lly correspond to the coustic xis m rked on the tr nsducers
nd
the error c n
e l rge especi lly for immersion testing. M k [1986] h s presente
d
numeric l scheme for m king the necess ry correction for either cont ct or immer
sion me surements. The numeric l scheme is iter tive with only five iter tions

eing
reuired in computer experiment to o
t in n ccur cy of 0.0001 mm. The model
ssumes th t the sound
e m r di tes from the centre of the tr nsducer cryst l

ut in
pr ctice, experiment l errors will depend on how ccur tely the tr nsducer h s

een
m nuf ctured. For focused pro
es the sound w ves c n
e considered to r di te fr
om
the foc l point nd time me surements should
e m de rel tive to this foc l poin
t.
Note th t while focused pro
es provide w y of cre ting more intense wide ng
le

e m th n c n
e o
t ined
y merely reducing the di meter of convention l pro

e,
edgeof
e m effects like those discussed in Section 2.3.2.7 c n still
e expect
ed t
ngles
eyond the
e m width.
2.5
Single pro
e techniues
We do not wish to enter into discussion
out whether singlepro
e techniue c
n
properly
e c lled TimeofFlight Diffr ction. In the v st m jority of situ tion
s, the
2.5. Single pro
e techniues
45
optimum pro
e rr ngement for efficient deployment of TOFD will involve t le st
two pro
es. However, single pro
e techniue which still ims to rely on diffr
cted
sign ls c n
e reg rded s r ther speci l c se of TOFD. We report here some e
rly
ex mples of work of this kind, without ttempting to give comprehensive survey
.
E rly work on single pro
e techniues w s c rried out
y Hunt [1975] nd Miller,
Fujcz k nd Winters [1973] where it w s commonly referred to s cr cktip reflect
ion nd w s reviewed
y Silk [1979
], long with some e rly results o
t ined t
H rwell. Lidington nd Silk [1975] used single surf ce w ve pro
e to me sure
cr ck depth. With these e rly results Silk o
t ined n ccur cy of
out 1mm
lthough this w s less consistent th n with two, or more, pro
es.
Two f ctors c n m ke ccur te depth me surement more difficult with single
pro
e th n with TOFD pro
e p ir. First, if there is n error in the m rking of
the
pro
e index point, the c lcul ted depth will
e ffected more for single pro
e
th n
for TOFD p ir, t commonly used
e m ngles. This is
ec use the pro
e sep r t
ion error for TOFD p ir is p rtly compens ted
y the effect on the c li
r tion
sign l (usu lly the l ter l w ve). Secondly, with single pro
e, the ngle from
which
the sign l is coming needs to
e ccur tely known where s it is irrelev nt in
TOFD
me surement. Although the
e m ngle of the pro
e m y h ve
een ccur tely me su
red, the v ri tion of diffr ction mplitude with ngle m y me n th t the effecti
ve

e m ngle is somewh t different for cr ck tip sign l.

During inspections of the test
lock pl tes 3 nd 4 of the UKAEA Defect Detectio
n Tri ls (discussed in Section 8.4),
oth TimeofFlight Diffr ction nd 2 MHz
twin cryst l 70 com
re ion-wave
robe were hown to be effective at detecting
and izing a variety of under-clad defect in au tenitic-clad ferritic teel. Su
ch an arrangement of material i commonly found in ide teel
re ure ve el ,

articularly
in the nuclear indu try. However, difficulty wa ex
erienced u ing Time-of-Fligh
t
Diffraction to ize defect extending le than about 5 mm below the interface b
etween the au tenitic cladding and the ferritic ba e. Thi i due to the
re enc
e of the
lateral wave which ob cure the ti
diffracted ignal for defect clo e to the
urface
and al o to the inherent lack of time re olution near the urface. For defect n
ear the
urface, but buried, the defect ize wa known only to within about 5 mm, althou
gh
an u

er bound wa given. If the defect break the urface, or for clad
late t
he
interface, then the lateral wave i
erturbed and bound can al o be given for t
he
crack through-wall ize. One way forward with Time-of-Flight Diffraction i to u
e
ju t a ingle
robe and make u e of the back-diffracted wave from the defect ex
tremitie . Thi ha been tried by Bann and Roger on [1984] and re ult com
ared
with a twin-cry tal 2 MHz 70 com
re ion wave technique. The te t block wa a
ferritic teel block containing a range of elli
tical, urface-breaking
ark-ma
chined
 lot imulating under-clad crack . The lot were all mooth and varied in thro
ughwall extent from 1 mm to 5 mm in four grou
with a
ect ratio (ratio of le
ngth to
height) of 1:1, 3:1, 6:1 and 12:1. The te t-block wa tri
clad with a double l
ayer of
au tenite, the fir t layer of ty
e 309L and the econd layer of ty
e 308L to all
ow for
dilution of the alloy content of the fir t layer. The final cladding thickne w
a about
8 mm (0.5 mm) with an error of form (wavine ) to within 0.5 mm over 50 mm and
46
Cha
ter 2. Theoretical Ba i of Time-of-Flight Diffraction
Fig. 2.15 Com
ari on of
ul e-echo and a ingle-
robe Time-of-Flight technique
for izing under-clad crack : (a)
ul e-echo with a 70 longitudinal wave

robe with a focal length of 18 mm, (b) a for (a) but with a focal length
of 33 mm, (c) ingle
robe Time-of-Flight Diffraction [from Bann and
Roger on, 1984].
2.5. Single
robe technique
47
with a urface roughne of 250 CLA (centre-line average in microinche ), i.e. a
bout
6.3 m Ra (average roughne ).
The ingle Time-of-Flight
robe u ed wa a twin-cry tal 45 com
re ion-wave

robe o
erating at 5 MHz. Thi
robe had a 6 dB beam width of about 3 mm, over t
he
de
th range 5 15 mm, and a pulse length short enough to enable spatial resolutio
n
of crack tip diffracted signals from slots extending both into the cladding and
into
the parent plate.
Initial results from the single probe showed that the as-clad surface finish int
roduced spurious signals and the surface finish was, therefore, hand ground to a
n
improved finish. Results for measured versus intended defect depth, for the diff
erent
techniues, are presented in Figure 2.15.
Bann and Rogerson [1984] reported onl the intended defect sizes, as the actual
defect sizes had not been determined at that time b destructive examination. It
is
possible that the actual slot heights differ from those intended due to base met
al
melting, so in Figure 2.15(c) the ideal correlations for fixed amounts of meltin
g
of 0.5 mm and 1 mm are shown along with the ideal correlation for zero melting.
Another factor not taken account of in the results is a possible variation in wa
ter gap
between the immersion probe and the clad surface. Local variations in this gap o
f
0.25 mm could lead to variations in the estimated crack tip depth of 1 mm. Ultra
sonic
velocit variations and path length variations in the cladding can add further e
rrors
(see Section 7.1.5). Nevertheless, Bann and Rogerson concluded that sizing of sm
all
under-clad flaws might be possible with greater accurac using a single probe Ti
meof-Flight techniue.
2.5.1
Satellite Pulse Techniues and SLIC transducer modules
An improvement over the single probe techniues discussed above is to use two cr
stals, or two transducers, both mounted on a common perspex (lucite) shoe. This
is
the basis of the patented SLIC transducers developed b Southwest Research Insti
tute, Texas. SLIC stands for Shear and Longitudinal Inspection for Cracks. Separ
ate
transducers are used to transmit and receive elastic waves. These multi-beam det
ection and sizing tools have been successfull emploed for in-service inspectio
ns of
reactor pressure vessel components [Flach, Claton and Lagleder, 1985].
SLIC-40 modules emploing onl compression waves have been used for crack
detection and novel probes emploing compression and mode-converted shear waves
for crack sizing. This use of both compression and shear waves ielded a larger
separation between the pulses and hence better resolution. Other designs tested
included
modules emploing onl shear waves.
The SLIC-50 sizing module has been successfull used to size near-surface and
under-clad fatigue cracks in clad pressure vessel test-blocks [Gruber and Hendri
x,
1984]. Compression waves were used to insonif the cracks. A diffracted compress
ion wave is received from the top of the crack and a mode-converted, shear wave
is
diffracted b the bottom of the crack. The through-wall size of the crack can be
derived from the time difference between these two pulses. The signals from the
SLIC
modules are displaed as a plot of colour-coded signal amplitude against transdu
cer
48
Chapter 2. Theoretical Basis of Time-of-Flight Diffraction
Fig. 2.16 Tpical displa from an inspection with SLIC-50 ultrasonic probes.
position and time-of-flight as illustrated schematicall in Figure 2.16. The sep
aration
a between the two pulses is almost independent of the probe scan position relati
ve
to the crack although the value used is that when the pulse from the crack botto
m
attains its peak amplitude.
Automated interpretation of the images produced with automated scanning euipmen
t emploing the SLIC modules has also been performed [Gruber, Hamlin, Grothues a
nd Jackson, 1986]. This opens up the real possibilit of automated detection
and assessment of cracks during an in-service inspection.
2.5. Single probe techniues
2.5.2
49
ALOK evaluation of time-of-flight data
Time-of-flight information is used in a different wa in the ALOK method of extr
acting information on defects. ALOK, or Amplituden und Laufzeit Orts Kurwen
(amplitude and transit time locus curves), relies on the simultaneous storage of
signal amplitude from conventional 45 , 60 , or 70
robe , together with the time
of
flight of the ignal in
ul e-echo or tandem can . The time domain information
i
u ed to eliminate ome noi e ignal by filtering to retain only tho e time-of-f
light
locu curve which are hy
erbolae. Thi can lead to a ignal-to-noi e ratio im
r
ovement of u
to 20 dB [Barbian, Engl, Groh , Rathgeb and W tenberg, 1984a]. Two
method are u ed within ALOK for recon truction of flaw . Fir t, a im
le geomet
ric
method em
loying
ul e-echo information i u ed. The locu of the time of flight
i
a umed to be a circle with centre the beam entry
oint wherea in the tandem te
chnique the locu i an elli
e. The inter ection of all uch loci derived from
canning
the
robe or
robe over the com
onent urface yield a recon truction of the de
fect
extremitie . Inver ion i carried out by com
ari on of the e loci with calculate
d loci
from
o tulated defect who e
arameter are varied until coincidence i achieve
d.
More detail i given by Barbian, Groh and Ka

e [1984b] and by Groh , Barbian
and Ka

e [1983].
Thi
age intentionally left blank
Cha
ter 3
Signal Am
litude and
Com
ari on with other
Technique
A we have already di cu ed, Time-of-Flight Diffraction make u e of the ignal
diffracted by the extremitie of defect , in
articular by crack ti
. Although,
unlike

ul e-echo ultra onic technique , ignal am
litude i not u ed a a mea ure of d
efect
ize, ignal mu t be large enough to be ob ervable. It i al o u eful to under
tand:
how thi am
litude might be affected by a variety of factor , uch a the angle
of
the incident ultra onic beam with re
ect to the
lane of the crack; what ha

en
if
the crack i kewed o that the
lane of the crack i not normal to the line joi
ning
tran mitter and receiver tran ducer ; and how large are the ignal relative to
more
familiar ignal uch a tho e from a mall flat-bottomed hole. We can build thi
under tanding through a mathematical model of the underlying
hy ical
roce e .
In thi cha
ter we
re ent
rediction , ba ed on ju t uch a mathematical model,
of the magnitude of Time-of-Flight Diffraction ignal , com
ared with tho e from
a
reference reflector. We u e a model for two rea on . Fir t, it i much ea ier to
vary
the
arameter of defect within a model than it i ex
erimentally with te t-blo
ck .
Secondly, it i
o ible to i olate the different factor influencing the outcom
e in a
more traightforward way. The theoretical
rediction are com
ared with ex
erime
ntal data a a

ro
riate.
The re ult of the e calculation illu trate how the ignal from a variety of c
racklike defect are ex
ected to vary with the ha
e, ize and orientation of th
e defect
and highlight one of the trength of the technique: it relative in en itivity
to the
orientation of crack .
The fir t re ult we hall
re ent are for the ca e in which the centre of a
la
nar
crack and the centre of both tran mitter and receiver lie in the ame
lane, no
rmal to the in
ection urface. Thi i not a evere re triction, ince in almo
t all
ca e the
robe will be canned over the defective region and thi configuratio
n
51
52
Cha
ter 3. Signal Am
litude and Com
ari on with other Technique
will be
a ed through during the can. Sometime the ha
e of the com
onent may

reclude reaching uch a
o ition and o we later
re ent re ult a

licable to
le
re tricted geometry.
3.1
Time-of-Flight Diffraction ignal from mooth
flat crack
The model i ba ed on the Geometrical Theory of Diffraction fir t
ro
ounded by
Keller [1957, 1962]. Thi i a high frequency theory in which ela tic wave energ
y

ro
agate along ray which are reflected, refracted and tran mitted at boundari
e
between media according to the u ual law of ray theorie familiar from o
tic .
At
the edge of boundarie (e.g. on a crack edge) diffraction occur and thi too c
an be
treated in ray theory with diffraction coefficient re
lacing the reflection and
tran mi ion coefficient . The Geometrical Theory of Diffraction a

lied to ela
tic wave

ro
agation i di cu ed by Karal and Keller [1959, and reference therein]. The
theory u e the olution to a canonical
roblem to derive the coefficient from
an
ex
an ion, in inver e
ower of ka, of the am
litude of wave diffracted from an
edge of a defect of arbitrary ha
e; here k i the ultra onic wavevector and a i
the
characteri tic dimen ion of the catterer. The u efulne of thi model i a

ar
ent if
we con ider ultra onic NDT, where a ty
ical crack ize will generally be larger
than
a wavelength or two, often much larger, making ka > 1, and often ka  1, o that
only the fir t few term are im
ortant. Often the fir t term in thi ex
an ion,
known
a an a ym
totic ex
an ion, give the readily ob ervable effect .
Since we hall
re ent the re ult of ome model calculation u ing thi theory,
it i outlined in Section A.3 of the A

endix, but only the re ult are given in
thi

re ent cha
ter.

3.1.1
O
timum beam angle
The radiation
attern of the diffracted ound field wa referred to in Section 2
.2.1 and
i given in detail in the A

endix (Section A.4). In thi ection we con ider o

timi ation of the technique in term of the angle of the beam required in the co
m
onent
to achieve the be t trade-off between ignal am
litude and de
th re olution.
The equi
ment will normally be et u
o that any crack will
a midway
between at lea t one
air of tran mitter and receiver tran ducer at ome
oint
in the
can. Thi i ea y to achieve if any crack are likely to be confined to a well
defined
region uch a a weld. To achieve adequate coverage of region with large de
th
or
width, everal tran mitter- receiver
air may be needed. The de ign of multi
ro
be
array i di cu ed in Section 4.1.2 and the re ult obtained with uch array i
n the
Defect Detection Trial are de cribed in Section 8.4.
Although am
litude i not u ed ex
licitly to determine the through-wall de
th
and extent of crack , neverthele it i e ential to have ufficient am
litude
for the
ignal to be detectable above the noi e level. It i de irable, therefore, to u
e the
3.1. Time-of-Flight Diffraction ignal from mooth flat crack
53
maximum ignal, ubject to any con traint on com
onent geometry and acce . In
Figure 3.1 the variation in am
litude from the to
and bottom of a tri
-like cr
ack
located midway between two tran ducer i hown a a function of the beam angle
of the tran ducer . A thi beam angle a

roache 90 , o the tran ducer a

roac
h
infinity and the de
th of the crack ti
from the in
ection urface vani he . T
hi
eem , at fir t ight, to be a rather que tionable
rocedure, but it mimic the
actual
ituation in a flat com
onent and it make the o
timi ation a function of a ing
le
variable, the beam angle, and hence mathematically im
ler. From Figure 3.1, we
ee that the am
litude doe exhibit a definite maximum at around 70 in teel. On
the ame figure the re olution of the technique for 5 MHz ultra ound in teel, c
o
ied
from Figure 2.9, i
lotted a a da hed line, and thi ri e har
ly for a beam
angle
of about 75 or greater. Thi how that beam angle of between about 60 and 75

roduce good re olution and adequate am
litude. De ign of the flat
late canner

in the Defect Detection Trial wa ba ed on thi re ult [Charle worth and Hawker
,
1984; Curti and Hawker, 1983; Stringfellow and Perring, 1984] and i di cu ed
in
Cha
ter 4.
The corre
onding re ult for hear wave were found to be an o
timum angle,
in teel, of between 50 and 55 for the to
and bottom of a vertical
lanar crack
[Ogilvy and Tem
le, 1983].
Mea urement , with a
ecially de igned goniometer, of the am
litude of com
re
ion wave diffracted into com
re ion wave have been carried out by Golan
[1981]; Golan, Adler, Cook, Nan tad and Bolland [1980], who found that the am
li
tude
eaked when the angle between the incident and diffracted beam a

roache
180 . Thi i ex
ected, ince it corre
ond to the traight-through ignal. For
other
di
o ition of the
robe around the
ark cut lit Golan found evidence of ig
nal

eak around a beam angle of 60 .
3.1.2
Magnitude and variation of diffracted ignal am
litude
Technique , uch a ultra onic
ul e-echo or tandem, which have been u ed tradit
ionally for detection and izing of crack are ba ed on
ecular reflection from
the
face of the crack. With
oint tran ducer and a
erfectly mooth
lanar defect o
f
infinite extent, a
ecular reflection would occur only at the unique angle wher
e the
angle of incidence and reflection at the defect are equal. In
ractice, becau e
of the
finite a
erture and broad bandwidth of the tran ducer and the finite ize and i
m
erfect moothne of the defect, a
ecular reflection will occur over a mall r
ange of
angle , though till with a well defined central maximum. However, once the orie
ntation of the crack i a few degree away from the
ecular orientation the am

litude
at the tran ducer will fall ra
idly a the amount of mi orientation increa e .Th
i i
illu trated in Figure 3.2, taken from Toft [1987], which how ex
erimental valu
e
of ignal trength in
ul e-echo in
ection of circular defect a a function o
f both
tilt and kew of the defect. It can be een that a mi orientation of the defect
of about
15 , of either tilt or kew, or a combination of the two giving a imilar angle b
etween the normal to the defect and the tran ducer beam axi , give a ignal tr
ength
reduced by 6 dB from the
erfect orientation. Time-of-Flight Diffraction ignal
, a
54
Cha
ter 3. Signal Am
litude and Com
ari on with other Technique
Fig. 3.1 O
timi ation of tran ducer beam angle for Time-of-Flight Diffraction i
n
teel u ing com
re ion wave . The effect of beam angle on re olution are
al o hown. At = 90 the tran ducer are infinitely far a
art.
3.1. Time-of-Flight Diffraction ignal from mooth flat crack
55
Fig. 3.2 The effect of crack tilt and kew on ignal am
litude from a 25 mm dia
meter circular defect with
ul e-echo in
ection. The hatched region ha a
ignal level of at lea t 36 dB above 10% DAC (di tance-am
litude correction). Th
e other contour are relative to thi level. [After Toft, 1987].
we hall ee in Section 3.3, dro
by 6 dB after only 45 60 of kew, and often
increa e rather than decrea e with crack tilt. To en ure adequate en itivity, u
ing

ul e-echo technique , when in
ecting a com
onent which may contain defect at
a range of angle , it i nece ary to u e everal
robe at different angle . Th
i i the
ba i of the American Society of Mechanical Engineer (ASME) in
ection which
require in
ection at 0 , 45 and 60 [ASME, 1974,1977,1983] and which are often
u

lemented by 70
robe .
In thi ection we calculate ty
ical am
litude for Time-of-Flight Diffraction
ignal and demon trate the effect of crack orientation. The re ult are obtaine
d from
a mathematical model of the interaction of ela tic wave energy in a tran ducer b
eam
with an elli
tical crack. The e calculation relate the am
litude of the diffrac
ted
ignal from the extremitie of an elli
tical, mooth,
lanar crack buried in a
teel

late, to the ignal from a flat-bottomed hole. The defect centre i taken to l
ie
midway between a ingle tran mitter and ingle receiver, a hown in Figure 3.3,
and the am
litude of diffracted ignal i calculated a a function of the tilt
of the
crack. Thi tilt is masurd away from th normal to th inspction surfac so
that = 0 corrsponds to a crack in a vrtical plan in Figur 3.3. Th Tim-ofFl
ight Diffraction signal amplituds from this gomtry ar compard with thos
obtaind whn th sam probs, with th sam sparation S, ar positiond ovr a
56
Chaptr 3. Signal Amplituds and Comparison with othr Tchniqus
Fig. 3.3 Gomtry usd in th mathmatical modl to prdict Tim-of-Flight
Diffraction rsponss from lliptical, planar cracks.
3.1. Tim-of-Flight Diffraction signals from smooth flat cracks
57
Fig. 3.4 Variation of Tim-of-Flight Diffraction signals with tilt for an llipt
ical dfct 24 mm by 60 mm, locatd 220 mm blow th inspction surfac. Th
calibration rflctor is a flat-bottomd hol locatd midway btwn transmittr
and rcivr and 220 mm dp, with th flat nd paralll to th inspction surf
ac.
flat-bottomd hol, as shown in th lowr part of th figur. Th flat-bottomd
hol
is assumd to hav an axis which is normal to th inspction surfac and th cn
tr
of th hol lis at th sam position and dpth from th surfac as th cntr o
f
th lliptical crack. Th particular gomtry is chosn so that th maximum sign
al
possibl from th flat-bottomd hol is usd in th comparison, i.. th calibra
tion
signal is obtaind by spcular rflction at th flat-bottomd hol.
Th transducr bam has a cntral maximum lying along a dirction at angl

to the norm l to the inspection surf ce, nd spre ds out with the usu l Bessel
function form ppropri te for circul r piston source (see Section A.3.2 of the
Appendix). Det ils of the c lcul tions re given in Temple [1984 ] nd some typ
ic l
results re presented in Figure 3.4. In this figure, the cr ck is t ken to
e
smooth,
pl n r, elliptic l cr ck with throughw ll extent 2 = 24 mm nd length, p r lle
l to
the inspection surf ce, of 2
= 60 mm,
uried t depth of 220 mm from the insp
ec
58
Ch pter 3. Sign l Amplitudes nd Comp rison with other Techniues
Fig. 3.5 Comp rison of experiment lly determined TimeofFlight Diffr ction sign
l mplitudes with theoretic l predictions. The experiment l results (from
Silk [1979f]) re for n rrow (0.5 mm) slits nd for wide (2 mm) slits. Theoretic
l v lues for the wide slit re djusted to h ve the s me v lue s for
the n rrow slit for 60 incidence.
tion urface. The tran ducer have circular face with diameter 24 mm and o
erat
e
at a frequency of 5 MHz in uch a way a to
roduce maximum am
litude travelling
at 60 to the normal to the urface. The ho t material i taken to be i otro
ic t
eel
and the two tran ducer are e
arated by 762 mm. The reference reflector i a 3
mm
diameter flat-bottomed hole. Figure 3.4 [ba ed on Tem
le, 1984a] how how the
diffracted ignal varie a the tilt varie between 30 +30 . Two thing are
im
ortant about thi figure. Fir t, the am
litude of the diffracted ignal are
both
com
arable with that from a 3 mm diameter flat-bottomed hole at the ame range,
3.1. Time-of-Flight Diffraction ignal from mooth flat crack
59
and, econd the ignal im
rove a the tilt of the defect increa e . The rea on
for thi
latter
oint i , of cour e, that the ignal i at a minimum value for a vertical
crack and
o mu t increa e with tilt angle. It would become a
ecular reflection, like th
at from
the flat-bottomed hole, a 90 and the ratio of the two ignal would im
ly
a

roach the ratio of their area . For the
articular crack cho en in thi exam

le, thi
would yield a maximum ignal of 32 dB for a tilt of 90 . Thi re ult, for crack t
ilt
of u
to 30 , demon trate how relatively in en itive the Time-of-Flight Diffract
ion
technique i to crack orientation.
Tem
le [1983a,b] al o howed how the ignal varie a the crack
o ition relativ
e to the two tran ducer change . It wa hown that the ignal from the defect
con idered above, and hown in Figure 3.4, would only have fallen to 10 dB below
tho e from a ymmetrically
laced 3 mm diameter flat-bottomed hole even if the
crack were 30 mm off the ymmetric
o ition between the
robe . Thi re ult al o
demon trate the ver atility and utility of the Time-of-Flight Diffraction techn
ique.
Calculation imilar to the e but for different defect
arameter have al o been

re ented [Tem
le, 1983b].
In the model, the crack i taken to be a cut in the material of zero width but w
ith
non- interacting face on which the tre vani he . Thi i an ideali ed model
and it
i obviou ly intere ting to com
are the
rediction of the model with ex
eriment
al
evidence. To do thi we u e ex
erimental re ult of Silk [1977, 1979b] on both
aw
cut and real crack . The aw cut were of two width , 0.5 mm and 2 mm. The re u
lt
are given in Figure 3.5.
In the to

art of the figure the ex
erimental geometry i defined. Re ult for
diffracted ignal am
litude from the two aw cut are given in the lower
art o
f the
figure and the variation in ignal am
litude averaged over four crack i al o
hown.
The model i not valid at angle clo e to
ecular, that i near 90 , but give f
airly
good agreement over the remaining range. The ex
erimental ignal am
litude are
higher than tho e
redicted, over a good deal of the angular range, e
ecially f
or
diffraction by the to
of a crack, and thi may be a re ult of the blunt ti
of
the
lit defect u ed. According to theory, the am
litude from the bottom of the def
ect
hould go to zero and the
ha e of the ignal change by at an angle which de
end
on Poi on ratio for the material and would be about 38 for teel ( ee Section A.
4).
However, neither a zero nor a minimum ignal wa ob erved ex
erimentally and if
any change of
ha e wa
re ent, it wa not recorded. It ha
roved very difficu
lt to
detect thi
henomenon, u ing conventional broad-band, finite ize tran ducer a
nd
artificial defect . With a la er beam a the ource of ultra ound and a ca
acita
nce
tran ducer a receiver, however, Scruby and Newton [1986] were able to confirm t
he
change of
ha e and hence the mathematical zero in am
litude.
U ing the ame la er technique, Raven croft et al. [1991] carried out a very det
ailed inve tigation of the diffraction re
on e of both lot and crack in tee
l block
and were able to ex
lain why
reviou ex
eriment had u ually not detected a min
imum. U ing an o
en fatigue crack, they obtained a very clear minimum am
litude
at
38 , with a
ha e change of clo e to 180 , and excellent agreement with theoretica
l
am
litude at all angle in the range 20 80 and 120 160 . The e re ult are
60
Cha
ter 3. Signal Am
litude and Com
ari on with other Technique
0
5
Rel tive mplitude (dB)
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
0
20
40
60
80
Angle
100
120
140
160
Fig. 3.6 Comp rison of theoretic l predictions with me sured sign l mplitudes
from n open f tigue cr ck, using l ser
e m s the source of ultr sound
nd c p cit nce tr nsducer s detector. Reprinted from Ultr sonics 29,
F. A. R venscroft, K. Newton nd C. B. Scru
y, 29 37, Copyright 1991,
with prmission from Elsvir Scinc .
rproducd in Figur 3.6. Thy also showd that th phas chang is obscurd if
th
dfct tip is blunt, which may xplain why arlir attmpts to confirm it faild
.
3.1.3
Calibration rflctor
For Tim-of-Flight gomtris, and for th calculations usd hr, th signals a
r
masurd rlativ to thos from a flat-bottomd hol situatd symmtrically btw
n
th transmittr and rcivr and with th flat surfac of th rflctor horizont
al so that
th maximum signal is transfrrd by th calibration rflctor to th rcivr [
Tmpl,
1984a]. To complt our dscription of th modl usd, w outlin in Sction A.3
.3
of th Appndix how th amplitud from th calibration rflctor is calculatd.
To convrt th signal amplituds from thos rlativ to a flat-bottomd hol cal
ibration rflctor to thos masurd rlativ to a sid-drilld hol rflctor,
w us th
rlationship [Bowkr, Chapman and Wrigly, 1985] that th signal strngths diff
r
3.2. Signal amplituds compard with thos gnratd by othr tchniqus
61
by a factor of:

Signalsdh = Signal f bh + 20 log10
2a2f bh

asdh

(3.1)
whee a f bh and asdh ae the adii of the fat-bottomed and side-died hoes
espectivey, the ange fom the tansmitte is  and the signas ae measued i
n dB. The
waveength of the utasound is . Note that as  is geate than the dimensions
of the caibation efectos, the coection is actuay negative so that the s
ignas
measued eative to a side-died hoe ae smae than those measued eativ
e to a
fat-bottomed hoe. Typica vaues of this diffeence in these cacuations ae
about
10 dB. Resuts ae given in Tempe [1987] fo signa ampitudes fom some typica
 defects, taken fom the PISC II paametic studies [see Oive, 1984, fo the
backgound to PISC II]. The signas fom the defects ae compaed with those fo
m
fat-bottomed hoe efectos and esuts ae given fo conventiona puse-echo
techniques as we as fo Time-of-Fight Diffaction.
3.2
Signa ampitudes compaed with those geneated
by othe techniques
In Section 3.1.2, vaiations of Time-of-Fight Diffaction signas with paamete
s
of the defect, such as tit o position, wee consideed. In this section we sha

compae pedicted ampitudes of Time-of-Fight Diffaction signas with those f
om
conventiona puse-echo techniques.
3.2.1
The defects
The most seious defect in a stessed component is a cack oiented pependicua

to the pincipa stess. Many cacks, fo exampe ack of wed fusion and some
fatigue cacks, ae smooth in an utasonic sense; that is, with oughnesses whi
ch ae
much ess than the utasonic waveength. A oot mean squae oughness ess than
/20 is utasonicay smooth (i.e. it poduces negigibe diffuse scatteing) wh
ie a
oughness geate than /5 is vey ough [Ogivy, 1987]. Roughness on the faces
of cetain fatigue cacks is on a scae ess than /20 at typica fequencies of
2
to 5 MHz and, theefoe, hady affects the utasonic signa fom the defect. T
he
simpest mathematica mode of such a cack is of a competey smooth pana cut
in
the mateia popeties. The sufaces of this mode defect ae taken to be stes
s-fee
and non-inteacting.
As a pat of the PISC II intenationa coaboation, mode defects, of cetain
specific sizes, wee inseted into stee bocks and the utasonic esponse fom
them
detemined expeimentay with a numbe of scans using diffeing utasonic pob
e
configuations. These expeiments have been diected towads testing existing th
eoetica modes. The cacks used have though-wa extents in the ange 10 to 2
5 mm,
and most ae oiented in panes noma to the inspection suface. Since in abo
atoy
62
Chapte 3. Signa Ampitudes and Compaison with othe Techniques
expeiments such as these the inspection suface wi be hoizonta, the defect
panes
ae vetica. One defect is tited by 7 away from thi vertical direction.
The
late into which the e defect have been in erted are about 200 mm thick
and o are re
re entative of the
re ure ve el of a
re uri ed water reactor.
The
ha
e of defect cho en corre
ond to what can be ea ily modelled: thin
arallel
edged ribbon crack and thin, circular crack .
In what follow , we
re ent model
rediction for the behaviour of the ultra oni
c
re
on e from certain of the e ty
e of defect.
3.2.2
The tran ducer can
The tran ducer
arameter elected are 2 MHz
robe
roducing hear (SV) wave
at angle of 45 , 60 and 70 re
ectively. The cry tal in the
robe are rectangula
r,
20 mm wide by 22 mm high. Probe with uch ty
ical
arameter u ed in
ractice
might be Krautkrmer WB 45 N2, WB 60 N2, and WB 70 N2 which have nearfield length
of 90 mm and a far field re olution of about 4 mm. The 45 , 60 and
70
robe are canned in
ul e-echo mode along a ingle can line which
a e
directly over the centre of the defect and in the ame
lane a the normal to th
e
defect urface.
3.2.3
The calibration ignal
The ignal from the defect are com
ared with tho e from a 3 mm diameter flatbo
ttomed hole oriented normal to the tran ducer beam
rofile maximum. The geometry
of the two calibration calculation i hown chematically in Figure 3.7. The

eak am
litude are recorded for
ul e-echo and Time-of-Flight Diffraction in
e
ction in Table 3.1.
In the table, ignal am
litude are in decibel relative to tho e from a 3 mm di
ameter flat-bottomed hole at the ame de
th below the in
ection urface a the
centre of
the defect. For Time-of-Flight Diffraction the flat urface of the calibration r
eflector
i
arallel to the in
ection urface, and for
ul e-echo the flat face of the c
alibration
reflector i normal to the tran ducer beam centreline. The
ul e-echo in
ection
are
all SV wave .
3.2.4
Re olution of diffracted ignal in
ul e-echo
For hort
ul e o
eration, the ignal am
litude in Table 3.1 are thought of a
being
tho e a

ro
riate to the
art of the frequency
ectrum in which there i maximu
m
am
litude. The calculation re
orted here for
ul e-echo examination of ribbon a
nd
circular crack are for ignal returned to the tran ducer at angle well away f
rom

ecular reflection at the defect, and becau e the ray
ath from the tran mitte
r to
the defect extremitie differ by more than about 2 wavelength , the ignal ob e
rved
will be re olved in time and will not, therefore, uffer from interference.
3.2. Signal am
litude com
ared with tho e generated by other technique
63
Fig. 3.7 Geometry of calibration reflector for
ul e-echo and Time-of-Flight
Diffraction in
ection .
64
Cha
ter 3. Signal Am
litude and Com
ari on with other Technique
Table 3.1 Predicted time-of-flight and
ul e-echo am
litude
3.2.5
Predicted
Signal Am
litude
to

bottom
Defect De cri
tion
Technique
Beam
angle
vertical ribbon
25 mm through-wall
5 MHz TOFD
2 MHz PE
2 MHz PE
2 MHz PE
60
45
60
70
-18
-19
-13
-6
-22
-11
-3
-1
circular crack
25 mm through-wall
5 MHz TOFD
2 MHz PE
2 MHz PE
2 MHz PE
60
45
60
70
-25
-28
-20
-14
-27
-19
-10
-8
circular crack
25 mm through-wall
tilted 7
5 MHz TOFD
2 MHz PE
60
70
-27
-19
-30
-11
circular crack
25 mm through-wall
tilted 7
5 MHz TOFD
2 MHz PE
60
70
-27
-7
-30
-4
Pul e-echo in
ection of ribbon and circular crack
We con ider fir t a ribbon crack of 25 mm through-wall extent, lying in a
lane
normal to the in
ection urface (i.e. a vertical crack in the geometry hown) a
t a de
th
of 82 mm below the in
ection urface and in
ected with 2 MHz, 60 hear-wave

robe . The geometry i hown in Figure 3.8 together with the ignal am
litude .
In Figure 3.8, an intere ting feature a

ear in the re
on e from the bottom of
the defect. The diffracted ignal in the e two ca e i
redicted to have a mal
l lobe
at a tran ducer to defect range of about 140 mm. Thi i marked A in the figure.
At
thi
articular range, for the 60
robe , the ray from the centre of the tran duc
er to
the crack ti
trike the crack at the critical angle, c given
y Snells l w s
1 Cs
(3.2)
c = sin
Cp
where Cs nd C p re the speeds of she r nd compression w ves in the test piece
.
For steel c is
out 33 . Below the critical angle, an incident hear wave i refl
ected
into com
re ion and hear com
onent at different angle . Above thi critical a
ngle,
however, while the reflected hear wave i till
re ent, the com
re ion wave c
annot

ro
agate and i aid to be evane cent.
For a circular defect of the ame through-wall extent, all the ignal are decre
a ed
by 8 10 dB from thos from a vrtical ribbon dfct.
Th vrtical orintation of th prvious dfcts is wll away from th idal ori
-
3.2. Signal amplituds compard with thos gnratd by othr tchniqus
65
Fig. 3.8 Puls-cho rspons with 2 MHz 60 hear-wave
robe for a vertical ribbo
n crack 25 mm high located 82 mm below the in
ection urface. Re ult
are relative to 100% DAC.
66
Cha
ter 3. Signal Am
litude and Com
ari on with other Technique
entation for effective
ul e-echo in
ection . Ideally, the crack hould be norm
al
to the interrogating ultra onic beam in order to return a large
ecular ignal
to the
tran ducer. The vertical defect are thu not
articularly ea y to detect and a
demon tration of ca
ability in detecting uch defect give a certain degree of
confidence
that other defect , believed to be of more favourable orientation, would be read
ily
detected. For defect occurring in the
re
aration of a V-weld, the mo t likely
orientation will be tilted away from the vertical direction by a mall angle cor
re
onding
to the weld
re
aration angle. Re ult are included here for a 70
ul e-echo in

ection of uch a tilted defect. The defect i a circular crack of diameter 25 mm
and it i
tilted by 7 away from the vertical. The ignal
redicted for thi defect are ho
wn
in Figure 3.9 and Figure 3.10, corre
onding to canning in the unfavourable and
favourable direction relative to the en e of tilt re
ectively. Peak ignal f
rom
the favourable orientation are till only 4 dB comp red with those from 3 mm
di meter fl t
ottomed hole. For this defect the m ximum pulseecho sign l would

e
out 25 dB for defect tilted
y 20 , that i , normal to the tran ducer beam
for
70
robe , and with the beam centre directed at the centre of the defect.
3.2.6
Time-of-Flight Diffraction ignal for ribbon and circular
defect
In order to draw com
ari on between the Time-of-Flight Diffraction ignal ex
e
cted from ty
ical defect with tho e ex
ected with
ul e-echo technique , we hav
e

re ented ome re ult which are for imilar defect . Becau e the two technique
do
not hare a common geometry, ome a um
tion had to be made. In the
reviou
calculation for
ul e-echo in
ection the can over the defect
roduced an o

timum ignal from both the to
and bottom of the defect, and o the de
th of the
defect
wa largely irrelevant (exce
t to make the ignal tronger a the defect i bro
ught
nearer the tran ducer, in general). However, for the Time-of-Flight geometry, th
e

robe are u ually o
timi ed for a
articular defect de
th a indeed they are in
the
tandem technique thi being a general feature of two
robe technique . Thu
we have a umed that the beam centreline of the tran mitter and receiver tran d
ucer inter ect at a de
th equal to the centre of the defect. Other a um
tion
would
have been equally valid, for in tance a uming that the inter ection of the two
beam
centre wa at a de
th corre
onding to either the to
or bottom of the defect .
The

re ent a um
tion i unbia ed in the en e of not
articularly em
ha i ing the
Timeof-Flight Diffraction ignal .
The calibration reflector i a 3 mm diameter flat-bottomed hole drilled vertical
ly
from the bottom of the
late uch that the flat end urface i at the de
th of t
he defect
centre. The flat urface of the calibration reflector i ituated midway between
the
tran mitter and receiver tran ducer centre , thu giving an ideal
ecular refle
ction
for the calibration ignal.
The tran ducer u ed are com
re ion wave
robe generating 5 MHz ultra ound
at an angle of 60 (beam maximum) to the normal to the in
ection urface. The

robe have a diameter of 25 mm. The Time-of-Flight Diffraction am
litude are
3.2. Signal am
litude com
ared with tho e generated by other technique
67
Fig. 3.9 Pul e-echo re
on e with 2 MHz 70 hear-wave
robe for a 25 mm diameter
circular crack tilted by 7 from the vertical. Signal am
litude are
relative to 100% DAC.
68
Cha
ter 3. Signal Am
litude and Com
ari on with other Technique
Fig. 3.10 Pul e-echo re
on e with 2 MHz 70 hear-wave
robe for a 25 mm diamete
r circular crack tilted by 7 from the vertical. Signal am
litude
are relative to 100% DAC.
3.3. Time-of-Flight Diffraction ignal from kewed,
lanar crack
69
given for com
ari on in Table 3.1. From the e re ult , we conclude that the rela
tive
ignal am
litude from Time-of-Flight Diffraction tend to be of the ame order o
f
magnitude a tho e from a
oorly oriented reflector in
ul e-echo in
ection , i
.e.
com
arable to tho e for a 45
robe and a vertical defect, but are le than tho e
from 60 or 70
robe . For
ul e-echo in
ection , the added ignal trength from
the higher angle
robe i the rea on for their inclu ion in in
ection
rocedur
e .
3.3
Time-of-Flight Diffraction ignal from kewed,

lanar crack

For defect which do not lie with one axi
er
endicular to the line joining tra
n mitter and receiver, or for defect which do not lie immediately under the ca
n line of the
tran ducer
air ,
rediction of the ultra onic re
on e i more difficult. The

roblem
become intrin ically three-dimen ional and the three-dimen ional diffraction co
efficient are required. The e have been calculated by Achenbach et al. [1982] a
nd,
in a different format, by Ram dale [1983]. We hall not re
roduce the re ult he
re
a they are even more com
licated than the two-dimen ional diffraction coefficie
nt
referenced in Section 2.2.1 and given in detail in Section A.4 of the A

endix.
Although the algebra i more com
licated, the outline of the model given in Sect
ion 3.1
i till e entially the ame, with energy
ro
agating along ray which have dif
fraction coefficient a ociated with interaction at crack edge . The
oint on
the defect
edge which contribute to the ignal ob erved at ome
o ition are called fla h
o
int .
The term fla h
oint would be de cri
tive if the in
ection wa a vi ual one u in
g
light; with the tran mitter
roducing a
encil beam of light; re
lacing the rece
iver
by the human eye; and the defect con i ting of a hiny reflective rim and o
tica
lly
tran
arent face . Bright
ot would then be een on the defect rim, corre
ond
ing
to the fla h
oint . The e fla h
oint are a function of the
o ition of the tran
mitter
and receiver relative to the defect centre and de
end on the orientation and ha

e of
the defect edge. For a ingle elli
tical edge there may be four fla h
oint for
a wave
which retain a ingle mode throughout.
If mode conver ion and multi
le cattering of Rayleigh urface wave over the
crack are included then there may be many ignal een from a ingle defect edge
.
For a ribbon defect which remain untilted, i.e. lying in a
lane normal to the
in
ection urface, but which i kewed about that normal, the ignal level a a
 function of kew angle ha been calculated for tran ducer beam angle between 2
0 and
65 . Skew angle u
to 60 have very little effect on the Time-of-Flight Diffractio
n
ignal trength. A the kew a

roache 90 , the ignal from the bottom edge fall
to zero, while that from the to
edge remain finite. However, in thi orientati
on the
re ult i affected by the a um
tion of an infinite defect length.
An ex
erimental com
ari on with the e re ult wa carried out u ing a
late with
a
ark cut lit running the full width of the
late and
enetrating vertically
to half
the
late thickne . The lit wa 0.4 mm wide with a emicircular ti
. It wa fo
und
that the Time-of-Flight Diffraction ignal am
litude decrea ed by only 1 dB for
kew
70
Cha
ter 3. Signal Am
litude and Com
ari on with other Technique
Fig. 3.11 The effect of crack kew on Time-of-Flight Diffraction ignal from a
n
untilted ribbon crack 48.5 mm through-wall. Point are ex
erimental value and t
he line are
rediction ba ed on the Geometrical Theory of
Diffraction.
angle u
to 30 . A com
ari on of the e re ult with the theoretical
rediction
ha
been given by Stringfellow and Tem
le [1987] and the re ult are hown in Figure
3.11. In thi figure the diffraction coefficient u ed in the calculation are
from
Achenbach et al. [1982].
Although re ult have been
re ented here only for kew or tilt alone, but not
for both
re ent imultaneou ly, the re
on e urface a a function of both angl
e
i quite mooth o that the general conclu ion i ex
ected to remain valid even
in
the
re ence of both tilt and kew. Cou
led with the intrin ic ca
ability for ac
curate
determination of the through-wall extent of crack , thi in en itivity of Time-o
fFlight Diffraction to defect orientation how that the technique ha an obviou
and
u eful role to
lay in in
ection .
Cha
ter 4
De ign of Time-of-Flight
Diffraction Equi
ment for
Sim
le Geometrie
During the early tage of the develo
ment of the Time-of-Flight Diffraction tec
hnique on am
le le than 90 mm thick, little theoretical modelling had been d
one
and the de ign of TOFD in
ection y tem wa largely em
irical. When the Defect
Detection Trial (DDT) were
lanned, in which
late u
to 250 mm thick were to
be in
ected, the cale of the ta k, the hort time cale and the weight which wo
uld
be attached to the re ult made it im
erative to u e a more y tematic a

roach
to
achieving o
timum ex
erimental de ign. Thi
roce ha been de cribed in detail
for the two girth weld imulation
late (Plate 1 and 2) by Curti and Hawker [
1983]
and for the near urface defect
late by Charle worth and Hawker [1984]. That
a
rt
of the work related to de ign of
robe array and canning
roce e i de cribe
d in
thi cha
ter, while information on data di
lay and analy i technique a

ear
in
Cha
ter 5. The re ult of the Defect Detection Trial are di cu ed in Cha
ter 8
. The
additional de ign
roblem a ociated with more com
lex geometrie are di cu ed
in Cha
ter 6. Although the DDT work wa done a long time ago, it i till of hi
toric
im
ortance becau e exerci e on thi cale have not been re
eated in recent time
.
There have however been ome advance in in
ection de ign and in trumentation
which will be
re ented to bring the
icture more u
to date.
4.1
Coverage de ign for buried defect
One of the
rinci
al advantage of ultra ound over other crack detection and iz
ing
method i the ability to detect and ize buried defect in thick o
aque materia
l .
The Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique can be a

lied to either urface-breaki
ng
or buried defect . In thi ection we con ider the a

roach to detecting and iz
ing
71
72
Cha
ter 4. De ign of Time-of-Flight Diffraction Equi
ment
buried defect , uch a tho e im
lanted in the Plate 1 and 2 of the Defect Dete
ction
Trial . The e two
late were each formed from two 1500 by 750 mm
late , 250 mm
thick, which were butt welded to form a quare
late. One 1500 mm quare urface
of each
late wa covered with an 8 mm thick layer of au tenitic tri
cladding.
4.1.1
Choice of frequency
Since the Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique reduce defect de
th and ize det
ermination to a time mea urement on the recorded waveform, the accuracy of mea u
rement may be ex
ected to im
rove with increa ing frequency. However, there were
two con traint on the u e of higher frequencie . Fir t, for rea on of economy
and
convenience, the ignal were to be digiti ed at a am
ling rate of 20 MHz, limi
ting
the u able bandwidth to 10 MHz. Secondly, the
re ence of au tenitic cladding, g
iving cattering which increa ed markedly with frequency, et a imilar limit. T
he u e
of hort
ul e
robe with a 5 MHz centre frequency met both the e criteria. Dig
iti ation at much higher frequencie i now readily available but would not have
been
u eful in DDT becau e of the effect of the cladding.
4.1.2
Arrangement of
robe
4.1.2.1
Coverage from a ingle
robe
air
The de
endence of de
th mea urement accuracy on defect de
th and
robe e
aratio
n ha already been ex
lained in Cha
ter 2, and it ha been hown in Cha
ter 3
that combining thi geometrical factor with the de
endence of diffracted am
litu
de
on angle of incidence lead to a u able range of 45 to 80 for the beam angle in
the teel. The e angular limit define, in the vertical
lane through the beam a
xe , a
quadrilateral zone where the beam cro ; the in
ection de ign for DDT wa ba e
d
on the a um
tion that defect anywhere in thi quadrilateral would
roduce adeq
uate ignal am
litude. While that a

roach demon trably
roduced good re ult in
DDT, it i clearly far too im
le a it tand . The 45 to 80 angular range i ba e
d
on the range-corrected diffraction am
litude calculated for a vertical tri
-lik
e crack
in the ymmetry
lane ( ee Figure 3.1 in Cha
ter 3). It take no account of the
actual
beam characteri tic of the
robe which re ult from their beam axi angle and
the
finite ize of their radiating face . It al o ignore the effect of change in r
ange from
the
robe index
oint with movement away from the ymmetry
lane. Figure 4.1,
taken from Hawker and Burch [1999], how the
roduct of the beam
read functio
n for a
air of 15 mm diameter 60
robe at 100 mm e
aration, calculated from
the beam model of Coffey and Cha
man [1983]. Thi can be treated a a
lot of
ignal am
litude from a diffraction ource, a uming the diffraction coefficient
to be
rea onably con tant, a di cu ed below. Even if a ignal am
litude range of 24
dB
i allowed, the en itive area fall omewhat hort of the quadrilateral zone, e

ecially in the near urface region. A zone defined by the angle 45 to 74 would
fit
the calculation with rea onable accuracy. The major cau e of the reduced covera
ge
i the re tricted beam width of the
robe ; the en itive region can be enlarged
by
4.1. Coverage de ign for buried defect
0
80
0dB to -6dB
-6dB to -12dB
-12dB to -18dB
-18dB to -24dB

10 45
De
th (mm)
73
20
30
40
50
50
40
30
20 10
0
10
20
Offset from symmetry (mm)
30
40
50
Fig. 4.1 Be m spre d t 3.5 MHz for 15 mm di meter 60
robe e
arated by
100 mm. The da hed line mark the 45 to 80 zone u ed by Curti and
Hawker [1983].
u ing maller
robe-face diameter and of cour e can be bia ed more toward the
near urface region by u ing, ay, 70
robe in tead of 60 .
Hawker and Burch [1999] al o di cu the effect of the variation of the diffract
ion
coefficient of the u

er and lower edge of a crack-like defect, ba ed on the wo
rk
of Lewi , Tem
le, Walker and Wickham [1998]. Figure 4.2 how their
lot of
diffracted ignal trength for a traight crack edge, corrected for range but ig
noring
any ab or
tion effect . From the e it can be deduced that:
The a um
tion of a con tant diffraction coefficient in the coverage calculation
i not unrea onable.
Defect tilt of 45 or more can be tolerated without dra tic lo of ignal
trength.
The o
timum en itivity i achieved when 68
robe are u ed.
Once the ize of the en itive zone for any given
robe
air ha been determined
,
the next tage of coverage de ign i to determine how the full in
ection volume
can be we
t out by the en itive zone of one or more
robe
air . It will often
be nece ary to
ecify everal different
robe e
aration to cover different d
e
th
zone . Where
robe
air with mall e
aration are u ed to in
ect a near- urfac
e
region, the mall width of the en itive zone may mean that multi
le
robe
air
at
different di
lacement from the in
ection volume centre line are required.
Where defect may lie very clo e to the back wall but di
laced from the centre
line, there i a ri k that their ignal may be ma ked by the back-wall echo unl
e
additional laterally di
laced
robe
air are
rovided. There i alway a trade
-off
74
Cha
ter 4. De ign of Time-of-Flight Diffraction Equi
ment
Fig. 4.2 Range-corrected en itivitie for a traight crack edge for far field c
ondition , ignoring ab or
tion [from Hawker and Burch, 1999]. The u

er figure i
for the to
edge of the defect and the lower figure for the bottom
edge.
4.1. Coverage de ign for buried defect
75
between the number of
robe
air and the amount of canning and the arrangement
cho en will de
end on the number of data collection channel available, the ca
a
bilitie of the canning equi
ment and the time available for the in
ection. Fo
r im
le
in
ection geometrie , uch a butt weld in flat
late or girth weld in cylin
drical
ve el , working out a
robe et and canning equence to give adequate coverage
i fairly traightforward but in more com
lex geometrie , uch a nozzle to hel
l
weld , K-node etc., it may be a com
lex
roce . In uch geometrie , unle
ro
be
mounting arrangement ,
robe
lacement and canning
attern are carefully anal
y ed, inadequate coverage can ari e from
robe kewing, cau ing lo of en itiv
ity
from lo of beam overla
or di
lacement of the en itive region from it ex
ec
ted
location. In in
ection where a high degree of confidence i required, it i u
ually
nece ary to model the geometry of the y tem mathematically to
rove that all

art
of the in
ection volume will be covered. In addition, it i often wi e to
rovi
de
calibration
ecimen of a

ro
riate geometry, with deliberately induced defect
, to
demon trate that coverage ha been achieved.
4.1.2.2
Probe arrangement for DDT Plate 1 and 2
The
rimary aim in the in
ection of DDT Plate 1 and 2 wa the detection and i
zing
of longitudinal weld defect and the
robe array wa de igned with thi in mind,
although it wa al o u ed to in
ect for tran ver e defect . The de cri
tion of
canning
arrangement below a

lie to longitudinal defect , exce
t where otherwi e tate
d.
The zone to be in
ected extended in de
th from a

roximately 10 mm below the
cladding interface down to the bottom of the
late and in width for a di tance o
f half
the
late thickne on each ide of the weld centreline. Becau e the in
ection
had
to be done in a hort time, ufficient
robe
air were
rovided for all the ult
ra onic
data to be collected in a ingle
a of the
robe array along the
late urface
in the
direction of the weld axi . Figure 4.3 illu trate how the
robe were arranged
to
give com
lete coverage.
The bulk of the in
ection zone, from the bottom u
, wa covered by three ymmet
rically
laced
air of
robe but a further five
air were needed to achieve a
dequate coverage in the remaining to
ection of the zone. Further com
lication
ari e
in thi region when in
ecting from the clad ide and the e are di cu ed in Cha

ter 7. A well a en uring com
lete coverage through the de
th range, thi larg
e array
of
robe gave the
o ibility of locating defect in the tran ver e (acro -wel
d) direction by the com
ari on of ignal from
robe
air which had imilar e

aration
but were di
laced to one ide or the other of the weld centreline
lane. In tot
al there
are 64
o ible combination of tran mitter and receiver, of which ome 33 were
required to give adequate coverage of the region.
The canning head con i ted of a U- ha
ed beam riding on wheel on the
late
urface with the
robe di tributed in a linear array along it length a can be
een in
Figure 4.4.
A there were no
ring mount or gimbal for the
robe , they were mounted
with ufficient clearance to avoid touching the
late urface at any
oint, cou

ling
being
rovided by a ufficient de
th of water. One con equence of thi method
76
Cha
ter 4. De ign of Time-of-Flight Diffraction Equi
ment
Fig. 4.3 Weld volume in
ected with the de ign of flat-
late canner u ed in the
Defect Detection Trial .
Fig. 4.4 The flat
late canner head u ed in the Defect Detection Trial .
4.1. Coverage de ign for buried defect
77
of mounting wa that bowing of the
late and undulation in the urface cau ed
variation in that
art of the ultra onic
ath which wa in water, giving ub ta
ntial
variation in ignal timing. The technique for handling thi
roblem are de cri
bed
in Cha
ter 5. The required incidence angle in water wa 12.5 and wa achieved in
mo t ca e by tilting the
robe at that angle. However, in the centre of the
r
obe
array there wa in ufficient
ace between adjacent
robe for thi to be done a
nd
the angled beam were
roduced in tead by attaching
oly tyrene wedge , cou
led
to the face of the
robe with a thin layer of grea e. To allow for the
o ibi
lity of
ome light mi alignment between the mechanical and ultra onic axe of the
robe
,
a mall range of angular adju tment wa
rovided on each
robe mount. The beam
angle were o
timi ed before the in
ection by etting u
the array on a calibr
ation
block and adju ting each
robe angle for maximum am
litude from an a

ro
riately
located ide-drilled hole.
4.1.3
Scanning arrangement
The canning head wa attached to the cro head of a 2 metre quare x-y canning
frame develo
ed by Ri ley Nuclear Power Develo
ment Laboratorie , driven
by com
uter-controlled te

ing motor (Figure 4.4). The attachment allowed the
head to follow the undulation of the
late urface in the vertical
lane while
being
con trained to follow the canning frame in the horizontal
lane. The head wa
et
u
with the
lane of the
robe array
arallel to the y motion, the work
iece bei
ng et
u
with the weld
arallel to the x motion, with the urface a near a
o ible
horizontal. The centre of the canning head wa et on the centreline of the wel
d a near
the edge of the
late a
o ible for the tart of the com
lete traver e of the
weld and
a equence of
robe firing and ignal recording carried out a de cribed above.
At
the end of each equence of data collection from all a

ro
riate
robe
air the
canning head wa moved along the weld to a new
o ition and the equence re
ea
ted.
The di tance moved between equence , 2.5 mm, wa a com
romi e between obtaining
accurate information about defect length and minimi ing the volume of data
collected. The data from the com
lete
a along the weld were recorded on a 730
m
reel of magnetic ta
e, tarting with a header de cribing the detail of the run
and the
data format and followed by the com
lete et of record of the ultra onic ignal
.
Analy i of the ignal wa carried out on a com
uter interfaced to image analy
i
and di
lay device and i de cribed in Cha
ter 5.
4.1.4
Tran ver e defect
Although ignal from tran ver e defect were obtained during the in
ection for
longitudinal defect , thorough in
ection for uch defect required changing the
orientation of canning head and canner motion through 90 relative to the weld
centre
line and canning acro the weld. Com
lete coverage of the length of the weld t
hen
required everal can , the canning head being moved about 250 mm along the wel
d
between can .
78
4.2
Cha
ter 4. De ign of Time-of-Flight Diffraction Equi
ment
Near- urface defect
Plate 3 of the Defect Detection Trial contained defect which could be anywhere
in
a 30 mm dee
zone beneath the cladding over the whole urface of the
late. Thi
change in the ha
e of the in
ection zone, com
ared with Plate 1 and 2, requir
ed a
rede ign of the
robe array and the method of canning.
4.2.1
Probe arrangement
It wa clearly not
racticable to con truct a
robe array which could in
ect th
e
whole near urface zone in one
a . It wa nece ary, therefore, to do a ra ter
can of the
late urface to en ure com
lete coverage. In
rinci
le thi could h
ave
been done with one or at mo t two
robe
air , canned over the com
lete urface
;
however, ince eight ignal channel were available, eight
air of
robe of id
entical
e
aration were imultaneou ly canned over e
arate area of the
late, a mall
overla
being
rovided between the area canned by adjacent
robe
air . The
ame
robe , electronic and digital data acqui ition y tem were u ed a on DDT
Plate 1 and 2 but, becau e the zone of intere t wa only 30 mm dee
, digital re
cord
of only 256 am
le were adequate. The record did not include the back-wall ech
o,
o it wa nece ary to mea ure the com
re ion wave velocity in the
late.
It wa antici
ated that the variation in water
ath length ex
erienced with the
fixed
robe in the in
ection of DDT Plate 1 and 2, which can di tort the char
acteri tic ignal curve , would make the detection of the very-near- urface defe
ct in
Plate 3 more difficult. The
robe were therefore mounted at the a

ro
riate ang
le
in cylinder which could lide vertically in a hou ing. The bottom of the cylind
er
carried a hollow hoe which rode on the
late and o maintained the
robe-to-
la
te urface di tance con tant, within the mall cale roughne of the urface. A

hotogra
h of the
robe array u ed in thi in
ection a

ear in Figure 4.5. Im

roved
near- urface re olution could, in
rinci
le, have been achieved by the u e of hi
gher
frequency
robe but becau e the cattering in the cladding layer increa e tro
ngly
with frequency, there wa nothing to be gained by a change from the 5 MHz
robe
u ed for Plate 1 and 2.
The choice of
robe e
aration for o
timum near- urface detection and izing
i com
licated by the
re ence of the ani otro
ic au tenitic cladding. Thi matt
er
i dealt with in detail in Cha
ter 7 and will not be further di cu ed here but
it
hould be noted that, at the
robe e
aration u ed, the lateral wave travel al
ong the
interface between cladding and ba e material and de
th mea urement are related
to
that interface, which
lay much the ame role a the
hy ical urface on an unc
lad

late. Two et of can with
robe e
aration of 60 mm and 120 mm were u ed to
en ure com
lete de
th coverage but the re ult indicated that a ingle et of c
an at
80 100 mm would hav bn adquat.
4.2. Nar-surfac dfcts
79
Fig. 4.5 Th DDT scannr had usd for nar-surfac dfcts, dployd in th 45

o ition.
4.2.2
Scanning technique
The amount of kew of the defect relative to the
rinci
al axe of the
late wa
not known, o two et of can were required with the
robe array turned throug
h
90 for the econd can. To
rovide more com
rehen ive information about the
de
endence of defect ignal trength on kew angle, can were al o carried out
at
the two intermediate 45 angle but thi wa not nece ary for detection or izing
.
The main
roblem with a

lying the Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique to
near urface defect i the fall-off in de
th re olution a the de
th decrea e .
At the
frequencie and
robe e
aration u ed on Plate 3, the ignal from defect with
in
5 mm of the urface tend to merge with the lateral wave and even for dee
er defe
ct interference effect with the lateral wave can make e timation of ignal tim
ing
difficult. A di cu ed in Cha
ter 5, recognition of ignal in the Time-of-Flig
ht
Diffraction technique i greatly facilitated by the characteri tic change in ig
nal timing a the
robe
air
a e the defect. When the canning motion i
er

endicular
to the
lane of the
robe (variou ly referred to a longitudinal, or
er
endicu
lar, or
non-
arallel can) the ignal
er i t only for the relatively narrow beam width
and
the curved ignal tail , while u ually ea ily een for dee
lying defect , may
carcely
a

ear for very hallow defect . If, however, the canning motion i in the
lan
e of
the
robe (known a a tran ver e or
arallel can), the overla
region of the t
ran mitter and receiver beam i larger in the can direction, o adequate ignal
trength
can be ex
ected for a much longer can di tance and ignal tail a

ear even for
very
near urface defect . Thi longer overla
i
artly a re ult of the oblique cro
ing an-
80
Cha
ter 4. De ign of Time-of-Flight Diffraction Equi
ment
gle of the beam and
artly of the increa ed beam width in the vertical
lane wh
ich
re ult from the refraction at the
late urface. The data from a ra ter can ca
n be
organi ed to re
re ent either ty
e of can but it i advantageou to collect the
m in the
tran ver e can mode o that initial in
ection for ignificant ignal can be c
arried
without reordering the data.
With the data di
layed in thi manner, it i
o ible to recogni e defect igna
l
from the
re ence of tail , even when the minimum delay
art of the ignal merge
with the lateral wave. Accurate de
th mea urement hould then be
o ible by mea
uring the width between the ignal tail at an a

ro
riate time delay and com
a
ring
with a et of calculated curve uch a tho e in Figure 5.5. In the in
ection o
f DDT
Plate 3 only one defect wa o hallow a to require thi ty
e of treatment.
4.3
Data acqui ition y tem
We de cribe here the data acqui ition y tem u ed for DDT but, in view of the ad
vance in in trumentation technology in the intervening year , we follow thi de
cri
tion with ome information on more recent form of data acqui ition equi
me
nt.
4.3.1
The DDT in trumentation y tem
At the time of the Defect Detection Trial , commercially available ultra onic in

ection equi
ment wa almo t univer ally de igned exclu ively for a

lication o
f
am
litude-ba ed technique . Rectified ignal were generally di
layed on a cre
en
where their characteri tic could be mea ured manually by the o
erator but there
wa
generally no
rovi ion for digiti ation of the ignal and linkage of the in tru
ment to
com
uter for
ermanent recording of data wa in it infancy. The DDT equi
ment
had to be available at hort notice, which
recluded major in trumentation devel
o
ment, o it wa a embled largely from exi ting in trumentation module , ome
commercial and ome built in-hou e at Harwell, and integrated with a general
ur

o e mini-com
uter.
A chematic layout of the data acqui ition y tem for DDT i given in Figure 4.6
.
Each tran mitter
robe had it own
ul er unit (Harwell Model 0870) giving a 200
V
0.1
ul e on command from the com
uter. The receiver
robe were connected to

ream
lifier (Harwell Model 81E09) mounted on the canning head and, from there
,
the ignal were taken via coaxial cable to the main am
lifier (Harwell Model
0187) in the com
uter room. The e am
lifier have a broad-band re
on e (0.7
30 MHz) so, to avoid aliasing in th digitisrs, th signals passd through 10 M
Hz
anti-aliasing filtrs bfor raching th input of th ight LCroy 2256A 8-bit
Wavform Digitisrs oprating at a sampling frquncy of 20 MHz. Ths digitisr
s wr
triggrd from th computr via Snsion 1351A Dlay Gnrators so that th start
of
th rcordd signal from ach rcivr prob occurrd just bfor th arrival of
th
latral wav. This tim dpndd, of cours, on which transmittr prob th sign
al
had com from and so had to b altrd by th computr whnvr a diffrnt tran
smittr prob was fird. Th lngth of ach rcording was chosn to covr th d
pth
4.4. Signal Avraging
81
Transmittr slction & triggring
8
Main
Amplifirs
8
Transmittr
Excitrs
8
Digitisrs
8 Rcivr
Charg
Amplifirs
HP 1000
Mini
Computr
Rcivr slction
Position control
8 Tx probs
8 Rx probs
Tank
TRIAL PLATE
Magntic
Tap
Driv
Watr
Fig. 4.6 Schmatic layout of th data acquisition systm usd for th Dfct Dt
ction Trials.
rang from which adquat signals could b xpctd. Thr is always an advantag

in including th cho from th back surfac of th plat, if this can b don wi
thout
xcssivly lngthning th rcord, sinc it allows a chck to b mad that its
timing
is consistnt with th assumd valus of prob sparation, ultrasonic vlocity,
plat
thicknss tc. Rcord lngths of ithr 512 or 1024 sampls wr chosn, to giv
compatibility with th 512 byt block lngth of th computr fils.
4.4
Signal Avraging
Spcular rflctions from dfcts of structural significanc usually giv larg
signal
amplituds ovr th narrow rang of angls for which thy can b rcivd and n
hancmnt of th ratio of signal amplitud to random nois is rarly ncssary.
In
contrast, th nrgy from diffraction at a dfct dg is sprad ovr a larg ra
ng of
angls, allowing dtction from a wid rang of prob positions; howvr, bcaus
 of
th angular sprad, th amplitud is gnrally smallr than would aris from a s
pcular rflction. Th position of th dfct rlativ to th ultrasonic probs
, th shap of
th dfct, its roughnss and whthr it is undr comprssiv strss ar factors
which
all affct th diffractd signal amplitud. Ths factors ar discussd lswhr
 in
this book (s, for xampl, Sction 3.2, and Figurs 3.5, 3.6, 3.11 and 7.7).
Although th amplitud of Tim-of-Flight Diffraction signals is not usd for st
imation of th important through-wall dimnsion of dfcts, rliabl dtction o
f
such signals at long rang (.g. in a thick prssur vssl) may oftn b nhanc
d
by avraging a numbr of rptitions of th signal. Th thortical basis of sig
nal
avraging is givn in th Appndix (Sction A.6). Avraging 64 signals which ar
82
Chaptr 4. Dsign of Tim-of-Flight Diffraction Equipmnt
dgradd by uncorrlatd random nois improvs th signal-to-nois ratio by abou
t
18 dB, whil avraging 256 such signals givs about 24 dB improvmnt. If th no
is
is corrlatd to som dgr thn smallr improvmnts in th signal-to-nois ra
tio
will b obtaind.
It should b notd that this form of signal avraging will do nothing to improv
th ratio of signal to grain scattr nois. Whr grain scattr is strong, mor
complx
signal procssing tchniqus may b rquird.
In th Dfct Dtction Trials, th signal-to-nois ratio dpndd chifly on th

rang of travl in th plat and thus was a function of th particular prob pai
r usd.
For th closst pairs, avraging th signals from only 4 rpat firings was suff
icint,
whras for th most distant pairs 128 firings wr rquird. Th avraging proc
ss
for ach prob pair was compltd bfor moving on to th nxt pair.
4.5
Rcnt dvlopmnts in instrumntation
Aftr th succss of th trials, as TOFD bgan to b considrd for a widr rang

of inspctions, th cumbrsom and xpnsiv natur of th quipmnt was a srio
us hindranc and ffort was thrfor put into producing an intgratd tst st
which
mor closly rsmbld a convntional flaw dtctor. Digital signal acquisition
is not
ssntial to th practic of TOFD but was flt to b a vital fatur of th nw
approach
to ultrasonic inspction which TOFD typifid. Th priod btwn th tim of th
DDT trials and th prsnt day has bn charactrisd by a vry rapid dvlopmn
t
of computr tchnology and it took som yars for th dsign approach to stabili
s.
Howvr, th ubiquity of th PC and its consqunt low pric has nsurd that d
vlopmnt fairly quickly bcam concntratd on instrumnts which ar ssntiall
y
customisd PCs, usually running som vrsion of Microsoft Windows, containing a
numbr of spcial purpos moduls such as prob drivrs, amplifirs, digitisrs
and
digital signal procssors to handl th gnration and rcption of signals, th
ir convrsion to digital data and subsqunt analysis. As a rsult of ths dv
lopmnts,
TOFD quipmnt can now b mad xtrmly portabl and, in comparison with th
ra of DDT, vry inxpnsiv in ral trms.
As an illustration of a vry portabl systm, w quot hr th spcification of
inUT-tofd (pronouncd MinUT-TOFD), a miniatur ddicatd TOFD vrsion of
th MicroPlus inspction instrumnt producd by AEA Sonomatic. Th cor of th
systm is a singl ISA bus card which nds to b hostd by a ruggdisd laptop
computr containing a 75 MHz Intl Pntium procssor (or bttr), with at last
32 MB
RAM, and a 1024 768 display with at last 256 colours, running Microsoft Windows
NT 4.0. Th spcification of th card is st out in Tabl 4.1.
Th usr intrfac is, of cours, providd by th PC systm. Tabl 4.2 lists th
data collction functions which can b accssd. Data analysis functions ar dis
cussd in Chaptr 5.
Th majority of TOFD applications ar much lss complx than th DDT trials,
which wr simulating th inspction of a PWR prssur vssl. For most purposs
a portabl instrumnt with a small numbr of data collction channls, similar t
o th
4.5. Rcnt dvlopmnts in instrumntation
83
Tabl 4.1 Tchnical spcification of TOFD inspction systm
Prob Drivr
Numbr of probs
Prob typ
HT puls voltag
HT puls width
Maximum p.r.f.
Rcivr/Amplifir
2
Singl/twin crystal
0400 V in 2 V stps
20 500 ns in 1 ns
stps
1 kHz
Filtring
High/Low pass filtr
Rctification
Rctifir tim constant
Numbr of inputs
Input impdanc
Bandwidth
Gain rang
2
50
20 MHz
0 80 dB
Distanc/Amplitud
Corrction
1 20 MHz in
100 kHz stps
Non/Full wav
0 10 ms in 100 ns
stps
Digitisr
Numbr of curvs
16
Gain rang
Points in curv
0 80 dB
8K
Encodrs
Rsolution
Digitisr rat
8 bits (256 lvls)
80, 40, 20, 10 MHz
Numbr of ncodrs
Intrfac
Collction mmory
Numbr of gats
64 K
Usr dfinabl
Count rang
maximum count frquncy
Digitisr dlay
Points in gat
0 3.2 ms
up to 32 K
2
Singl/diffrntial
32 bits
1 MHz
Tabl 4.2 Data collction functions of TOFD inspction systm
Stup
Data Collction
Ral tim A-scan Display
Channl paramtrs: Puls width, gain, matrial vlocity,
prob dlay, angl.
Systm paramtrs: PRF, avraging, HT voltag.
Collction paramtrs: paralll, non-paralll, hight, sparation, scan start, s
can nd, scan stp, fr-run or ncodr
Advancd hardwar diagnostics.
Stick valus.
Liv A-scan and B/D-scan scrolling display.
600 kbs throughput.
84
Chaptr 4. Dsign of Tim-of-Flight Diffraction Equipmnt
on dscribd in Tabls 4.1 & 4.2, is all that is rquird. Such a systm is not
, of
cours, capabl of supporting an inspction on th scal of DDT but it lacks onl
y
xtra data acquisition channls and prhaps a suitabl bulk storag mdium such
as
a CD writr for archiving data. Prob drivr units and signal pramplifirs moun
td
clos to th prob assmblis would still b usd whnvr thr was a nd to o
prat th data acquisition systm mor than a mtr or two from th prob assm
blis.
Thr ar som applications which hav such unusual rquirmnts that it is stil
l
ncssary to dsign spcial purpos systms. To giv only on xampl of such a
systm, th Snorr Tthr Inspction Equipmnt (STINE) is an inspction systm
for th tnsion lg wlds of th Norwgian Snorr oil platform in th North Sa.
It mbodis a rmotly controlld vhicl which travls up and down th bors of
th tubular tthrs, stopping at particular wlds as programmd and carrying out
a
scanning squnc with multipl ultrasonic probs, som of which ar usd to col
lct
TOFD data. Th ultrasonic quipmnt is split btwn th vhicl and th control
room systm, th prob slction and firing units and rcivr pramplifirs bi
ng
on th vhicl with a control computr (a singl board PC systm) and th main
amplifir, digitisr and data storag and display quipmnt in th control room.
This
quipmnt is capabl of carrying out a complt inspction schdul, on a spcif
id
st of wlds on a tthr, without oprator intrvntion.
Chaptr 5
Procssing, Display and
Analysis of Tim-of-Flight Data
In Chaptr 4, w discussd th dsign of signal acquisition quipmnt for th Ti
mof-Flight Diffraction tchniqu. In this chaptr w shall dscrib th rmaind
r of
th inspction systm, dvotd to procssing th signals and xtracting informat
ion
from thm. Th us of novl tchniqus of display and analysis has bn on of t
h
markd faturs of th dvlopmnt of Tim-of-Flight Diffraction but many of th
tchniqus hav subsquntly provd applicabl to puls-cho data.
In this chaptr w shall confin ourslvs to analysis tchniqus which ar gn
rally applicabl and sufficint for a full analysis in simpl gomtris lik bu
tt wlds
in flat plats or girth wlds in cylindrical vssls. Whn th gomtry is mor
complicatd, th analyst nds som gomtrical assistanc from th systm to h
lp locat
th sourcs of dfct signals and this will b dscribd in Chaptr 6.
At th tim of th Dfct Dtction Trials, it was th common practic to collc
t
TOFD data on systms which had fw or no facilitis for data analysis, th data
bing transfrrd, for analysis, to othr computr systms containing what wr
thn
vry xpnsiv imag display systms. As th cost and siz of computrs and imag

display quipmnt dcrasd, th analysis functions for TOFD tndd to b mor a
nd
mor intgratd into th data collction systm, so that, now, it is usual for t
h whol
procss of collction and analysis to b carrid out on on portabl instrumnt.
5.1
Simpl forms of display
Bcaus th phas of th diffractd signal contains information about th positi
on
and orintation of th dg from which it cam, Tim-of-Flight Diffraction signa
ls
ar usually displayd in unrctifid form. Although som traditional flaw dtct
ors
had a facility for displaying th signals without rctification, many did not. T
h tim
bas on a flaw dtctor was usually calibratd in trms of rang, bcaus, for t
h
85
86
Chaptr 5. Procssing, Display and Analysis of Tim-of-Flight Data
puls-cho tchniqu, th rang is proportional to th tim of flight and th co
mbination of rang and prob angl provids an stimat of dfct location. For
th
two prob Tim-of-Flight Diffraction tchniqu, th dfct dpth information is
rlatd to th tim diffrncs btwn signals in a non-linar way, so a simpl
rang
basd display is not vry usful. As a rsult of ths factors, convntional fla
w dtctors wr unsuitabl for us in Tim-of-Flight Diffraction work and nw f
orms of
analysis quipmnt had to b dvlopd.
Th simplst typ of data display, usd in th arly dvlopmnt work on th
Tim-of-Flight Diffraction tchniqu, is an oscilloscop, on which th rcivd
wavform may b displayd without any procssing. To b most usful, th oscillo
scop
should hav a dlayd trac facility with a calibratd dlay stting so that th
portion
of th signal which is of intrst (for a flat plat, that from th latral wav
to th
back-wall cho) may b xpandd to occupy most of th scrn and th tim of occ
urrnc of any signals from dfcts may b accuratly masurd. Such a display i
s
adquat for manual masurmnts, in ultrasonically clan matrial, of th dpth
of
visibl surfac-braking cracks, or of burid dfcts dtctd by som othr mt
hod.
As a sarch tchniqu or for sizing in lss clan matrials, this simpl quipm
nt
lavs somthing to b dsird, sinc judging th significanc of a small signal
in a
singl A-scan may b difficult.
5.2
Two-dimnsional displays
For th bst dtction and sizing capability, it is ncssary to rcord A-scans
as
th probs ar movd ovr th workpic and display thm in suitabl form. Such
displays ar analogous to wll known mthods of displaying puls-cho data. For
instanc, if w dfin a vrtical plan containing th bam of an angld puls-
cho
prob, thn a two-dimnsional display of A-scans rsulting from motion within th

plan is calld a B-scan, whil a similar display from motion prpndicular to t
h
plan is a D-scan. Tim-of-Flight Diffraction scans with prob motion paralll t
o
and prpndicular to th lin joining thm ar analogous to puls-cho B- and Ds
cans rspctivly, apart from th inhrntly non-linar dpth scal in th Tim-
ofFlight Diffraction cas. In th past, th trm B-scan has oftn bn applid t
o both
dirctions of motion and, in th rmaindr of this chaptr, rfrncs to B-scan
s may
b takn to apply qually to D-scans, unlss othrwis statd.
In this typ of display, th information has thr dimnsions, voltag, tim and
position, and must b displayd in two-dimnsional form; a varity of diffrnt
rprsntations hav bn trid.
5.2.1
Lin drawing displays
On mthod, which was fairly widly usd in th arly days of TOFD, is to draw
th A-scans with som lin drawing dvic (pn plottr, storag cathod ray tub
display tc.), with th bas lin for ach succssiv A-scan slightly shiftd to
form
a stack. In ssnc, tim and voltag ar displayd in th two orthogonal dirct
ions
5.2. Two-dimnsional displays
87
Fig. 5.1 Tim and voltag displayd in two orthogonal dirctions, with a small o
ffst
on ach axis btwn succssiv tracs to rprsnt displacmnt in th
scanning dirction.
and position rprsntd by an offst which may ithr b in th sam dirction
as
th voltag, or in an intrmdiat dirction btwn th voltag and tim axs.
A
modification of th mthod, which may b usd on dvics capabl of blocking in
aras (.g. matrix printrs), is to block in ithr positiv or ngativ half cy
cls to
draw attntion to th aras with significant signals. Figur 5.1 illustrats how
such
a display nabls th cohrnt pattrn formd by th position of a dfct signal
in
succssiv tracs to b rcognisd. This form of display was rapidly abandond a
s
gry-scal imags bcam availabl and is mntiond hr only bcaus som of th

rfrncs quotd us this kind of prsntation.
5.2.2
Gry scal and colour displays
5.2.2.1
Analogu displays
Th most satisfactory form of display is on whr th voltag dimnsion can b
rprsntd by a chang of intnsity or ton, laving th two spatial dimnsions
for
tim and position. This typ of display may b producd in crud form by th us
of a boxcar intgrator and a facsimil rcordr. In th boxcar intgrator, a nar
row
gat sampls a small portion of th wavform and passs th sampld voltag to a
n
intgrating circuit and a low pass filtr. By dlaying th gat a small xtra am
ount on
ach firing of th transducr, th sampling point is swpt along th whol lngt
h of
th wavform. Th output thus bcoms a rprsntation of th signal transformd
to a lowr frquncy. This low frquncy signal is thn usd to draw a lin on a
facsimil rcordr in such a way that th amplitud of th signal dtrmins th
 dpth of
88
Chaptr 5. Procssing, Display and Analysis of Tim-of-Flight Data
ton producd. Btwn ach lin th papr is stppd along so as to produc a t
wodimnsional display. This typ of display was much usd in th arly dvlopm
nt
of th Tim-of-Flight Diffraction tchniqu and has th advantag that it rquir
s
only analogu circuitry and dos not ncssitat storag of th signals. Howvr
, th
quality of displays producd was not high, th quipmnt was, vn thn, rathr
xpnsiv and is now probably unobtainabl, and, bcaus th signals wr not st
ord,
no post-procssing could b don.
5.2.2.2
Digital displays
As digital computrs bcam lss xpnsiv and vido display tchnology dvlop
d,
gry scal displays basd on rastr scan tchnology bcam widsprad. Th st o
f
A-scans forming a B-scan may b rcordd in a computr fil, usually with 8-bit
prcision, and transfrrd to a digital fram stor for display. Early fram sto
rs
typically had a rsolution of 512 points pr lin and 512 lins, split btwn t
wo
intrlacd half-frams, and usd long prsistnc monochrom monitors to rmov
th unplasant flickr causd by th intrlacing. With 8-bit data, 256 lvls ca
n b
displayd, far mor than can b distinguishd by y. Thr is usually som man
s
of dynamically changing th mapping btwn th signal lvl and th displayd
intnsity, so that th contrast may b adjustd to bring out dsird faturs of
th
data. Colour displays soon bcam availabl but xprinc showd that th fin
dtails of a B- or D-scan could b bttr apprciatd in shads of gry (obtaina
bl on
a colour systm by mapping all thr colours to th sam intnsity).
Th main us of colour is for graphics ovrlays and annotation to aid intrprta
tion, or to highlight faturs or particular amplitud lvls in, for xampl, a
mplitud
basd sizing aftr SAFT procssing (s Sction 5.8.1). Figurs 2.2, 2.14, 5.3,
5.4,
5.6, 5.7 and 5.8 ar good xampls of gry scal imags.
As a rsult of dvlopmnts in vido display tchnology in th last fw yars,
vn inxpnsiv PC vido cards ar now typically capabl of displaying 16, 24 o
r
32-bit colour with scrn rsolutions of at last 1024 768 pixls, non-intrlac
d, on
compatibl colour monitors. A typical TOFD data analysis scrn would rquir 25
6
gry lvls for B-scan display and som othr colours for othr parts of th dis
play.
This would normally rquir 32-bit colour capability, although a fairly satisfac
tory
display could b cratd with 24-bit colour by sacrificing a fw of th high int
nsity
gry lvls. Figur 5.2 shows a fairly typical inspction analysis display takn
 from
AEA Tchnologys PIPELINE systm, a combind puls-cho and TOFD systm
for piplin inspction.
5.2.3
Hardcopy output
In th arly days of TOFD, much ingnuity wnt into th production of gry-scal
hardcopy on such dvics as lctrostatic matrix printrs. Rcords of scrn dis
plays
wr producd by photographing th scrn or by th us of a spcial dvic with
a small high quality display tub and built in camra. Now, vry inxpnsiv col
or
inkjt printrs can produc accurat copis of scrn displays and can also prod
uc
5.2. Two-dimnsional displays
89
Fig. 5.2 Typical analysis scrn of a modrn digital inspction systm (AEA Tch
nologys PIPELINE systm).
output of much highr rsolution (typically at last 600 dots pr inch) than ava
ilabl
on currnt scrn displays.
5.2.4
Storag and xchang of raw and analysd data
Long trm storag of scrn displays on computr mdia has bcom practicabl
with improvmnts in storag tchnology, spcially with th advnt of writabl
compact discs. By th us of such storag mthods, both th raw inspction data
and all dtails of th analysis can b archivd on vry robust and long-lasting
mdia,
and this is immnsly usful for long trm intgrity monitoring of safty-critic
al
componnts.
Early TOFD data was stord using fil formats invntd spcially for th purpos
which wr incompatibl with any usd by othr imag display softwar. With th
vast incras in th availability of commrcial softwar for imag display and a
nalysis, th advantags of using standard fil formats hav bcom mor obvious.
Thr
ar many such formats and it is not th purpos to rviw thm xhaustivly hr
;
GIF (graphics intrchang format) and TIFF (tag imag fil format) fils ar wid
ly
usd and TIFF is spcially usful as it can b xtndd by th dfinition of ad
ditional tags to accommodat xtra data which can b undrstood by spcially ds
ignd
softwar, without prvnting display by standard TIFF imag display programs. Th

90
Chaptr 5. Procssing, Display and Analysis of Tim-of-Flight Data
othr fil format of intrst is th JPEG (Joint Photographic Exprts Group) for
mat
which accommodats imags which hav bn comprssd by an fficint but lossy
comprssion tchniqu. For storag of an analysis display, th rduction in stor
ag
spac is worthwhil and th corruption of data implicit in th us of JPEG may b

hardly dtctabl by y and b of littl significanc providd th original TOF
D
data has bn archivd lswhr.
5.3
Analysis of A-scan data
Th analysis of a singl A-scan is straightforward providd th various signals
can
b asily idntifid. To carry out th dpth calculation as dtaild in Chaptr
2, it is
only ncssary to masur th tim of occurrnc of th signals, taking car to
choos
corrsponding points on ach wav packt, allowing for possibl phas rvrsal.
Th
first wll-dfind zro crossing is a convnint point to choos for timing ach
signal,
sinc it can b accuratly masurd, for instanc, by us of a suprimposd curs
or
with continuous radout of position. Howvr, th latral wav, bing gnratd
by
th off-axis part of th ultrasonic bam, usually has a diffrnt puls shap an
d lowr
cntr frquncy than th dfct signals and this can lad to rrors in stimati
ng th
tim intrval btwn th latral wav and th dfct signal. Th problm has b
n
discussd at gratr lngth in Sction 2.3.2.7 whr rcommndations can b foun
d
for minimising th rrors.
As w hav alrady pointd out, howvr, a singl A-scan is of rathr rstrictd
valu and it will gnrally b ncssary to analys a two-dimnsional B- or D-sc
an
constructd from many A-scans. This rquirs som additional aids. Th B-scan
prsntation is particularly usful in aiding data intrprtation sinc th huma
n y is
vry good at dtcting corrlations btwn adjacnt tracs. Th following scti
ons
dscrib th procssing and analysis of ths two-dimnsional imags.
5.4
Data flattning
Watr coupling is oftn th most convnint way of nsuring that th signal ampl
itud is not unduly affctd by surfac condition. Howvr, it is not always pos
sibl,
with watr coupling, to maintain th watr path prcisly constant throughout a
scan
and this can produc substantial variations in signal timing bcaus th wav v
locity in watr is only about on quartr of that in a stl workpic. This ff
ct is
illustratd in Figur 5.3 with signals from a prob pair scanning at constant h
ight
ovr a plat with an undulating surfac.
Th rsultant distortion not only maks accurat dpth masurmnts mor difficu
lt but also affcts th rcognition of dfct signals and th masurmnt of df
ct
lngth. In addition, it complicats th application of furthr digital procssin
g. This
typ of distortion of th B- or D-scan may b minimisd by th us of hollow sho
s
which maintain a constant distanc btwn prob and surfac but vn thn, smal
l
5.4. Data flattning
91
Fig. 5.3 Signals from a prob pair scanning immrsd in watr at constant hight
ovr an undulating surfac.
Fig. 5.4 Th B-scan imag aftr data flattning to rmov th variations in wat
r
path du to th undulating surfac. Compar this with Figur 5.3.
92
Chaptr 5. Procssing, Display and Analysis of Tim-of-Flight Data
scal roughnss can produc sufficint fluctuation in signal timing to rndr th
 analysis of signals from nar-surfac dfcts mor difficult.
Fortunatly, providd thr is a rfrnc signal, ithr a latral wav, or a b
ackwall cho, of adquat amplitud, simpl procssing algorithms can b usd to
flattn
th imag so that it appars as if th watr path had bn constant. Th B-scan
from
Figur 5.3 is shown aftr flattning in Figur 5.4.
If th rfrnc signal is of larg amplitud, a digital triggr algorithm is conv
nint. In this mthod, th point at which th rcordd A-scan crosss a particu
lar
voltag lvl is found and usd to tim shift th rcordd signals to bring th
rfrnc signal to a constant position in th tracs. Th voltag lvl and th
starting
point for th sarch must b chosn so that th triggr will occur on th corrs
ponding part of th rfrnc signal on vry wavform and this is asist to ar
rang for
th first or scond half cycl of latral wav sinc thr should b no largr v
oltags
occurring arlir in th trac. In favourabl circumstancs, this flattning pro
css
can b accurat to a fraction of a sampling intrval, and, to tak advantag of
this,
th mthod of tim shifting th signals should b capabl of doing shifts of a f
raction
of a sampling intrval. This can b don by transforming to th frquncy domain
,
applying a phas shift proportional to frquncy and transforming back to th ti
m
domain.
Whr th signal amplitud is wak or fluctuating, th simpl triggr algorithm
may not work wll and bttr prformanc may b achivd by using th pak cross
corrlation btwn a modl rfrnc signal and th rcordd signals to corrct
th
timing. Th modl signal can b obtaind from a singl trac or by avraging sv
ral
tracs in a rgion whr th timing is narly constant. Whn th latral wav is
usd
as a rfrnc, th functioning of th algorithm is aidd by th fact that th l
atral
wav is usually far from th bam axis and so has a lowr cntr frquncy than
th
dfct signals.
If th abov mthods fail at som points in th scan, for instanc whr th rf
rnc signal amplitud is vry low, or whr it suffrs intrfrnc from a df
ct
signal, th tim shifts for th faild rgion may b basd on intrpolation btw
n
nighbouring succssful rgions or may b drivd intractivly by shifting indi
vidual tracs to giv th most satisfactory apparanc.
It will b apparnt, from th discussion of rrors givn in Chaptr 2, that vari
ations of th latral-wav tim arising from changs in coupling thicknss imply
som small variations in th gomtry of th TOFD procss. Consquntly, whil
data flattning tchniqus rmov th primary problm arising from such variatio
ns,
thr is still som dgradation of th accuracy which would hav bn achivd i
f th
coupling thicknss had bn kpt constant. It is dsirabl, thrfor, to dsign
prob
mountings so as to minimis coupling thicknss variations and to us flattning
only
to rmov rsidual ffcts.
In th following dscription of analysis tchniqus, it is assumd that flattni
ng
will hav bn don whr ncssary.
5.5. Signal rcognition
5.5
93
Signal rcognition
In many circumstancs, th dfct signals of intrst will b th only signals o
f significant amplitud occurring btwn th latral wav and th back-wall ch
o and
no rcognition aids will b ndd, Howvr, this is not always so. In larg-gra
ind
anisotropic matrials or in matrials containing inclusions or othr inhomogni
tis,
thr may b a background cluttr of amplitud comparabl with that of th dfc
t
signals. Evn whn th dfct signals ar clar, th prsnc of mod-convrtd
signals cannot always b xcludd bcaus thr may b physical constraints on t
h
choic of prob sparation. In ths circumstancs, som aid to rcognition of t
h
signals of intrst is dsirabl.
Littl can b don to assist in signal rcognition on a singl A-scan trac and
this is on of th chif disadvantags of such displays. On a B- or D-scan displ
ay,
howvr, th ffcts of bam sprad giv th dfct indication a charactristic
shap
which can b usd as an aid to rcognition.
5.5.1
Arcs and curv fitting
Th way in which th tim-of-flight of a dfct varis with transducr position
during
a scan lads to charactristic arcs apparing in th data displays which can b
usd to
nhanc dfct dtction and to giv mor accurat sizing capability. Considr a
singl point on a diffracting dg in a block of uniform thicknss. Whn that p
oint lis
in th vrtical plan dfind by th prob bam cntrlins and is quidistant f
rom
th two probs, th transit tim will b a minimum. If th prob assmbly is mov
d a
littl in any dirction, th signal will still b prsnt bcaus th point stil
l lis within
th bams but th distanc will hav incrasd and th indication will thrfor
appar a littl latr on th display. A continuous scan across th location of
th dg
will thrfor produc an indication having charactristic downward-curving tail
s as
w saw in Figurs 2.2 and 2.14 and can also b sn in Figur 5.4. Figur 5.5 sh
ows
th shap of th diffraction arcs as a function of th dpth blow th surfac o
f th
diffraction point for a prob sparation of 62 mm and a cladding layr thicknss
of
7 mm (s Chaptr 7 for a discussion of th ffcts of cladding). Th displacm
nt
in this cas is paralll to th lin joining th prob indx points. For displac
mnts
prpndicular to that lin, th arcs ar all hyprbola (s Sction 2.3.4), bro
adning
as th dfct dpth incrass.
Whn th argumnt is xtndd to all points on a continuous horizontal dg,
th tails from intrior parts of th dg cancl, so that th rsultant indicati
on is
horizontal ovr th lngth of th dg with th charactristic tails still appa
ring at
ach nd. An xampl of such a signal from a rctangular patch dfct appars in
Figur 5.6.
Sinc th shap of th tails dpnds only on th dfct dpth, prob sparation
and dirction of prob motion, it is prdtrmind for any givn dpth on a B- o
r Dscan display. Th prdiction of th shap has alrady bn discussd in Scti
on 2.3.4.
It is a simpl mattr to provid a mans of displaying th corrct shap as a cu
rsor
on a digital display and to allow it to b movd intractivly to chck its fit
to any
94
Chaptr 5. Procssing, Display and Analysis of Tim-of-Flight Data
30
0
Displ cement of pro
e p ir centre (mm)
20
10
0
10
20
30
2mm deep
4mm
6mm
Del y of diffr ction sign l (s)
8mm
1
10mm
2
3
Fig. 5.5 Theoretic l curves of sign l del y versus pro
e displ cement for 62 mm
pro
e sep r tion nd 7 mm thick cl dding. The displ cement is p r llel to
the line joining the pro
e index points.
suspected defect indic tion. An ex mple of n overl y displ y is given in Figure
5.7,
t ken from Slesenger, Hesketh nd Silk [1985].
Where the p ttern of sign ls is very complex s result of mode conversions, it
m y
e necess ry to m ke judgment s to which re the unconverted compression
w ve sign ls from the top nd
ottom of the defect nd then c lcul te the positi
ons
nd curve sh pes of ll possi
le mode converted sign ls. By overl ying the set o
f
curves so produced on the Bsc n im ge, the hypothesis th t ll sign ls rise fr
om
single defect c n
e thoroughly tested. Figure 5.8 is n eleg nt ex mple of such
n
overl y used on complex p ttern of sign ls [R msey, 1987].
5.5. Sign l recognition
95
Fig. 5.6 Experiment l sign ls from cr ck with n extended horizont l edge.
Fig. 5.7 Hyper
olic cursor superimposed on the sign l from pointlike defect (f
rom
Slesenger et l. [1985]).
96
CL
CT CT
CT ST
ST CT
CB SB
SB CB
CT R CB
CB R CT
CB R ST
ST R CB
Fig. 5.8 Th lft-hand figur is rproducd from Ramsy [1987] and shows a TOFD
B-scan from a tst block with th signal arcs
markd with loci calculatd on th basis of assumptions about th prsnc of a
smooth planar dfct. Th right-hand figur
provids an xplanatory ky. In th ky cods at xtrm right, ach group of ch
aractrs indicats a lg of th ultrasonic
path. Th first charactr indicats th wav mod, C, S and R rprsnting compr
ssion, shar and Rayligh wav mods
rspctivly. For th scond charactr, L indicats th latral wav, whil T an
d B indicat that th sourc or dstination of
that particular lg of th path is th top or bottom of th dfct rspctivly.
Th Rayligh wav lg is on th dfct surfac,
from top to bottom or vic vrsa.
Chaptr 5. Procssing, Display and Analysis of Tim-of-Flight Data
CB CB
5.6. Masurmnt of dfct location
5.6
97
Masurmnt of dfct location
In simpl gomtry, such as a flat plat, locating th sourc of a dfct signal
involvs
masuring its dpth from th inspction surfac, its distanc from th start of
th scan
along th scan lin and its latral displacmnt from th scan lin. By scan lin
, w
man th lin on th inspction surfac followd by a point quidistant from th
prob indx points during th inspction scan. Th latral dirction is paralll
to th
th lin joining th indx points. Th xtra complications arising from mor com
plx
inspction gomtris ar dalt with in Chaptr 6.
5.6.1
Dpth from th inspction surfac
Th intractiv cursor may also b usd for dpth masurmnt. Th cursor is fir
st
locatd on th start of th latral wav and th quivalnt tim loggd. Thn th

cursor is locatd on th dfct indication and th tim loggd again. Th rmark
s in
Sction 5.3 about choic of timing point apply qually hr. Th computr, prvi
ously loadd with vlocity and prob sparation figurs can thn display th df
ct
dpth. In th cas of dfcts vry nar th surfac, intrfrnc btwn th d
fct
signal and th latral wav may mak tim masurmnts on th cntral portion of
th curv difficult but th tails may b clarly visibl. Th tails ar mor lik
ly to b
visibl if th scan is a tru B-scan (i.. transducr bams and prob movmnt i
n th
sam plan). Dpth masurmnt may thn b don by choosing th dpth for which
th cursor bst fits th tails of th indication. As alrady mntiond in Sctio
n 5.5.1,
this will rquir rcalculation and rdisplay of th cursor shap at ach dpth
adjustmnt, sinc th shap is vry dpth-dpndnt in th nar-surfac rgion.
An altrnativ way of displaying dpth information is to transform th whol
imag to giv a tru dpth scal. First, th rang of dpth to b displayd is s
lctd
and dividd up so as to giv (say) 512 qually-spacd dpth valus. Th sampl
numbr in th digitisd rcords which corrsponds to ach dpth valu may thn b

calculatd. Finally, a complt nw st of A-scans is constructd by slcting f
rom
th original st thos sampls which corrspond most closly to ach of th qua
llyspacd dpth valus. A B-scan constructd from ths nw A-scans provids an
imag which is linarly rlatd to a cross sction of th workpic and from whi
ch
approximat dpths and sizs may b rad by y. It also indicats clarly, from
th apparnt sharpnss of th dfct signals, how th dpth rsolution varis as
 a
function of dpth.
5.6.2
Position along th scan lin
Estimating th position of th dfct along th scan lin is insparabl from s
timating its lngth in that dirction; this masurmnt is dalt with in dtail
in Sction 5.7.
98
5.6.3
Chaptr 5. Procssing, Display and Analysis of Tim-of-Flight Data
Latral position
It is not possibl to stimat th latral position from a singl scan of on pa
ir of
probs. Th path lngth drivd from a singl pair dfins an llipsoid of rvol
ution,
with th prob indx points as foci, on which th signal sourc lis. Thr ar
two
ways of gtting unambiguous information about th latral position of th sourc
.
Th first is to us two or mor prob pairs with scan lins latrally displacd
and to
driv th sourc location from th crossing of th llipsoids. This is th mth
od usd
by Hawkr [1983] to locat dfcts in th Dfct Dtction Trials (s Figur 2.
12
on pag 38). Th scond mthod is to do an additional scan ovr th dfct in a
dirction prpndicular to th primary scan. Whn th tim of flight of th df
ct
signal is at a minimum, th sourc is locatd symmtrically btwn th probs.
5.7
Masurmnt of dfct lngth
If a dfct has straight horizontal uppr and lowr dgs, its lngth in th sca
n dirction can b masurd by first fitting th shapd cursor to th lft-hand
tail of th
indication and thn to th right-hand tail and noting th movmnt btwn ths
two positions. This tchniqu is particularly ffctiv for nar-surfac dfcts
, bcaus th hyprbolic signal arcs ar narrow in th scan dirction, so thr
is littl
ambiguity in positioning th cursor. For dfcts at considrabl dpth, th arcs
ar
broadr and th masurmnts consquntly lss accurat. In this cas, mor accu
rat lngth masurmnts may b drivd from data procssd by th synthtic
aprtur focusing tchniqu (SAFT) (s Sction 5.8.1).
If th dfct dgs ar curvd or sloping, good lngth masurmnts may still
b obtaind in many cass, providd th procdur dscribd in th nxt sction
is
followd. If th dfcts ar vry irrgular in shap, it may b that SAFT procs
sing
would dlivr bttr accuracy of lngth masurmnt but no convincing systmatic
dmonstration of SAFT on this typ of dfct has bn publishd thus far.
5.7.1
Using th shapd cursor for dfct lngth masurmnt
To dmonstrat that good rsults can b obtaind on ralistic dfct shaps, w
includ hr in Figur 5.9 a simulation du to Hawkr and Burch [1999], showing
succssiv stps in masuring th profil of a far-surfac crack by carful matc
hing
of th shapd cursor against th signal indication. Th point to mphasis hr
is that
whr th cursor curv touchs th signal indication curv, th slops must matc
h.
For all such points, th position of th cntr of th cursor is markd (bing t
h position of th diffracting dg which producd that portion of th signal).
Th locus
of th markd points tracs out th profil of th diffracting dg and, if it i
s snsibly
complt, givs an accurat indication of th whol xtnt of th dfct. Anoth
r
usful tchniqu illustratd hr is that of fitting th cursor to th tails on
th backwall cho at ach nd of th rgion whr it is obscurd. This allows on
 to stimat
th full lngth of th crack whr it opns to th back surfac.
5.7. Masurmnt of dfct lngth
28
0
Prob position (mm)
100
150
50
200
250
4
29
Tim dlay (s)
99
Signal from 3
dfct A
2
30
Back-wall
cho

1
5
6 7
8
Signal from
dfct B
9
Back-wall
cho
31
32
Dpth (mm)
33
0
10
20
30
40
50
0
50
Position (mm)
100
150
200
250
Block boundary
Dfct A
Dfct B
Masurd points
Fig. 5.9 Simulatd drivation of a dfct profil using shapd cursor. Th uppr
figur shows th succssiv positions of th hyprbolic cursor usd in drivati
on of th profil. At ach point, th cursor touchs a dfct signal or
back-wall cho at a point whr th slops match. Th lowr figur shows
th actual dfct shap in th block with th masurd points suprposd.
Th dfct usd in this dmonstration was such that it gav a continuous signal
indication ovr its whol lngth and vry part of th diffracting dg contribu
td
to th indication. Th majority of ral dfcts would fall into that catgory bu
t it is
possibl to imagin pathological dfcts which would b much mor difficult to
profil. How this may aris is dscribd in th nxt sction.
5.7.2
Effcts of dfct shap on apparnt dfct lngth
Diffractd wavs aris from all th insonifid parts of th dgs of a dfct bu
t signals
will b dtctd only whn th contributions from diffrnt parts ar sufficint
ly
clos in phas for constructiv intrfrnc to occur. From Frmats principl, th
is
will occur whnvr th path lngth from th transmittr to th rcivr via a p
oint on
th dfct dg is approximatly stationary with rspct to variations in th po
sition
100
Chaptr 5. Procssing, Display and Analysis of Tim-of-Flight Data
Inspction surfac
Sctions
through
isochronal
surfacs
Probs li on a lin
passing through this point
Rctangular
planar dfct
Activ rgion
Fig. 5.10 Isochronal surfacs for a rctangular dfct locatd midway btwn th

transmittr and rcivr.
of th point on th dfct dg.
Lt us considr th standard Tim-of-Flight Diffraction prob arrangmnt of
two probs facing ach othr on a horizontal inspction surfac and, furthr, l
t us
suppos that th puls is a singl half cycl. For contributions from diffrnt
dg
points to add, thy must hav transit tims which diffr by lss than th puls
duration. Lt us divid transit tim into units of on half cycl and associat
an isochronal
surfac or isochron with ach intgral tim point. Th isochrons ar thn lli
psoids
of rvolution with th prob indics as foci. Th only rgions of ths isochron
s rlvant to signal production (activ rgions) ar thos which li within bot
h ultrasonic
bams. A particular dfct dg will produc a noticabl signal if it follows t
h
activ rgion of an isochron closly.
Considr a planar dfct lying in th vrtical plan which is quidistant from t
h
two probs; this plan cuts th isochrons in a st of circls cntrd on th po
int in
th inspction surfac which lis on th lin joining th probs. If a long rct
angular
dfct lis dirctly btwn th probs, and prpndicular to th lin joining t
h
prob cntrs, its top and bottom dgs pass through a horizontal activ rgion
of
th isochron and thus produc strong signals, whil its outsid vrtical nd d
gs
ar ithr narly normal to th isochrons, or ar outsid th activ rgion, an
d so
produc a ngligibl rsultant signal. This situation is illustratd in Figur 5
.10.
Suppos now that th probs ar scannd paralll to th dfct plan so as to
approach and pass ovr th dfct. Th top and bottom signals will rmain consta
nt
ovr most of th dfct lngth, falling by 6 dB at th points whr th dfct 
nds
ar alignd with th bam cntrlin. At ths points th signals should b show
ing
slight xtra dlay and this will incras, giving ris to th charactristic sig
nal curvs,
as th scan passs byond th dfct. Thus, for a rctangular dfct, th lngth
of th
5.7. Masurmnt of dfct lngth
Inspction surfac
Sctions
through
isochronal
surfacs
101
Probs li on a lin
passing through this point
Activ rgion
Dfct dg in glint position
Dfct dg aftr small displacmnt
Fig. 5.11 Isochronal surfacs for a smi-circular dfct locatd symmtrically b
twn th transmittr and rcivr (solid lin) and with its cntr latrally
displacd (brokn lin).
top and bottom signals in th D-scan imag will giv a good indication of th d
fct
lngth and lngth masurmnts mad ithr by 6 dB drop or cursor fitting should
b
rasonably accurat.
Lt us rplac th rctangular dfct with on of a rathr spcial shap, a surf
acbraking smi-circular crack. As Figur 5.11 shows, at almost vry scan posi
tion
th dfct dg crosss svral isochrons and th signal will b dstroyd by d
structiv intrfrnc. Whn th cntr of th smi-circl lis on th lin joi
ning
th probs, howvr, th whol dfct dg lis paralll to an isochron and a v
ry
larg signal will rsult. This ffct is most clarly dmonstratd for vry wid
bam probs but vn for convntional probs th ffct is striking, as shown in
Figur 5.12.
This tndncy to produc a strong glint or flashpoint at th symmtrical positio
n
and wak or ngligibl signals lswhr applis whnvr a sction of th lowr
dg of a dfct approximats a portion of a smi-circl cntrd on th inspcti
on surfac. Typical dfcts showing this ffct ar smi-lliptical surfac-bra
king cracks.
Not, howvr, that th total lngth of a surfac-braking crack can b stimat
d
from th scan distanc ovr which th latral wav is blockd. For a dfct of 
lliptical shap, in an arbitrary orintation with rspct to th transmittr and
rcivr,
thr ar up to four flashpoints on th dfct dg, gnrally thr on th low
r dg
and on on th uppr dg of th dfct. Th curvatur of th dg causs focusi
ng
of th diffractd rays, dscribd in th thory by caustics rgions of (thorti
cally)
102
Chaptr 5. Procssing, Display and Analysis of Tim-of-Flight Data
Fig. 5.12 A glint or flashpoint from a smi-circular dfct dg.
infinit amplitud.
Th signal pattrns producd by dfcts of othr shaps can b workd out by
similar argumnts to thos usd abov. A burid crack with irrgular dgs would
tnd to produc top and bottom signals apparing intrmittnt on th scan imag.
In
attmpting to charactris th dfcts from th apparanc of such signals, it m
ust b
born in mind that discontinuous signals do not ncssarily aris from discontin
uous
dfcts.
On mthod of obtaining additional dtctabl signals in a convntional scan is
to
carry out furthr scans with th probs skwd so that th activ rgion movs o
ut to
th sid of th vrtical plan through th probs [Atkinson, Birchall and Plvin
, 1989;
Highmor and Rogrson, 1988]. SAFT procssing of data collctd with wid-bam
probs should also b ffctiv.
5.8
Signal Procssing
5.8.1
Procssing tchniqus for improving th accuracy of dfct
lngth masurmnt
Th convntional mthod of sizing dfcts largr than th bam width is to masu
r
th prob movmnt btwn points whr th dfct signal amplitud is 6 dB blo
w
its maximum valu. This tchniqu achivs adquat accuracy on larg dfcts at
modrat rangs and has bn usd for masuring th lngth of dfcts from Timo
f-Flight Diffraction signals, as an altrnativ and mor asily automatd mthod
than th cursor fitting tchniqu dscribd in Sction 5.7.1. In gnral, it is
not
5.8. Signal Procssing
103
ncssary, for intgrity assssmnts, to know th lngth of a dfct as accurat
ly
as its through-wall xtnt. Howvr, for small dfcts in aras of high strss o
r for
dfcts at long rang whr th bam sprad is considrabl, th 6 dB drop tchn
iqu
may not giv accptabl accuracy. Without som form of procssing th width of a
rflctor masurd using th 6 dB drop mthod will b systmatically ovrsizd f
or
rflctors smallr than th diamtr of th transducr. This applis qually to
th
lngth masurmnt of a dfct mad with Tim-of-Flight and to both through-wall
xtnt and dfct lngth whn masurd with convntional puls-cho tchniqus.
Th most commonly applid mthod of improving th accuracy achivabl by
th 6 dB drop mthod is to procss th data first by mans of th Synthtic Apr
tur Focusing Tchniqu (SAFT) and apply th 6 dB drop mthod to th procssd
signals.
Th ssnc of synthtic aprtur focusing is that th unrctifid radio frqun
cy
data from diffrnt transducr positions ar combind with th corrct phass to
synthsis th ffcts of a singl transducr having a larg aprtur. This apr
tur
can b focusd accuratly at all dpths. Data takn during an ultrasonic scan of
th
transducr along a lin ar combind to giv a thortical latral rsolution of
on
half th transducr width. Th diffrnc btwn procssd and unprocssd data
dpnds on th ratio r/N, whr r is th distanc of th dfct from th transdu
cr
and N is th transducr nar-fild distanc givn by D2 /4 , whee D is the tans
duce
diamete and is the utasonic waveength. The ovesizing fom unpocessed data
is wose fo age vaues of /N, that is, as the defect goes futhe into the
fa
fied. Fo /N = 2, thee is vey itte diffeence between unpocessed data and
that
pocessed using SAFT [Buch, 1987], but by /N = 4 the imiting atio of the 6 d
B
dop defect width to the tansduce diamete fo a sma defect (with ength, sa
y, 0.2
times the tansduce diamete) is about 0.8 fo unpocessed data and about 0.5 w
ith
SAFT pocessing. At /N = 7, and fo defects of ength 0.2 times the tansduce
diamete, the unpocessed 6 dB dop width is 1.6 times the tansduce diamete,
that
is eight times the actua vaue, wheeas with SAFT the vaue becomes 0.6 times t
he
tansduce diamete, o thee times the actua vaue.
Othe foms of pocessing, such as Wiene fiteing o the maximum entopy
method, can be appied instead of SAFT to enhance atea esoution. They have
been compaed in effectiveness by Buch [1987] who concuded that these deconvo
ution techniques wee pactica on B-scan images povided the appopiate point
spead functions wee known. Howeve, these functions vay with ange to the def
ect
so that, whee images contain defects at significanty diffeent depths, these w
oud
need to be deconvoved sepaatey. The atea esoution achieved by Wiene fi
teing was highe than that by SAFT pocessing by a facto of fom 1.3 in the fa

fied to about 2 at twice the nea-fied distance. Wiene fiteing is not adve
sey
affected by phase diffeences between the point spead function and the signa t
o be
deconvoved, wheeas the maximum entopy method is. This suggests that Wiene
fiteing woud pobaby be the optimum pocessing technique whee the highest 
esoution is equied. Howeve, whie SAFT achieves ess good esoution, it eq
uies
no knowedge of the puse shape, it is not sensitive to changes in the puse sha
pe and
104
Chapte 5. Pocessing, Dispay and Anaysis of Time-of-Fight Data
it is convenient to appy. The heavy computing equiements of the maximum ento
py method and its sensitivity to phase ued it out in the eay deveopment his
toy
of the Time-of-Fight technique but sufficienty powefu computes now eside o
n
amost evey desktop.
5.8.2
Deivation of signa phase
When a simpe defect is detected thee is usuay no ambiguity about which signa

aises fom the top and which fom the bottom of the defect. When the defect be
aks
one suface, this wi be appaent fom the effects on eithe the atea wave o
 the
back-wa echo. With a singe defect of compex shape o a numbe of defects in
cose poximity, it may not be immediatey obvious whethe a given indication a
ises
fom a top o a bottom edge. As we have seen fom Chapte 3, the phase of top an
d
bottom edge signas diffes but judging phase by eye is not aways easy. Buch a
nd
Ramsey [1986] descibe a Fouie tansfom pocessing method of deiving phase
infomation and and a way of dispaying the esuts to faciitate intepetation
. This
method aso povides an unambiguous way of measuing the diffeence in time-off
ight of two signas, iespective of any phase diffeence.
5.8.3
Othe signa pocessing methods
Sik [1994] eviews signa pocessing methods which have been appied to both
TOFD data and data fom othe utasonic techniques. Whie some of the methods
cited have shown pomise, it is fai to say that ony SAFT is in easonaby wide
spead
use and even that is not expoited to the extent that its capabiity woud justi
fy, pehaps because the technique is not undestood by NDT pactitiones and is
often not
povided as standad on the equipment used fo anaysis.
In anothe fied, whee the same type of signa pocessing techniques ae equi
ed
as in utasonic TOFD, the Hough tansfom has been used to find the best fit to
hypeboic diffaction acs in the B-scan images of gound penetating ada [C
apinei,
Gande and Tempe, 1998] and a simia appoach using Hough and Oja tansfoms
has been appied to utasonic TOFD data [Capinei, Gande, Masotti, Tempe and
Windso, 1997].
Time-of-Fight Diffaction tomogaphy has aso been consideed as a possibe
pocessing too and its potentia demonstated using synthetic data [Capinei, T
attesa, Tempe and Sik, 1992; Capinei, Tattesa, Sik and Tempe, 1993].
5.9
Defect chaacteisation
The state of the at of defect chaacteisation with conventiona utasonic tec
hniques, cica 1980, was eviewed by Rogeson and Mugatoyd [1980]; moe ecent
advances in chaacteisation methods fo conventiona techniques have been
discussed by Buch and Beaing [1986, 1987]. Highmoe and Rogeson [1988] and
Atkinson et a. [1989] expoed scanning with skewed pobes as a means of obtain
ing
5.10. Modeing studies on anaysis of TOFD data
105
additiona infomation fo defect chaacteisation, but thee has been no conce
ted
study of chaacteisation by means of the Time-of-Fight Diffaction technique.
The
stength of TOFD ies in its abiity to evea the ocation of defect edges, whe
eas
the puse-echo technique is sensitive to the pesence of pana featues. The mo
st
compete chaacteisation is theefoe ikey to equie the appication of both
techniques. A combination of the TOFD technique and tandem pobe inspection was
used on sampes fom the PISC II Paametic Study on Faw Chaacteisation [Mug
atoyd, Highmoe, Buch, Bann and Ramsey, 1988]. Some of these bocks had
sevea defects in cose poximity in such a way that compex pattens of signa
acs
on the B-scan coud aise fom the utasound skipping between the defects. To i
ntepet such compex signas, it is usuay necessay to conside a numbe of m
ode
defect configuations and to cacuate the expected signa pattens, compaing t
he
cacuated patten with the obseved one to eiminate mode defect configuation
s
which poduce poo matches to the expeimenta data. Sevea steps of efinement
of the mode may be necessay. Figue 5.8 iustates this technique.
Pana defects with compex shapes wi give ise to sevea distinct diffacted
and backscatteed signas. The backscatteed o diffacted signas consist of a
seies
of puses as has been shown theoeticay by Fiedande [1958], Feedman [1962]
and Lam and Tsang [1985]. Conside a igid, impenetabe and convex defect havin
g
dimensions and adii of cuvatue which ae age in tems of the utasonic wav
eength. The shape of the defect can be pojected aong the ine joining its cen
te to
the eceive. The enveopes of the etuning puses fo backscatteed adiation
ae
copies of the tansmitted puse and oiginate fom those pats of the defect whe
e a
change in the pojected coss-sectiona aea occus. The puses aive with a ti
me dependent on the ange of the tansduces fom the discontinuities in defect
aea. Each
echo ampitude is govened by the size and type of discontinuity in the pojecte
d
aea of the defect. The mathematica desciption of this is incuded in Section
A.7
of the Appendix. Making use of this type of infomation on aiva times ony, L
am
and Tsang [1985] demonstated that a micocompute system coud be used to econ
stuct the shape of unknown pana, staight-edged, faws fom diffaction echoe
s
of shot utasonic puses.
5.10
Modeing studies on anaysis of TOFD data
Sik [1996a] used synthetic data to investigate the sensitivity of the detection
capabiity of TOFD to the noise eve in the utasonic signas. Because the th
eoetica
TOFD esponse fom "idea" faws is we undestood (see Chaptes 2 and 3), it i
s
easy to synthesise the B-scans fom such defects. To these atificia B-scans, w
hich
have been used in TOFD taining couses, eaistic noise can be added in the dig
ita
images. Sik ceated 50 B-scan simuations epesenting eithe cacks o sag i
nes.
Each simuation had a scan ength of 500 mm and the notiona pobe sepaation wa
s
100 mm. Fom this study, which invoved five TOFD inspectos, Sik concuded
that at noise eves typica of TOFD inspections, the pobabiity of detection w
as
100% with no fase cas. At modeatey eevated noise eves the tia poduced
a
106
Chapte 5. Pocessing, Dispay and Anaysis of Time-of-Fight Data
3% chance of epoting a fase ca whie maintaining the 100% detection ate. A
t
highe noise eves the pobabiity of detection fe and the pobabiity of fa
se cas
inceased, as expected.
Sik [1996b] aso used simuated data fo investigating the sizing capabiity of
TOFD. This simuation of 26 faws was used to show that the theoetica thoughw
a sizing capabiity shoud be cose to 0.25 mm. In addition, five pocedues f
o
estimating the ength of the defects wee tested. Sevea pocedues gave good 
esuts
on simuated faws with staight pofies, but most wee ineffective on faws wi
th
cuved pofies, so that eos of 10 mm might aise. Howeve, moe ecent wok
by Hawke and Buch [1999], descibed in Section 5.7.1, shows that accuate defe
ct
engths can be deived fo quite compex defect pofies by using a hypeboic c
uso
faciity in the coect manne.
Chapte 6
Compex Geometies
Much age industia pant contains pipes and nozzes weded to thick cyindic
a
components, often woking unde high pessue. The weds tend to be in egions
of high stess and theefoe equie inspection fo wed integity duing manufa
ctue
and possiby fo cack initiation and popagation duing sevice. As we have a
eady
seen, utasonics is the most usefu nondestuctive test, since it can give info
mation
on which factue mechanics assessments of component integity may be based.
Whee two cyindes intesect, fo instance, two cyindica components of an
offshoe stuctue o a nozze attached to a pessue vesse, the wed foms a t
hee
dimensiona sadde shape. Pobes with a given, fixed, beam ange paced on any
one of the sufaces cannot aways cove the entie wed voume which needs to be
inspected. Thus, design of scannes fo such geometies necessitates even moe c
ae
than is taken with scannes fo the simpe geometies of fat pates.
The Time-of-Fight Diffaction technique opens up new atenatives fo inspectio
n of compex geometies compaed with puse-echo techniques because of its insen
sitivity to the eative oientation of pobes and defect. With puse-echo techn
iques eying on specua efection it often poves vey difficut to aange f
o pobe
beams to iuminate aeas of concen, such as weds, at nea noma incidence. T
andem techniques aso pove difficut because the back wa of the specimen is v
ey
often not paae to the inspection suface in nozze to she weds o offsho
e nodes,
fo exampe.
6.1
T-butt weds
The Weding Institute, the Hawe Laboatoy and the Centa Eecticity Genea
ting
Boad caied out a pogamme of coaboative wok on the utasonic detection,
sizing and chaacteisation of cacks and othe defects in stee components. Th
e wok
was in fou phases, the esuts fom the fist thee of which, on fat pate spe
cimens,
ae discussed ate, in Section 8.3. Phase 4 was aimed specificay at extending
the
wok on fat pates to moe compex geometies. Mateia to BS 1501 gade 223107
108
Chapte 6. Compex Geometies
Pobe pai C
Tx
Rx
Rx
Rx
Pobe pai A
Pobe pai B
Tx
Tx
Fig. 6.1 Aangements of pobes fo Time-of-Fight Diffaction inspection of a T
butt wed in phase 4 of the Weding Institute pogamme.
32B was weded into six specimens with deibeatey ceated defects and two othe

specimens wee used fom scapped stuctues. In the made-up specimens, the defe
ct
types wee cacks, inea sag, ack of fusion, poosity, and ack of penetatio
n, whie
in the othe two specimens the defects wee amea teas. Time-of-Fight Diff
action was appied to detection and sizing of the ack of fusion, cacks and po
osity in
two T-butt weds fomed fom two pates, each 38 mm thick, weded togethe with
a
fu penetation wed. The geomety and ocations of the Time-of-Fight Diffact
ion
pobes ae shown in Figue 6.1. A B-scan obtained with pobe pai B of Figue 6.
1
is shown in Figue 6.2. The fist signa, equivaent to the atea wave in a f
at pate,
is a wave which foows the suface fom the tansmitte pobe to the eceive p
obe,
undegoing diffaction at the edges of the wed fiet. Cea signas fom defec
ts in
the wed meta can be seen both ahead of and behind the stong continuous signa
aising fom efection at the fa suface of the web. Whie the detection of de
fects by
this means is staightfowad, ocating and sizing them equie a caefu anays
is of
possibe wave paths, efection points, diffaction fom geometica featues, m
ode
convesions, etc.
Once expeience had been gained in intepeting the B-scan images with the
pobe aangements which wee nove at that time, Time-of-Fight Diffaction dem
onstated an accuacy on T-butt weds simia to that obtainabe on fat pates.
Initia accuacy obtained was a mean sizing eo of 1.7 mm with a standad dev
iation of 4.0 mm but this impoved to a mean eo of 0.1 mm with a standad dev
iation of 1.1 mm afte pogession up the eaning cuve. To quote the concusio
ns
of the epot [Cameon, Jessop, Mudge, Chaeswoth, Sik, Bowke, Wigey and
6.2. Inspection equiements fo offshoe stuctues
109
Fig. 6.2 Signas obseved with Time-of-Fight Diffaction on Weding Institute T
butt wed.
Denby, 1983], . . . The Time-of-Fight Diffaction appeas to have been successf
uy adapted to aow the inspection of compex joints. The abiity of conventio
na
utasonics to accuatey pedict defect chaacte has again been shown to be in
sufficient to aow high confidence to be paced in the pediction.
Cecco and Cate [1983] aso studied T-weds containing voumetic faws and a
tight fatigue cack. The T-wed containing a fatigue cack consisted of two pat
es
weded togethe; one pate, 22 mm thick, fomed the web whie the othe pate,
50 mm thick, fomed the base. The wed was 130 mm ong and cacked aong its
entie ength. They concuded that the voumetic wed faws and fatigue cack w
ee
detectabe fom the sufaces foming the ange between the web and the web and t
he
base even though the signas wee weake, and moe difficut to intepet, than
those
obtained with inspection fom the suface of the base opposite to the wed.
6.2
Inspection equiements fo offshoe stuctues
The fist fixed stuctues fo the nothen Noth Sea, whee depths of 150 m to
200 m
of wate ae encounteed, wee positioned duing 1974. Diving and opeationa di
fficuties fo inspection ae substantiay geate in this aea than in the sou
then Noth
Sea. Expoation has continued into new aeas, most of which ae expected to pos
e
no significant exta pobems apat fom the inceasing numbe of stuctues. Ho
weve, the egions such as the Westen Appoaches basin, the Hebides and Rocka

aea and the finges of the Shetand basin coud invove stuctues being empac
ed
in up to 500 m of wate and thee is no doubt that these stuctues wi equie
pei-
110
Chapte 6. Compex Geometies
odic undewate inspection. A noticeabe chaacteistic of undewate inspection
by
dives at pesent is the unavoidabe inefficiency compaed with simia inspecti
ons
on dy and. Tides, fo exampe, may imit opeation to an hou and a haf pe d
ay
whie weathe conditions may imit opeations to ess than 150 days pe yea [Ba
inton, Sik, Wiiams, Davies, Lyon and Petes, 1975]. Undewate, thee ae po
bems
of manoeuvabiity in a dak hostie envionment with intinsic pesona dange.
A
these factos educe the efficiency of undewate inspection.
Undewate, the need fo apid inspection has esticted the use of utasonic a
nd
adiogaphic techniques and emphasis has been paced on visua inspection, supp
emented by magnetic patice and eddy cuent inspections. With the advent of
thicke mateias, and the avaiabiity of undewate weding epai techniques,
it became moe impotant to be abe to assess the size of any cacks found, inc
uding
buied defects which cannot be detected by these suface inspection methods.
Equipment designed fo offshoe use must wok undewate at the depth equied.
In genea the inspection outines adopted fo offshoe stuctues so fa have
been a egua manua inspection of the patfom to incude a joints ove a 3
to
5 yea peiod, with inspection of citica joints annuay. Inspection nomay
stats
with a genea suvey of the condition of the stuctue and weed gowth. Afte a
ppopiate oca ceaning the weds ae examined both visuay and by nondestuc
tive
methods. The thickness of meta is checked whee eithe the visua indications m
ake
it necessay, o in citica aeas. Scou of the sea bed aound the patfom is
nomay checked duing annua inspection. In 1975 no utasonic cack detection
was
used [Bainton et a., 1975], athough utasonic thickness gauges wee in use. B
y
about 1983 vaious utasonic devices had been invented fo defect detection and
sizing [Anon., 1983; Fue, Nesteoth and Rose, 1983; Rose, Fue, Nesteoth
and
Jeong, 1983], athough it was by no means accepted as the utimate too to supp
ant
magnetic patice inspection, since othes, such as photogammety, aso gained
acceptance [Anon., 1984]. Wok since 1975 with Time-of-Fight Diffaction is det
aied
beow.
6.3
Appication to offshoe stuctues
The use of fitness fo pupose assessment to detemine the seveity of a defect
is
the most ecent ecommended pactice fo utasonic inspection of offshoe stuc
tues both duing fabication and in-sevice [Gadne and Bosseaa, 1984]. Such
an assessment paces specific equiements on the inspection pocedues empoyed
to detect and size faws. Fatigue is a majo facto in detemining the ife of s
teejacketed stuctues in the Noth Sea. Many stuctues ae now we into thei
 thid
decade of opeation so inspection fo fatigue is becoming inceasingy impotant
. Of
the sevea methods avaiabe fo detecting defects, such as adiogaphy, magnet
ic
patice inspection and utasonics, ony magnetic patice inspection and uta
sonics
ae appicabe to compex geometies. Fo defect though-wa extent measuement
,
ony atenating cuent potentia dop (ACPD) and utasonics methods ae suita
be.
Conventiona utasonic methods, as we have pointed out esewhee in this book,
6.4. Signa acquisition and anaysis
111
ae based on intepetation of signa ampitude changes with pobe movement and
difficuties of intepetation can ead to inaccuacies of sizing. In ode to i
mpove
the accuacy of sizing cack-ike defects in offshoe stuctues, the Time-of-F
ight
Diffaction technique has been evauated in a joint industia pogamme. Detai
ed
pocedues have been deveoped and efined in the ight of pactica expeience,
to
cove a aspects of undewate appication of Time-of-Fight Diffaction to the
sizing of wed defects.
Time-of-Fight Diffaction was evauated fo the sizing of defects pimaiy bec
ause it aows accuate measuement of defect though-wa extent; the technique
can be undestood by utasonic technicians and the technica demands ae simpe
,
since adequate esuts can be obtained fom a one dimensiona scan [Gadne and
Bosseaa, 1984]. Futhe, the utasonic Time-of-Fight Diffaction technique i
s the
ony utasonic technique not seveey hindeed by the signa ampitude fuctuat
ions
caused by suface oughness. Fo butt wed inspection, Time-of-Fight Diffactio
n
simutaneousy sizes any known defect and estabishes the depth of wed penetat
ion at that ocation. Finay, the sea-wate povides the idea utasonic coup
ing
medium.
The weds of T-nodes, K-nodes and node connections invove moe compicated
geomety than fat pates. Figue 6.3 shows two exampes of possibe pobe confi
guations fo sizing a cack in the wed of an offshoe node. Using beam anges
of
about 60 and 70 for tran mitter and receiver re
ectively, the ignal corre
ondi
ng to ix ray
ath will be ob erved a hown on the figure. Path 1, 2 and 5 gi
ve
a good indication of the crack-ti

o ition relative to the outer urface while

ath 6,
the tran mitted hear wave which i mode converted to a com
re ion wave at the
inner urface,
rovide confirmation of the geometry of the tructure. Thi i i
m
ortant ince mea urement of crack extent are made relative to com
onent urfa
ce . If
the e do not corre
ond to de ign drawing of the tructure, then error will be
made
in a e ing the everity of any defect found. By u ing ome of the mea urement
to check the com
onent geometry uch error can be avoided. Path 3 and 4 in Fig
ure 6.3(a)
rovide enhanced
reci ion in crack-ti
location. Figure 6.3(b) how
an
alternative arrangement in which a 45 beam i u ed to carry out the ame in
ecti
on.
6.4
Signal acqui ition and analy i
At lea t two
robe are required with a mounting a embly which allow the o
era
tor to maintain
redefined
o ition and angle for the
robe with re
ect to t
he
weld being in
ected. A digital electronic y tem, located on the
latform, i u
ed to
control the in
ection
roce , to
erform ignal averaging in order to im
rove
the
ignal-to-noi e ratio, to record the data and to u

ort the com
uter oftware u
ed
for data inter
retation. A digital frame tore di
lay i u ed to
re ent the da
ta in

ictorial form on a monitor a they are being collected. Thi allow a qualitati
ve
a e ment of the re ult during canning. The ame di
lay i u ed during igna
l
inter
retation, with the aid of the interactive modelling
rogram, to u
erim
o
e the
re ult on the com
onent cro - ection. The recorded data are in
ected either o
n the
112
Cha
ter 6. Com
lex Geometrie
Fig. 6.3 Exam
le of ultra onic crack- izing geometrie in node of off hore tr
ucture (from Gardner and Bo elaar [1984]).
6.5. Re ult of trial
113
video di
lay or on hardco
y out
ut and defect indication a e ed. The
robe

o ition are determined from recorded can
eed and o
erator note . The relati
ve
arrival time are determined u ing interactive gra
hic oftware or from mea ure
ment made on the hardco
y.
6.5
Re ult of trial
Gardner and Bo elaar [1984] re
orted on the re ult of a

lying Time-of-Flight
Diffraction to the izing of defect in am
le relevant to off hore tructure .
Three

ecimen were u ed: a butt weld between flat
late of thickne 12.5 mm joined
to 25 mm, containing a fatigue crack at one weld toe; a 90 T-butt weld containing
a fatigue crack at the ba e toe of the weld; a ection of a tubular node with me
mber
thickne e of 32 mm and 18 mm inter ecting at right angle with a fatigue crack
a

roximately at the 3 oclock
o ition in the larger member at the weld toe. The
re ult from the e three am
le , following de tructive examination, howed that
an
accuracy of izing of 1 mm wa con i tently achievable for feature more than 5
mm
below the in
ection urface.
A erie of trial of a com
lete
rototy
e Time-of-Flight Diffraction izing a


aratu wa carried out with diver in a diver training tank at facilitie
rovid
ed by
Oceaneering International [Hawker, Newton and Wein, 1985; Newton, Wein and
Hawker, 1986]. Node am
le were located at a de
th of 6 m in the tank. Diver
who were unfamiliar with the Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique and without an
y
NDT qualification were required to make u e of the manual canner to move the
ultra onic tran ducer over the in
ection urface . A diver o
erating the equi

ment
within the tank i hown in Figure 6.4 (taken from Newton et al. [1986]).
A micro
roce or-ba ed data acqui ition y tem wa ituated to
ide and u ed
to collect and inter
ret the data. The data were di
layed in real-time o that
an
immediate a e ment of their quality could be made. Provided the data were ati
factory, they were tored on magnetic di c to
rovide a
ermanent record of the
in
ection. Inter
retation could be carried out immediately or could be deferred
until after diving o
eration were com
leted. Inter
retation of data to derive
a crack
de
th took about ten minute . Newton et al. [1986] noted that the diver found t
he
canner ea y to o
erate and were able con i tently to obtain ati factory data
for
crack izing. During the e trial a comfortable canning
eed of about 0.5 m/mi
n
wa e tabli hed.
A further erie of trial wa carried out at the Verita ite at the Coa t Cent
re
Ba e, Bergen, Norway. The e o
en water trial were a more reali tic te t of Time
of-Flight Diffraction to izing of crack on off hore tructure . Diver were re
quired
to o
erate at mid-de
th of 10 m with all the
roblem a ociated with canning w
hile
free floating or rigged to the tructure, and co
ing with marine growth. The equ
i
ment it elf wa o
erated down to de
th of 20 m. Some re ult from the e two t
rial
are
re ented in Figure 6.5 and 6.6.
In Figure 6.5, the de tructive examination of the am
le revealed that the crack
had initiated at many location along the toe of the weld, re ulting in a large
number
114
Cha
ter 6. Com
lex Geometrie
Fig. 6.4 Underwater clo ed circuit televi ion di
lay of a diver o
erating ultra
onic
Time-of-Flight Diffraction equi
ment for crack detection and izing.
of bridge acro the crack. Good agreement between the Time-of-Flight Diffracti
on crack
rofile and tho e obtained during de tructive examination are a

arent
in
the figure, which i taken from Newton et al. [1986]. However, there i a clear
di cre
ancy between the ACPD mea urement and tho e obtained de tructively, conf
irming that crack bridging can everely hinder accurate izing with electromagne
tic
technique . Figure 6.6 how re ult obtained by a diver in o
en ea trial of T
imeof-Flight Diffraction where the data obtained were a good a tho e achieved
in the
laboratory. The can of thi am
le howed two mall welding defect that had

reviou ly gone undetected.
Limitation to the u e of Time-of-Flight Diffraction for off hore tructure are
:
6.5. Re ult of trial
115
Fig. 6.5 Com
ari on of re ult obtained with Time-of-Flight Diffraction and AC
Potential Dro
for crack in a imulated node of an off hore tructure.
the in
ection urface mu t be cleared of calcareou de
o it ; acce i requir
ed
to both ide of the defect, o for a weld at the inter ection of two tubular me
mber , both of the member mu t be cleared of hard de
o it ; the teel u ed off
hore
contain more mall inclu ion than teel u ed in nuclear reactor , giving ri e
to ultra onic ignal clutter; ome o
erational ex
erience may be required to di
card the
ignal from mall, non- ignificant defect without a full izing analy i . Wher
e defect occur in weld of very acute angle (i.e. inter ection of le than 4
5 ), it can be
difficult to e tabli h the orientation of any crack . There are of cour e com
en
ating
advantage : the early work, related to off hore tructure , [Newton, 1987; Tem
l
e,
116
Cha
ter 6. Com
lex Geometrie
Fig. 6.6 Time-of-Flight Diffraction re ult for a crack
rofile in a node ection
a
obtained by a diver in o
en water ea trial .
1984b; Wha
ham, Perring and Ru bridge, 1985a], ugge ted that even when the
crack i ubjected to clo ing tre e the technique remain a viable way of e t
abli hing crack ize. Indeed, the frequency filtering effect of crack under co
m
re ive tre , cau ing
referential tran mi ion of lower frequencie , may be
u ed to
characteri e uch crack .
Another advantage of Time-of-Flight Diffraction i that it can be u ed for both
buried defect and urface-breaking one and can be u ed to give accurate locati
on
of the crack ti
in three
atial dimen ion . Technique uch a ACPD
rovide l
ant
6.6. PWR nozzle
117
Fig. 6.7 Variation of Time-of-Flight ignal with defect through-wall ize in th
e
nozzle inner radiu .
height (that i the de
th of the defect mea ured in it own
lane) but not crack
orientation, o the two technique com
lement each other for urface-breaking d
efect .
Time-of-Flight Diffraction can ize crack on the in ide of tubular member wher
ea
ACPD cannot.
6.6
PWR nozzle
In a
re uri ed water reactor (PWR), the inner radiu of a coolant nozzle i no
t
normally
articularly highly tre ed. However, in the unlikely event of a lo -
ofcoolant accident, cooler water i injected and thi will im
o e evere thermal
tre e
on the inner radiu of the nozzle. Thi mean that the critical defect ize i
mall, and
defect with ize down to about 6mm, con iderably maller than tho e which might
affect afety, may need to be detected and ized in a com
onent u
to over 300mm
thick, to
rovide a hand ome margin between critical ize and target for in
e
ction.
Defect ought are tho e which grow in
lane containing the nozzle bore axi an
d
the e are difficult to ize with conventional ultra onic mean with acce limit
ed to
the in ide of the nozzle.
The way in which Time-of-Flight Diffraction ignal vary with defect throughwall
ize in the com
licated geometry of a PWR nozzle inner radiu i hown in
118
Cha
ter 6. Com
lex Geometrie
Fig. 6.8 The nozzle radiu region howing di
o ition of the
robe and coordina
te
u ed for an azimuthal can.
Figure 6.7. In thi figure, the A- can have been widely e
arated in forming th
e
B- can image o that individual trace can be een more clearly. Defect le th
an
5 mm dee
are difficult to detect by ca ual examination of uch a
lot and more
o
hi ticated
roce ing would be required. The larger defect , however, are cle
arly
vi ible.
In the UKAEA Defect Detection Trial [Watkin , Ervine and Cowburn, 1983b],
one
ecimen, Plate 4, wa intended to re
re ent the com
lex geometry of the noz
zle
inner radiu . It wa made from SA508 Cla 2
ecification teel
urcha ed from
a
reactor
re ure-ve el vendor. S
ark eroded lit and welding crack were delib
erately im
lanted and then the urface wa clad in two layer , either automatica
lly
u ing tri
feed or manually, with wire feed, a a

ro
riate. The urface wa th
en
ground to an Ra value of 3 m. Detail of the defect and their geometry are given
in Watkin et al. [1983b].
Defect in Plate 4 were
ecified a extending no more than 30 mm below the
urface of the ba e metal. Previou ex
erience had hown that thi region could
be
covered ati factorily with a ingle
air of
robe , which were mounted on gimba
l
35 mm a
art with their line of centre tran ver e to the local axial
lane, a
hown in
Figure 6.8.
The
robe were highly dam
ed 12.5 mm diameter com
re ion wave tran ducer o
er
ating with centre frequencie between 2 and 4 MHz, generating a hort
ul e
of between 2 and 3 cycle . To
rovide cou
ling for the ultra ound, the te t bloc
k wa
immer ed in water in a circular tank. Thi wa
anned by a
ecially con tructe
d
canner, hown in Figure 6.9, having it
rinci
al vertical axi along the bore
of the
6.6. PWR nozzle
119
Fig. 6.9 Schematic diagram of the canner for in
ection of the nozzle inner rad
iu .
te t block.
Data collection and control of the canning were carried out by a com
uter. A
rectangular can ra ter of and V coordinates (see Figure 6.8) was obtained b
selecting a particular value of V and then incrementing b eual amounts through
360 . At each
oint on thi me h of
oint a
ortion of the time trace, 12.5 lon
g
following the arrival of the lateral wave, wa digiti ed and tored. With a digi
ti ation
rate of 20 MHz thi gave 250 am
le
oint
er trace. Signal averaging wa u ed,
umming everal time trace from each
robe
o ition, to im
rove the ignal-to-n
oi e
ratio.
A earch can wa fir t conducted with a ra ter
acing of 0.4 in and 4 mm
in V , giving a step size on the surface varing from 2.9 mm to 4.5 mm in the ci
rcumferential direction and between 4 mm and 5.6 mm in the axial direction. Eua
l
increments of and V give rise to step sizes on the surface which depend on the
absolute position of the probes on the surface because of the effect of the loca
l geometr. The data from the search scan were analsed using an image processin
g
displa sstem linked to a computer. The B-scan presentation was used to reveal
defect indications through either perturbation of the lateral wave signal or thr
ough
the obvious presence of diffracted signals.
Having identified the defect locations with the coarse raster scans, a series of
fine
scans, in the neighbourhood of detected defects, was used with a raster of 0.2 in

and 2 mm in V . Zero crossings of the time waveform following the principal posi
tive peaks were used as the timing references and absolute travel times were use
d
to calculate defect depths from this information [Stringfellow and Perring, 1984
].
Provided the defect edge nearest the surface was more than 5 mm below the inter-
120
Chapter 6. Complex Geometries
Fig. 6.10 Coordinate sstem and probe deploment for inspection of the nozzle
to shell weld and the nozzle inner radius (from Curtis and Stringfellow
[1986]).
face with the cladding and almost parallel with the interface then defect depths
could
be found accuratel. Detailed examples of measured crack profiles compared with
those intended are given b Stringfellow and Perring [1984] who observed that, i
n
all but three cases, the results obtained for the through-wall extent of the def
ects
were within 2 mm of the actual values, while the remaining three cases were with
in
4 mm. This corresponds to an average oversizing error of 1.1 mm with a standard
deviation of 1.8 mm. Apart from the two carbon cracks, which had ver uncertain
6.6. PWR nozzles
121
definitions of length, the Time-of-Flight Diffraction length measurements gave a
n
average undersizing error of 2.4 mm with a standard deviation of 7.4 mm. This di
fference in accurac between measurements of through-wall extent and defect leng
th
is expected because the through-wall extent is obtained from a time measurement
whereas the defect lengths were inferred from the appearance of the signals as t
he
probes were scanned, in effect using a dB drop method. It must be remembered
that it is the through-wall extent of these defects which is of most importance
in estimating the structural integrit of the component. Time-of-Flight Diffract
ion was
shown, in this work, to be intrinsicall capable of providing the degree of accu
rac
reuired for realistic safet assessments of component integrit, even in geomet
ries
as complex as the PWR nozzle inner radius, with the added complication of a lae
r
of anisotropic austenite.
In work on PISC II Plate 3, an actual nozzle-to-vessel weld of a pressurised
water reactor, the inspection with Time-of-Flight Diffraction was aimed at detec
ting,
locating and sizing defects in the weld region. The defects were expected to be
ling in circumferential planes parallel to the nozzle bore axis but inspections
were
designed to detect defects with an skew about a direction parallel to the nozzl
e bore
axis. This was achieved with a design in which there were two separate probe arr
as
each capable of being mounted on a scanner head and rotated about the nozzle bor
e
axis. The radial arra consisted of 20 probes mounted in a plane containing the
nozzle bore axis. Of these 20 probes, 13 acted as transmitters and 7 as receiver
s and
these are shown in Figure 6.10. With this design all parts of the weld region in
its
plane were covered b a minimum of four transmitter-receiver pairs.
The transverse arra covered an inspection plane at right angles to the plane of
the radial arra and was, therefore, intended to be most sensitive to defects l
ing in
an axial plane, that is defects transverse to the weld. Two identical sub-arras
were
used each with 3 transmitters and 3 receivers.
The PISC II Plate 3 contained 43 defects of which 30 were deliberatel implanted
planar flaws ranging in size from 3 mm diameter circle to a suare of side 60 mm
.
Another 4 implanted defects were of a composite nature consisting of clusters of
planar defects with overall dimensions of 50 60 mm. There were 9 unintentional
defects with through-thickness heights of 2 4 mm. All the deliberatel implanted
defects were circumferential in orientation, that is parallel to the local orien
tation of
the weld plane. The whole inner surface of the assembl was clad with about 5 mm
of austenitic stainless steel [PISC, 1986c].
Scans with the radial arra used 0.25 te
, corre
onding to di
lacement
along the urface of about 3 mm at the weld centreline. At each
o ition A- can
from 38 tran mitter-receiver
air were recorded, giving at lea t 4 tran mitter-
receiver
combination contributing to defect detection and location of ub- urface defect
or
tho e near the back wall, while giving u
to 20 combination of
robe at mid-wa
ll.
Pitch-catch reflection data were al o recorded to a i t in radial definition of
defect

o ition . The radial coverage wa from at lea t 695 mm out to 825 mm or more,
giving in
ection of at lea t 65 mm of the weld material and ba e metal either
ide
of the weld centreline at about 760 mm radiu .
122
Cha
ter 6. Com
lex Geometrie
Each trace wa digiti ed at a am
ling rate of 20 MHz. In order to get adequate
ignal-to-noi e ratio , 128 trace were averaged for each
robe
air and each
r
obe

o ition.
After analy i and re
orting, five defect had been mi ed of which three were
not more than 3 mm dee
by 12 mm long. The e three were not con idered eriou .
However, two defect mi ed were near- urface defect , each a 10 mm diameter cir
cle. The e were ju t too dee
to be een by a clo ely
aced
air of
robe uch
a
that at 40 mm e
aration and they were ju t too hallow to be detected by a wide
ly

aced
air uch a tho e at 140 mm e
aration. It i clear that the e defect w
ould
have been detected correctly with a
air of
robe
aced at an intermediate val
ue
between 40 and 140 mm, ay at 80 mm. The accuracy obtained for the throughthickn
e mea urement wa within 2 mm or better for about half the defect or
within about 10% for the larger defect . Such error were con i tent with normal
error of mea urement, wherea for the remaining defect , which were ized le
well, the error were due to mi inter
retation of the variou diffracted ignal
. For
real reactor in
ection the error would be maller becau e u

lementary data o
n
defect detection and izing would be utili ed.
The re ult for thi in
ection, together with tho e obtained on the PISC II fla
t

late (Plate 2), have been re
orted by Curti and Stringfellow [1986]. They conc
luded that the Time-of-Flight Diffraction technique wa ca
able of detecting and
izing defect in girth weld of
re uri ed water reactor with a high degree o
f reliability. To achieve imilar accuracy and imilar
erformance for near- urf
ace defect
in the in
ection of nozzle-to-ve el weld it would be nece ary for the clad i
nner
urface of the ve el to be of higher quality than that of PISC II Plate 3.
Becau e the ignal diffracted from the defect come e entially from the edge
of the defect, the technique i le en itive to the roughne of the defect fa
ce than
conventional
ul e-echo technique . Curti and Stringfellow [1986] could find no
difference between the diffraction re
on e from rough and mooth defect .
PISC II Plate 3 wa al o in
ected by Ri ley Nuclear Laboratorie u ing an autom
ated ultra onic technique com
ri ing high en itivity
ul e-echo detection and

redominantly Time-of-Flight Diffraction izing. The e technique were de
loyed
from the clad inner urface of the nozzle and made u e of digital data collectio
n,
analy i , and di
lay. With thi y tem Ri ley Nuclear Laboratorie detected 30
out
of the 31 intended weld flaw and correctly located all 3 of the nozzle corner d
efect .
With Time-of-Flight Diffraction izing they achieved a mean ize error of 1.3 mm
nd st nd rd devi tion of 7.0 mm when their results were comp red with the int
ended defect sizes of the 31 weld fl ws [Rogerson, Poulter, Clough nd Cooper,
1988]. This illustr tes the w y in which, for critic l pplic tions, the convent
ion l
pulseecho techniues nd the TimeofFlight Diffr ction method c n provide dive
rse w ys of size me surement, there
y enh ncing confidence.
For complex geometries such s the nozzle to vessel weld of PWR inlet nozzle,
it h s
een found dv nt geous to use m them tic l model of the inspection
geometry in order to displ y the sign ls in their correct rel tionship to the st
ructure [Poulter, 1986]. On the PISC II nozzle, Risley used TimeofFlight Diffr
ction
6.6. PWR nozzles
123
Fig. 6.11 Closeup of the TimeofFlight Diffr ction techniue cr wler on the RT
D
pl te.
sizing of the defects which they detected using pulseecho techniues nd found

me n sizing error of 0.14 mm, with st nd rd devi tion of 3.0 mm, when comp ring
their results with the intended defect sizes [Poulter, 1986].
As well s sc nners designed to fit st nd rd inservice inspection m sts for geo
metries such s the nozzles of pressurised w ter re ctor, there is lso reu
irement
for inspection devices which c n
e e sily d pted to v riety of inspection t
sks.
Such devices re usu lly, in effect, mini ture vehicles which c n tr verse com
ponent, c rrying pro
e ssem
ly, under some form of guid nce. For nozzles or p
ipes,
the vehicle would usu lly
e tt ched
y str ps or ch ins, llowing circumferent
i l
nd possi
ly limited xi l tr vel. Where th t form of restr int is inconvenient,
m gnetic tt chment c n
e used, when the component is ferritic, nd the vehicl
e c n
e
guided
y m rked tr ck which it follows optic lly. A vehicle of this type, gen
er lly
referred to s cr wler is illustr ted in Figure 6.11 oper ting on the RTD pl t
e. This
pl te, so n med
ec use it w s supplied
y Rntgen Technische Dienst, is p rt of
124
Ch pter 6. Complex Geometries
Fig. 6.12 Im ges from MUSE d t reconstruction, showing TOFD d t in uncorrected
form t nd selected d t m pped into the component (reproduced
from D niels et l. [1996]).

oilingw ter re ctor (BWR) pressure vessel shell cont ining nozzle.

6.7
Recent developments in nozzle inspection
In the previous section, we descri
ed some of the perform nce demonstr tion exer
cises which took pl ce during the period when TOFD w s still in its development
ph se. During those exercises, tools to ssist in interpret tion of defect indic
tions
in the complex geometry were developed on n d hoc
sis. As the techniue h s

ecome
etter est
lished nd s euipment h s
ecome more st nd rdised, it h s

ecome possi
le to provide wider r nge of more d pt
le tools to ssist in th
e
interpret tion of d t .
The gener l principle of these tools is to en
le the interpreter of the r w TOF
D
d t to project s lient fe tures of the d t onto v riety of projections of th
e workpiece. We sh ll not discuss the techniues involved in ny det il
ut simp
ly give
two illustr tive ex mples from pu
lished p pers. The re der is referred to the c
ited
p pers for more det iled description.
The first ex mple, t ken from D niels et l. [1996], rel tes to inspection of
PWR ste m gener tor feedw ter nozzle c rried s u lific tion exercise for th
e
EPRI NDE Center, Ch rlotte, NC, USA. Figure 6.12 shows the r w TOFD d t
longside r di l xi l projection t given zimuth. Using system c lled MU
SE,
6.7. Recent developments in nozzle inspection
125
Fig. 6.13 D t from zimuth l sc n of defect showing locus constructed
y
CGTOFD on projection of the nozzle (reproduced from Bloodworth
[1999]).
the oper tor c n m rk fe tures of the r w d t with cursor nd the correspondi
ng
positions re simult neously plotted on the projection.
The other ex mple refers to the inspection of nozzletopipe tt chment welds in
BWR pl nt, c rried out for the Swedish Qu lific tion Centre [Bloodworth, 1999]
.
In Figure 6.13, we show d t from n zimuth l sc n t fixed xi l position. T
he
oper tor, using the CGTOFD softw re p ck ge, c n position cursor on defect
sign l in the TOFD d t shown on the left, to define specific timeofflight.
On the
right, the corresponding locus of points of eu l timeofflight is plotted on
projection of the nozzle. These loci c n
e s ved so th t when n xi l sc n is
performed
over the loc tion of the defect, the crossing of loci will give n un m
iguous i
ndic tion of the loc tion of the defect edge, in the m nner descri
ed in Section
2.3.3.
This p ge intention lly left
l nk
Ch pter 7
Addition l Complexities
In this ch pter, we discuss some further spects of the pplic tion of the Time
ofFlight Diffr ction techniue which reuire consider tion in cert in circumst n
ces.
We cover nisotropic m teri ls, the effects of compressive stress on sign ls fro
m
cr cks, nd some su
tle effects of component curv ture.
Most met llic cryst ls show nisotropic el stic
eh viour
ut, in finegr ined

ulk s mples with no preferred gr in orient tion, the m croscopic properties re

isotropic. If, however, the gr ins ppro ch in size the w velength of the ultr s
ound,
or re preferenti lly ligned, the result nt nisotropy nd sc ttering ffects u
ltr sonic
inspection. This pro
lem is p rticul rly relev nt to ustenitic steels,
oth in

ulk nd
in the form of cl dding l yers on ferritic steel. Section 7.1 discusses the pro

lem of
pplying the TimeofFlight Diffr ction techniue to such m teri l.
Another pro
lem rises from the differences in temper ture nd stress levels dur
ing service nd those occurring when inspection is c rried out. Ex mples of this
re: ircr ft, where in flight t 33,000 ft the temper ture is 25 C and the
re u
re
i 0.3 ba, which contasts with typica inspection conditions of a tempeatue
of
20 C and a
re ure of 1 ba; nucea eacto cooant cicuits, whee inspection
is amost aways caied out at tempeatues and pessues we beow thei nom
a
opeating point; offshoe stuctues, when inspection is caied out in cam wea
the
when the wind and sea oadings ae vey diffeent fom those duing sevee weath
e.
As a esut of these changes in ambient conditions between noma sevice opeat
ion and those duing inspection, cacks which wee unde tensie stess sufficie
nt to
cause gowth duing some conditions of sevice coud be unde compessive stess
when inspected. The effect of compessive stess on the ampitude of Time-of-Fi
ght
Diffaction signas is discussed in Section 7.2.
Finay, in cyindica geometies, the speed of the atea wave, which is used
as
a timing efeence, is found to vay fom its vaue on a fat pate. It is neces
say to
know what this vaiation is, if Time-of-Fight Diffaction is to be appied conf
identy
to cuved geometies and this pobem is discussed in Section 7.3.
127
128
Chapte 7. Additiona Compexities
Attenuation/ f 2
Stochastic
scatteing
Rayeigh
scatteing
maximum gain diamete
D
aveage gain diamete
f
utasonic fequency
Diffusion
scatteing
Feitic
stee
kD 0.3
Dmax
Austenitic
cadding
and weds
Cast
austenite
kDmax 1
Disocation
contibution
kD 1
f2
Fig. 7.1 Fequency dependence of utasonic attenuation in ganua media (fom
Reynods and Smith [1984]).
7.1
Anisotopic media
In isotopic mateias, each type of eastic wave taves at its chaacteistic
speed,
independent of diection. This is not so in anisotopic mateias, whee, fo an
y type
of wave, the veocity depends on the diection with espect to the cysta axes
of the
mateia. Ceay, fo a technique such as Time-of-Fight Diffaction, which e
ies
on the measuement of tansit times, this adds an exta compication which must
be aowed fo if the technique is to maintain its accuacy. Studies of the pop
agation of utasound in austenitic wedments have been caied out by Sik [197
9d,
1981b,c], incuding SH-wave popagation [Sik, 1979c] and the appication of Tim
eof-Fight Diffaction and othe utasonic techniques to these anisotopic stu
ctues
[Sik, 1980b].
In anisotopic mateias, whee the axes of neighbouing gains may be diffeent
y aigned, eastic waves ae scatteed as they pass fom gain to gain. The sc
atteing, in effect, attenuates the signa, as we as adding a backgound of un
wanted
noise signas fom the gain boundaies. The amount of attenuation depends on th
e
eationship of the utasonic waveength to the size of the gains in the mate
ia. A
usefu summay of these effects is shown in Figue 7.1, which is taken fom Reyn
ods
and Smith [1984].
7.1. Anisotopic media
7.1.1
129
Austenitic cadding
The pessue vesse of a pessuised wate eacto consists of a thick ( 250 mm)
feitic stee she, coveed on its inne suface by a thin ( 9 mm) aye of aus
tenitic
stee. In feitic stee, the gains ae sma and nomay have no we-deveop
ed
pefeed oientation, so that the eastic popeties ae macoscopicay isoto
pic.
The austenitic cadding, howeve, cystaises in ong coumna gains with aig
ned
axes and, as a consequence, has eastic popeties which ae makedy anisotopi
c.
Feitic stee cystaises with a body-cented cubic stuctue, wheeas austeni
tic
stee has a face-cented cubic stuctue. The anisotopy facto of cubic cysta
s is
defined as the squae of the atio of the veocity of shea waves popagating a
ong
the [100] (cube edge) diection to that aong the [110] (face diagona) diectio
n [Kitte, 1963, page 95]. This anisotopy facto A can then be expessed in te
ms of
eastic constants in the Voigt notation, using the eationships expained in de
tai in
Section A.8 of the Appendix, as:
2C44

A=
C11 C12
(7.1)
For ferritic steel, the v lue of A is
out 2.4; for type 316 ustenitic steel,
the
v lue is
out 3.6; nd for type 304 st inless steel, it is
out 3.5. In this c
se,
the ustenitic steel is intrinsic lly more nisotropic th n the ferritic steel.
However,
it is not the intrinsic nisotropy which governs the effective nisotropy of g
r nul r medium
ut the size nd orient tion of the gr ins. M teri ls with gr ins
much
sm ller th n the w velength of the ultr sound prop g ting through them ppe r ef
fectively isotropic unless there is some preferred lignment of the gr ins. As t
he r tio
of the ultr sonic w velength to the gr in size decre ses nd eventu lly ppro ch
es
unity, the effects of nisotropy
ecome more nd more pp rent. For m teri l
with gr ins which re much l rger th n the ultr sonic w velength, the full intri
nsic
cryst lline nisotropy pplies.
In such nisotropic m teri ls, the speed of prop g tion of the different w ve
modes
ecomes function of the direction in which they re tr velling. Since, i
n
TimeofFlight Diffr ction, the estim te of the depth of cr ck extremity
elow
 the
inspection surf ce depends on the velocity of the v rious w ves, it is necess ry
to
correct for the effect of v ri tion of velocity in the cl dding. It is not pr ct
ic
le to
me sure the velocities for every r y p th nd the det iled cl dding structure is

oth
too complic ted nd too imperfectly known for ex ct c lcul tions to
e performed
.
A simplified model w s therefore developed nd pplied to the depth correction
lgorithm implemented in the softw re used for sizing defects in the Defect Detec
tion
Tri ls [Ch rlesworth nd Temple, 1982].
7.1.2
Anisotropic cl dding model
The ustenitic cl dding is usu lly pplied in two l yers to tot l thickness up
to
10mm. The first l yer h s higher lloy content
ut suffers some dilution from
130
Ch pter 7. Addition l Complexities
diffusion into the ferritic steel nd so h s fin l composition close to th t o
f the
second l yer (AISI 308L).
The cl dding is pplied
y strip welding. On cooling, it cryst llises in column
r
gr ins, the long xes of which re pproxim tely norm l to the isotherms during
solidific tion. The resulting structure exhi
its long gr ins which re ne rly no
rm l
to the surf ce
ut which re tilted
y up to 10 . The direction of the tilt or la
yback
varie locally but i generally within 20 of the welding direction. Although the
columnar grain have well aligned long axe [001], the other two
rinci
al axe
do not u ually how any well-develo
ed
referred orientation. The im
le t model
incor
orating thi ymmetry i a tran ver ely i otro
ic medium. Such a model i
di cu ed in more detail in the A

endix (Section A.8). The
ha e velocitie def
ine
a lowne urface, where the lowne , k/, is the reciprocal of the phase veloci
ty,
and the group velocity, Vg = / k, corresponding to a particular avevector k, is
normal to the sloness surface at k. A section through the sloness surface for
type
308 stainless steel is shon in Figure 7.2, taken from Ogilvy [1985b].
Figure 7.2 shos the three sheets of the sloness surface in the yz-plane. The
solid line and dash-dot line represent the sloness surfaces for the to quasi-s
hearave modes in hich particle motion is approximately perpendicular to the a
vevector. The solid line applies to the mode hich is most nearly like an SV av
e, hile
the dash-dot line applies to the mode hich is most nearly like an SH ave. The
other mode, shon as a short dash line, is the P-ave-like mode in hich particl
e
motion is approximately parallel to the avevector. This quasi-compression mode
has the highest velocity and so forms the innermost sheet of the sloness surfac
e. It
never crosses or touches the other to sheets of the sloness surface.
For all three modes, the three-dimensional sloness surface for this transversel
y
isotropic model medium is obtained by rotating the yz-slice shon in the figure
about
the z-axis. The to shear-like aves have the same phase velocity along the z-ax
is,
that is for propagation along the axis of the transversely isotropic material, b
ut differ
in speed hen propagating in the basal plane. The quasi-SV ave mode, shon by
the solid line, has large variations in phase velocity ith direction of propaga
tion
compared to either of the other to modes.
The group velocity, hich, as e have already pointed out, is normal to the slo
ness surface, gives the speed and direction of energy flo. The phase velocity,
hich
is parallel to the avevector, governs the reflection and refraction at boundari
es by
generalised Snells La. Along the z-axis, or along any direction in the xy-plane,
the
phase and group velocities are in the same direction, so the energy flo is in t
he same
direction as the avevector. Hoever, in other directions, such as, for instance
, the
one shon in Figure 7.2 at about 35 to the z direction, the norm l to the u siSV
slowness surf ce (depicted
y the solid line), is f r from p r llel to the w vev
ector.
This is the effect known s
e m skewing,
ec use the energy flow of the
e m is
skewed w y from the w vevector direction. The ngle
etween the ph sevelocity
nd groupvelocity vectors is known s the skewing ngle. From Figure 7.2, one c
n
see th t some degree of skewing will occur with the other two w ve modes
ut, si
nce
their slowness surf ces re more ne rly spheric l, the skewing ngles will
e sm
ller.
7.1. Anisotropic medi
131
Fig. 7.2 The intersection of the three slowness surf ces of tr nsversely isotrop
ic
ustenitic st inless steel type 308 with the (100) pl ne.
The u siSH w ve mode will h ve the sm llest skewing ngles since its slowness
surf ce is lmost sphere.
7.1.3
Tr nsit times
In this section, in order to de l with the compression w ve velocity in ferritic
m teri l together with ph se nd group velocities in the ustenitic m teri l, w
e use the
sym
ols V f , Vp nd Vg , inste d of the sym
ol C p used elsewhere in the text.
The
velocity of the compression w ves in the ferritic steel is represented
y V f n
d is
independent of direction. In the ustenite, the compression w ves h ve ph se vel
ocity Vp ( ) and associated group velocity Vg ( ). The angle is, in both cases,
measured relative to the normal to the inspection sur ace and is the angle which
k
makes with the normal. The actual direction o the group velocity is, in general
, at
some other angle to the sur ace normal. Values o Vp , Vg and | | are tabulated
132
Chapter 7. Additional Complexities
Table 7.1 Phase and group velocities or uasicompression waves in transversely
isotropic 308 stainless steel with 0 layback.

Phase velocity
mm/s
Group Velocity
mm/s
Skewing angle
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
5453
5642
5830
5999
6143
6256
6336
6382
6393
6370
6316
6233
6127
6009
5893
5866
6082
6206
6281
6330
6362
6382
6393
6393
6384
6362
6324
6261
6163
6021
216
219
201
172
140
105
69
33
06
37
69
97
119
128
118
in Table 7.1 for the ca e where the layback i 0 and 10 (from Charle worth and
Tem
le [1982]). The e velocitie were calculated u ing the ela tic con tant li
ted
in Table A.1.
Figure 7.3 how the variou ray
ath which can occur when a clad ferritic work

iece i in
ected by the TOFD method through a tran ver ely i otro
ic cladding
layer. The ray
ath in the figure can be de cribed a the lateral-wave
ath, th
e ki


ath, the critical-angle
ath, the defect
ath and the back-wall echo
ath; they
are
a ociated with travel time given by:
tlat =
2S
Vg (90 )
t ki
=
2S

1 + (h/S)2
Vg ( )
(7.2)
(7.3)
where the phase velocity direction is such that the group velocity direction sat
is ies the euation:
= arctan(S/h)
Also
tcrit =

2 S h tan 0
2h

+
V
Vg 0 cos 0
(7.4)
(7.5)
7.1. Anisotropic media
133
z
Two layers o
austenitic strip
cladding
y
x
Ferritic
steel
z
x
S
N
T
R
1
2
h
5
1
2
3
4
5
tlat
tskip
tcrit
tde
tbw
4 3
d
P
Fig. 7.3 Ray paths into erritic steel underneath austenitic cladding.
where 0 is the critical group velocity angle or the inter ace, corresponding to
the
critical phase velocity angle 0 , de ined by

V p 0
(7.6)
sin 0 =
V
The transit time via a point P, on an upper or lower de ect edge, at a depth d b
elow
the inter ace is given by tde , where
tde =
2(S h tan )Vp ( )
2h
+
Vg ( ) cos
V 2 sin
where and are related to the de ect depth by

Vp2 ( ) V 2 sin2
d = (S h tan )
V sin
(7.7)
(7.8)
134
Chapter 7. Additional Complexities
The above euations relate only to when the point P is euidistant rom the tran
smitter and receiver. For a point P
which is at distances St and Sr rom transmitter
and receiver, respectively, the transit time rom transmitter through P
to receiver is
given by:


tde (St ) + Tde (Sr )
t=
(7.9)
2
where tde is given by Euation 7.7. Euations 7.7 and 7.8 de ine the relationsh
ip
between depth and transit time in parametric orm, with the entry phase vector a
ngle
as the parameter. Because Vp , Vg and cannot, in general, be expressed as simple
unctions o , neither euation can be solved easily to yield or a given value
o tde or d. However, by interpolating in the table o phase and group velociti
es
and skewing angles calculated rom the transversely isotropic model (Table 7.1),
calculation o tde or d or given values o is straight orward and this enables
an
e icient algorithm or inding d rom a given tde to be developed.
7.1.4
The re erence path
The expressions derived above do not include any time or the ultrasonic path ou
tside
the workpiece, nor any delay in the electronics. Any such time must be determine
d
experimentally rom a re erence path. The choice o re erence path depends on th
e
experimental conditions. For inspection o a region near to the clad sur ace, it
is
convenient to use either the lateralwave path, the skip path, or the criticala
ngle
path. A pulse travelling via the lateralwave path always arrives be ore one tra
velling
via the skip path. The criticalangle path exists only or S h tan 0 . There is a
value
o S such that tlat = tskip , given by


tan 0
1
1
1

(7.10)

S=h
V
Vg (90 ) V f
Vg 0 cos 0
For erritic steel, V =5.89mm/s, which gives tlat = tcrit or S = 6.2h. Thus,
the criticalangle path provides the best re erence path or S 6.2h. In practice
,
it is also usable down to S = h tan 3h, because the amplitude received via the
criticalangle path is greater than that via the lateralwave path.
7.1.5
Experimental con irmation o the model
The greatest di erence to transit times caused by the cladding is to paths whic
h do
not penetrate to large depths. Experiments were carried out on a specially manu
actured block, 290 mm by 290 mm and 88 mm thick, made rom A533B steel. One
large ace was covered by two layers o 308L austenitic strip cladding. A slopin
g saw
cut was made rom the clad ace to a depth varying rom zero at one end to 30 mm
at
the other, to simulate a crack o varying depth. This is depicted in Figure 7.4.
The transit time o the irst arriving wave was recorded as a unction o distan
ce
along the plate, parallel to the slot, the two probes being placed on opposite s
ides o
7.1. Anisotropic media
135
Fig. 7.4 Experimental arrangement or comparison o predicted and actual slot
depths using the Timeo Flight Di raction techniue to size slots underneath a
ustenitic cladding.
the slot and euidistant rom it, at separations o 50 mm or 100 mm. The velocit
y in
the erritic material was ound to be 5.894mm/s. The ultrasonically determined sl
ot
depth below the cladding, as a unction o actual slot depth is shown in Figure
7.5,
where the results or a probe separation o 50 mm are shown by open circles and
those or a probe separation o 100 mm are shown by solid circles.
The agreement is very good and errors do not exceed 1 mm. Systematic errors
o this magnitude could have arisen rom plate bowing and much o the scatter is
probably the result o variations in cladding thickness.
Without the corrections or the cladding, the errors would be considerably large
r.
To demonstrate the size the errors could be, calculations were per ormed with th
e
assumption that the cladding behaved like erritic steel. A de ect lying just un
der the
clad erritic inter ace would then have a depth estimate in error by the thickne
ss o
the cladding layer. For de ects at greater depths, the errors would decrease but
would
still be signi icant at considerable depths. The errors due to assuming the clad
ding
to be identical to the underlying isotropic material are shown in Figure 7.6, o
r three
probe separations, as a unction o true depth.
It should be noted that this cladding model was used, with good results, or de
ect depth calculations in the De ect Detection Trials outlined in Section 8.4. O
ther
methods o carrying out the depth calculations are possible and one algorithm in
the
De ect Detection Trials was based solely on direct application o Fermats Princip
le
[Curtis and Hawker, 1983; Hawker, 1983]. An alternative approach to estimating
depths under cladding is to construct a calibration curve by timing signals rom
side
136
Chapter 7. Additional Complexities
25
Actual slot depth (mm)
Cladding thickness 8mm
Transducer separation 50mm
Transducer separation 100mm
20
15
10
5
10
15
20
Measured slot depth (mm)
25
Fig. 7.5 Experimental results or slot depth, estimated rom Timeo Flight Di
raction with depth correction, compared with actual slot depth.
Amount by which depth
underestimated (mm)
10
Probe separation
150mm
100mm
50mm
8
6
4
2
0
0
20
40
60
80
True depth rom sur ace (mm)
100
Fig. 7.6 Errors which would arise in estimating the depth o cracks below
anisotropic cladding, 8mm thick, i no correction or the cladding were
made.
7.1. Anisotropic media
137
drilled holes in a calibration block [Murgatroyd, Seed, Willetts and Tickle, 198
3].
This block must be clad by the same method and to the same thickness as the work
piece and a calibration curve will be needed or each probe separation used.
7.1.6
Austenitic steel
The cladding material discussed above is austenitic steel with a large grain str
ucture.
The problem was restricted to that o transmitting and receiving ultrasound thro
ugh
a relatively thin layer o this material, with most o the path being through is
otropic
erritic material. In other applications, however, it may be necessary to inspec
t welds
between austenitic materials, or example, in the primary circuit pipework o p
ressurised water reactors, or in the coolant vessel or internals o ast reactor
s. In such
cases, the weld material solidi ies in grains su iciently large and locally wel
laligned
to show considerable anisotropy but, because the conditions producing the alignm
ent
vary as the welding proceeds, the direction o alignment varies rom place to pl
ace
in the weld. Conventional ultrasonic inspection o such welds with angled shearw
ave probes is likely to be very unsatis actory, because o the strong e ect whi
ch
the grain structure has on the propagation o the SV waves used; inspection with
compression waves will be more success ul [Ogilvy, 1985a,b; Silk, 1980a]. Ogilvy
has shown, however, that SH waves are relatively una ected by the structures ty
pical
o austenitic welds, which tend to have large anisotropic grains with a wellde
ined
structure determined by the direction o heat low during welding. In euiaxed m
aterial, SH waves will su er the same scattering and beam distortion as the oth
er
shear wave mode. In general, austenitic welds are di icult to inspect because o

both beam skewing and scatter at grain boundaries. The signal arriving at the re
ceiver probe is the combined e ect o scattering at many grain boundaries and v
aries
uasirandomly with both transit time and probe position. This uasirandom vari
ation with transit time makes the grainscatter signal rather resemble thermal n
oise
and so it is o ten re erred to as acoustic noise. It has a similar e ect to therm
al
noise in obscuring the de ect signals, but is not amenable to reduction by conve
ntional signal averaging because, unless the probes are moved, a repeated iring
will
reproduce the same grain scatter signal. These signals are somewhat analogous to
clutter on a radar screen and the term grain clutter or simply clutter is pre erable
to acoustic noise.
Experiments carried out with compression waves to inspect welds in austenite
showed that the signaltoclutter ratio was in the region o 2. Although this is
 probably insu icient or reliable detection o de ects, it is su icient or a
ccurate sizing
o de ects detected by other means. However, experiments carried out by Silk, Ba
inton, Hillier and Robertson [1986a], using SH waves, showed signaltoclutter r
atios
o between 10 and 20, giving an improvement in signal detectability o between 6
and 10 dB. The only major drawback to the use o SH waves in a Timeo Flight
Di raction approach is the di iculty o coupling this mode to the test specime
n. The
commonest solution to this problem is to use piezoelectric transducers with a ve
ry
viscous couplant, but this reduces scanning speeds. Honey and uncured epoxy resi
n
have been used success ully, as well as proprietary couplants. Rao and Raj [1998
]
138
Chapter 7. Additional Complexities
have carried out a promising demonstration o the use o electromagnetic acousti
c
transducers (EMATs) or TOFD measurements with SH waves.
I compression waves are used to inspect austenitic welds, the Bscan images
can be seriously distorted by the e ects o the weld structure. This distortion
is
largely absent when SH waves are used. The scattering in euiaxed materials incr
eases strongly with reuency and even the shape o the beam pro ile shows some
reuency dependence in weld structures. Care ul tailoring o the ultrasonic pul
se
shape and spectrum, with emphasis on low reuencies, can produce considerable
improvements in signaltoclutter ratio [Aldridge, 1987].
Although grain clutter is not reduced by conventional signal averaging, it might
be expected that averaging while moving the probes by a ew grain diameters shou
ld
improve the signaltoclutter ratio. However, the authors are not aware o a con
vincing demonstration o this e ect.
When the irst edition o this book went to press, ultrasonic inspection o aust
enitic
materials was an active ield o research and advances in understanding were ant
icipated within a short time. Several papers which clari y our understanding o
di raction in anisotropic materials have been published since then. It is disap
pointing to
ind little published evidence o improved inspection capability arising rom th
is
work.
7.1.7
Di raction in anisotropic materials
Di raction o elastic waves is more complicated in anisotropic materials than i
t is
in isotropic materials. In Section A.4 o the Appendix, euations A.32A.35 de ine
the di raction coe icients in isotropic materials such as erritic steel. It
has not
been possible to derive analytical expressions such as these or the general cas
e in an
anisotropic material. Norris and Achenbach [1984] presented results or the di
raction coe icients or a crack in a transversely isotropic material. Although
the grains
o austenitic weld metal are typically several millimetres in diameter and never
have
higher symmetry than orthorhombic, a simple model based on transversely isotropi
c
symmetry can provide uite an accurate description o the aggregate elastic prop
erties o a volume o weld metal containing many grains, provided there is a wel
ldeveloped pre erred orientation o one o the principal axes o the grains.
Early attempts at calculating di raction coe icients in complex geometries and
anisotropic materials using numerical solutions to the wave euation were not wh
olly
success ul [Temple, 1993; Temple and White, 1993]. Recently, solutions or the
di raction coe icients o elastic waves in arbitrary anisotropic materials hav
e been
obtained [Lewis, Temple and Wickham, 1996a,b; Lewis et al., 1998]. These agree
with those o Norris and Achenbach or transversely isotropic materials, but wit
hout
some rather special experimental con irmation, o the sort supplied by Figure 3.
6
or di raction coe icients in isotropic steel, these coe icients remain as th
eoretical
predictions. It is also di icult to devise validation or these models. Compari
son
with analytical results is only possible or the isotropic and transversely isot
ropic
cases, both o which are success ul. Comparison with numerical solution o the
wave euation is another possibility but such approaches proved di icult to int
erpret
7.2. Compressive stress
139
[Temple and White, 1993]. Experimental veri ication would reuire large single
crystals to enable distinct measurements to be made. Growing large single crysta
ls
o austenitic steel is di icult but it might be possible to grow large single c
rystals o
copper, which is also elastically anisotropic.
The di raction coe icients predicted depend on the elastic constants used, and
,
just as in isotropic steel, the di raction coe icients can have zeroes at part
icular angles o elastic wave incidence. This means that it is not entirely sens
ible to try and
uote a igure or a typical di erence between di raction coe icients in isot
ropic
and an anisotropic material. As the anisotropy increases there can be substantia
l di erences between the di raction coe icients in anisotropic material compa
red with
those in isotropic material or a given angle o wave incidence. For backscatter
, such
as would be applicable to pulseecho inspection or misaligned de ects or or si
ngle
probe TOFD techniues, the di erences in signal amplitude are typically about 6
dB.
In practice, or real austenitic materials with large and complex grain structur
es,
the signal amplitudes recorded will be as much a unction o the paths ollowed
rom transmitter to de ect and rom de ect to receiver as they will be o the an
gle o
di raction at the crack tip. This is because the path through the grains, o va
rying
orientation, will create varying amounts o beam skew and apparent attenuation a
s
the probes are scanned. A robust approach to design o inspections in such mater
ials
is to use computer modelling to seek particularly di icult combinations o mate
rial
orientation, that is those which produce small signals, and then to design the i
nspection to avoid the beam angles which could lead to small signals. This was t
he purpose
o the Ray Tracing in Anisotropic and Inhomogeneous Media program (RayTrAIM)
developed by Ogilvy [1985a,b] and reviewed more recently by Harker, Ogilvy and
Temple [1991].
7.2
Compressive stress
In any ultrasonic techniue, the strength o the de ect signal, and hence the li
kelihood o the de ect being detected satis actorily, depends on the properties
o the
de ect. In particular, the di erence in material properties between the de ect
and the
surrounding material has an important e ect, as well as other parameters, such
as
the orientation, shape and roughness o the de ect. For cracklike de ects, it i
s the
discontinuity in stress across the aces o the crack which is the cause o scat
tering.
This applies eually to conventional pulseecho and tandem techniues, which, in
principle, rely on specular re lection rom the aces o the de ect, as it does
to the
Timeo Flight Di raction techniue. In the latter case, it is the signals di
racted at
the extremities o a cracklike de ect which lead to the detection and accurate
sizing
o the de ect. Suppose now that there is a compressive stress applied to the cra
ck;
this will tend to push the aces together and will, i large enough, cause incre
ased
interaction between them. It is easy to imagine that this interaction will lead
to a
reduced discontinuity in the ultrasonic stress pattern round the de ect and, hen
ce, to
less scattering and less signal amplitude available or the ultrasonic law dete
ctor.
This is indeed what is observed in practice.
140
7.2.1
Chapter 7. Additional Complexities
Experimental and theoretical results
The re lection o ultrasound at an inter ace between two media is described by a
re lection coe icient which, in the case o a rough inter ace, such as a crack
ace,
depends on the ultrasonic wavelength and the height o the roughness. The same
re lection coe icient would be obtained rom two rough sur aces at di erent r
euencies i the ratios o ultrasonic wavelength to the height o the roughness
on the
two sur aces were constant. Results obtained by Wooldridge [1979] on cracks unde
r compressive stress, and by Arakawa [1983] on rough sur aces in contact, are in
agreement with the theoretical predictions o Haines [1980] or normal incidence
.
Arakawa studied the transmission and re lection o ultrasound at machined steel
sur aces in contact under an applied load. For normal compression waves at 5 MHz
,
the re lected signal decreased by about 6 dB or an applied load o 200 MPa. Typ
ical
results rom Wooldridges work are similar. Wooldridge used sur ace roughnesses
with RMS values rom less than 1 m up to about 30 m. For an applied load o
200 MPa, the transmission coe icient or compression waves at normal incidence
is
10 dB less or sur aces with about 10 m RMS roughness than it is or sur aces wit
h
less than 1 m RMS roughness.
The variation o ultrasonic signal amplitude rom manu actured de ects under
compressive stress has been studied by Denby and Duncumb [1985]. Examples o
de ects such as lack o usion, solidi ication cracking and underclad reheat cr
acks
were considered. It was concluded that compression to 20% o yield stress would
produce no signi icant e ect on the ultrasonic response rom these manu acturin
g de ects and this was con irmed by experimental results showing less than 1 dB
change
in signal compared with the unstressed state [Denby and Duncumb, 1985]. This is
in contrast to the case o atigue cracks, which would show signi icant reductio
ns in
signal at these stress levels.
7.2.2
Application to Timeo Flight Di raction
As well as the experimental work o Wooldridge [1979], experiments have also bee
n
carried out on BS436050D steel by Whapham et al. [1985a]. These latter experime
nts were per ormed with nominal 10 MHz compression wave transducers and
5 MHz shear wave transducers. The shear wave transducers used in this test produ
ced waves with the SH polarisation, which are re lected at the crack aces witho
ut
mode conversion, and are there ore ualitatively similar to compression waves at
normal incidence. The experiment employed two transducers placed symmetrically,
one on each side o the de ect, with both transducers on the same sur ace o the
specimen, as shown in Figure 7.7. Experiments were carried out to study how str
ess on
the crack aces a ected the di racted Timeo Flight signals.
The primary object o the experiment was to establish whether an applied compres
sive stress could remove the di racted signal completely. The results showed
that there was a reduction in signal strength but that the signal was never dest
royed
completely. Two con igurations were tested experimentally: irst, with the trans
ducers on the side o the specimen rom which the crack was grown; secondly, wit
h
7.2. Compressive stress
141
Fig. 7.7 Experimental and theoretical results or the strength o signals di ra
cted
by a tight atigue crack under compressive stress. The results are or compressi
on waves at 6 MHz and a root mean suare roughness o 1.1 m.
142
Chapter 7. Additional Complexities
both transducers on the opposite ace. This gives a range o incident angles on
the
de ect ace. The maximum di racted signal was measured and results were reporte
d
relative to this or increasing compressive stress and also or applied tensile
loading.
Theoretical predictions o the variation o the re lection and transmission coe
icients o tight atigue cracks at normal incidence, taken rom Temple [1984b],
appear
in Figure 7.8. The igure includes results or reuencies up to 10 MHz, or thr
ee values o the RMS height c of the roughne and two value of a

lied load, 60
MPa
(Figure 7.8.A) and 160 MPa (Figure 7.8.B). The reflection coefficient goe to ze
ro at
zero frequency, a it hould, ince a tatic load (i.e. zero frequency) would be
entirely
tran mitted. The material
ro
ertie u ed in the e calculation are a Young modul
u
of 210 GPa, a hear modulu of 84 GPa and a relative den ity of 7.9 (i.e. the ma
terial
i teel); the e ela tic con tant corre
ond to wave
eed of C
= 5.9 mm/ and
C = 3.26 mm/ . The material i taken to have a flow
re ure of 1200 MPa a
ugge ted by Kendall and Tabor [1971].
We obtain the following form, derived from Haine [1980], for the tran mi ion
coefficient T for com
re ion wave at normal incidence:
T=
2
2 + ik
Ew/Pt
(7.11)
where k
i the wavevector of the incident com
re ion wave, w i the
erturbat
ion
di
lacement introduced by contact of the a
eritie , E i Young modulu and Pt
i the
re ure tran mitted by the interface. To a fir t a

roximation, the ener
gy
contained in the tran mitted wave i lo t from the energy available for diffract
ion.
Thi will be
articularly the ca e when the incident wavefront run down the cra
ck
before reaching the ti
where diffraction occur . Thu , to the ame order of a


roximation, we a ociate the diffracted com
re ion wave ignal trength with th
e
magnitude of the ignal reflected from a crack of infinite extent. Similarly, we
a ociate the trength of the diffracted, mode-converted hear wave with the am

litude
of the mode-converted reflection from an infinite crack. Thi i a very im
le m
odel
which turn out to be a rea onable fir t a

roximation, effective in de cribing
the
actual ituation.
We have
lotted Wha
ham re ult in Figure 7.7, together with our calculation
for the reflection coefficient of 6 MHz com
re ion wave incident on a crack wi
th
1.5 m RMS deviation from flatne on both face . Re ult for angle of incidence
of 20 and 30 are hown.
The actual crack
rofile wa mea ured on a Surfcon 30B tylu
rofilometer and
di
lay feature at many wavelength , a ex
ected. The value obtained for the R
MS
roughne de
end on the am
le length over which it i evaluated [Whitehou e an
d
Archard, 1970]. For exam
le, Whitehou e and Philli
[1978] found, on a am
le
et of urface
rofile , that the mean
eak height changed by a factor of 2.5, t
he
eak
den ity by a factor of 4, the
eak curvature by a factor of 10, and the average
lo
e
by a factor of 2, when the am
le length changed from 2 m to 24 m. For one of
the crack urface
rofile u ed in thi work, a am
le length of about 2 mm gave
an
RMS value of about 20 m, wherea for a am
le length of about 100 m the RMS
value fall to about 7 m.
7.2. Com
re ive tre
143
Fig. 7.8 Predicted reflection and tran mi ion coefficient for a tight fatigue
crack
a a function of frequency. A i for an a

lied load of 60 MPa and B for
160 MPa.
144
Cha
ter 7. Additional Com
lexitie
In term of the
atial frequency of the variou contribution to the overall ro
ughne , feature are
rominent at both 6.2 m and 0.75 m. The former value ha a

atial frequency which correlate well with formation of microvoid during crac
k
growth. Note that the RMS roughne c u ed in the model i the effective value fo
r
a rough urfaceindenting into a mooth one and i the ob erved value on each face
multi
lied by 2. Thu , the value of 0.75 m and 6.2 m hould be modelled by
value of c of about 1 m and 8.8 m, re
ectively. The larger value ari e from
am
le length of the order of the grain ize of the material but we argue that
it i

reci ely at tho e length cale that the two face on the crack can be ex
ected
to
be well correlated. Thu , length cale of thi ize re
re ent wavine of the c
rack,
rather than roughne accounting for contact of the face .
We can ee the effect of both the wavine and the correlation between the face
on the amount of contact between them by con idering two
eriodic urface which
have the ame
eriod. For exam
le, the urface could be like egg boxe . When
mountain on both face are o

o ite each other, the amount of contact between
them i limited to the ummit but, when one urface i tran lated
arallel to t
he
other by half a
eriod along a
rinci
al axi in the urface, the mountain on o
ne face
are o

o ite valley on the other and the contact area increa e . Clearly, the a
ctual
contact area will be determined by the degree of correlation between the face ,
a
well a by the micro co
ic roughne which i at length cale much maller than
the wavine of the two urface . It i then
lau ible that, for fatigue crack ,
the
contact between the two crack face i governed by RMS roughne determined over
hort am
le length , that i , at about the 1.5 m u ed in the calculation de
ict
ed in
Figure 7.7. Thi agreement between the theoretical value u ed and that determine
d
ex
erimentally i con idered ati factory.
The re ult al o indicate that the maximum lo of ignal which can be ex
ected
under loading condition u
to 70% of the load u ed during crack growth i about
13 dB for an RMS roughne of about 1.5 m.
In ex
erimental work undertaken for the off hore
etroleum indu try, Newton
[1987] found that higher ultra onic frequencie and beam angle gave higher ign
al
for dry crack under com
re ive tre , wherea , for tight, wet crack , no uch
general trend were confirmed, becau e of the variability of the ignal receiv
ed. For

ul e-echo technique , the ignal were found to decrea e by 30 to 55 dB for dry
crack under com
re ive tre , com
ared with the decrea e in crack ti
diffrac
tion
ignal from the ame crack of only 10 to 20 dB. The
ul e-echo in
ection u ed

ecular reflection of both SV and SH wave travelling at 45 , with a frequency o
f
2.2 MHz, while the Time-of-Flight Diffraction in
ection u ed com
re ion wave
with a frequency of 10 MHz. Unlike the
ul e-echo mea urement , the Time-ofFligh
t Diffraction ignal howed a imilar decrea e for both wet and dry crack .
Newton concluded that,
rovided the crack ti
ignal can be een, there i no i
gnificant change in izing accuracy for either tight or filled crack . Al o, the
effect of an
overload, uch a a 60% increa e in maximum ten ile load, greatly im
roved ub e
quent Time-of-Flight Diffraction ignal vi ibility under com
re ion. Thi may b
e
due to change in the
la tic zone round the crack ti
and may lead to im
roveme
nt
7.3. Com
onent curvature
145
in detectability for real crack off hore, where fatigue loading i variable.
Theoretical modelling of the ignal received in
ul e-echo or tandem in
ection
of liquid-filled defect can
redict very ub tantial decrea e in ignal am
l
itude, e
ecially for narrow defect [Tem
le, 1980, 1981a,b], with a wor t ca e
value of a ignal reduced by 62 dB for a 2 m wide crack filled with ru t, com
are
d with the ame defect filled with air [Tem
le, 1982], for in
ection with 45
hear wave at 4 MHz. In
urely am
litude-ba ed technique , uch ignal reductio
n
would automatically yield incorrect defect acce
tance on fracture mechanic crit
eria
but,
roviding ignal could till be ob erved with both Time-of-Flight Diffract
ion
and
robe movement technique , the accuracy of a e ment hould not be ignific
antly affected.
7.3
Com
onent curvature
A we have een in Section 2.3 and 7.1, the Time-of-Flight Diffraction techniqu
e
require knowledge of the
eed of
ro
agation of wave over the entire ignal

ath.
In i otro
ic homogeneou material , thi i a well-known quantity. In ani otro
i
c
homogeneou media, the wave
eed can be adequately modelled, a een from the
re ult obtained on cladding, de cribed in Section 7.1.2. Another ca e ari e wh
ere
the
eed of
ro
agation can differ from the bulk wave
eed. If the com
onent
urface i curved or the defect it elf i volumetric rather than crack-like, the

eed
with which the wave traver e the curved urface i not equal to the bulk wave

eed. Thi can lead to error in the calculation of defect de
th or ize , if
it not
taken into account.
Such effect could ari e in in
ection of a
i
e, where the reference
ath, anal
ogou to the lateral wave, would be a wave cree
ing along the curved face of the

i
e;
a defect ignal from a cylindrical cavity would al o how the effect.
The equation governing the wave motion around a cylindrical cavity are given
in the A

endix, together with an indication of the derivation of the velocity o
f
ro
agation (Section A.9). For the lowe t com
re ion or hear wave mode, whic
h ha
the lowe t attenuation, the following ex
re ion wa found to de cribe ati fact
orily
the ratio of the cree
ing wave velocity V
to the bulk com
re ion wave velocity:
V
1

=
C

1 + 0.928 (k
a)2/3
(7.12)
Replacing k p by ks and C p by Cs yields the appropriate expression or the cree
ping
shear wave.
To put these values in perspective, we note that the creeping compression wave
only reaches 98% o the bulk value when k p a > 300. A plot o these results is
given
in Figure 7.9.
Experimental tests were carried out in both steel and aluminium to con irm these
predictions [Charlesworth and Temple, 1981]. These experimental results were or
circular holes with radii between 0.25 mm and 3 mm at a depth o 25 mm below
146
Chapter 7. Additional Complexities
Fig. 7.9 Creeping wave speed and attenuation as a unction o the radius o curv
ature o the sur ace.
the inspection sur ace. The transducers operated at reuencies between 2.5 MHz
and 4 MHz and the experimental results obtained were in good agreement with the
theoretical predictions, as shown in Figure 7.9.
Chapter 8
Experimental Demonstrations
o Capability
Nondestructive testing techniues, including ultrasonic inspection, are o ten u
sed
in sa ety critical applications such as the nuclear industry, submarines, o sho
re oil
plat orms, chemical plants, aircra t and gas pipelines. A characteristic o such
applications is that there is o ten a reluctance to adopt new techniues until
there has
been a build up o experimental evidence o capability. The evidence which leads
to
success ul adoption tends to start with idealised trials in the laboratory ollo
wed by
an accumulation o satis actory ield experience.
Both the laboratory tests and the ield experience can be embodied in a standard
procedure or applying the inspection techniue once it has reached a certain ma
turity. The Timeo Flight Di raction techniue is now at this stage, having be
en
encapsulated in both British and European Standards. This ollows several demons
trations o capability in a wide range o largescale testblock exercises which
are
reviewed in this chapter. Results rom several signi icant testblock trials are
presented in some detail to highlight the capability o Timeo Flight Di ract
ion or
accurate determination o the throughwall extent o cracks. The testblock exer
cises test techniue capability, rather than reliability or repeatability in pra
ctice.
In this chapter, we con ine our discussion to the principal test block exercises
.
A number o other, generally smaller and more specialised, exercises are covered
in
Chapter 9.
Capability is not su icient in itsel ; reliability in practice is also reuired
. The
level o reliability reuired o an inspection is that which, when combined with
a
knowledge o the severity o de ects, will lead to the desired level o structur
al integrity under normal operation or possible accident loading conditions. Eve
n good
techniues applied reliably will exhibit some spread o errors which have implic
ations or the structural integrity o the component under test. This concept is
reviewed with special re erence to the pressure vessel o a pressurised water r
eactor;
the approach is, however, universally applicable.
147
148
Chapter 8. Experimental Demonstrations o Capability
Be ore embarking on a discussion o the results obtained in testblock trials, w
e
bring out some o the limitations o such tests.
8.1
Limitations o testblock exercises
Although there are a number o limitations to testblock exercises which we will
indicate here, we should emphasise that testblock trials are use ul indicators
o the
capability o inspection techniues to detect, size and possibly characterise de
ects.
In order to derive the maximum bene it rom a testblock exercise, care ul thoug
ht
must be given to the objectives and the experiments must be care ully designed t
o
maximise the relevance o the results to the structural integrity o the compone
nt or
structure which the specimens are intended to represent.
Test blocks can be expensive to produce and can usually contain only a small
number o deliberately implanted de ects. As a result, the number o de ects stu
died
in a trial is rarely as large as would otherwise be desirable. This was the basi
s o a
serious criticism by Whittle and Co ey [1981] o the PISC I results [PISC, 1979
].
For a review o the whole series o PISC exercises see Crutzen [1985a,b]; Crutze
n,
Jehenson, Nichols and Stephens [1985]. PISC was originally an acronym or Plate
Inspection Steering Committee but this was superseded by Programme or the Inspe
ction o Steel Components. Three PISC programmes have now been completed.
All o them involving major international collaboration in making realistic scal
e test
blocks, distributing them around a number o geographically disparate locations,
re ereeing the inspections and drawing conclusions rom the results.
Because the implanting o de ects in test blocks is not an exact science, the bl
ocks
must eventually undergo destructive examination to establish the precise con igu
ration o the de ects, or comparison with the results produced by the inspectio
n teams.
Since this cannot occur until all the nondestructive inspections are complete,
major
testblock exercises tend to take one or more years to complete.
In the next two sections we consider in more detail the di iculties mentioned
above.
8.1.1
The number o de ects
In any test, including application in real inspections in the ield, there will
be a
certain likelihood that the de ects may be missed, or, i detected, sized wrongl
y,
thus possibly being misclassi ied as acceptable when they are unacceptable, or v
ice
versa. The likelihood o correctly classi ying a de ect is called the reliabilit
y. The
average reliability or a set o de ects can be estimated as the proportion o d
e ects
correctly classi ied out o the total de ect population. For example, a reliabil
ity o 0.9
(or 90%) means that, on average, 9 out o 10 de ects will be correctly detected
and
classi ied. Average values are only part o the in ormation reuired since it is
also
necessary to know the con idence level; i.e. how certain one can be that a resul
t will
be close to the average or above some lower threshold. Although the ideal situat
ion
would be a 100% reliability with 100% con idence, this is impossible to achieve
8.1. Limitations o testblock exercises
149
in practice, so the aim must be to reach reliability and con idence levels as hi
gh as
reasonably practicable.
Con idence levels achievable rom testblock trials, in terms o the number o
correct interpretations o de ects, are discussed in detail in Section A.10 o t
he Appendix. For a test in which there are 15 de ects o which 14 are correctly
classi ied,
the best estimate o the reliability is 0.93 and we can be about 83% con ident t
hat the
reliability exceeds 0.80. As another example, or a test in which there are 20 d
e ects
with only 19 correct results, the best estimate o the reliability is 0.95 and w
e can be
about 83% con ident that the true reliability exceeds 0.85. In a test with 30 de
ects
and 29 correct results then the best estimate o the reliability is 0.97 and we
can be
at least 82% con ident that the true value exceeds 0.90. Here we are treating ea
ch
de ect as a separate trial. Similar results or 95% probability o detection wit
h 95%
con idence have been given elsewhere [Whittle and Co ey, 1981] as reuiring 92
successes out o 93 trials.
The relatively small number o de ects reuired to establish 90% probability o
detection with about 80% con idence level is realistic and shows that testblock
exercises can demonstrate that degree o reliability or a particular class o
de ects.
However, i the organisers o a testblock trial were oolish enough to reuest
a
99.5% reliability with 95% con idence, they would ind it a very exacting task.
The
techniues being tested would then need to be completely success ul in about 600
trials or, i only one test were ailed, success would be reuired in 949 out o
950
trials. A very high a degree o con idence costs a great deal o time and money!
Similarly, i an adeuate demonstration o reliable inspection is reuired over
many
di erent de ect classes or component geometries, then large numbers o test blo
cks
will be reuired.
Another problem with testblock exercises is that, because o the desire to intr
oduce as many de ects as possible within a limited budget, the de ect density in
the
blocks may have to be several orders o magnitude greater than would ever be ou
nd
in a component in normal service. This has at least two possible e ects: de ect
s
may be inserted so that they obscure each other (which would be acceptable only
i it were likely to occur in practice); and the realism o scanning many metres
o
weld without inding a de ect is lost and the inspectors may be assisted in dete
cting
de ects by their expectation o de ects being present.
8.1.2
Comparison with destructive tests
In order to determine how success ul the inspection procedures have been, it is
necessary to per orm a destructive examination o the test blocks. This demands
an
engineering capability to cut up thicksection steel plates with the tight toler
ances o
ractions o a millimetre necessary or comparison o the results with such a se
nsitive
ultrasonic techniue as Timeo Flight Di raction. In the De ect Detection Tria
ls,
the plates were cut up into small cuboids containing the de ects and these were
then
examined using a combination o very high sensitivity ultrasonics, metallography
and urther sectioning.
150
Chapter 8. Experimental Demonstrations o Capability
In the destructive examination o the plates, small additional de ects may be
ound to be associated with the intended de ect. These usually result rom imper
ections in the welds used to implant de ects. A rule must be devised in order t
o decide
whether such associated de ects should be included in the destructive results. T
he
same rule should be ollowed by all the teams reporting on the ultrasonic result
s,
especially i the comparison between ultrasonic and destructive results is to be
made
on the basis o simple boxes drawn round de ect extremities. Teams using Timeo Fl
ight Di raction, in the various testblock trials to be discussed later, were n
ot
usually using the same rules as the those laid down in the destructive examinati
on.
We have, there ore, in our present assessment o the results, used the minimum v
olumes o the de ects ound during destructive examination, except where otherwi
se
stated.
Since it is the throughwall extent o planar, cracklike de ects which is gener
ally
regarded as the most signi icant parameter governing the likelihood o catastrop
hic
brittle racture, we will concentrate on this parameter in our analysis. De ect
length
can be an important parameter, however, during some possible accident seuences.
8.2
Roundrobin trials
Several roundrobin trials are reviewed in this chapter. They are ordered accord
ing
to increasing complexity, with older trials o similar complexity appearing irs
t. By
complexity we mean the actors:
geometry
material
de ect type
component access.
Thus, just as in previous chapters, we recognise that extensive lat plates o i
sotropic
homogeneous material, such as erritic steel, containing well de ined, open, smo
oth
(in ultrasonic terms) planar cracks will represent the simplest category. Making
specimens with more complex geometries but still o erritic steel adds complexi
ty. Even more complexity is added by using a material which is not homogeneous
and isotropic such as austenitic steel, especially welds or orged material. Cra
cks
which are rough, or branched, such as stress corrosion cracks (SCC) will be more
di icult to detect, size and characterise than smooth planar cracks. This progr
ession
o complexity is re lected in the seuence o major roundrobin trials reviewed
here:
Welding Institute trials (Section 8.3), UKAEA De ect Detection Trials (Section 8
.4),
PISC II (Section 8.5) and PISC III (Section 8.6).
In Section 8.9 these results are put into a racture mechanics context. A compar
ison o TOFD and radiography is made in Section 8.7 and with amplitude based
techniues in Section 8.8.
8.3. Results obtained in the Welding Institute collaborative programme
151
Reliability in practice demands more than a highly capable techniue. This is a
necessary but not su icient condition. It is also necessary to ensure the techn
iue
is applied properly in practice. This topic will be reviewed later, in Section 1
0.4.
Modelling studies, which may be used as a partial replacement or roundrobin tr
ials,
have already been considered in Section 5.10.
8.3
Results obtained in the Welding Institute collaborative programme
A collaborative programme o work, to establish the sizing capabilities o sever
al
ultrasonic techniues including Timeo Flight Di raction, was carried out, in
our
phases, on behal o the Mechanical Engineering and Machine Tools Reuirements
Board o the Department o Industry, by the Welding Institute, the National NDT
Centre at Harwell Laboratory, United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, and by the
NDT Applications Centre o the Central Electricity Generating Board, Northwester
n Region Scienti ic Services Department. Phase 4 was concerned with complex
geometries and has been discussed in Section 6.1. Phases 1 and 2 will be reviewe
d
here.
Welded specimens manu actured with care ully controlled deliberately introduced
de ects were tested using a wide range o ultrasonic euipment. The results
obtained were compared with destructive examination o the specimens and were
analysed in terms o the accuracy o techniues to measure de ect size and con i
rm
de ect character. The work was reported in three volumes [Welding Institute, 197
9,
1982a,b].
8.3.1
Phase 1
The irst report [Jessop, 1979] deals with the results obtained in sizing and ch
aracterising nonplanar de ects. In this series o tests, ten test blocks were m
anu actured
rom carbon manganese steel plate, to BS 1501 Grade 223 32B, and contained 26
de ects such as slag lines, lines o porosity, slag inclusions and lack o root
penetration in the weld. Timeo Flight Di raction was one o the ultrasonic si
zing
techniues applied to all ten blocks. The results obtained or vertical crossse
ction
position error, error in length and crosssectional area measurements are summar
ised
in Table 8.1.
The Timeo Flight Di raction techniue gave a mean throughwall size error
o 0.32 mm with a standard deviation o 1 mm. The specimens containing these
de ects ranged in thickness rom 37 to 95 mm. These errors compare avourably wi
th
those obtained using conventional ultrasonic techniues: with the 20 dB drop met
hod
a mean crosssection size error o 3.3 mm with an associated standard deviation
o 3.2 mm was obtained, and with the maximum amplitude method a mean error o
2.1 mm and standard deviation 2.0 mm were obtained. The results uoted above or
20 dB and maximum amplitude methods were obtained with an ultrasonic reuency
152
Chapter 8. Experimental Demonstrations o Capability
Table 8.1 Results obtained in Phase 1 o the Welding Institute tests by Timeo F
light Di raction sizing o nonplanar de ects.
Type o
measurement
Mean
error
Standard
deviation
Sample details
Vertical crosssection
position error
0.35 mm
1.3 mm
24 de ects
Length extremities
(% error)
3%
7.7%
34 linear de ects
40 to 121 mm long
Length extremities
(% error)
7.1%
40%
14 cluster de ects
5 to 15 mm long
Crosssection
size
0.32 mm
1.0 mm
24 de ects
1.5 to 7.2 mm
o 4 MHz. At 2 MHz, the errors were smaller, giving a mean error o 0.88 mm
and standard deviation o 2.3 mm by the maximum amplitude techniue. Results
obtained with DGS (distance gain size) sizing data were a mean euivalent re lec
tor
size o 1.7 mm and standard deviation o 1.6 mm or the linear de ects and a mean
error o 2.7 mm and standard deviation o 1.8 mm or the cluster de ects.
From these results it was concluded that the Timeo Flight Di raction method
showed better accuracy than other methods particularly or throughthickness sizi
ng. In this instance an accuracy o +1mm could be expected [Jessop, 1979].
8.3.2
Phase 2
The second phase o this collaborative programme was carried out on similar mate
rial made into 14 specimens varying in thickness rom 34 mm to 94 mm. The plates
all contained a weld. Two processes, manual metal arc and submerged arc, were
used
in the welding and the weld preparation was chosen rom one o : single V,
2 1
3 3 double V, single U, or eual double V. Solidi ication cracking, lack o usi
on,
hydrogen cracking and a cluster o inclusions were created deliberately in the t
est
plates. Results rom Timeo Flight Di raction, which was used on all ourteen
plates, are presented in Table 8.2 taken rom Jessop et al. [1982].
The results obtained by Timeo Flight Di raction or accuracy o sizing o the
de ect throughwall crosssection were much superior to any o the previous tests
.
The slight tendency to oversize is mainly due to small de ects (typically 1.5 mm
to
3 mm) close to the limit o resolution. The scatter value =1.8 mm i much lower
than any of the
reviou value ( =2.4 to 5.0 mm). [Je o
et al., 1982]. In Je o


de cri
tion of the re ult quoted above, the
reviou te t refer to tho e cited
earlier
in hi re
ort, namely: conventional ho
floor ultra onic te t carried out at 2
MHz
and 4 MHz; DGS izing method ; B- can te t ; Accu can and hologra
hy. The bald
re ult tated above hould be ke
t in
er
ective with the requirement of an i
n-
8.4. UKAEA Defect Detection Trial (DDT)
153
Table 8.2 Re ult obtained in Pha e 2 of the Welding In titute te t by Time-ofF
light Diffraction izing of
lanar defect .
Ty
e of
mea urement
Mean
error
Standard
deviation
Sam
le detail
Vertical cro - ection

o ition error

0.56 mm
1.8 mm
25 defect
Length extremitie
(% error)
5.6%
12%
43 defect
40 to 121 mm long
Cro - ection
ize
0.52 mm
1.8 mm
106 defect

ection. Sho
floor te t with im
le manual A- can can obviou ly be relied on

for
quality control in
ection with an accuracy of 1.0  3.1 mm, whereas racture mech
anics assessments o critical components would reuire the additional actor o
2
improvement in accuracy available with Timeo Flight Di raction, +0.5  1.8 mm.
For shop loor testing one can have 95% con idence that a measured value o throu
ghwall size o a crack will lie between 7 and +5 mm o the correct value in pla
tes up to
95 mm thick [Jessop et al., 1982]. This value should be compared with the Timeo
Flight Di raction result, where one would have 95% con idence that the measure
d
throughwall size lay between 3 and +4 mm o the actual value.
8.4
UKAEA De ect Detection Trials (DDT)
The capability o ultrasonic techniues to detect, size and characterise de ects
is continually evolving. A snapshot o the capability o 7 teams to detect and
size representative de ects in thick steel plate was provided by the results o
the De ect Detection
Trials organised by the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) in
1983. Following the poor results obtained by international teams using conventio
nal
pulseecho ultrasonic inspections in the PISC I exercise [PISC, 1979], the De ec
t
Detection Trials were designed in 1980 with the aim o providing in ormation or
the public inuiry into the possibility o building a PWR in the United Kingdom.
The trials have been described by Watkins et al. [1983b] and the results obtaine
d
summarised by Lock, Cowburn and Watkins [1983]; Watkins, Cowburn, Ervine and
Latham [1983a]; Watkins, Lock, Cowburn and Ervine [1984]. Although these trials
were described as de ect detection exercises, the results contain more in ormation
on the capability o the techniues than they do on the repeatability in practic
e. In
particular, they can be regarded as air experimental tests o the sizing abilit
y o the
techniues and teams, bearing in mind the cost o such testblock exercises and
the
small number o them that will take place.
In the De ect Detection Trials, techniues were selected on the basis o their e
x
154
Chapter 8. Experimental Demonstrations o Capability
isting use or PWR inspection or because the techniues were in such an advanced
state o development that they could be considered as candidates or use in the
irst
United Kingdom PWR [Watkins et al., 1983b]. The Timeo Flight Di raction techni
ue was chosen or evaluation because o its potential or accurate measurement
o the throughwall extent o a cracklike de ect. The techniue has the potenti
al to
evaluate accurately the most relevant parameter o the least desirable de ects i
n pressure vessels. The Harwell Laboratorys development programme or Timeo Fli
ght
Di raction was reviewed at the time o the De ect Detection Trials by Gardner a
nd
Hudson [1982].
A team at Harwell designed, built and commissioned apparatus or a ullscale
Timeo Flight Di raction inspection o welded plate and nozzle specimens typic
al
o the geometries encountered in the reactor pressure vessel o a pressurised wa
ter
reactor. Viewed retrospectively, this strategic decision to restrict the Harwell
investigations solely to Timeo Flight, which was subseuently carried over in
to the
PISC II trials, was o crucial importance or the position o Harwell in the nuc
lear
nondestructive testing ield [Collingwood, 1987]. This arti icial restriction t
o a single techniue led to signi icant developments in data analysis and interp
retation as
well as de ining the capability o the techniue.
In the De ect Detection Trials, there were our specimens, o which three were
lat plates (Plates 1, 2 and 3) and one (re erred to as Plate 4, although not ac
tually o
plate geometry) simulated the geometry o a pressurised water reactor (PWR) nozz
le
inner radius. The specimens used were o ull thickness and o reactor uality,
clad
as though each was actually part o a PWR vessel. Plate 1 contained 29 deliberat
ely
introduced laws and Plate 2 contained 16. The de ects in these plates were o p
lanar,
cracklike type distributed throughout the entire weld volume o the 250 mm thic
k
steel plates. Plate 3 contained 26 deliberately introduced laws in the region n
ear
the austenitic cladding, while Plate 4 contained 20 laws near the inner radius
and
extending into the nozzle bore and to the vessel ace. Thus there was a total o
91
laws, a number which must be viewed in the context o the discussion o con ide
nce
limits which appears in Section 8.1.1.
The de ects introduced into the blocks cover a range o sizes which are thought
to contribute most to possible vessel ailure under certain accident conditions
in the
range 10 to 55 mm throughwall extent. The restriction to de ect sizes less than
55 mm does not mean that a single very large de ect would not be highly likely
to lead to vessel ailure but high standards o workmanship and inspection ensur
e
that such a de ect is very unlikely to be produced and even more unlikely to go
undetected be ore the vessel is put into service. Hence, such de ects contribute
little
to the total ailure probability. Very small de ects will occur more commonly an
d
may not be detected by inspection but the presence o a single such de ect is hi
ghly
unlikely to lead to ailure. Hence, these de ects, again, contribute little to t
he total
ailure probability. The bulk o the probability arises rom de ects o intermed
iate
size, with intermediate probabilities o occurrence and o detection, and interm
ediate
likelihood o individually leading to ailure [Cameron, 1984; Cameron and Temple
,
1984; Marshall, 1982]. This is the basis o the restriction to the 10 to 55 mm t
hrough
8.4. UKAEA De ect Detection Trials (DDT)
155
wall size range examined in the De ect Detection Trials.
8.4.1
Caveats concerning the De ect Detection Trials
We note that the German teams per ormed their inspections to a cash cost and wer
e
there ore limited in the time available or inspection and interpretation. Some
o
the German ALOK work was reviewed by Barbian et al. [1984b]. In the case o
some o the French work, we note that the inspection euipment, which is actuall
y
used or inservice inspection, is not designed to cope with the number o de ec
t
indications per cubic metre that existed in the DDT plates. Good results, based
on pulseecho detection methods and sizing measurements involving transit times
o signals (but not Timeo Flight Di raction), were reported by Bowker, Co ey
,
Hanstock, Owen and Wrigley [1983]. We have already noted, in Section 4.1.2.2,
that the Harwell Timeo Flight euipment was not designed to detect very small
de ects near the clad inter ace. Another potential criticism o the De ect Detec
tion
Trials was that the de ect types were not su iciently representative o real de
ects.
While this may be true o Plate 1, in which the de ects were rather well de ined
planar
inserts, the de ects in the other three plates comprised a mixture o machined d
e ects,
atigue crack inserts and deliberately induced weld cracking, and hence more cle
arly
modelled the types o de ects which could occur in real pressure vessel welds.
8.4.2
A comment on automated inspections and Timeo Flight
Di raction
Most o the inspections in the De ect Detection Trials used automated euipment
or scanning the plates and recording the indications. The repeatability in prac
tice o
results rom such euipment is governed largely by the settingup procedures and
the
degree o builtin sel checking. Automated euipment will produce more consiste
nt
results than manual inspections but, i the euipment is incorrectly set up or o
perated,
or develops a ault during operation, the results may be consistently wrong. Inc
orrect
setting up or operation can be avoided by the use o care ully designed procedur
es
but ault monitoring may reuire modi ications to euipment design.
In the Timeo Flight Di raction techniue, the presence o the lateral wave pr
ovides assurance that the signal acuisition euipment is working satis actorily
. When
the lateral wave is absent because it has been interrupted by a sur acebreaking
 de ect, there will usually be a di raction signal rom the internal edge o th
e de ect
(unless it is a throughwall de ect). Thus, while it is not straight orward to m
ake the
euipment totally sel checking, monitoring o lateral wave amplitude can be use
d
to alert the operator to possible mal unction. A closer inspection o the signal
s will
then reveal whether the alarm was raised by a true mal unction or by the presenc
e o
a sur acebreaking de ect.
In the commonlyoccurring case o lat plate geometry, the backwall echo can
also be monitored and it will be very rare or both lateral wave and backwall e
cho
to be absent while the euipment is still unctioning.
156
Chapter 8. Experimental Demonstrations o Capability
In the Timeo Flight Di raction inspections in the De ect Detection Trials, co
upling o the ultrasound was by water immersion, so no coupling monitor was reu
ired. However, the techniue can be, and reuently has been, applied with conta
ct probes. The techniue described above using the lateral wave and the backwal
l
echo also provides a means or monitoring the coupling e iciency.
8.4.3
Sizing capability
The measured de ect size will usually have an error associated with it. In order
to use
the measured value in an assessment o the acceptability o the de ect some rela
tionship between the measured and true values needs to be established. I a cali
bration
experiment has been carried out, in which several de ects were sized using ultra
sonic
measurements be ore the test pieces were examined destructively, we can calculat
e
the mean and standard deviation o the sizing error or de ects in each class. I
,
urther, we know the distribution o these errors then we can put con idence lim
its
on the actual value as in erred rom the measured size. For example we might assum
e that the errors in sizing are normally distributed (but they appear not to be,
see
Section 8.4.8).
8.4.4
Summary o results rom the De ect Detection Trials
In the De ect Detection Trials, the detection o de ects was very good, especial
ly or
those de ects which would have been classed as re erable, meaning that they woul
d
have been marked out or detailed analysis and possibly repair or rejection o t
he
component containing them. All the teams detected all the de ects in the inspect
ion
o Plates 1 and 2 rom the clad side [Watkins et al., 1983a,b, 1984]. The result
s rom
the clad side are especially important since current inservice inspection o ma
ny
PWR vessels has to be carried out rom inside, that is, rom the clad side. It h
ad
previously been thought that the anisotropic nature o the cladding could hinder
the
detection and sizing o de ects, though it is worthy o note that the Central El
ectricity
Generating Board team obtained results o comparable accuracy or Plates 1 and 2
using the conventional methods to be used or the Sizewell B station. The results
o
the de ect detection exercise show that it is possible to take account o the cl
adding
in such a way that de ects can be detected and accurately sized through it (see
also
Section 7.1). The detection o de ects in Plates 3 and 4 was also good, with all
teams
detecting all the de ects in Plate 3 rom the clad side and in Plate 4 all the d
e ects
were detected using automated euipment [Watkins et al., 1984]. One de ect, whic
h,
although detected, was not reported in Plate 4, may be considered as an example
o
human error.
More detail o other teams results can be ound in Barbian et al. [1984b]; Bowker
et al. [1983]; Grohs et al. [1983]; Murgatroyd et al. [1983]; Poulter, Rogerson,
Willetts and Dyke [1982]; Wstenberg, Erhard, Montag and Schenk [1982]. A review
and analysis o the capability o the di erent techniues appear in Murgatroyd
and
Firth [1985] and a summary and conclusions on the outcome o this exercise and t
he
preliminary conclusions on PISC II exercise were provided by Nichols [1985]. Onl
y
8.4. UKAEA De ect Detection Trials (DDT)
157
Table 8.3 Results or de ect throughwall size as measured with Timeo Flight
Di raction by Harwell in DDT Plates 1 and 2 and compared with the
minimum de ect volumes determined destructively.
Plate
Side
Correlation with
destructive tests
Mean error
Standard
deviation
1
1
clad
unclad
0.984
0.988
14
13
2.5
2.0
2
2
cad
uncad
0.896
0.932
16
21
8.6
6.9
1 &2
1&2
cad
uncad
0.925
0.943
04
00
5.5
4.7
two teams, Hawe and Risey, inspected a fou pates. Fo these two teams, a
t
east, the evidence of the Defect Detection Tias is that, excuding human eo
, the
eiabiity of automated inspection of thick stee sections of PWR geomety is g
ovened by the capabiity of accuate sizing of the defect though-wa extent c
ouped
with the epeatabiity of appication in pactice. Both teams used Time-of-Figh
t
Diffaction to achieve thei accuate sizing of the though-wa extent of defec
ts.
The integity of the PWR vesse was the main concen of the Defect Detection
Tias and so we must be awae of the consequences of the esuts fo vesse int
egity.
Detection of a defect is not the ony impotant pat of inspection; once detecte
d, the
defect must be sized as accuatey as possibe in ode to test whethe it is ac
ceptabe
o shoud be epaied. The Defect Detection Tias wee impotant tests of detec
tion
and sizing.
8.4.5
Resuts obtained fo though-wa size
The esuts fo the inspection of Pates 1 and 2 ae pesented in Figue 8.1. Th
is is
a scatte pot of the utasonicay detemined though-wa dimension of the de
fects
compaed with that found destuctivey and shows the esuts fom a teams usin
g a
vaiety of utasonic inspection techniques fom both sides of the pates. The 
esuts
fom the cad face ae shown as soid cices, whie those fom the uncad face
ae
shown as open cices.
The infomation fom the Hawe Time-of-Fight Diffaction esuts aone is
shown in Figue 8.2. The educed scatte evident in Figue 8.2 bings out vey c
eay
the high sizing accuacy achieved by the Time-of-Fight Diffaction technique.
8.4.6
Eos in TOFD though-wa sizing fo Pates 1 and 2
The eos in the Hawe teams TOFD though-wa sizing esuts on in Pates 1
and 2 ae set out in Tabe 8.3.
158
(b) DDT Pate 2
Fig. 8.1 Scatte pot of esuts fo defect though-wa size detemined by a
teams inspecting Pates 1 and 2 of the UKAEA Defect
Detection Tias. Soid and open cices denote inspections fom the cad and un
cad sides of the pates espectivey.
Chapte 8. Expeimenta Demonstations of Capabiity
(a) DDT Pate 1
8.4. UKAEA Defect Detection Tias (DDT)
(a) DDT Pate 1
(b) DDT Pate 2
159
Fig. 8.2 Scatte pot of esuts obtained by Hawe with utasonic Time-of-Fi
ght Diffaction on Pates 1 and 2 of the Defect Detection
Tias oganised by the UKAEA. Soid and open cices denote inspections fom th
e cad and uncad sides of the pates
espectivey.
160
Chapte 8. Expeimenta Demonstations of Capabiity
Standad Deviation
of Sizing Eo
(mm)
2.3
2.5
5.9
Pate
1
Team
CEGB
Hawe
Risey
Mean eo
(mm)
-1.3
-1.4
-0.8
2
CEGB
Hawe
Risey
4.8
1.6
5.1
11.3
8.6
14.4
3
Babcock
Hawe
Risey
2.1
1.0
0.6
4.9
2.6
2.0
4
Hawe
Risey
1.9
2.8
1.4
6.1
-1.9
9.0
1&2
CEGB
(combined) (evised)
2
0
2
4
Sizing error (mm)
6
0
5
10
15
Standard deviation (mm)
Fig. 8.3 Mean and standard deviation o throughwall sizing measurements with
inspection rom the clad side o the plates. Results obtained by the U.K.
teams in the De ect Detection Trials.
Even the worst Harwell Timeo Flight Di raction results, those rom the unclad
side o Plate 2, achieved a mean error o only 2.1 mm. For the cladside inspect
ions
o Plate 1 the Harwell results are a mean error o 1.4 mm with standard deviation
2.5 mm and a correlation coe icient o 0.984. Similarly, or Plate 2, we ind t
he
Harwell result or the inspection rom the clad side to be a mean error o 1.6 m
m
and a standard deviation o 8.6 mm with a correlation coe icient o 0.90. These
results were better than most, but not all, conventional inspections used in th
e same
testblock trials. The mean and standard deviations obtained by the three best t
eams
overall, together with the correlation coe icients obtained, are summarised in
Figure 8.3.
8.4.7
Typical data display rom the De ect Detection Trials
An example o the data display obtained rom Plate 1 o the De ect Detection Tri
als
is shown in Figure 8.4 where the tops and bottoms o various numbered de ects ha
ve
been clearly and easily identi ied. The characteristic arcs rom the de ect extr
emities,
as discussed in Section 2.3.4, are also clearly visible.
Although, in practice, real components would not exhibit the number o de ects
shown in this picture, signals o this uality and clarity would be expected ro
m any
 ine grained euiaxed material with low inclusion content.
8.4. UKAEA De ect Detection Trials (DDT)
161
Fig. 8.4 Timeo Flight Di raction signals observed on Plate 1 o the De ect De
tection Trials. Related tops and bottoms o de ects are linked by a white
rectangle. Note that these rectangles are not intended to represent the extent o
the de ects [a ter Curtis and Hawker, 1983].
8.4.8
Characterisation o de ects
The de ects in Plate 1 were abricated by welding patches into recesses in the w
eld
preparation prior to the main welding process. The de ects thus simulated lack o

side wall usion with clearly de ined boundaries and gave rise to little controv
ersy
during comparison o the inspection results with the destructive test results. P
late 2
contained a wider selection o more complex de ects aimed at simulating natural
de ects more closely. These included implanted atigue crack coupons, cracks o
unknown morphologies produced by carbon and copper contamination and some
slag lines. Some o the cracks were o ragmented or branched type and raised so
me
problems when comparisons o the inspection results with destructive test data w
ere
carried out on the basis o boxes drawn round de ects.
To illustrate this point, we show, in Figures 8.5 and 8.6 respectively, the raw
Timeo Flight Di raction data obtained rom de ect 15 in Plate 2 together with
the
report o the de ect which was made during the de ect detection trials [Curtis a
nd
Hawker, 1983].
A highly ragmented de ect is apparent and the di iculty o drawing a simple bo
x
round the de ect is obvious. Other examples o such ragmented de ects in Plate
2,
the Timeo Flight Di raction signals obtained rom them, and the reports made
o
them at the time, can be ound in Curtis and Hawker [1983]. To some extent, the
correlation achieved between ultrasonic measurements and those obtained destruc
162
Chapter 8. Experimental Demonstrations o Capability
T5R5
T5R6
De ect and satellites
T4R5
Satellites
Fig. 8.5 Raw ultrasonic data obtained rom the cladside inspection o de ect nu
mber 15 in Plate 2 o the De ect Detection Trials.
tively will be a measure o the box drawing ability o the team as well as its i
ntrinsic
ultrasonic capability. The emphasis should then be placed on characterisation o
the de ects which have been ound and sized. An interesting observation is that
the
correlation coe icients tend to improve, i the ultrasonic data are compared wi
th the
results o an extended destructive examination which included small welding de e
cts
associated with the coupon implants. The comparison between the results rom thi
s
extended destructive examination and those obtained rom the minimum volumes
highlights the problem o drawing boxes around de ects. These decisions should b
e
based on unambiguous rules which are the same or the ultrasonic inspections as
or the destructive examination. It is not known whether each team would reach t
he
same conclusions on ragmented de ects or de ects with satellite indications eac
h
time the same de ect signals were examined.
8.4. UKAEA De ect Detection Trials (DDT)
163
Fig. 8.6 Report made by ultrasonic inspector characterising de ect number 15 o
Plate 2 o the De ect Detection Trials.
164
Chapter 8. Experimental Demonstrations o Capability
The scatter plots o Figure 8.1 suggest that the results may not be normally dis
tributed and this tends to be con irmed by a statistical test on the data rom t
he De ect
Detection Trials. Temple [1984c, 1985] applied the Wstatistic (see Appendix, Se
ction A.11) to the published in ormation on the measured de ect sizes [Watkins e
t al.,
1983a, 1984] as compared with the minimum de ect volumes determined destructivel
y [Crutzen, Brgers, Violin, Di Piazza, Cowburn and Sargent, 1983]. Temple
concluded that these errors have only a 2% chance o coming rom a normal distri
bution. We are there ore not strictly justi ied in assuming a normal distributio
n but
should seek more descriptive statistics.
8.4.9
Results or Plates 3 and 4
Two reactor nozzle cutouts made rom representative SA508 class 2 orging steel
were used in the manu acture o the De ect Detection Trial Plates 3 and 4. The d
e ects introduced into Plate 3 were designed as tests o the ability o the team
s to
detect and size subcladding cracks. In addition to the 26 intentional de ects i
n Plate
3, three others were discovered during the ultrasonic examinations and subseuen
t
destructive sectioning o the blocks. For Plate 3, the Harwell Laboratory team u
sed
the Timeo Flight Di raction techniue or simultaneous search, detection and
sizing, as a demonstration o the limitations o applying Timeo Flight Di rac
tion in
the un avourable nearsur ace geometry. The team rom Risley Nuclear Laboratorie
s used Timeo Flight Di raction only or sizing, a ter detection o the de ect
s by
a 70 twin cry tal com
re ion-wave
ul e-echo technique.
Plate 4 wa de igned to imulate the more com
licated geometry of the PWR
nozzle inner radiu . The urface wa
re
ared to a final value of 3 m average rou
ghne . On Plate 4, Harwell u ed a coar e ra ter Time-of-Flight Diffraction can
for
detection, followed by more detailed izing can , while Ri ley u ed method im
ilar to tho e they u ed on Plate 3. A mean error in Plate 3 of 1.0 mm wa achiev
ed
by Harwell and 0.6 mm by Ri ley with tandard deviation of 2.6 mm and 2.0 mm
re
ectively. In Plate 4 the mean error found were 1.9 mm by Harwell and 2.8 mm
by Ri ley with tandard deviation of 1.4 mm and 6.1 mm re
ectively. Full detai
l
of the Harwell in
ection of the e
late can be found in the
a
er by Charle w
orth
and Hawker [1984] and Stringfellow and Perring [1984]. Note that the above re ul
t are ba ed on the de tructive re ult for Plate 3 and 4 a re
orted by Lock e
t al.
[1983] and not im
ly on the intended defect ize re
orted by Watkin et al. [1
984].
Exce
t for very mall defect , there i a general tendency to over ize the crack
in
both Plate 3 and 4.
8.5
The PISC II
rogramme
The Programme for the In
ection of Steel Com
onent (PISC II) carried out betwe
en 1981 and 1986 [PISC, 1986d] con tituted a more detailed evaluation of the
be t
erformance obtainable with modern ultra onic technique under o
timal con-
8.5. The PISC II
rogramme
165
dition . The international
rogramme grew from PISC I which wa aimed at e tabli
hing the ca
ability of ASME Code Section XI ultra onic
rocedure.
The PISC I
rogramme which ran between 1976 and 1980 wa de igned to inve tigate
the a

ro
riatene of the 1974 ASME Code, Section XI, ultra onic in
ection

rocedure for detecting, izing and entencing flaw in nuclear reactor
re ure
ve el com
onent . The round-robin trial involved three
late , each 200 mm thi
ck and
containing a number of artificially induced flaw , being hi

ed to ten countrie
in
turn where a number of team a

lied ASME XI technique or a elected et of alt
ernative ultra onic in
ection technique . The re ult were re
orted in 1980 to
the
CSNI Working Grou
on Safety A
ect of Steel Com
onent in Nuclear In tallation
. The Working Grou
noted the urgent need for further work to develo
the
alternative technique which were een a being able to cover the weakne e of
the
then conventional ultra onic in
ection technique . The re ult obtained in PISC
I
were highly variable between team . A number of team , working to the 1974 ASME
XI
rocedure under ized large crack
er
endicular to the
late urface (the cr
itical
direction from a fracture mechanic
oint of view). When the e ex
erimental flaw
ize were
lotted on an ASME acce
t/reject diagram, they alway a

eared clo er
to acce
table than the true flaw ize . Conver ely a number of team over ized
mall
flaw . In contra t, the alternative
rocedure did ignificantly better at both
detection
and izing [Crutzen, 1988].
The in
ection in PISC II took
lace more recently than tho e in the Defect
Detection Trial , although effort available to
artici
ate wa more limited and
the
re ult were not obtained on the full range of
ecimen . Time-of-Flight Diffrac
tion
wa u ed by one team in PISC II a a tand-alone detection and izing tool and b
y
another team for izing only. Both team achieved better than average izing re
ult . The re ult on the nozzle geometrie have been di cu ed in Section 6.6; h
ere
we note the re ult obtained on Plate 2, in which the mean through-wall ize err
or
obtained by Harwell with Time-of-Flight Diffraction wa 6 mm with an a ociated
tandard deviation of 13 mm. On the nozzle
late (Plate 3) the mean error wa 8
mm
(over izing) with an a ociated tandard deviation of 13 mm. Ri ley Nuclear Labo
ratorie achieved a mean izing accuracy of 1.3 mm (undersizing) with an associat
ed
standard deviation o 7.0 mm on the nozzle Plate 3 using Timeo Flight Di ract
ion
[Rogerson et al., 1988]. These results or Plate 3 are particularly noteworthy,
since
they demonstrate that good results can be obtained in di icult geometries.
Plate 1 was not attempted, since it contained so many parent metal de ects that
large areas o the plate would have been described as a single de ect i the ind
ications
had been combined together according to standard proximity rules such as those i
n
ASMEXI.
On the whole, the de ects in PISC II were not as care ully manu actured as those
in the De ect Detection Trials, since several de ects were badly introduced and
their
envelopes resulted in very large de ects, or the de ects were surrounded by sate
llites
which modi ied the detection rate o the de ects [PISC, 1986a,b].
The PISC II roundrobin trials were developed to demonstrate the e ectiveness
o inservice inspection and to cover de ects in the size range 20 to 70 mm thro
ugh
166
Chapter 8. Experimental Demonstrations o Capability
wall extent which had not been covered in PISC I. In the spirit o testing inse
rvice
inspections, teams had to write procedures or their inspections and then ollow
these
during the trials. The scheme or evaluating the results o the trial was worked
out
in detail in advance. The plates used in PISC I had been o relatively old types
o
steel manu actured to older acceptance standards so techniues were developed o
r
implanting arti icial de ects into plate o the cleaner material typical o more
modern
production. A summary o the plates and the de ects in them is given in Table 8.
4
[ rom Nichols and Crutzen, 1988a].
In summarising the results rom many teams rom several countries, and several
di erent procedures, Nichols and Crutzen conclude that TOFD alone is ound in
this work capable o doing most o the job and it is clear that a combination o
techniues involving TOFD must reach high per ormances [Nichols and Crutzen,
1988b]. The teams using TOFD were care ul to point out that they did not claim t
he
techniue was capable o detecting de ects very near to, or penetrating, the cla
dding
layer.
In trials such as PISC, it would be prohibitively expensive to provide enough de
ects to be able to put tight con idence bounds on the results. In principle, i
all the
de ects in PISC II were taken to represent a single class o de ects, there are
enough
de ects to establish a lower bound o 99% reliability with 95% con idence (see S
ection 8.1.1 in this chapter and Section A.10 o the Appendix). In practice the
de ects
cannot all be classed as similar. However, while the numbers o de ects in each
class
were not su icient or really high con idence in the inspection per ormance to
be
established, there were enough to indicate a good mean level o reliability.
8.6
The PISC III Programme
Nuclear reactor pressure vessels and primary circuit pipes are o ten made rom m
aterials which are not homogeneous and isotropic and neither are the geometries
o
nozzles simple. These additional complications, treated individually in Chapter
6
o this book, might lead to ine ective nondestructive inspection i the techni
ues
employed were designed incorrectly. It was, there ore, logical to extend the tes
ting
o ultrasonic inspection techniues to materials more similar to those ound in
real
reactors; with more realistic, though still arti icially inserted laws; in geom
etries
more akin to those in actual reactors. This aim was ul illed by the PISC III se
ries o
experimental roundrobin trials completed in 1993, with destructive evaluation a
nd
assessment o the results a terwards.
The materials used, austenitic stainless steels, are characterised by a tendency
or
weld metal or cast material to solidi y with a grain size o several millimetres
and or
the grains to show a degree o crystallographic alignment, governed by the direc
tion
o heat low during solidi ication. These grains are comparable with, or larger
than,
the wavelength o ultrasound which would otherwise be the best to use or inspec
tions. Because o this large grain size, relative to the ultrasonic wavelength u
sed,
the material exhibits anisotropy, with di erent wavespeeds in di erent directi
ons.
Because the crystal axes o neighbouring grains are not exactly aligned, the ult
ra
Plate Country o
manu acture
Type o
specimen
Welding
process
Plate
material
1
Germany
Flat
longitudinal
weld in clad
plate
Submerged
arc under
lower bound
conditions
20MnMoNi 1050
1040
248
2
United
Kingdom
Flat
longitudinal
weld in clad
plate
Automatic
submerged
arc
ASME
SA533B
Class 1
1525
1525
250
3
Italy & CEC
Curved with
clad nozzle
Automatic
submerged
arc
ASME
SA533B
Class 1
2300
2600
250
ASME
SA508
Class 2
Automatic
submerged
arc
ASME
SA533B
Class 1
1950
1950
200
ASME
SA508
Class 2
9
Japan
Flat with
nozzle, clad
Plate
Nozzle
dimensions material
(mm)
Total
weight
(103 N)
No. o Type o de ect
de ects
21.5
20
Fabrication de ects
45
27
Service induced
de ects
PWR nozzle
OD 1370
ID 709
weld c/line
= 1530
156
40
Service induced &
welding de ects
Inner radius cracks
BWR nozzle
OD 535
ID 292
weld c/line
= 890
65
Nozzle
dimensions
(mm)
3
17
3
167
Subsur ace laws
including cold cracks
and lack o usion
Fatigue cracks at
nozzle inner radius
o depth 15, 25 &
25 mm. One o the
25 mm cracks was
repaired
8.6. The PISC III Programme
Table 8.4 The test plates used in the PISC II programme and the de ects they con
tained.
168
Chapter 8. Experimental Demonstrations o Capability
Table 8.5 Results obtained by the Risley Nuclear Laboratory (UKAEA) on PISC II
Plate 3 using high sensitivity pulseecho detection with TOFD and SAFT
sizing. The igures represent mean error and standard deviation in mm.
Sizing
Location
Throughwall (z)
De ect location and size
Acrossweld (x)
De ect thickness
Alongweld (y)
De ect length
1.3  7.0
2.1  7.1
0.6  9.2
2.4  6.6
0.6  15.5
0.4  11.5
Table 8.6 Results obtained by the Harwell Laboratory (UKAEA) on PISC II Plate
2 using TOFD detection and sizing. The igures represent mean error and
standard deviation in mm.
Sizing
Location
Throughwall (z)
De ect location and size
Acrossweld (x)
De ect thickness
Alongweld (y)
De ect length
1.0  13.0
3.0  9.0
N/A
2.0  3.0
14.0  22.0
3.0  5.0
sonic properties vary rom place to place, making the material inhomogeneous. Th
e
e ect on the ultrasonic inspection can be likened to looking through rosted gl
ass
into a distorting mirror and trying to make accurate estimates o the size o a
dimly
discerned object.
PISC III de ined eight areas o study (actions), with di erent material types,
geometries and scale o specimen. Only two o the actions were relevant to the
subject o this book. They were:
Action 3 Nozzles and dissimilar metal welds. "A roundrobin test o our sa een
d
welds representing some o the most di icult technical aspects o inservice
inspection" [Crutzen, 1994]. The specimens were a JapaneseItalian BWR
assembly with a nozzle and sa eend; an American BWR assembly with two
nozzles and sa eends; and a Spanish PWR sa eend. These were inspected in
13 countries and we present some conclusions relevant to TOFD.
Action 4 Austenitic steel testing. This involved di erent con igurations o aus
tenitic
material. There were wroughttowrought joins, wroughttocast joins, and
casttocast joins. Each has a distinctive grain structure and di ering degrees
o inspection di iculty. We present results rom this study.
8.6.1
PISC III Action 3 Nozzles and dissimilar metal welds
Three specimens representative o reactor BWR and PWR pressure vessel sa eend
welds, PWR steam generator and surge line dissimilar metal welds, were used in t
his
roundrobin trial o inservice inspection techniues.
8.6. The PISC III Programme
169
A26
B13
B16
A32
A24
Assembly 21
B20
F21
F22
F15 F24
F16
G18
G17
G19
E20
E27
Assembly 24
I3 I2 I1 I4
I5
H10 H7 H8 H9
Assembly 25
Carbon steel
Cast stainless steel
Wrought stainless steel
Inconel weld
Stainless steel cladding
Stainless steel weld
Fig. 8.7 Flaw distribution in the assemblies used in PISC III, Action 3 (Redrawn
rom Dombret [1994]).
A single UK team was resourced rom AEA Technology, Nuclear Electric, Babcock En
ergy, Rolls Royce and Associates and OIS. The team was led by Nuclear
Electric and the assemblies were examined in Nuclear Electrics Wythenshawe labora
tory. Pulseecho inspection using an RTD Primscan scanner, the MIPS/GUIDE
so tware and commercially available compression wave probes. Sizing made use
o the pulseecho results and Timeo Flight Di raction measurements made with
a
Zipscan instrument. Good detection per ormance was achieved except or two large
de ects, one in Assembly 21 and one in Assembly 25, which were not detected. Pri
or
170
Chapter 8. Experimental Demonstrations o Capability
10
5
0
5
PE
WT2
YR
OE
WT1
XR
RY
15
VT
10
VY
Sizing error (mm)
15
Team
Fig. 8.8 Sizing errors or de ects in PISC III assembly 21.
10
PE
WT2
YR
OE
WT1
XR
RY
10
VT
0
VY
Sizing error (mm)
20
Team
Fig. 8.9 Sizing errors or de ects in PISC III assembly 22.
to the tests, the team had considered the weld designs and modelled the inspecti
on
using RayTrAIM [Harker et al., 1991] with a structure based on what in ormation
could be gleaned rom the drawings and on assumptions about the structure to be
expected rom the horizontalvertical welding position. When the structures were
inally revealed they turned out to be radically di erent rom what had been as
sumed
and the ailure to detect some de ects was thereby explained. This experience se
rved
to emphasise the wisdom o ollowing the normal UK practice which reuires uali
ication welds to be made so that the macrostructure o welds o each characteri
stic
type can be studied prior to ultrasonic inspection.
Figure 8.7 shows the distribution o de ects in Assemblies 21, 24 and 25. Result
s
or mean sizing error and associated standard deviation are given or each team
and
8.6. The PISC III Programme
171
Sizing error (mm)
15
10
5
0
5
15
YR
VY
HM
TX
XR
RZ
RY
NG
JK
VT
OE
PE
OF
QZ
UW
10
Team
Fig. 8.10 Sizing errors or de ects in PISC III assembly 24.
Sizing error (mm)
15
10
5
0
5
15
FN
IK
JK
LI
MHo
MHi
MH
NG
OE
RY
VT
VY
WT
XR
ZQ
10
Team
Fig. 8.11 Sizing errors or de ects in PISC III assembly 25.
assembly in Figures 8.8, 8.9, 8.10 and 8.11.
The combined UK team using TOFD sizing is team VT. These represent inspection o
25 laws intentionally introduced into the assemblies. O these 25 laws, 3
were located in the thermal sleeve area o Assembly 24; 13 in the dissimilar met
al
welds and 9 in the homogeneous welds [Dombret, 1994].
8.6.2
PISC III Action 4 Austenitic welds
Action 4 comprised three separate trials. One was a series o six wroughttowro
ught
stainless steel assemblies numbered 31 to 36, containing a range o laws such a
s intergranular stress corrosion cracking, atigue cracks and electricdischarge
machined
slots. A second trial used the wroughttocast assembly number 51. This assembly
8
6
4
2
0
2
4
6
8
NJ(20)
YC(9)
WX(9)
WA(10)
RF(24)
KM(24)
XW(10)
VZ(21)
JN(21)
HL(22)
PH(20)
FJ(20)
OI(22)
EI(18)
YY(11)
SE(9)
NR(11)
GK(15)
DH(26)
UZ(14)
MK(20)
QG(11)
Chapter 8. Experimental Demonstrations o Capability
Sizing error (mm)
172
Team
Fig. 8.12 Mean sizing errors and standard deviations or the participating teams
or
the wroughttowrought assemblies o PISC III Action 4.
was a large wrought stainless steel pipe section with a centri ugally cast secti
on
welded on one end. At the other end a short section o centri ugally cast stainl
ess
steel pipe elbow was welded to the wrought pipe. The whole assembly was about 3
m
long, 1 m in diameter, weighed 5750 kg and caused some handling di iculties. Th
e
third trial used casttocast assemblies 41, 42 and 43. One o these pipe assemb
lies
was welded into a support with good access and contained two seam welds. The
other two assemblies were made by cutting a pipe into sections, growing or impla
nting laws in the sections and then welding all the pieces back together again
into two
cylinders with extensions on the ends to provide necessary inspection runouts.
PISC Report 33 [Lematre and Kobl, 1995a] covers the ultrasonic inspection
results o the wroughttowrought assemblies numbers 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36.
Six wroughttowrought assemblies were inspected by 23 teams rom 10 di erent
countries. In total 26 laws were introduced. These comprised 12 intergranular s
tress
corrosion cracks, 4 atigue cracks, 7 sur ace breaking and 2 embedded notches, a
nd 1
lack o weldroot penetration. Amongst the conclusions drawn it was noted that (
sic)
"The key o success to per orming a good depth sizing o sur acebreaking cracks
is the capability to detect crack tip di ractions. Amplitude drop methods are n
ot
suited to size the depth o sur ace breaking cracks" and "An ASME type per orman
ce
demonstration test was simulated. It was con irmed that the detection and the a
lse
call per ormance were satis actory but that the sizing per ormance was poor. O
the 11 teams considered or the simulation 10 were success ul or detection, 9
or
alse calls, 3 or depth sizing and none or length sizing. The three teams that
were
success ul or depth sizing all made use o crack tip di raction. Two o them a
lso
used mode conversion." The mean sizing error and standard deviation are shown in
Figure 8.12. The numbers in brackets are the number o de ects used in determini
ng
the mean and standard deviation o sizing error or that team. The UK team using
8.6. The PISC III Programme
173
Table 8.7 Number o alse calls on the wroughttowrought assemblies or each
team participating in PISC III Action 4; the igure in parentheses is the
number o alse calls classed as rejectable laws.
Team Weld
DH
EI
FJ
GK
HL
JN
KM
LP
MK
NJ
NR
PH
OI
QG
RF
SE
UZ
VZ
WA
WX
XW
YC
YY
0
1(0)
0
0
6(4)
0
0
1(0)
1(1)
0
0
0
0
0
0
2(2)
0
0
0
0
0
1(0)
0
Heat
a ected
zone HAZ
Weld plus
HAZ
Counterbore
Base
material
Total
False
rejects
3(1)
0
0
0
4(0)
0
6(1)
5(2)
0
3(0)
1(0)
0
4(3)
0
1(0)
1(0)
3(1)
1(0)
0
4(3)
0
4(0)
6(6)
1(0)
1(1)
0
0
2(1)
0
0
0
0
0
0
1(1)
11(11)
0
1(1)
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1(1)
0
0
0
25(9)
0
0
1(1)
0
0
1(0)
0
0
5(5)
0
1(0)
0
0
0
0
0
0
1(0)
0
21 (0)
0
0
2(0)
0
0
1(1)
0
3(1)
0
0
0
0
1(1)
0
0
0
4
2
0
25
13
0
9
6
1
6
1
1
21
0
6
3
3
1
0
5
0
13
7
1
1
0
9
5
0
2
2
1
0
0
1
20
0
2
2
1
0
0
4
0
0
7
0
0
0
8(0)
0
1. False calls due to seam weld
TOFD sizing is team FJ. This team was ormed rom personnel and techniues
supplied by AEA Technology, Nuclear Electric, Babcock Energy and Rolls Royce
and Associates.
In di icult inspection tasks such as these, it is possible to increase detectio
n rate
by increasing sensitivity. This leads to more alse calls which, i classed as r
ejectable
laws would lead to expensive grinding out and reworking o material. The alse
call
rates reported in PISC III Report 33 [Lematre and Kobl, 1995a] are reproduced in
Table 8.7.
PISC Report 34 gives the results o the casttocast trial. In the UK it was not
possible to resource a team to carry out inspections on the casttocast materia
l.
PISC Report 35 [Lematre and Kobl, 1995b] gives details o the results o ultrason
ic inspections rom the wroughttocast weld on assembly 51 and rom the weld
between the wrought and centri ugally cast material in assembly 43. Assembly 43
174
Chapter 8. Experimental Demonstrations o Capability
Table 8.8 False calls on the wroughttocast assemblies or each team participat
ing
in PISC III Action 4; the igure in parentheses is the number o alse calls
classed as rejectable laws.
Team WCC431 CCW512 WSC513 Total False rejects
AT
DH
EI
FJ
NM
PH
UZ
YC
YY
ZD2
0(0)
N/I4
2(0)
N/I
0(0)
0(0)
N/I
34(23)
2(0)
N/I
0(0)
0(0)
1(0)
0(0)
2(2)
0(0)
0(0)
N/I
N/I
1(0)
1(1)
1(0)
0(0)
1(0)
N/I
0(0)
N/I
N/I
N/I
3(0)
1
1
3
1
2
0
0
34
2
4
1
0
0
0
2
0
0
23
0
0
1. Wrought to centri ugally cast weld in assembly 43
2. Centri ugally cast to wrought weld in assembly 51
3. Wrought to statically cast weld in assembly 51
4. N/I signi ies not inspected
also contained another weld, between two sections o centri ugally cast material
. A
single team rom the UK carried out the inspections reported and was a combinati
on o personnel and techniues supplied by AEA Technology and Nuclear Electric
(now British Energy).
The alse call rates o the di erent teams are shown in Table 8.8. Some o the
conclusions drawn in the report on inspection o wroughttocast stainless steel
s are (sic):
The best detection results were obtained with twin crystal compression wave
probes working at 1 MHz with an angle o incidence o 45 or 60 .
The u e of focu ing
robe did not im
rove ub tantially the detection
erforman
ce. However, the focu ing
robe technique eem
romi ing for de
th
izing.
The detection
erformance of the hear wave
robe wa in general lower
than that of the com
re ion wave
robe .
De
th izing
roved to be difficult in the e a emblie . Therefore, more effort
hould be devoted to develo

robe that ex
loit crack ti
diffraction. In thi
re
ect the focu ing
robe eem
romi ing.
Mean izing error and a ociated tandard deviation are hown in Figure 8.13.
The
UK team i FJ.
8.7. Com
ari on of TOFD with radiogra
hic in
ection
175
10
DH
NM
YC
AT
FJ
EI
YY
10
PH
0
UZ
Sizing error (mm)
20
Team
Fig. 8.13 Mean sizing errors and associated standard deviations or the wrought
tocast welds in PISC III Action 4.
8.7
Comparison o TOFD with radiographic inspection
The Netherlands Institute o Welding (NIL) organised a testblock trial in round
robin ashion with a series o arti icial workpieces ranging in thickness rom 6
mm15mm. This roundrobin trial and the results have been reported by Stelwagen
[1995]. Some 21 workpieces, containing a total o 244 arti icial, but very reali
stic, de ects were inspected by eleven methods. The de ects included lack o us
ion,
lack o weld penetration, slag, cracks and gas inclusions. The aim o the trials
was
to compare mechanised ultrasonic methods with more traditional NDT approaches
so inspection methods ranged rom mechanised ultrasonic scanning, to manual ultr
asonic tests and included radiography. In all, eleven approaches were used, each
adhering rigidly to a prede ined written inspection procedure. O these eleven m
ethods, a total o seven were or mechanised ultrasonic inspection: three using
TOFD
and our using pulseecho. Completing the set were manual ultrasonic inspection
and three distinct radiographic techniues. One o the outcomes o this roundro
bin
exercise was a clear demonstration o the bene it o using combined pulseecho a
nd
TOFD giving excellent de ect detection and de ect sizing. This is shown in Figur
e 8.14 which plots a per ormance actor. Both missed de ects and alse calls wer
e
used to de ine the per ormance actor. As a result o this trial, MicroPlus, the
world
leader in commercially available TOFD euipment, now o ers a unit which collect
s
both pulseecho and TOFD data simultaneously in a single pass. This approach has
been used by AEA Technology or NDT o a pipeline during pipelaying operations
in Brazil, in pre erence to radiography, saving time without losing uality o N
DT
in ormation and so saving the pipelaying company money.
The signi icance o the NIL study or the establishment o standards appropriate
to the TOFD techniue is discussed in Section 10.2.
176
Chapter 8. Experimental Demonstrations o Capability
100%
POD
FCR
80%
Reliability
60%
40%
PE
Manueel
Gamma
XRay
PE
Lijnscan
PE
Meander
0%
TOFD
20%
Fig. 8.14 Comparison o TOFD with other NDT techniues, organised by the
Netherlands Institute o Welding [Stelwagen, 1995]. POD is probability o detect
ion, FCR is alse call rate and Reliability is the probability o
correct classi ication.
8.8
Sizing accuracy o TOFD compared with amplitude based techniues
Ammirato and Willetts [1989] record the results o a roundrobin test o sizing
accuracy by a variety o amplitude based techniues and by TOFD. Two measures o
accuracy are reuired. First there is the average error attained by a particular
techniue over the set o arti icial de ects. Second there is a measure o how
variable
the results are, again or a particular techniue, over the set o arti icial de
ects. The
measure o this is the standard deviation o the results about the mean. A per e
ct
techniue would have zero mean error and would also have zero standard deviation
.
Good techniues will there ore have small values or these two measures. Ammirat
o
and Willetts [1989] give the results illustrated in Figure 8.15.
To understand the signi icance o such numbers we need irst to know what the
de ect set used was. In this case, intentional laws had been introduced into th
e test
pieces to represent three classes o cracks o particular interest to the nuclea
r power
generation industry. These were cracks under the cladding; de ects embedded in
welds; and de ects in nozzletoshell welds. For these realistic de ects, approp
riate
to a clad, thickwalled, pressure vessel, we see that TOFD would be the pre erre
d
techniue with the other di racted signal method, backward scattering tip di r
action
8.9. Implications or structural integrity
14
50\% DAC
20\% DAC
20\% DAC with beamspread correction
12
Standard deviation (mm)
177
10
8
6
4
6dB drop
Backward scattering
tip di raction
2
TOFD
0
2
0
2
4
6
8 10
Mean error (mm)
12
14
Fig. 8.15 Comparison o the accuracy o TOFD and amplitudebased ultrasonic
techniues [a ter Ammirato and Willetts, 1989].
a second choice, ollowed by the 6 dB drop method.
The act that standard deviations or the various sizing methods have been uote
d
could be taken to imply that the sizing errors are random and distributed accord
ing to
the Normal distribution. This would imply that errors could be reduced by repeat
ed
measurements, so that, or instance, the 6 dB drop method could eual the accura
cy
o TOFD i repeated 20 times. This is probably ar rom the truth, since a large
part
o the spread in sizing results is likely to be related to the range o de ect t
ypes and
geometries employed in the trial. The use o the standard deviation is a conveni
ent
way o indicating the spread o measurements, rather than a precise statement ab
out
the distribution o results.
8.9
Implications or structural integrity
The de ects o most concern in typical engineering structures are those which co
uld
lead to ailure. This usually means planar, cracklike de ects orientated perpen
dicular to the principal stresses. Fracture mechanics criteria o one orm or an
other
can be used to give precise de initions o a critical de ect size or a given ma
terial
strength and loading. These criteria can be chosen rom linear elastic racture
mechanics or can include elasticplastic analysis and will not be discussed in a
ny more
detail here. One common set o rules or assessing de ect signi icance, based on
linear elastic racture mechanics, is Section XI o the Boiler and Pressure Ves
sel Code
o the American Society o Mechanical Engineers [ASME, 1974,1977,1983]. Silk
178
Chapter 8. Experimental Demonstrations o Capability
carried out a study to determine whether Timeo Flight Di raction data obtaine
d
with the then current Zipscan euipment were compatible with the reuirements o
the ASMEXI code [Silk, 1987b]. The study evaluated the Timeo Flight Di racti
on techniue, in its basic search and sizing role, against the reuirements o t
he
ASMEXI code and a modi ied version o the code which is close to the European
industrial norm. Silk concluded that Operation in con ormity with ASMEXI is expe
cted to be possible or all internal de ects and or all de ects which lie deepe
r than
30% o the specimen thickness in steel specimens exceeding 12 mm in thickness. O
peration in con ormity with the modi ied code is expected to be possible or all
de ects
in steel specimens exceeding 10 mm in thickness. These conclusions applied only t
o
the basic use o Timeo Flight Di raction, as it was commonly applied in the
ield
with Zipscan euipment. When the techniue was used to size known de ects, or in
specialised uses such as nuclear pressure vessel inspections, higher precision c
ould
be achieved by tailoring the euipment and methods or the speci ic task.
As well as engineering codes o practice, such as ASMEXI, which concern the
acceptability o de ects o di erent sizes, locations and orientations, other w
ays o
assessing de ect signi icance and the relationship between the reliability and p
recision o nondestructive testing techniues and structural integrity have bee
n developed. Marshall [1982] and Lucia and Volta [1983] used probabilistic analy
ses to
determine the size range, aspect ratio and location o the laws which have the
greatest in luence on integrity o the pressure vessel o a PWR during possible
accident
seuences. As we have already seen in Section 8.4, the greatest contribution to
the
vessel ailure rate is expected rom cracks in a limited size range, which depen
ds
both on the chance that cracks in that size range will be present and the chance
that
the material properties in the region o the crack will be such that the crack i
s o
a critical size or some possible transient stress. The cracks contributing most
to
the predicted ailure rate, under conditions appropriate to large losso coolan
t accidents (LOCAs) or steam line breaks, are those planar, cracklike laws ori
entated
perpendicular to the principal stresses (i.e. lying in planes perpendicular to t
he pressure retaining sur aces) and with a throughwall extent o between 10 and
50 mm
[Cameron, 1984]. The most important locations o the cracks are the nozzletosh
ell
weld, nozzle corners and the beltline welds, and these are, there ore, the geom
etries
appropriate or testblock exercises. For conservatism in predictions o the ai
lure
rate o vessels, it is usually assumed that the cracks are all sur ace breaking
or at
least would be classed as sur acebreaking cracks according to proximity rules s
uch
as given by ASME [1974,1977,1983]. I the assumption that the cracks are all nea
r
the sur ace is not valid then the estimated ailure rates o vessels decrease by
at least
three orders o magnitude [Lucia and Volta, 1983].
The hazard presented by the ailure o a component should determine the reliabil
ity reuired o that component. I the component is reuired to survive various
possible excess transient stresses, or example, then nondestructive testing ma
y well
be used to identi y lawed components be ore any catastrophic ailure occurs.
A de ect is classi ied as unacceptable i it poses a threat to the integrity o
the
structure and acceptable i it does not. Basing his assessment on probabilistic
rac
8.9. Implications or structural integrity
179
ture mechanics applied to analysis o the expected ailure rate o PWR pressure
vessels, Marshall [1982] suggested a target to be achieved or the reliability o
classi ying de ects according to their throughwall extent. The throughwall e
xtent is, o
course, precisely what the Timeo Flight Di raction techniue measures, wherea
s,
or other inspection techniues, it may only be derivable indirectly. Marshalls t
arget
was a 50% chance o detecting and correctly classi ying a de ect o 6 mm through
wall extent coupled with a 95% chance o detecting and correctly classi ying a d
e ect
o throughwall extent 25 mm. This is now believed to be a conservative estimate
o the reliability o ultrasonic techniues but nevertheless yields a ailure ra
te o
107 per vessel year or a PWR pressure vessel. In general, probabilistic racture
mechanics assessments have assumed that a single parameter o the de ect, throug
hwall size, governs the likelihood o vessel ailure. However, this parameter is
not
what is measured most readily by most ultrasonic inspections except by Timeo Fl
ight Di raction.
Even i the chance o ailing to correctly classi y a de ect were as low as 104
independent o de ect throughwall extent, then the ailure rate o the pressure
vessel
would only decrease to a little below 108 per vessel year. Thus there is a limit
to the
advantage that can be gained by increasing the inherent capability o inspection
techniues. There are many assumptions in these analyses which are beyond the s
cope
o our present brie discussion. For more detail the reader is re erred to Marsh
all
[1982] and Cameron [1984]. Section A.12 o the Appendix discusses these points i
n
a little more detail.
The important point is that targets outlined above de ine a scale or how reliab
le
inspection should be or the pressure vessel o a pressurised water reactor. As
we
have shown, Timeo Flight Di raction can achieve much greater accuracy and rel
iability than this target. The act that such per ormance is also possible with
well
designed conventional pulseecho methods gives con idence that diverse techniue
s
are available in situations where the highest per ormance is demanded.
This page intentionally le t blank
Chapter 9
Applications o Timeo Flight
Di raction
As we have demonstrated in earlier chapters, the Timeo Flight Di raction tech
niue is a power ul and accurate tool; it is now routinely used to size de ects
in a
large range o components both as a complement to detection by more conventional
methods and in standalone applications where both detection and sizing are carr
ied
out by Timeo Flight Di raction.
It is in the nature o routine applications that they rarely give rise to publis
hed
papers. Much o the work cited in this chapter on applications could more accura
tely be described as studies o capability, undertaken be ore embarking on routi
ne
deployment o the techniue. Some o the applications have been re erred to in e
arlier chapters but are presented here again to make this survey as comprehensiv
e as
possible. The content o the cited papers is described only brie ly and the read
er is
re erred to the original re erences or greater detail.
Wedgwood [1995] reviews the advantages and disadvantages o TOFD visvis other ul
trasonic inspection methods, citing better reliability as one o the major
reasons or choosing TOFD. He describes some applications o TOFD to o shore
and nuclear plant but does not attempt a comprehensive list o all applications
to
date. In the ollowing sections we present applications grouped into speci ic ar
eas.
9.1
Watercooled nuclear pressure vessels and nozzles
RollsRoyce and Associates Limited has been involved in the design, procurement
and operation o pressurised water reactors (PWRs) since 1959 [Anon., 1987]. Up
to mid1987, they had carried out 30 preservice and inservice inspections, and
had
more than twenty PWRs to inspect regularly with more under construction, giving
them, at that time, more experience than any other UK company in inspecting this
type o reactor. Since TOFD became well established, they have adopted it as one
o
their main inspection techniues.
181
182
Chapter 9. Applications o Timeo Flight Di raction
Browne [1988] describes inservice inspection o primary circuit nozzle and pipe
welds in a German nuclear power station, citing reliability and accuracy as the
reason
or choosing the TOFD techniue.
Lilley [1989] describe the detection and sizing o underclad cracks in a errit
ic
component clad with austenite, using the TOFD techniue rom the unclad erritic
sur ace, so that the crack signals appear near the backwall echo.
Pitcher [1989] used TOFD to inspect a circum erential weld in the primary circui
t
o a pressurised water reactor. The detailed procedure was validated with the ap
propriate regulatory authority. An advantage cited is the rapidity with which da
ta can
be collected, allowing analysis and processing to be carried out o line. Proce
ssing
techniues used included timetodepth linearisation to simpli y interpretation
and
synthetic aperture ocusing (SAFT) to improve resolution and signaltonoise rat
io.
PersAnderson [1991] describes the detection and repair o a crack in a eedwate
r nozzle o a boiling water reactor (BWR) in Sweden. It is not clear rom the
paper how the de ect was irst detected but it was monitored in service by both
TOFD
and an eddycurrent techniue. When it became clear that the crack was sur acebr
eaking, it was repaired during the next scheduled outage. Crack samples taken
during the repair were consistent with the ultrasonic results.
Daniels et al. [1996] describe the use o TOFD or sizing cracks in the eedwat
er
nozzles o PWR steam generators. System, procedure and personnel per ormance
were tested in blind trials at the EPRI NDE Center, Charlotte, NC, and the irst
"live"
use o the system was success ully completed at a nuclear power plant in the USA
.
The paper describes the sophisticated analysis tools provided to help the operat
ors
interpret the data and gives details o the per ormance achieved in the blind tr
ials. A
screenshot o one o the data analysis tools is reproduced in Figure 6.12.
Bloodworth [1999] describes the development o procedures or detection and
sizing o de ects in the nozzle to pipe attachment welds o a Swedish BWR. Both
the nozzle and the pipe are erritic steel with austenitic cladding on the inner
sur ace.
The accuracy reuired or throughthickness sizing o the de ects was 2.3 mm,
which is very demanding. A TOFD procedure was developed or this purpose and
achieved the reuired accuracy when tested on a uali ication specimen with docu
mented de ects. Data collection and analysis personnel subseuently passed uali
ication tests on blindtrial specimens. At the time o writing no nonTOFD proc
edure
had achieved the reuired accuracy. A screenshot o an analysis tool used in thi
s
work is reproduced in Figure 6.13.
9.2
Gascooled nuclear pressure vessels
An article in Nuclear Engineering International [Anon., 1992] reviews ultrasonic
inspection methods or the inspection o pressure vessels used in the gascoole
d Magnox reactors which are now operating beyond their design li e. Use o the T
OFD
techniue to produce realtime Dscan images has enabled a clear view o the de
ects in their true relative positions and size to be produced and this capabilit
y has
been central to the granting o plant li e extension.
9.3. Other nuclear components
183
Pennick [1993] gives a detailed description o the deployment o TOFD inspection
euipment on the pressure vessels o the Calder Hall and Chapelcross Magnox
reactors. The steel vessels contained one sur ace breaking de ect, less than 2 m
m
deep, and three buried de ects, all less than 25 mm long, with throughwall size
s o
2.4, 4.0 and 6.8 mm. These results were compared with previous inspection indin
gs
and with calculated limiting crack sizes. Destructive examination o the de ects
was
not possible, as the vessels were still in service.
9.3
Other nuclear components
Broere, Hagedoorn and Lodder [1991] describe the Nerason instrument or the ultr
asonic inspection o the internal bores o steamgenerator tubing. TOFD is one o

the techniues which can be deployed with this instrument.
Threaded studs and asteners are used to retain the top dome on a PWR pressure
vessel. Load cycling in service can sometimes gives rise to atigue cracks, usua
lly
developing rom the thread root. Gartside and Hurst [1994] have developed a syst
em
or TOFD inspection o the studs on the Sizewell B PWR vessel, deploying the
ultrasonic probes rom the heater hole in the bore o the stud.
9.4
Nonnuclear pressure vessels
Anliker and Cilauro [1988] used TOFD to detect, size and pro ile cracks on the
sur ace o a hot (200 C)
re ure ve el u ed in the
ul
and
a
er indu try.
In a trial made on a thick-walled
re ure ve el taken from the
etrochemical r
efining indu try, Yokote, I hizuka, Tahara, Bagda arian, Gougler and Stellina [1
994]
com
ared TOFD with the 6 dB dro
method for crack izing. The ve el , u ed a
hydro
roce ing reactor , were made from 2 14 Cr-1Mo teel clad in the in ide u
rface
with ucce ive layer of 310 and 308 au tenitic teel and were about 150 mm thi
ck.
They had been ex
o ed to 26 year ervice at high tem
erature and high hydrogen
level .
The
erformance of the ultra onic technique wa demon trated on te t block ,

rior to te ting the ve el . The five ve el crack te ted had
reviou ly been
detected u ing radiogra
hy and ultra onic
ul e-echo in
ection. Three of them w
ere
ectioned after the NDT te t and real crack de
th obtained from the macrogra
h
.
The re ult are hown in Table 9.1. Both
ul e-echo and TOFD a

ear to have
erf
ormed well but TOFD i de cribed a having excellent accuracy. Radiogra
hy wa
not ati factory.
9.5
Turbine and generator com
onent
Browne [1988] cite the u e of TOFD in the izing of crack in turbine di c . Li
lley
and Pitcher [1989] de cribe the detection and izing of crack in turbine rotor
haft .
184
Cha
ter 9. A

lication of Time-of-Flight Diffraction
Table 9.1 Re ult of crack izing trial on thick-walled
re ure ve el from t
he

etrochemical refining indu try [after Yokote et al., 1994].
In
ection technique
Block 5
6 dB dro

TOFD
Sectioning
165
160
150
145
100
90
40
59
Bock 6
Bock 15
210
140
110
180
They caim that axia cacks in the boe and adia cacks at the oute suface
ae
eadiy detected and sized using pobes on the boe suface and quotes a though
wa sizing accuacy of 0.1 mm. They aso epot that individua beach maks of a
gowing fatigue cack can be distinguished in a TOFD D-scan image, povided the
signas ae sepaated in time fom neighbouing ones by at east 1 12 wave peio
ds.
Ashwin [1989] has aso appied TOFD to etaining ings and tubine discs and
caims impoved sizing accuacy compaed with puse echo techniques as we as
eadie ecognition of defect signas.
Dube and Heeinge [1989] studied stess coosion cacking (SCC) and fatigue
cacking in ow pessue tubine otos used in nucea powe pant. Using a com
puteised TOFD system they wee abe to obtain apid and epeatabe esuts and
size
cacks on site.
In a study of sampes taken fom a ow pessue steam tubine oto, good ageem
ent was aso found between TOFD inspection data and destuctive examination. A
sizing accuacy of bette than 1.5 mm fo defects of actua height between 2.5 m
m
and 15 mm, with a consistent 0.75 mm undesizing [Heeinge and Sain, 1990].
Day [1992] used an automated TOFD system to inspect etaining ings fom a
geneato at a geothema powe pant in New Zeaand. These ings wee made fom
diffeent types of stee: cabon stee, austenitic stee and a matensitic stee
. Each
type of stee is associated with diffeent defect types and ocations and so dif
feent inspection pocedues ae appopiate. Faws in feitic and matensitic
mateia
coud be accuatey sized using TOFD and the advantage of such a capabiity was
demonstated by monitoing a known faw in a matensitic end ing. Stess coos
ion
cacking (SCC) at the back wa in end ings made fom austenitic stee coud no
t
be eiaby detected with conventiona utasonics. Howeve, using TOFD, it was
possibe to use the phase diffeences between the signas to distinguish cack-t
ip signas fom efections fom the back wa, o fom changes of fom which oc
cu with
shink fitting of the ings.
Nottingham and MacDonad [1988, 1989, 1990] wee aso concened with integanu
a SCC in etaining ings. Once again the advantage of being abe to poong
the ife of a fawed component by depoying an accuate cack sizing technique s
uch
as TOFD was demonstated. They found TOFD to be advantageous in disciminating c
acks fom geometic efectos and concuded that TOFD was the ony method
investigated which coud be used to estimate the depth of a cack with confidenc
e.
MacDonad [1990] descibed this wok at geate ength and epoted that SAFT p
o-
9.6. Offshoe stuctues
185
cessing of the TOFD data impoved the spatia esoution. At that time, he thoug
ht
that SAFT pocessing was too sow to be of pactica use; howeve, compute poc
essing speeds have inceased by a vey age facto since then, so this citicis
m
woud no onge appy.
9.6
Offshoe stuctues
Bainton et a. [1975] pubished an eay eview of the inspection equiements o
f
fixed offshoe patfoms and the possibe techniques which coud be used. At tha
t
time TOFD was in its infancy but was ecognised as having potentia fo appicat
ion
in this aea.
Gadne and Bosseaa [1984] epoted the esuts of appying the TOFD technique
to the sizing of defects in sampes eevant to offshoe stuctues. The sampe
s
used wee a butt wed between fat pates, a 90 T-butt weld and a ection of tubu
lar
node. Sizing accuracy of 1 mm wa achieved for defect more than 5 mm below
the in
ection urface.
Thi work led to a ucce ful erie of trial of a
rototy
e underwater izing
a

aratu in a diver training tank [Hawker et al., 1985; Newton et al., 1986]. T
he
UKAEA ub equently
atented equi
ment for a

lying TOFD to underwater tructure
[UKAEA, 1988]. Newton [1987] a e ed how in
ection
erformance might
be affected by com
re ive tre e cau ing crack tran
arency and, more recentl
y,
Newton [1990] reviewed the
rogram carried out by the Harwell Laboratory for th
e
off hore indu try, including the u e of TOFD to ize defect in ub ea node weld
.
O borne [1989] re
orted ucce ful trial of the TOFD method for monitoring
weld root condition of underwater
i
e weld . Browne [1990a] de cribed the a

li
cation of TOFD to detection of corro ion, weld defect and chemically induced
crack in
i
eline u ed to tran
ort oil in the North Sea. Browne and Verkooije
n
[1991]
ro
o ed the wider u e of TOFD for quality control during con truction of

i
eline for under ea u e. Lilley and O borne [1991] com
ared the u e of TOFD
with other ultra onic and radiogra
hic technique for in
ection of tubular com

onent for the oil and ga indu try and ugge ted that TOFD hould become the t
andard technique.
Winche ter [1989] de cribed a remotely o
erated underwater in
ection vehicle
de
loying a number of in
ection technique , including TOFD.
Wall, Haywood, Sle enger, Gunder on and Chilton [1990] re
orted a de ign
tudy for a remotely o
erated vehicle for in
ection of dee
water tendon and r
i er
with limited internal acce . The intention wa to u e TOFD for accurate izing
after
detection by other mean .
AEA Sonomatic a

lication of TOFD to weld in
ection wa recently reviewed
[Anon., 1996] and the Nautilu ub ea mani
ulator de cribed. Thi tool, which ca
n
a

ly TOFD a well a other in
ection technique , can be u ed for in
ection of
ri er , cai on , clo ure weld , acce window ,
iral weld ,
i
ework and bend
.
186
9.7
Cha
ter 9. A

lication of Time-of-Flight Diffraction
General weld in
ection and
lant monitoring
A novel a

lication of the technique incor
orate the u e of la er to generate
and
receive ultra ound [Scruby, Dewhur t, Hutchin and Palmer, 1981, 1982] to in
ec
t
hot teel billet for defect
rior to rolling.
Browne [1990b] argue that the TOFD technique hould not be confined only to
very demanding NDT a

lication but can be de
loyed a a very effective and ra
i
d
mean of defect detection, with meaningful re
orting on very many weld in
ectio
n
ta k at lower co t that i
o ible u ing more traditional method .
Verkooijen [1995] re
ort that the u e of the TOFD technique a an alternative t
o
radiogra
hy during the con truction of a refinery in Rotterdam ha re ulted in m
ajor
co t aving and increa ed confidence in the end-
roduct.
Takeuchi, Morimoto, Hamana, Taniguchi and Hiraga [1996] re
ort technique
u ed for in
ection of water
i
e and con tructional member in
ower tation
and
other
lant. The TOFD technique ha been ado
ted for increa ed accuracy.
9.8
Monitoring defect growth
Cecco and Broomfield [1984] mea ured the
rofile of fatigue crack in com
act
ten ion fracture
ecimen u ing the TOFD technique. Mudge [1980] de cribe the
u e of the technique for mea urement of fatigue
re-crack de
th in fracture toug
hne

ecimen . Sigmond and Lien [1980] u ed it to make in- itu mea urement of fatigu
e
crack growth in ingle notch bend
ecimen .
Silk, Hillier, Hammond and Jone [1986b] howed that TOFD wa a uitable
technique for monitoring defect growth in a hydrocracker reactor
re ure ve el
at Briti h Petroleum Grangemouth refinery. During
lant hutdown a cracked
region of the reactor wa monitored with four can taken over the
eriod 1982 t
o
1985. The
reci ion with which defect growth can be monitored de
end on the
equi
ment u ed, the
reci ion with which can can be re
eated from year to year
,
and the migration of growing crack from one can line to another with
o ition
and over time. Thi la t re triction im
o e a limit of about 0.7 mm on the ab o
lute
mea urement of defect through-wall extent, but doe not im
air the
erformance a
far a detecting change in defect ize. The e timated accuracie of 0.5 mm were
believed to have been achieved and detectable crack growth wa demon trated.
A engineering
ractice turn more toward de ign ba ed on likelihood of fractur
e failure, a e ed from an under tanding of fracture mechanic , and on the abil
ity
of NDT to e timate remaining ligament and crack ize , technique uch a Timeo
f-Flight Diffraction will become increa ingly im
ortant.
If the
reci ion of the technique can reach 0.1 mm or below, the monitoring of
the early tage of fatigue crack growth will be
o ible. Such an increa e in

reci ion will al o be beneficial in the in
ection of thin material or for the
near- urface
region of thick com
onent . Thi need ha already led to develo
ment in higher
frequencie and com
act-
ul e tran ducer o a to im
rove timing accuracy. Work
ha been carried out on
ul e com
re ion [Silk, 1987].
9.9. In
ection of teel bridge
187
Daw on, Clough and Silk [1989] develo
ed an automated ultra onic y tem to
mea ure the rate of growth of thermal fatigue crack in tainle teel cylinder
of
6 mm wall thickne , u ing the TOFD technique.
Silk [1989a] and Silk, Wha
ham and Hobb [1989] di cu way of extending
the life of com
onent by accurate monitoring of the ize of known flaw . They
ugge t that alternating current
otential dro
(ACPD) and TOFD can achieve the
required accuracy of 0.25 mm.
Ter
tra, Pa ma and van Woerkom [1989] de cribe the u e of TOFD to monitor
weld defect in a ve el which had already been in o
eration for 25 year . Previ
ou ly
detected crack were canned regularly along two ection of weld, one of 700 mm
length and 30 mm wall thickne , the other over 300 mm length in a wall thickne
of
22 mm were canned regularly to monitor
reviou ly detected crack . A a re ult
of
the high izing accuracy and re
roducibility within 0.75 mm obtainable with TOFD
,
it could be demon trated that the defect were table and the ve el could remai
n in
ervice. Even better re
eatability might have been obtained if the crack had bee
n le
irregular in ha
e and with a more reliable way of en uring that the
robe
laci
ng
wa the ame for ucce ive can .
In another tudy of flaw monitoring by Silk and Hobb [1990], the de
th of machi
ned lot wa increa ed in tage and in
ection were carried out with a
roced
ure which had been con tructed to minimi e error in a monitoring ituation. Two
ca e were tudied. In the fir t the tran ducer were left fixed in
lace whil t
the lot
were extended. Thi demon trated that notch exten ion could be mea ured to bette
r
than 0.1 mm. In the econd te t, however, the
robe were deliberately removed a
nd
re
laced at each tage. An RMS exten ion error of about 0.15 mm wa found with
a maximum error of 0.2 mm. Silk and Hobb concluded that TOFD i a
ractical
way of monitoring crack growth,
rovided care i taken to minimi e other ource
of
error.
Bergmann and Bergner [1994] have develo
ed a crack growth monitoring device ba e
d on the TOFD technique. It i e
ecially uitable for a

lication to mall
am
le uch a Char
y-ty
e bend
ecimen , for u e in fracture-mechanic te tin
g.
9.9
In
ection of teel bridge
One
articularly im
re ive a

lication i to izing of defect in teel bridge
[Mudge
and Duncumb, 1985]. Many of the teel bridge in exi tence have already een a
long ervice life and there i a wide
read de ire for more quantitative informa
tion
about their integrity. Since the turn of the century welded com
onent have been
increa ingly u ed and the tiffened
late or box ection con truction now common
involve long length of weld.
The Briti h Standard a

licable to bridge in
ection (BS 5400) now
lace greate
r
reliance than it formerly did on the ca
abilitie of non-de tructive te ting to
detect
and evaluate weld di continuitie from a tructural integrity view
oint. In the
United
State , the
rovi ion of the American Welding Society Structural Welding Code
AWS D1.1 are widely u ed to determine the acce
tability of weld . However, Mudge
188
Cha
ter 9. A

lication of Time-of-Flight Diffraction
and Duncumb howed that, u ing the e ultra onic
rocedure , which are ba ically

ul e-echo am
litude mea urement , a high
ro
ortion of crack with a ize equal
to 7.5% of the wall thickne were very likely to be acce
ted and there wa a 30
%
chance of acce
ting even larger flaw . The e larger flaw , incorrectly judged ac
ce
table, were all
lanar in nature. In com
ari on, on
ecimen re
re entative
of
tho e found in major ten ion flange on teel bridge tructure , Mudge and Duncu
mb
were able to achieve a mean accuracy of 0.2 mm with a tandard deviation of 1.0
mm
for the through-wall ize of 21
lanar defect in am
le 10 to 95 mm thick with
Time-of-Flight Diffraction izing. The 20 dB dro
technique a

lied to the ame
et
of defect yielded a mean accuracy of only 4.8 mm with a standard deviation o
3.1 mm. Mudge and Duncumb concluded that The very small sizes o signi icant
de ects or higher atigue classes in bridges preclude the use o probe movement
ultrasonic sizing techniues to evaluate them. Simple amplitude comparison techn
iues have also been shown to be inadeuate . . . Timeo Flight ultrasonic test
ing
does have the potential to size small laws . . .
There has been one report [Anon., 1998b] o the deployment o TOFD or inspectio
n o bridge components but it is disappointing that the work o Mudge and
Duncumb has not been ollowed up more widely.
9.10
Other applications o TOFD
As a search and sizing tool, the techniue is now used as a routine service by t
he National NDT Centre (AEA Technology), by the Welding Institute, by Atomic Ene
rgy
o Canada at Chalk River, by operators o shore in the North Sea and elsewhere,
and
also in France [de Vadder and Dosso, 1984].
Rusbridge and Roberts [1982] reported on the ultrasonic examination o arti icia
l
de ects in di usion bonded steel samples using Timeo Flight Di raction to de
tect
and size these very di icult de ects satis actorily.
Published Russian work has demonstrated the advantages o Timeo Flight Di rac
tion, both or cracks and or assessing the depth o the casehardening on mill
rolls or cold rolling o steels [Vopilkin, 1985].
9.11
Future potential
In the irst edition o this book, we speculated on uture applications o TOFD.
We
oresaw an increased application to cracking in thinwall tubing, to monitoring
o de ect growth and to inspection in highoperatingcost areas such the North S
ea. The
papers already cited in this chapter show that TOFD has made inroads into each o

those areas. We also expected that it would be more extensively used or austeni
tic
steel and other largegrained materials with di icult ultrasonic properties. In t
his
we were encouraged by an expectation o imminent advances in understanding o
how to optimise ultrasonic inspection o these materials, particularly through s
uch
techniues as digital signal processing. We have to con ess that we have not ou
nd
9.11. Future potential
189
any published evidence that major advances have occurred. Research e ort into
these materials was largely unded by the nuclear industry at that time and the
absence o progress probably re lects the act that nuclear power plant developm
ent has
e ectively ceased.
Given the probability that many applications have gone unrecorded outside the
organisation which carried them out, the picture is encouraging and a irms that
TOFD is now accepted as as standard ultrasonic techniue. There is room or some
concern about the position o NDT in general however, as a result o the increas
ing
dominance o inancial as opposed to technical expertise in the boardrooms o la
rge
engineeringbased organisations.
A compelling example is provided by the recent disruption to travel in the Unite
d
Kingdom caused by gaugecorner cracking in railway track [Coster, 2000]. A ter a
atal derailment on a curve at Hat ield, apparently caused by rail ailure, an e
mergency programme o track inspection over the whole network revealed that gaug
ecorner cracking was widespread [Anon., 2001c]. Severe speed restrictions were a
pplied during the time it took to replace about 450 miles o track. The track at
the site
o the accident was known to have been in poor condition or a considerable peri
od
and was due to be replaced the ollowing month [Anon., 2000] but manual ultrason
ic
tests had ailed to show the progressive deterioration in its condition. The man
ual
ultrasonic techniue applied had poor detection capability or cracks away rom
the
centre o the rail, had not been corrected or the rail cant and had per ormed b
adly
because o the poor condition o the rail sur ace [Anon., 2001a].
For some time prior to this accident, the O ice o the Rail Regulator had been
concerned about an apparent increase in the incidence o broken rails and, joint
ly
with the Health and Sa ety Executive, had commissioned a report rom Transportat
ion Technology Center Inc. [Sawley and Rie , 2000]. The report, published two
weeks a ter the Hat ield accident, raised a number o concerns about the track m
aintenance policies o Railtrack, the network owner, but only those concerning n
ondestructive testing will be mentioned here.
For a long period up to 1995, track inspection had been carried out by the Ultra
sonic Test Unit (UTU), a train itted with ultrasonic and eddycurrent inspectio
n
euipment, supplemented by manual ultrasonic inspection o areas where indicatio
ns had been ound. The UTU could operate at speeds up to 40 mph but detection
o de ects still relied on manual analysis o chart recorder output. Use o the
UTU
was abandoned in 1995, on the grounds that it produced too many alse calls, and
complete reliance was placed on manual inspection techniues reported in the pre
ss
to have had poor detection capability [Anon., 2001a]. The UTU is now to be recom
missioned and improved.
Railtrack is a large organisation which, given the nature o its business, might
be
expected to have an active research e ort in NDT. There is little evidence, how
ever,
o any attempt to develop improved inspection methods, or even to keep up with t
he
latest technology [Sawley and Rie , 2000]. A more orward looking policy would
have been to update the techniues and euipment o the UTU to solve the alse
call problem and allow more rapid and e icient deployment. I NDT techniues
190
Chapter 9. Applications o Timeo Flight Di raction
with good crack depth capability and good reproducibility had been employed, the
rate o deterioration could have been monitored and aulty track replaced in a t
imely
ashion. In that context new techniues like TOFD could have been considered or
deployment. It is reported that research into gaugecorner cracking is to be gre
atly
increased but it is not known whether this includes investigation o improved ND
T
techniues [Anon., 2001b].
The rail inspection problem is comparable in economic importance with the
PWR inspection problem which was such a spur to the development o the TOFD
techniue. It is to be hoped that similar resources will be made available to br
ing
about a radical improvement in rail inspection.
Chapter 10
Application o Codes and
Standards to TOFD Inspection
The aim o any ultrasonic inspection must be to determine whether the inspected
component is it or its purpose. A component that is it or its purpose will b
e
one which has a very high probability o continuing to per orm its unction or
its
designed li e, i.e. a very low probability o ailure in service. However, the p
recise
probability reuired will depend on the conseuences o ailure. Clearly, i the
ailure
o a component could lead to many deaths, it must be many orders o magnitude le
ss
likely to ail than one which would merely cause a short maintenance outage.
The ultrasonic inspection is designed to detect, size and possibly characterise
de ects in the component. The next stage o assessment is to classi y those de e
cts
as acceptable or unacceptable. Whether a de ect is acceptable or not depends on
the component in which it is ound and the stresses to which it will be subjecte
d.
De ects which are su icient to cause the component to ail under applied loads
which
might occur in practice will be classed as unacceptable. In order to ensure that
the
assessment process is properly carried out, procedures are laid down in codes an
d
standards.
10.1
Types o standard
The terms code and standard are o ten used somewhat loosely as i they were inte
rchangeable. We should like to restrict the term code to a de inition o the typ
es
and sizes o de ects which are acceptable or rejectable in speci ied components
in
speci ied service. The term standard would describe a de inition o how componen
ts
should be inspected in order to veri y code compliance. However, many documents
do not all clearly into either o these categories, since they attempt to speci
y acceptable inspection results rather than acceptable de ects.
Most modern codes, and certainly those or sa ety critical components, base acce
ptance criteria on a racture mechanics approach to ailure o the component und
er
191
192
Chapter 10. Application o Codes and Standards to TOFD Inspection
a variety o normal and abnormal loads. There are other types o code which try
to
assess the uality o the abrication process, according to good workmanship crite
ria. These codes typically restrict the numbers o de ects o particular size ra
nges
which are allowed in a structure, or a weld. Obviously, large de ects should be
eually unacceptable in these codes as they are in those based on racture mecha
nics. However, it is common or the good workmanship criteria to take account o
de ects that would be too small to be o structural concern simply because they
are
being used as a uality control measure. Codes based on good workmanship criteri
a
are o ten called acceptance standards.
I codes are written in terms o the number, size, position and nature o de ect
s,
they do not, in principle, impose any restriction on the method by which the in
ormation was obtained and can be applied to a new techniue without di iculty.
Un ortunately, many existing codes have been written with a particular inspectio
n techniue
in mind and are couched in terms o the response o the inspection instrument, s
uch
as signal levels, rather than de ect sizes. This approach has the laudable aim o
eliminating errors and subjectivity in translating instrument responses to de
ect sizes but
can be criticised on two grounds. First, it can give an unjusti ied impression t
hat a
single instrument response, such as a signal amplitude, is always a totally reli
able
indicator o de ect signi icance, and secondly, it can hamper the introduction o
new
techniues because the existing codes will not be directly applicable.
10.2
Development o standards or TOFD
Browne [1997a,b] makes the point that the majority o standards in use today wer
e
created decades ago when ultrasonic testing techniues were di erent. This has
undoubtedly handicapped the acceptance o TOFD which is still sparsely represent
ed in
codes and standards. The American Petroleum Institute is reviewing it. The Germa
n
DIN organisation accepts it by de ault or inspection o nuclear reactor pressur
e vessels. TOFD has now been demonstrated, on a thick section (350 mm) uali ica
tion
block, to meet the reuirements o ASME Code Case 2235, Use o ultrasonic examin
ation in lieu o radiography, Section VIII, Divisions 1 and 2 which became e ec
tive
in 1996 [Anon., 1999]. The British Ministry o De ence (Navy) has accepted TOFD
as a prescribed method o weld inspection in critical components, covering detec
tion, sizing and characterisation. The e ective cost o slow uptake o an impro
ved
inspection techniue could be very high in terms o lost production and unnecess
ary
repair.
There is little point in pressing or British and European standards or use o
TOFD in control o abrication uality, i major abrication codes e ectively e
xclude
its use [Browne, 1997b]. However, inservice inspection codes are more o ten spe
ci ied in terms o de ect sizes and here there is more scope or TOFD. Acceptanc
e
criteria are the subject o a recent paper by Dijkstra, de Raad and Bourna [1997
].
The authors observe that the current good workmanship criteria embodied in most
NDT standards measure the per ormance o the welder rather than evaluating weld
integrity and argue that existing acceptance criteria are limited to this becaus
e this is
10.2. Development o standards or TOFD
193
the best that can be done. I it were possible to balance testing the welders per
ormance against a racture mechanics assessment, without introducing undue cons
ervatism, this would be more nearly ideal. It could be achieved by combining mod
i ied
acceptance criteria with a more in ormative NDT techniue, one which is capable
o
detecting small de ects and measuring the throughwall size o planar de ects.
In the TOFD techniue, the amplitude o the signal does not bear any direct rela
tionship to the de ect throughwall size. Most o the current standards are, the
re ore,
to a greater or less extent, inappropriate, because they are based on amplitude
based
techniues which were the only sort available at the time o their inception. We
can
ask, however, whether the sizing capability o TOFD satis ies the reuirements o

existing codes. Silk [1989b] has discussed this in detail, as we summarise below
.
Engineers use codes as a way o assessing de ects. The American Society o Mecha
nical Engineers (ASME) produces codes or designing and testing many components,
especially pressure components. This work arose originally in the 19th century
rom an e ort to reduce the large number o deaths then occurring rom steam
boiler explosions. ASME, like other engineering bodies, produces codes concerned
with assessing whether de ects ound in structures can be tolerated by the struc
ture
with the expected loads. In particular, ASME XI rules provide a comprehensive se
t
o criteria or the most serious, planar, de ects in nuclear reactor pressure ve
ssels.
These rules or other similar ones will be adopted increasingly in di erent indu
strial
sectors as ultrasonic inspection becomes tied more closely to insurance and asse
t li e
management o all manner o structures. ASME XI Appendix 8, which applies to
pressure vessels and piping, allows the use o any inspection techniue which ca
n
meet the speci ied per ormance reuirements and so is no barrier to the adoption
o
TOFD.
Silk [1989b] examined ASME XI and similar rules rom other industries to determi
ne the implications o these or the TOFD techniue in nonnuclear applications.
The rules in uestion are those or de ect signi icance and not those or de ec
t
detection which are inappropriate or TOFD because they are couched in terms o
pulseecho amplitudes. The ASME XI de ect signi icance rules may be too stringen
t
when applied to structures other than the nuclear reactor pressure vessel or se
veral
reasons. The material used may well be di erent, with di erent strengths and
racture properties; the inspection intervals will be di erent; or single ailur
es may be
less important.
Silk ound that TOFD applied in its simplest orm (a single probe pair at ixed
separation) and with the precision available in 1989, would easily meet all the
reuirements o ASME XI, provided the de ects o concern were not in the top 30%
o
the ull material thickness and were in steel specimens at least 12 mm thick. On
e can
deduce rom this that, with an appropriate set o probe separations, the reuire
ments
could be met or all de ects more than 5 mm rom the inspection sur ace. Nor is
5 mm the absolute lower limit as much o the previous material in this book shou
ld
show. It is true, however, that detecting very shallow de ects in a large workpi
ece
might be more rapidly and e iciently carried out with a combination o techniu
es,
because a TOFD probe pair o small separation has a small volume coverage rom
194
Chapter 10. Application o Codes and Standards to TOFD Inspection
any given position.
Having determined that TOFD sizing satis ies existing code reuirements, we
can ask how reliable is it when used to both detect and size de ects. Much o th
is
book is devoted to just this topic. Here we draw on some recent work which may
eventually lead to a revolution in international codes and standards.
A good inspection techniue will detect de ects with a high degree o probabilit
y.
The probability o detection (POD) should be close to 1 and the closer the bette
r. For
all techniues there will be some parameters which need to be set, such as ampli
ier
gain, reuency etc., and the POD will be to some extent dependent on those sett
ings.
A parameter value chosen to give the largest POD may, however, lead to the obser
vance o signals which look as i they arise rom de ects but are actually spuri
ous,
arising rom noise, grain boundaries, re lections rom small harmless inclusions
, or
other extraneous eatures. This leads to a inite probability o alsely reporti
ng a
signi icant de ect, i.e. the alse call rate (FCR) will be greater than 0. To op
timise
the techniue, we need a measure o reliability which takes both POD and FCR int
o
account. The product POD(1FCR) is a convenient measure o reliability, since it
is eual to 1 when all de ects are ound and there are no alse calls and alls
below 1
when either de ects are missed or alse de ects are reported.
In a project by the Netherlands Institute o Welding, the reliability o TOFD wa
s
compared with radiography on steel sections between 6 mm and 15 mm thick. TOFD
was ound to be about 25% more reliable than Xradiography and 45% more reliable
than conventional manual ultrasonic inspection [Verkooijen, 1995]. The results
rom
this test have already been re erred to in an earlier chapter (Section 8.7 and F
igure 8.14). As a result o this trial, AEA Sonomatic used TOFD on a large scale
as an
alternative to radiography during the construction o a re inery in the Rotterda
m area.
The result was a major cost saving and increased con idence in the endproduct.
Following this success, a project was launched in the Netherlands to ormalise
inclusion o TOFD in acceptance standards or welds in their Rules or Pressuris
ed
Euipment (RTOD) and in European Standards. Dijkstra et al. [1997] re er to this
project, The development o acceptance criteria or the TOFD Inspection Method,
carried out by the Netherlands Society or NonDestructive Testing and Inspectio
n
Techniues (KINT), coordinated by the Project Bureau o the Netherlands Institut
e
o Welding. Zeelenberg [1998] has also contributed to the development o accepta
nce standards or TOFD applicable in the Netherlands.
The advantage o using TOFD and pulseecho inspections together to achieve
a high probability o de ect detection with a low alse call rate, can be seen
rom
Figure 8.14. Since this work was carried out there have been moves towards using
combined TOFD and pulseecho ultrasonic inspections to replace radiography in
pipeline construction. AEA Technology has carried out work or Allseas in Brazil
in which this combination was used or pipeline construction with much reduced
inspection costs [Anon., 1998a].
10.3. Current standards speci ic to TOFD
10.3
Current standards speci ic to TOFD
10.3.1
British Standard BS7706:1993
195
In this standard [British Standards Institution, 1993], the simple theory o the
TOFD
techniue is described, ollowed by criteria or the choice o ultrasonic probes
and
the settingup procedure to be applied. Discussion o the errors that can occur
and
their typical e ect on accuracy is included. The standard is at pains to point
out
that, since the techniue does not rely on a direct correlation between de ect s
ize
and the amplitude o the signal received, arti icial re lectors should be used o
nly
or: veri ying the angular distribution o energy within a specimen; as a means
o
reproducing inspection sensitivities; or to demonstrate inspection resolution. A
dvice
is given on gain settings to be used with electricdischargemachined slits or s
idedrilled holes. The standard also considers the interpretation o the signals
obtained.
Five categories o laws are recognised, o which our are distinct:
Planar laws such as cracks, lack o usion;
Volumetric laws such as lack o penetration, larger slag lines;
Threadlike laws, those with signi icant length but small (less than about
3 mm) throughwall extent;
Point laws such as pores, small pieces o slag;
Uncategorised laws
The reasons or possible alse indications o the various types o laws are dis
cussed
together with some o the special techniues included in this book. The document
includes several annexes, dealing with reporting o results, characterisation o
de ects,
examples o typical Dscans and recommendations or operator training.
10.3.2
European Standard ENV 5836
The European Committee or Standardisation (CEN) oversees the creating o standa
rds applicable in the member nations. CEN has representation rom the national
standards bodies o Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece,
Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Swede
n,
Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
CEN Standard EN 583 is entitled Nondestructive testing. Ultrasonic examination.
It consists o six parts, the irst ive o which, EN 5831 to EN 5835, deal
with conventional ultrasonic techniues. The dra t sixth part, ENV 5836 is enti
tled
Timeo Flight Di raction techniue as a method or de ect detection and sizing
.
This dra t standard, [European Committee or Standardisation, 1996] was put to a
ormal vote in January, 1997. It was accepted by several countries in Europe but
not
by the UK, since a number o comments were submitted which the UK authorities
will want to take into account in implementing the standard. At the time o writ
ing,
196
Chapter 10. Application o Codes and Standards to TOFD Inspection
Table 10.1 CEN recommendations or choice o compressionwave probe in steel
plate up to 70mm thick [European Committee or Standardisation,
1996].
Wall thickness
(mm)
Centre reuency
(MHz)
Crystal size
(mm)
Nominal probe
angle
<10
30 < 70
10 15
25
26
6 12
50 70
45 60
Table 10.2 CEN recommendation for choice of com
re ion-wave
robe in teel

late from 70 to 300mm thick [Euro
ean Committee for Standardi ation, 1996].
De
th region from
in
ection urface (mm)
Centre frequency
(MHz)
Cry tal ize
(mm)
Nominal
robe
angle
0 30
30 100
100 300
5 10
25
13
26
6 12
10 25
50 70
45 60
45 60
 ome NDT
ractitioner in other Euro
ean countrie are known to have re ervation
about thi tandard.
ENV 583-6 cover : the
rinci
le of the technique; the qualification of the o
er
ating
er onnel (to EN 473 Qualification and Certification of NDT Per onnel
General Princi
le ); the choice of ultra onic
robe diameter, frequency and angl
e,
a function of defect de
th, a hown in Table 10.1 and 10.2; and a di cu ion
of

reci ion and re olution in line with the di cu ion in thi book.

10.4
In
ection qualification
For any NDT technique to be reliable, it i nece ary for the technique to have
been
de igned with the defect of concern in mind; to be then a

lied according to a
tried and te ted
rocedure by com
etent o
erator or by te ted automatic y tem
.
Thi
roce of de ign, documentation and te ting i known a in
ection qualifi
cation, although the term
erformance demon tration wa u ed in the U.S.A., when
the
roce wa fir t introduced. In
ection qualification ha recently been rev
iewed
by Waite and Whittle [1998]. The aim of thi
roce i to ju tify that the ult
ra onic in
ection technique will meet the requirement of fracture mechanic wh
en
a

lied in the indu trial context. Waite and Whittle make the
oint that uch

roof
i required in two ca e : for afety critical com
onent in any indu try; and wh
en a
technique i ufficiently new that ex
erience may be limited in the indu try and
code
and tandard may not yet exi t. There are five com
onent
art to the
erforman
ce
10.4. In
ection qualification
197
demon tration and evaluation:
Certification of
er onnel to agreed tandard .
Written
rocedure for the in
ection, be it manual or automated.
Theoretical ju tification of the technique, including calculation and modelling
to demon trate ca
ability.
Te t-block trial em
loying defect of the ty
e which, if found in the indu tria
l
context would be of concern. Thi include ervice induced defect a well a
fabrication flaw . Often thi will require ome way of com
aring the actual
defect with that re
orted and thi may mean de tructive final examination of
te t block .
Audit of an in
ection com
any re ult ,
o ibly re
eating 5 10% o the
measurements in the ield.
In the USA, mandatory appendices were added to the 1989 ASME XI code [ASME,
1989], which underpins ultrasonic inspection o pressure vessels. These mandator
y appendices speci y how a per ormance demonstration and evaluation should be
carried out. Waites and Whittle observed that this approach, and some o the und
erlying statistical assumptions, run counter to European methods. In response to
this,
the utilities operating nuclear power plant have set up the European Network or
Inspection Quali ication (ENIQ). The Joint Research Centre o Petten is the Ope
rating
Agent and the Re erence Laboratory o the Network.
ENIQ has developed a ramework and principles or per ormance demonstration
[European Network or Inspection Quali ication, 1997]. The principles are:
Quali ication is obtained by a mixture o practical trials and theoretical justi
ication.
Procedures and euipment can be uali ied using open trials in which those
applying the procedure have knowledge o the de ects in the test pieces;
Any speci ic test pieces used to test personnel should be done blind, that is,
the personnel should have no knowledge o the de ects except in ormation that
would be available be ore a normal onsite inspection.
There is more to uali ication than success in a blind trial. Another important
part
is a written technical justi ication. This is a document pulling together all pr
evious
results o capability and evaluation exercises; making use o experience gained
rom
onsite inspections; and putting orward results rom applicable and validated t
heoretical models and other physicsbased reasoning. Because ullscale test pie
ces
with realistic de ects are very expensive, providing a su icient number o de e
cts to
establish acceptable con idence levels in this orm is not economically viable.
De ects in small test block can be provided much more cheaply. Physical reasonin
g and
theoretical understanding may be used to extrapolate rom these small test block
s to
the ullscale situation and a relatively small number o ullscale tests can t
hen be
used to establish con idence in these extrapolations.
198
10.5
Chapter 10. Application o Codes and Standards to TOFD Inspection
Quali ication o TOFD
Timeo Flight Di raction was the only techniue to uali y in one such uali i
cation test or steam generator eedwater nozzle inspection run by the Electric
Power
Research Institute (EPRI) in the USA [Daniels et al., 1996]. This inservice ins
pection was designed or use on PWR steam generator eedwater nozzles but would
be
generally applicable to any heavy section nozzle inspection.
The inspection was carried out rom the outside sur ace. Inspection o pressurev
essel nozzles is technically more satis actory rom the internal sur ace but tha
t reuires removal o the vessel cap and dismantling o some internal euipment,
so
the expense can only be justi ied at a time when such dismantling is reuired o
r
other reasons. Inspection rom the outside sur ace reuires only removal o exte
rnal
insulation.
The system developed includes:
an ASME compatible inspection procedure, speci ying computer designed
scanning or optimum per ormance;
a versatile, semiautomated scanner;
MicroPlus as the automated data collection system;
personal computer based inspection modelling and data analysis so tware develope
d by AEA Technology and called MUSE (see Figure 6.12).
This system was designed to be sensitive to de ects, on the inner sur ace o the
nozzle, o 1.27 mm throughthickness extent or more. These de ects can be locate
d
anywhere rom the sa e end weld on the pipe side o the nozzle to the vessel sid
e
o the nozzle blend. De ect misorientations o up to 10 were allowed for in the
de ign. The defect were detected by the
ul e-echo technique and then ized by
Time-of-Flight Diffraction.
Trial carried out during develo
ment demon trated 100% detection ca
ability
and an RMS izing error of 1.02 mm. In the qualification trial at EPRI, Charlott
e,
North Carolina, the y tem
erformance achieved wa 100% detection and a izing
error of only 0.76 mm RMS.
10.6
Coda
Thi book ha de cribed at length each of the
iece of the framework for e tabl
i hment of TOFD a a fully
roven NDT technique. Since it invention nearly 30
year ago, the technique ha con i tently demon trated it ca
ability and ver at
ility,
and more than anything el e, it accuracy for mea urement of the dimen ion u ual
ly
mo t relevant to com
onent failure. The range of a

lication ha increa ed tea
dily
and a the new millennium begin , it i
oi ed to make a continuing contribution
to
the afety of all manner of tructure and to the economic benefit which can ac
crue
from a

ro
riate ultra onic in
ection.
A

endix
A.1
Helmholtz
otential
Any vector re
re enting a
hy ical quantity, uch a the
article di
lacement u,
can
be
lit into two
art

u = +
(A.1)
 are potentials. Since there are four uantities in and
 and onl
where and

three in u , we have some freedom in choosing ; this is called a choice of gauge a
nd
the most useful choice is
 =0

(A.2)
 are called Helmholtz potentials and are often easier to work
The potentials and
 satisf wave euations
with than the displacement u. The potentials and
2 =
1 2
C2p t 2
(A.3)
 =
2

1 2
Cs2 t 2
(A.4)
where t is the time and C p and Cs are the speeds of the compression and shear w
aves
respectivel.
A.2
Other wave motions in isotropic media
The Raleigh wave propagates along the surface at a speed which is distinct from
the
speed of the waves in the bod of the material. This speed, denoted b Cr , is g
iven
b the solution of the euation [Graff, 1975]




Cs2
Cs2
3
2
(A.5)
x 8x + 24 16 2 x 16 1 2 = 0
Cp
Cp
199
200
Appendix
where x =
 2
Cr =
Cr
Cs
, or approximately by the result [Achenbach, 1973]
Cs (0.862 + 1.14 )
1+
where is Poissos ratio
(A.6)
which gives a value of Cr 0.92Cs in stee.
A.3
Geometica theoy of diffaction
The centa idea of this theoy is that a fied quantity u taves aong ays. T
he
ay paths ae detemined by an extension of Femats Pincipe as foows: a ay
connecting two points and singy diffacted fom a vetex V is a cuve the engt
h
of which is stationay among a cuves connecting these two points and passing
though V [Kee, 1957]. In the case of an eastic wave, the fied quantity u c
oud be
an eastic dispacement, o its potentia. u has an ampitude A (s) at some dist
ance s
aong the ay and a phase k (s), so that
u = A (s) eik(s)
(A.7)
The amplitude A is a vector or a scalar and is not restricted to being real. The
difference in phase beteen to points on a ray is assumed to be equal to k time
s the
distance beteen them, so that
(s) = 0 + s
(A.8)
The amplitude variation along the ray can be obtained in a simple ay from the
assumption of conservation of energy and can be formally derived, at least for t
he
leading term, in an expansion of poers of (ka)1 , without this assumption [Karal
and Keller, 1959]. The lux o energy is taken to be the same at every crosssec
tion
o a narrow tube o rays, so that the uantity A2 d /C i con erved, where d i th
e
cro - ectional area of the tube and C i the
eed of
ro
agation. Con ideratio
n of
two cro ection along a narrow tube yield
A2 d
A2 d
= 0 0
(A.9)
C
C
1
Hence, A = A0 d0 /d 2 . If 1 and 2 ae the pincipe adii of cuvatue of the
wavefont noma to the ay at point P0 , then the adii at P, a distance s aon
g the ay,
ae 1 + s and 2 + s, giving [Kee, 1957]
d0
1 2


=
d
1 + s 2 + s
(A.10)
and hence

A = A0
1 2


1 + s 2 + s
1
2
(A.11)
A.3. Geometica theoy of diffaction
201
and finay that

u = A0
1 2


1 + s 2 + s
1
2
eik(s+0 )
(A.12)

ith the interesting consequence that, for large distances s, the amplitude of t
he field
decreases as s1 , as in a spherical wave. This is true provided
both 1 and 2 ae
finite. If one adius of cuvatue is infinite, the fied fas off as s, as in
a cyindica
wave. When both adii of cuvatue ae infinite, the ampitude does not decease
with
distance and is ike a pane wave.
When the ay is diffacted somewhee aong its path, the ampitude is futhe
modified and this is taken into account by incuding a diffaction coefficient D
in the
equation fo the ampitude. Since the diffaction effect is ocaised in the eg
ion of the
discontinuity, D can depend ony on the oca conditions, such as: the anges wh
ich
the incident and diffacted ays make with some diection chaacteistic of the
oca
cause of diffaction, such as the edge of a pana cack; the natue of the inci
dent
wave fied; and the fequency of the excitation. Soutions to canonica pobems
can be used to detemine these diffaction coefficients. The canonica pobem f
o
smooth pana cacks is diffaction by a semi-infinite pane. Resuts fo this p
obem
ae given in Section A.4.
A.3.1
Diffaction by cuved edges
In Equation A.12, the ampitude aong a ay is given in tems of the ampitude a
t
some efeence point on the ay. It is convenient to choose the efeence point
to
be on the cack edge, which is itsef a caustic of the diffacted ays. This imp
ies
that one of the two pincipa adii of cuvatue of the wavefont, 1 o 2 , vanish
es.
Denoting the emaining adius of cuvatue by , the ampitude becomes [Kee,
1957]
u = A0
i
( + s) s
1
2
eiki (s+0 )
(A.13)

here i and ki epesents the waveength and wavevecto of the diffacted wave
1
(compession o shea) and the facto i 2 endes the constant A0 dimensioness
[Chapman and Coffey, 1982]. The adius of cuvatue is now the distance fom
the edge to the emaining caustic of diffaction and is given by [Kee, 1957]
=
sin2
d
ds + cos
(A.14)
where (s) is the cone of iffracte rays, given in terms of the arc length s alo
ng the
ege, is the angle
etween the iffracte ray an the normal to the ege an is
te radius of curvature of te diffracting edge.
202
Appendix
For a scan wic passes directly over te centre of an elliptical crack, and we
re
te normal to te crack surface lies in te vertical plane containing te scan l
ine (tat
is, for a crack wic is not skewed), te radius of curvature of te edge is
=
E
2
Ea
(A.15)
were Ea and E
are te semi-axes of te ellipse, wit Ea in te troug-wall di
rection. In tis geometry, te distance to the caustic is given by [Chapman and
Coffey, 1982]
1
1
1
= (cos + cos )

1
(A.16)
were r1 is te distance from te point of diffraction to te centre of te tran
smitter.
Te angles and are, respectively, te angles of te incident and diffracted rays
,
measured anticlockwise from te face of te crack.
A.3.2
Incident potential
In te far field of te transmitter, te incident potential on te
eam axis is
inc =
Aprobe
i 1
eiki 1
(A.17)
whee Apobe is the aea of the pobe, and ki and i denote the compession o she
a
wavevecto and waveength espectivey, depending on the type of pobe. If the
diffaction point is not on the beam axis, this ampitude is modified by the ta
nsduce beam pofie. The tansduce beam pofie used is given by the famiia
Besse
function fom
2J1 (x) /x
(A.18)
whee
x=
2 f a sin
C
(A.19)
Here f is the freuency, the r dius of the ssumed piston source, C the speed o
f
the el stic w ve, with denoting either compression or she r w ves, nd th angl
rlativ to th bam cntrlin. With this modl, which bhavs wll in th far
fild
of th prob, thr ar sidlobs associatd with th Bssl function. Th point
s of
diffraction may not b on th cntral maximum of th amplitud functions of ith
r
transmittr or rcivr, so th angls away from th bam maximum, dnotd 1 and
2 (s Figur A.1), ar dfind rspctivly as





Xt

(A.20)

1 = arctan
h Yt
A.3. Geometrical theory of iffraction
203
where is the
eam angle, h is the
late thickness an the coorinates of the ef
ect
to
are Xt , Yt , measure from the
ottom of the
late (as in Figure 3.3). For
TimeofFlight Diffraction with the receiver se
arate from the transmitter
y a
istance
of XT R , or for
ulseecho ins
ections of cracks, the extremity of the crack mi
ght not
lie on the
eam axis of the receiver. The angle 2 is givn by





XT R Xt
(A.21)

2 = arctan
h Yt
The am
litue which arrives at the receiver is then also su
ject to the irectio
nal
sensitivity of the receiving transucer which is taken to
e the same as that fo
r the
transmitting transucer. Incluing the geometry of the curve crack ege, the fi
nal
ex
ression for the signal iffracte from the crack is given
y [Cha
man an Cof
fey,
1982]
rec =

 
4A2probe J1 x1 J1 x2
s2 1 x1 2 x2

eiks (1 +2 ) D ( , )


(A.22)
1
3 r r
 s 1 2
r1 + r2 r1 r2 (cos + cos )
2
an x1 an x2 are given
y Euation A.19 a
ove.
A.3.3
Cali
ration reflector
For TimeofFlight geometries, an for the calculations use here, the signals a
re
measure relative to those from a flat
ottome hole situate symmetrically
etw
een
the transmitter an the receiver, with the flat surface of the reflector horizon
tal so
that the maximum signal is transferre
y the cali
ration reflector to the recei
ver
[Tem
le, 1984a]. To com
lete our escri
tion of the moel use, we outline how
the am
litue from the cali
ration reflector is calculate. The ratio of scatter
e to
incient
otentials is given
y
scat
eikr
= iRAcal cos
inc
r
(A.23)
where is here the angle of incience on the cali
ration reflector, measure from
the
normal, an R is a reflection coefficient for
lane waves. The cali
ration refle
ctor
is at range r from the transmitter an is of area Acal . For com
ression waves,
as
normally use in TimeofFlight Diffraction, the reflection coefficient R is giv
en
y
[Graff, 1975]
R=
sin 2 sin 2s 2 cos2 2s
sin 2 sin 2s + 2 cos2 2s
(A.24)
where  = C
/Cs , C
an Cs
eing the s
ees of com
ression an shear waves r
es
ectively, an s is given
y Snells Law as
Cs
s = arcsin
sin
(A.25)
C

204
A

enix
For shear waves at o
liue incience on the flat
ottome hole, the reflection c
oefficient R woul
e [Graff, 1975]
R=
sin 2 sin 2
2 cos2 2
sin 2 sin 2
+ 2 cos2 2
where
is given
y
C

sin

= arcsin
Cs
(A.26)
(A.27)

rovie
is real; otherwise R = 1 for shear waves at angles of incience great
er
than the critical angle, i.e. at angles greater than a
out 33 in teel.
The
otential diffracted by the crack, given by Equation A.22, i then divided
by the
otential defined by Equation A.23 for the flat-bottomed hole and thi ra
tio i
converted to the decibel cale to give a re ult quoted in dB.
To convert the ignal am
litude from tho e relative to a flat-bottomed hole cal
ibration reflector to tho e mea ured relative to a ide-drilled hole reflector,
we u e the
relation hi
that the ignal trength differ by a factor of [Bowker et al., 198
5]

2a2fbh
20 log10
(A.28)

asdh
whee afbh and asdh ae the adii of the fat-bottomed and side-died hoes, 
espectivey, both at ange  fom the tansmitte. The waveength of the utaso
und is
. The above expession gives a vaue which is added to the signa eves eativ
e
to a fat-bottomed hoe in
ode to give signa eves eative to those fom a sidedied hoe. Note that
as  is geate than afbh o asdh , the coection is actuay
negative, so that the signas measued eative to a side-died hoe ae sma
e than
those measued eative to a fat-bottomed hoe. Typica vaues of this diffeen
ce
in these cacuations ae about 10 dB. Resuts ae given in Tempe [1987] fo si
gna
ampitudes fom some typica defects taken fom the PISC II paametic studies [
see
Oive, 1984, fo the backgound to PISC II].
A.4
Diffaction of pane eastic waves by staight cack
edges of infinite extent
The esuts of the mathematica anaysis of diffaction of eastic waves ae imp
otant
fo the successfu impementation of Time-of-Fight Diffaction and ae biefy
stated
hee. These esuts wee fist poduced by Maue [1953] and wee deveoped by Cof
fey and Chapman [1983] as the basis of a mode of puse-echo and tandem inspecti
on
of misoiented smooth fat cacks. The theoetica appoaches of Maue and Coffey
 and Chapman wee compaed and epoted by Ogivy and Tempe [1983] who
aso deived esuts appopiate to the deveopment of the Time-of-Fight Diffa
ction
technique.
Diffaction of pane waves by staight cack edges
205
Effective points of
obsevation (cice,
cented on cack tip)
y
incident
ay

angle of
incience

angle of
iffraction
x
crack surface
crack ti

iffracte
ray
Fig. A.1 Definition of angles use in escri
ing iffraction
y a straight crack
ege
of infinite extent.
Consier Figure A.1, in which the iffraction geometry is efine for a
urie
crack. For a
lane wave incient at angle an an o
server locate at an angle ,
the Helmholtz
otentials of the iffracte fiel, enote
y d and d , are given b


d
d


=
Fp,p
Gs,p
G p,s
Fs,s

i
i

(A.29)
where i , i are the incident Helmholtz potentials and the Fd,i and Gd,i are the sc
attering amplitudes, or diffraction coefficients, from and incident wave of tpe
 i to a
diffracted wave of tpe d. The diffracted potentials propagate awa from the sca
tterer according to
 
p ik p 
d d
e
(A.30)
r
and

d d
s


eiks 
(A.31)
whee  is the distance fom the cack edge and p , s ae the waveengths of the
compession and shea waves and ae eated to thei espective wave vectos k p
,
206
Appendix
ks though k p = 2/ p and ks = 2/s . The diffaction coefficients ae given by
[Ogivy and Tempe, 1983]
Fs,s = ei/4



ks S + T Q
s ( ) Q
s ( )

2 ks2 k2
(cos + cos ) Qrs ( ) Qrs ( ) K + (ks cos ) K + (ks cos )
(A.32)
ks3 sin /2
F
,
= ei/4
2

R ( ) R ( ) + k3
T



Qs
( )
(A.33)
sin /2 sin ( /2)
Qs
( )

+
(cos + cos ) Qr
( ) Qr
( ) K (k
cos ) K + (k
cos )
ks2 k2


ks

(A.34)
k






ks2 sin /2 k2
2ks U Qs
( ) + 2 2k
V R( ) Q
s ( )

 
4 ks2 k2
(k
cos + ks cos ) Qr
( ) Qrs ( ) K + (k
cos ) K + (ks cos )
G
,s = e
i/4

k


(A.35)
ks





ks2 sin /2
2k
R( ) sin 2 Q
s ( ) 2k2
2ks T Qs
( )

4 ks2 k2
(k
cos + ks cos ) Qr
( ) Qrs ( ) K + (k
cos ) K + (ks cos )
Gs,
= e
i/4
where kr is the wavevector of Rayleigh waves in the meium at the freuency of
interest. The function K is given
y the ex
ression



1  ks
(ks2 x2 )
x2 k2

4x2
x
arctan
K () = exp
k

x
(2x2 ks2 )2
(A.36)
The other functions used re Qxy () = kx ky cos nd R() = 2k2p cos2 ks2 nd
the su
stitutions S = cos 2 cos 2 sin /2, T = 2 cos /2 cos sin 2 ,
U = cos 2 sin 2 nd V = 2 cos /2 cos sin /2 h ve
een m de.
Eu tions A.32 A.35 tell us te pase of te diffracted signal as well as its
amplitude. For all te euations, tere is an exp (i/4) factor which is ty
ical o
f
iffraction
ro
lems. Then there are the com
licate angular factors. For the us
ual
TOFD configuration using com
ression waves, it is Euation A.33 which is a

lica

le. Since ks > k
always, the suare root factors are always real, so the
has
e of the
iffracte signal will
e /4 or 5/4 e
ening on the sign of the com
lete angular
factor. These are the
hases extracte ex
erimentally
y Ravenscroft et al. [199
1]
(see also Achen
ach et al. [1982]).
A.5. Pulse sha
e from a
iston source
4
0.8
3
Pressure (ar
. units)
1.0
0.6
J1 (x)
x
207
0.4
20B
eam with
First zero
0.2
0
0.2
0
5
10
15
2
1
0
1
2
3
4
1

0.5
x
0
0.5
1
Time (s)
(a) Beam
rofile function
(
) Transmitter
ulse
Fig. A.2 The
eam
rofile function an the moel transmitter
ulse.
A.5
Pulse sha
e from a
iston source
In this section we stuy how the
ulse sha
e from a circular isk transucer
eh
aving
as an ieal
iston source varies with angle from the
eam axis.
First we consier how the am
litue of the ultrasoun woul vary with angle
from the
eam axis, if the transucer were vi
rating continuously at a fixe fre
uency. If we wante the a
solute am
litue at some ar
itrary
oint away from th
e
transucer, we woul nee to calculate the contri
ution from each small element
of the transucer face an integrate over the whole isk. However, we are only i
ntereste in relative values, so we can take avantage of the well known result
for
Fraunhofer iffraction from an a
erture. Although this ignores the variation in
range
an inclination across the transucer face, these factors turn out to
e of mino
r im
ortance in the final result an woul not affect our conclusions.
The am
litue of the beam at angle to th axis, at frquncy f , is proportional
to
(, f ) = 2
J1 (x)
x
whr x =
2 f a sin
C
(A.37)
Hr a is th radius of th piston sourc, C is th vlocity of propagation and
J1
is th first-ordr Bssl function of th first kind. Th rsultant profil is s
hown in
Figur A.2(a).
Th first zro of J1 (x) /x is at 3.381
and it has falln to 0.1 of its on-axis valu at

x = 3.08. At this point sin

= 2a , the standad expession fo the haf-width of
a tansduce beam. Fo a cente fequency of 5 MHz, a veocity of 5.9 mm/s and a
pobe adius of 4 mm, the fist zeo is at an ange zro = 0.181 rad ( 10.4 ) from
the beam axi .
Next, we need to define a reali tic ha
e for the on-axi
ul e, which we do by
a uming that the vibration of the tran ducer face can be modelled a a ine wav
e at
the re onant frequency, modified by an am
litude envelo
e of Gau ian form. The
208
A

endix
Modulu (arb. unit )
Modulu (arb. unit )
3
2
1
0
0
5
10
Frequency (Hz)
(a) On the beam axi
3
2
1
0
0
5
10
Frequency (Hz)
(b) At angle from th bam axis
Fig. A.3 Th frquncy spctra of th on-axis and off-axis pulss.
puls amplitud function p(t) is thn givn by


(t )2
sin 2 f t
ex


(t) =
2 2
2
(A.38)
If we choo e = 0 and = 0.1, we obtain the
ul e ha
e hown in Figure A.2(b).
In order to obtain the
ul e ha
e at ome arbitrary angle from th bam axis,
w must first calculat th frquncy spctrum of th on-axis puls (Figur A.3(
a)).
W thn multiply vry frquncy componnt in this spctrum by th corrsponding
amplitud {, f }. This producs a spctrum looking lik Figur A.3(b), which is
calculatd for = 0.5, as would apply to th latral wav in a TOFD inspction,
whn 60
robe are being u ed. The main feature i the a

earance of notche in
the
ectrum but there i al o a hift to lower frequency. To get the
ul e ha

e, the

ectrum mu t be tran formed back into the time domain, giving the re ult hown
in Figure A.4(a).
The a

earance of two
ul e , leading and trailing the zero time
o ition i
hy
ically ex
lained by the fact that, becau e the wavelet from different
art of
the
tran ducer face arrive at the mea urement
oint with different
ha e , they almo
t
all cancel and the only remaining contribution are the edge wave , tho e which
come from the
oint on the tran ducer face which are neare t and furthe t from
the
mea urement
oint.
What we have calculated o far i what would be een by a
oint detector immer e
d in the in
ection medium. However, in all
ractical ca e , the
ul e i detect
ed by another
robe. We hall a ume that the receiver
robe i identical with
the tran mitter
robe and i in a ymmetrical
o ition, a i commonly the ca e
with
TOFD in
ection. In that ca e, we can im
ly multi
ly the
ul e
ectrum again
by the identical beam
read function to take account of the econd tran ducer a
nd
tran form into the time domain a before, arriving at a
ul e ha
e like that if
Figure A.4(b).
A.5. Pul e ha
e from a
i ton ource
209
0.015
Pre ure (arb. unit )
Pre ure (arb. unit )
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
-0.05
-0.1
-0.15
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
Time ( )
(a) Off-axi internal
ul e ha
e
1
0.010
0.005
0
-0.005
-0.010
-0.015
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
Time ( )
(b) Off-axi
ul e ha
e at receiver
Fig. A.4 The
ul e ha
e within the in
ection medium and the ha
e of the
ul e
detected by the receiver tran ducer.
The ha
e obtained i rather en itive to the
reci e a um
tion about the orig
inal
ul e. In thi ca e we have u ed a rather hort
ul e ( mall ) with a broad

ectrum and hence con iderable energy at the low frequency at which the leading
and trailing edge wave are in
ha e. Had we u ed a longer
ul e (greater ), the
re
would have been le low frequency energy and the
ul e ha
e would have looked
more like a central
ul e with leading and trailing
ul e of half am
litude.
In
ractice the
ul e ha
e hown in Figure A.4(b) will rarely be een, becau e
we have not yet taken into account the frequency re
on e of the receiver am
lif
ier.
Thu far, there ha been an im
licit a um
tion that the am
lifier ha a com
let
ely
flat re
on e but, in
ractice it i more likely to be omething like Figure A.5
(a).
Here, the roll-off at low frequency i the im
ortant feature, wherea the high f
requency roll-off ha very little effect. When thi function i u ed to envelo
e
the

ul e
ectrum, the time domain
ul e ha
e look like Figure A.5(b), more like
the

ul e ha
e we hould have obtained had we tarted with a longer on-axi
ul e.
Thi characteri tic ha
e, with a central
ul e and leading and trailing
ul e
of
about half the am
litude, i ea y to reconcile with the edge-wave
icture invoke
d
earlier. For the ty
ical TOFD
robe
air, the tran mitter
robe will act like tw
o
ource at the
oint neare t and furthe t from the receiver
robe, while the re
ceiver

robe will act like two detector at the
oint neare t and farthe t from the tr
an mitter

robe. Hence, for any
oint in the work
iece, there will be four
o ible
ath
along
which detected ignal could have travelled. In the ca e of either the lateral w
ave or a
diffraction
oint lying in the
lane of ymmetry between the
robe , two of the

ath
will have identical range and the other two will differ from the e by equal amou
nt
in o

o ite direction . Since range and angle differ very little between the

ath
one would ex
ect the four ignal to have roughly equal am
litude , leading to t
he

ul e arrangement we have already een. Once the diffraction
oint i moved away
from the ymmetry
lane, there will almo t alway be four
ul e .
In
ractice, it often eem to be the ca e that the leading and trailing
ul e
are
210
A

endix
0.010
Pre ure (arb. unit )
Modulu (arb. unit )
1
0.5
0
0
5
10
Frequency (Hz)
(a) Receiver frequency re
on e
15
0.005
0
-0.005
-0.010
-1
-0.5
0
0.5
1
Time ( )
(b) Modified received
ul e ha
e
Fig. A.5 A ty
ical receiver frequency re
on e and the re ultant ha
e of the re
ceived off-axi
ul e.
much le than half the am
litude of the central
ul e, to the
oint where they
may
be carcely noticeable. Thi may be under tandable in term of the de
arture of
the
robe from ideal
i ton ource but there doe not a

ear to be any
ubli h
ed
information on thi . It i an area which might re
ay further tudy.
The
ul e form of off-axi
ul e i im
ortant for the accuracy of the TOFD
technique, e
ecially in ca e where the lateral wave i u ed a a reference. It
i
clear that the central
ul e of the lateral wave, not the outlier , hould alway
be
u ed for timing. The mo t accurate timing method would be to u e the central zer
o
cro ing of both the lateral wave and the defect ignal and thi would give no e
rror.
If a neighbouring zero cro ing i u ed,
rovided that the corre
onding
o itio
n
on the lateral wave and defect
ul e are mea ured, there will be a only mall er
ror
ari ing from the broadening of the central lateral wave
ul e. There i clearly
a

o ibility of much larger error if the mea urement
oint cho en on the two ig
nal
do not corre
ond. It i im
ortant to bear in mind that the degree of di tortion
of
off-axi
ul e can be reduced by reducing the
robe diameter. Provided there i
enough energy for an adequate ignal, the malle t
robe will give the lea t di
torted
ignal and hence the highe t accuracy.
A.6
Signal averaging
In Section 4.4, we mentioned that ignal averaging could be u ed to enhance ign
al
trength over noi e. The ba i of thi i develo
ed in thi ection. Noi e can a
ri e
from two di tinct ource . We how below how the averaging
roce work for ig
nal which de
end on a
arameter x, which may re
re ent im
ly ucce ive firing
of tationary tran ducer , or may al o include ome change in tran ducer
o itio
n
from one firing to the next.
Su

o e the ignal received Ri i obtained on M different occa ion and that the
A.6. Signal averaging
211
ignal i a function of the
arameter x. Su

o e al o that, of the ob erved ign
al
Ri (x) , only the
art S (x) i the ignal from the defect and the remainder Ni
(x) i due
to noi e. Each ob erved ignal Ri i taken to be degraded by a different, random
,
noi e Ni . Then
Ri (x) = S (x) + Ni (x)
(A.39)
where the ame ignal S (x) i a umed to occur each time. For random, uncorrela
ted
noi e we have the
ro
ertie that
%
&
Ni (x) = 0
(A.40)

and


( %
(
& 
Ni (x) + N j (x) = Ni (x) + N j (x)
=where
j i
(A.41)
( %
(
&
Ni (x) N j (x) = Ni (x) N j (x)
=where
j i
(A.42)
where the notation Q mean the ex
ectation value of Q. The ignal-to-noi e
ower
P (x) i defined a
P (x) =
S2 (x)
N 2 (x)
(A.43)
If we add M ignal and average them we find
1 M
R =
[S (x) + Ni (x)]
M i=1
(A.44)
and the ignal-to-noi e
ower become
S2 (x)
P (x) = )
1
M
M
*
(A.45)
2
[Ni (x)]
i=1
Mani
ulating thi ex
re ion, u ing the re ult in Equation A.40 to A.42, yield
M 2 S2 (x)
*
P (x) = ) M
2
[Ni (x)]
i=1
=+
M 2 S2 (x)
,

M
M 
[Ni (x)] N j (x)
i=1
j=1
(A.46)
212
A

endix
=)
M 2 S2 (x)
* +

M 
M M 

Ni2 (x) + Ni N j (x)
i=1
i=1 j=1
,
i= j
M 2 S2 (x)
*
= )M
(
M M % &


Ni2 (x) + Ni N j (x)
i=1
i=1 j=1
i= j
The M noi e am
le will all have the ame average quare value and the econd
term in the denominator i zero o that, finally
M 2 S2 (x)
P (x) = % 2 & = MP (x)
M Ni (x)
(A.47)
The ignal-to-noi e
ower ratio i thu enhanced by a factor M, if M ignal are
added
together and the noi e i random and uncorrelated. The ignal-to-noi e am
litude
ratio i the quare root of the
ower o that

SNRaverage = M SNR ingle

(A.48)
Thu , averaging 64 ignal that are degraded by uncorrelated random noi e would
im
rove the ignal-to-noi e ratio by about 18 dB, while averaging 256 uch igna
l
would give about 24 dB im
rovement in ignal to noi e.
We have een that the advantage to be gained from ignal averaging de
end on
two critical a um
tion : that the wanted ignal com
onent remain e entially t
he
ame (i.e. i trongly correlated) from one firing of the tran mitter to the nex
t; and
the noi e com
onent i uncorrelated from firing to firing.
The fir t of the e condition i automatically fulfilled if the tran ducer rema
in
tationary between firing ; if they are moved, it et a limit, related to the u
ltra onic
wavelength, on how far they may be moved without u
etting the averaging
roce
.
The econd condition i fulfilled for electronic noi e generated in the am
lifie
r
in
ut tage . It i fulfilled al o for electromagnetic
ick-u
,
rovided the ou
rce of
the
ick-u
i not related to, nor ynchronou with, the firing of the tran duce
r . The
remaining likely ource of noi e i the rece
tion of ultra ound cattered from
uch
feature a inclu ion or grain boundarie in the work
iece. For tationary tran
ducer , noi e from thi ource will be identical from firing to firing and o w
ill not be
attenuated by ignal averaging. It may be rendered uncorrelated, if the tran duc
er
can be moved far enough between firing , the required di tance being related to
the
characteri tic length de cribing the di tribution of catterer . For grain catt
ering,
thi length would be the grain ize. Note, however, that the requirement for a l
arge
movement to decorrelate the cattering noi e i in conflict with the requirement
for
the wanted ignal to remain correlated. In the e circum tance , the actual movem
ent
may need to be a com
romi e between the e two requirement and the advantage
to be gained from averaging with
robe movement (
atial averaging) may be much
le than the theoretical maximum.
A.7. Defect characteri ation
A.7
213
Defect characteri ation
In Section 5.9, we tated that the back cattered
ul e originate from tho e
ar
t
of the defect with a change in the
rojected cro - ectional area. Ex
re ing th
i
mathematically, Lam and T ang [1985] give for the received back cattered ignal
N
Sreceived = i
1

 D (a, i,
)
Stran mitted 2
R ex
i2k ri r1



p=0 (i2k)
(A.49)
whee A is the tota aea pojection towads the tansduces of that pat of the
defect
within ange . The neaest pat of the defect is at ange 1 , whie the vaiou
s i ae
the anges at which the pojected aea and its deivatives have discontinuities,
and p
is the ode of such deivatives. D (a, i, p) is the stength of the discontinui
ty whie
R is the mean ange of the defect. The utasonic wavevecto is k. Typica vaue
s of
the discontinuity stengths D ae given by Lam and Tsang as
L
(A.50)
sin
for an dg of lngth L at an incidnt angl of whr th +sign applis to a na
r
dg and th sign to a far edge. or a corner lying between directions 1 and 2 ,
this gives a strength

tan 1 tan 2
(A.51)
D (a, i, 2) =
sin2
Making us of this typ of information on arrival tims only, Lam and Tsang dmo
nstratd that a microcomputr systm could b usd to rconstruct th shap of u
nknown planar, straight-dgd flaws from diffraction chos of short ultrasonic
pulss.
D (a, i, 1) = 
A.8
Transvrsly isotropic mdia
In Sction 7.1.2 w discussd th ffct that anisotropic mdia hav on th sp
d of
propagation of lastic wavs, and hnc on timing masurmnts of signal arrival
tims. Th particular problm ncountrd is of a layr of austnitic cladding w
hich
crystalliss with long columnar grains having a wll dfind z-axis dirction bu
t
with random orintations of x- and y-axs in th plan prpndicular to z. This
lads to a transvrsly isotropic matrial, similar to a hxagonal matrial but
with
lastic constants drivd from th undrlying cubic symmtry as discussd blow.
Th lastic constants Ci jkl ar rotatd about th z-axis and avragd. Thus, fo
r th
fourth ordr lastic tnsor
Ci
jkl = aip a jq akr alsC pqrs
whr th transformation matrics a ar givn by

cos
sin 0
a = sin cos 0
0
0
1
(A.52)
(A.53)
214
Appendix
with C prs being the elastic constants o the columnar grain with its (100) dir
ection
lying along the x
axis. The elastic constants Ci
jkl then represent a columnar grain
with its (100) direction lying at some angle relative to the x
axis. Averaging these
elastic constants according to
CiTjkl =
1
2
 2
0
Ci
jkl ( ) d
(A.54)
yields the values [Gillan, 1980]
3
1
1
T
C11
= C11 + C12 + C44
4
4
2
(A.55)
3
1
1
T
C12
= C12 + C11 C44
4
4
2
(A.56)
T
= C12
C13
(A.57)
T
C33
= C11
(A.58)
T
C44
= C44
(A.59)
T
C66
=

1 T
T
C C12
2 11
(A.60)
where the superscript T re ers to the constants or the transversely isotropic m
aterial. The tensor has been expressed in the Voigt notation so that pairs o in
dices are
represented by a single index according to the ollowing scheme: 11 1; 22 2;
33 3; 23 4; 31 5; and 12 6. The values produced by Euations A.55
to A.60 are tabulated in Table A.1.
The wave euation or the displacement U in a homogeneous anisotropic solid is
3

j,k,l=1
Ci jkl
2Uk
2U
= 2i
x j x
t
(A.61)
Pane wave soutions of this equation ae given by
Ui = Ai exp i [t kem xm ]
(A.62)
where A is the am
litude, the pol ris tion of the w ve, the angular frequency,
t the time, k the avevector (= 2/ , whee is the waveength). The quantities
A.9. Component cuvatue
215
Tabe A.1 Constants defining eastic behaviou of tansvesey anisotopic
austenitic cadding.
C11
C12
C13
C33
C44
C66

263 109 N m2
98 109 N m2
145 109 N m2
216 109 N m2
129 109 N m2
82 109 N m2
7.9 103 kgm3
em are the direction cosines of the normal to the
lane wave. On substituting th
is
ex
ression we obtain


Ci jkl el e j V 2 ik k = 0
(A.63)
where V is the ph se velocity of the w ve. Since k is r
itr ry we must s tisfy




(A.64)
Ci jkl el e j V 2 ik  k = 0
Setting ik = Ci jkl el e j , this can be rewritten as



 V 2
13
12

 11
2
=0



V
23
22

 12
2 




V
13
23
33
(A.65)
The eigenvaues then give the phase veocities and the coesponding eigenvecto
s
give the poaisation of the waves. The phase veocities define a sowness sufa
ce
(ecipoca of the phase veocity k/) and the group velocity Vg = / k, correspondin
g to a particular avevector k, is normal to the sloness surface at k. A
section through the sloness surface for Type 308 stainless steel is shon in Fi
gure 7.2.
A.9
Component curvature
To extract the speed of aves hich creep around curved surfaces e follo Vikto
rov [1958] and Peck and Mikloitz [1969] and rite the Helmholtz potentials as
= Aei eit H(1) (k p r)
(A.66)
= Bei eit H(1) (ks r)
(A.67)
Here A ad B are costats to be determied by the boudary coditios ad H(1) (
z)
is the Hakel fuctio of the first kid of order ad argumet z. As Hakel fuc
tios of the secod kid, H(2) (z), do ot occur i this work we drop the supersc
ript.
216
Appedix
The argumets deped o the wavevectors of compressio waves k p ad of shear
waves ks . The boudary coditio is that the stress o the surface of the cavit
y
should vaish. The euatios for the stresses, i cylidrical coordiates, are
 2
1
1 2
1
1
1 2
rr = ( + 2)
+
+

+
+
r2 r r r2
r r r2 r2 2
(A.68)
r =
2 2
2 2 1
1 2
2
2 +
+ 2
r r r
r
r r r 2

(A.69)
The euation obtained from setting rr = 0 give a relation hi
between the am
lit
ude A and B,
rovided we know . The euatio obtaied from settig r = 0
gives [Viktorov, 1958]
1
2p 2s i H+2 ( p ) H2 (s ) + H2 ( p ) H+2 (s )
(A.70)

2


C2p
= 0
2 1 H ( p ) H+2 (s ) + H2 (s )
Cs

with p = /C p and s = a/Cs , here a is the radius of the cavity. The solutions
of this equation give the alloed values of for give p and s . Thr is a doubly
infinit numbr of solutions to this quation [Pck and Miklowitz, 1969], with a
n
infinit numbr of solutions which condns into th latral wav travlling at
th
bulk comprssion wav spd as th radius of th cavity incrass. Th othr inf
inity
of solutions corrsponds to th bulk shar wav vlocity as th radius of th ca
vity
incrass. As wll as ths two infinit sts of solutions thr is also on roo
t which
is a tru surfac wav, with amplitud dying away xponntially with distanc fr
om
th cavity surfac. Onc th abov quation has bn solvd, th phas vlocity
V
can b found from
a
V=
(A.71)
()
where deotes the real part a complex uatity. The wave decays with a atteuat
io accordig to e , with
= ()
(A.72)
ad deotes the imagiary part. For large values of cavity radius, asymptotic
solutios ca be used which yield [Peck ad Miklowitz, 1969]
1
p + an ( p /2) 3 2i/3
(A.73)
This is for the com
ression wave modes. The values for shear waves are obtained
by substituting s in plac of p . Th cofficints an ar th nth zros of th Ai
ry
A.10. Confidnc lvls in tst-block xrciss
217
function: th first thr valus ar -2.338, -4.088, -5.5206 [Olvr, 1960]. Hurs
t and
Tmpl [1982] solvd Equation A.70 numrically and dmonstratd that th asympto
tic solutions wr, in fact, good down to about k p a 0.5 o ks a 0.5 espective
y.
These esuts ae shown in Figue 7.9(b).
A.10
Confidence eves in test-bock execises
Fo defect detection execises, the aim shoud be to detemine the eiabiity o
f detection of defects in a specified cass. The cass might be chosen on the g
ounds
of though-wa size o position; ength; thickness; oientation; type such as 
ack of
fusion in a wed; o in a host of othe ways. The binomia distibution is impo
tant in assessment of inspection eiabiity, since it gives the pobabiity of
exacty
k successes in n tias. Let us denote this pobabiity by P (k|p, n), whee p i
s the
pobabiity of success in any one tia. Then
 
n k
p (1
)nk
P (k|
, n) =
(A.74)
k

where nk denotes n! {k!(n k)!}. If we want the
robability of k or fewer success
es in n inde
endent trials we must use the cumulative binomial distribution
Q(k|
, n) =
 
n
r
r (1
)nr
r=0
k
(A.75)
Since the events form a com
lete set, that is, out of n trials we are certain to
get one
of the results: 0, 1, . . . , n successes, then
Q(n|
, n) = 1
(A.76)
The
robability of more than k successes is given by 1 Q(k|
, n). We can also
u
t
confidence limits on the results of the
robability of success
, given an obser
vation
of k successes out of n trials. The value k/n is the best estimate of
. The ue
stion is
often asked: How many trials do we need to ensure that our estimate of the relia
bility
of this techniue is, say, 95% with a high degree of confidence? Su

ose we wish
to
obtain this value of 95% reliability for a given defect class and we want this t
o 95%
confidence level. We need to solve the euations
 
n
r
r (1
)nr = 0.025
r=0
k
(A.77)
for the u

er bound,
1 , and
 
n
r
r (1
)nr = 0.025
r=k
n
(A.78)
218
A

endix
for the lower bound,
2 . We can either sti
ulate a value for
, which we desire
to
obtain with a given confidence limit and solve for n and k, or we can be given t
he
results of a trial, k successes in n trials, say, and estimate
= k/n, with con
fidence
limits
1 and
2 . In either case the euations can be solved by trial and error
, using
a bisection techniue, for small values of n. or large values of n, we can make
use
of the a

roximation of a binomial distribution by a normal distribution and obt
ain,
for exam
le, the 95% confidence interval on the value of
from





(1

)


(1

)

0.95
(A.79)
P p 1.96
<
<
+ 1.96
n
n
where
is the best estimate of
robability, that is, number of successes divided
by
total number of attem
ts. or large values of n, Packman, Mal
ani and Wells [197
6]
made use of the Poisson distribution, which is satisfactory
rovided
is either
very
small,  0.1, or very large,  0.9, say. The difference in accuracy between the two
distributions is illustrated by Packman et al.: if n = 45 and k = 43 then, for 9
5%
confidence level, we obtain
= 0.895, whereas the true value from the binomial
distribution would be
= 0.863. Euations A.77 and A.78 and the results uoted
above are for twosided confidence limits. Often it is a

ro
riate to use onesi
ded
confidence limits, which would corres
ond to setting Q in Euation A.75 to the
reuired confidence level and solving the euation for the lower bound value of

,
given values of n and k.
A.11
Distribution of sizing errors
In Section 8.4.6, we discussed the errors made in sizing defects. A first a

roa
ch
to uantifying the errors in the sizing measurement is to calculate their mean a
nd
standard deviation. However, these are useful uantities only if the errors are
normally distributed, or higher moments are also known. To test whether the erro
rs are
normally distributed, we a

ly a conventional statistical test. The statistical
test we
use is the Sha
iroWilk Wstatistic [Hahn and Sha
iro, 1967] which can be used f
or
50 or fewer observations. iven n observations zi , we calculate the Wstatistic
as
follows: the n size errors zi are ordered such that
z1  z2  . . .  zn
(A.80)
and then the mean value z is calculated. The uantity S2 is then calculated given
by
n
S2 = (zi z)2
(A.81)
i=1
and, if n is even, we set k = n/2 or, if n is odd, k = (n + 1)/2 and calculate
b = an (zn z1 ) + an1 (zn1 z2 ) + + ank+1 (znk+1 zk )
(A.82)
A.12. Im
lications for structural integrity
219
The coefficients ai can be found in tables [e.g. Hahn and Sha
iro, 1967]. inall
y,
W=
b2
S2
(A.83)
Low values of W indicate that the distribution is not very likely to be normal b
ut
the likelihood de
ends on the sam
le size n. or exam
le, for a sam
le size of 1
0,
a W value of 0.781 would indicate a 1% chance that the data came from a normal
distribution, whereas W = 0.938 would indicate a 50% chance. or a sam
le size o
f
20 these two values would be W = 0.868 and W = 0.959 res
ectively. The Sha
iroWi
lk test is not a
ositive identification for a normal distribution but rather sc
reens
against nonnormal distributions. Thus a result which gives only a 10% chance of
being a random sam
le from a normal distribution may be well re
resented by a
normal distribution but one which gives only a 1% chance or less is deemed unlik
ely
to have come from a normal distribution.
A.12
Im
lications for structural integrity
In Section 8.9 some of the results of
robabilistic fracture mechanics analyses
of

ressure vessel failure rates were introduced and this section reviews some of t
he

oints in a little more detail.
The hazard
resented by the failure of a com
onent should determine the reliabil
ity reuired of that com
onent. If the com
onent is reuired to survive various

ossible excess transient stresses, for exam
le, then nondestructive testing ma
y well
be used to identify flawed com
onents before any catastro
hic failure occurs.
Based on
robabilistic fracture mechanics analyses of the failure rate ex
ected
for PWR
ressure vessels, a target was suggested [Marshall, 1982] for the reliab
ility
of detecting and sizing defects according to their throughwall extent. This is
usually
ex
ressed as a function of the form
B(a) = + (1 )a
(A.84)
B(a)re
resents the chance of incorrectly allowing an unacce
table defect, of cha
racteristic size (throughwall extent or length) a, to remain in the vessel. As
such, it
includes the
ossibility that a defect might not be detected; that, if detected,
it might
be incorrectly sized; and, even if correctly sized, might not be re
aired satisf
actorily.
It is usually assumed that re
air can be as good as new, so B(a) is taken to re

resent
the
ossibility that an unacce
table defect will go undetected, or be detected a
nd
incorrectly judged to be acce
table. The size could re
resent length or through
wall
extent, and ought really to take into account both these factors and others, but
is
usually taken to be sim
ly the throughwall extent, as this is the most critical

arameter for a crack based on fracture mechanics criteria. A schematic diagram
of
the various regions of the B(a) function is given in igure A.6. Initially, for
small
acce
table defects, B(a) is unity; then there comes a region of decreasing likel
ihood
that defects will remain in the vessel, due in
art to the decreasing likelihood
that
220
A

endix
1.0
B(a) = + (1 ) xp(a)
Decreasing

Slo
e governed by
ex
onential factor
B(a)
Increasing

Vessel
thickness
Acce
table
crack size
0
Asym
tote
Dfct through-wall dimnsion a
Fig. A.6 Schmatic diagram of th various rgions of th probability that unacc
ptabl dfcts will rmain in a prssur vssl.
big dfcts would b cratd in th first plac and in part to th incrasd lik
lihood of succssful dtction and rpair; finally, thr is an asymptot to wh
ich B(a)
tnds for larg dfcts. Th asymptot rprsnts factors byond th capability
of
th non-dstructiv tsting tchniqu to dtct and siz dfcts accuratly. An
xampl of such a factor would b gross human rror such as omitting an inspcti
on
altogthr. It is xpctd that this asymptot will rprsnt a low liklihood o
f occurrnc, probably btwn 103 and 104
er ins
ection. Defects so large that t
hat
the vessel leaks or fractures into two or more
arts will not go unnoticed, so B
(a)
becomes zero at the vessel throughwall thickness.
In general,
robabilistic fracture mechanics work has assumed that a single
ara
meter of the defect, throughwall size, governs the likelihood of vessel failure
.
However, this
arameter is not what is measured most readily by most ultrasonic
ins
ections, exce
t by Timeoflight Diffraction. Classification of a defect de

ends
on whether it re
resents a threat to the integrity of the structure. If it does
then it is
unacce
table; otherwise it is acce
table.
Marshall [1982]
ro
osed the values = 0.005 and = 113.4, giving
B(a) = 0.005 + 0.995113.4a
(A.85)
where a is in metres. This corres
onds to the targets set by Marshall of a high
degree
of confidence (B(0.025) 0.06, that is, about 95%) that defects of throughwall e
xtent of 25 mm are detected and correctly classified while giving a fair chance
(about
A.12. Im
lications for structural integrity
log10 (Probability of vessel failure)
6
8
221
Ins
ection reliability
Worsening
Im
roving
Values for small
determined by intersection
of crack distribution with
fracture toughness
Ty
ical values obtained
with Timeoflight
Diffraction
Values for large
dominated by
10
12
14
Ty
ical value obtained
with conventional
am
litudebased
techniues
Nozzleshell weld with semielli
tical crack; or inlet nozzle
radius with semicircular crack
Beltline with semielli
tical crack
16
2
1.5
1
0.5
1
log10 () for in mm
0
ig. A.7 Predicted failure rate
er vessel year for a
ressure vessel of a
ress
urised
water reactor as a function of ins
ection unreliability.
50%) that a defect of throughwall extent 6 mm would be detected and correctly c
lassified. This same function can be used to ex
ress the reuirement for detecti
on and
correct classification of defects of other throughwall sizes. As an exam
le, co
nsider
a defect of throughwall extent of 15 mm, for which B(0.015) 0.2, re
resenting
about an 80% chance of correctly detecting and sizing it. This is now believed t
o be
a conservative estimate of the reliability of ultrasonic techniues. Nevertheles
s, with
this function, the
robabilistic analyses yield a failure rate of the
ressure v
essel of
107
er vessel year. If the chance of failing to detect, or to correctly classify
, a
defect is only 104 , inde
endent of defect throughwall extent, then the failure
rate
of the
ressure vessel decreases to below 108
er vessel year.
There are many assum
tions in these analyses and, for more detail, the reader
is referred to Marshall [1982] and Cameron [1984]. The im
ortant
oint which we
wish to em
hasise is that these are the estimated failure rates even if the chan
ce of
correctly detecting and sizing a defect of 15 mm throughwall extent is as low a
s
80%. This sets a scale on how reliable ins
ection needs to be. Once functions of
this form have been deduced and are taken to be realistic and re
resentative of
the
222
A

endix
sort of results which emerge from testblock trials, then the failure rate of th
e vessels
themselves can be
redicted. The other in
ut data are the material
ro
erties, w
hich
are well characterised, and the initial defect distribution, which is rather les
s well
known than is desirable but which can be estimated reasonably well based on the
available information.
With these data, one can study the
redicted failure rate of vessels, as a funct
ion of the success rate of the ultrasonic ins
ections. igure A.7 shows the resu
lts
of some calculations of
redicted failure rates,
er vessel year, of
ressure ve
ssels
in
ressurised water reactors, following a large loss of coolant accident, based
on
the reliability of ultrasonic ins
ection. The reliability of the ultrasonic ins

ections is
included through the
arameter of the B(a) function. This
arameter re
resents,
in essence, the ca
ability of the ultrasonic ins
ection to distinguish between c
ritical and noncritical defects. It is thus related to the resolving
ower at t
he critical
defect size. Large values of indicate techniues which are good at distinguishin
g
between defects of different sizes, and the B(a) function uickly reaches the as
ym
tote. Conversely, small values of indicate techniues having a large uncertai
nty in
whether they would correctly reject defects relatively close to the acce
trejec
t decision line. In other words, large indicates a small mean error and small as
sociated
standard deviation away from the mean for the measurement of defect throughwall
size, whereas small im
lies large mean errors and associated standard deviations
.
In igure A.7, taken from Cameron and Tem
le [1986], the variations of
redicted
failure rates, as a function of , for a fixed asym
totic value of B(a) of 103 , sh
ow
that there is a limit to worthwhile im
rovements to the accuracy of sizing techn
iues
unless
arallel im
rovements are made to the likelihood of gross errors (such as
human error).
Theoretical modelling work on very long defects of as
ect ratio 0.1 or greater
and of at least 6 mm throughwall extent has shown that the chance of incorrectl
y acce
ting unacce
table defects should be as low as any externally a

lied asym

tote,
that is, certainly less than 103 [Cameron and Tem
le, 1984]. This asym
tote arise
s
in the same way as the constant in the Marshall B(a) function through external i
nfluences and misha
s (see Section 8.9). ollowing the arguments in Cameron
and Tem
le [1984] leads us back to the most significant defect
arameter being i
ts
throughwall extent.
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Index
6dB dro
sizing, 100103, 177, 183, 184 American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
see ASME
20dB dro
sizing, 151, 188
American Welding Society, 187
Ascan, 810, 20, 83, 8688, 90, 92, 93,
AWS D1.1 Code, 187
97, 118, 121, 153
am
lifier freuency res
onse, 3435, 209
Ascan analysis, 90
am
litude
acce
tance criteria, 145, 177, 191194,
relative unim
ortance for TOD, 7
219
am
litude of TOD signals
acce
tance standards, 192
theoretical
redictions, 5170
access windows, 185
Am
lituden und Laufzeit Orts Kurwen
accuracy of throughwall size, 3, 2537
(ALOK), 49
accuracy of TOD
analogue dis
lays, 8788
com
ared with am
litude based
analysis of TOD data, see data analysis
techniues, 176177
angle of incidence, 7, 20, 25, 53, 58, 72,
com
ared with other techniues,
77, 107, 139142, 174, 203
175176
204
accuracy, effect of
angle of reflection, 20, 53
cou
ling film thickness, 2930
angular freuency, 214

robe se
aration errors, 2829
anisotro
ic media

robe shoes, 2528
a

lication of TOD, 128139
surface condition, 32
austenitic cladding, 129137
time resolution, see de
th resolution
austenitic steel, 137138
timing errors, 3437, 210
diffraction, 138139
variations in wave velocity, 3132
grain boundary scattering, 128
Accuscan, 152
theory of transversely isotro
ic meacoustic noise, 137
dia, 213215
AEA Sonomatic, 82, 185, 194
transversely isotro
ic cladding model,
AEA Technology, 88, 89, 169, 173175,
129137
188, 194, 198
errors from ignoring corrections,
aeros
ace, 3
136
Airy function, 216
ex
erimental confirmation, 134
aliasing, 80
137
Allseas, 194
ray
aths, 133
alternating current
otential dro
(ACPD),
reference
ath, 134
110, 187
transit times, 131134
American Petroleum Institute, 192
245
246
wave velocities, 132
anisotro
y factor, 129
a

lications, 181190
other nuclear com
onents, 183
ca
ability studies, 181
defect growth monitoring, 186187
future
otential, 188190
gascooled nuclear
lant, 182183
general weld ins
ection, 186
ins
ection of steel bridges, 187188
nonnuclear
ressure vessels, 183
offshore nodes, see com
lex geometry
offshore structures, 185

lant monitoring, 186
PWR nozzles, see com
lex geometry
reviews, 181
routine use, 181
turbine and generator com
onents,
183185
watercooled nuclear
lant, 181182
ASME, 55, 193
Code, Section VIII, 192
Code, Section XI, 165, 193
A

endix 8, 193
a

licability to TOD, 193194
com
atible
rocedure, 198
defect significance, 177179, 193

erformance demonstration, 172,
197

roximity rules, 165
SA 508, 167
SA 533B, 167
asset life management, 193
Atomic Energy of Canada, 188
audit of results, 197
austenitic cladding, 10, 45, 72, 78, 121
in BWR, 182
in PWR, 129
austenitic cladding model, see anisotro
ic
media
austenitic steel, 127, 137
retaining rings, 184
Index
ty
e 304, 129
ty
e 308, 183, 215
ty
e 308L, 45, 134
ty
e 309L, 45
ty
e 310, 183
ty
e 316, 129
austenitic welds, 128, 137, 138, 171174
automated ins
ection, 29, 48, 155157,
196198
automated monitoring of fatigue crack
growth, 186
Bscan, 810, 12, 20, 35, 83, 86, 108,
109, 138, 152, 161, 162
diffraction arcs, 3842, 105
dis
lay methods, 8689
hard co
y, 10, 88
PWR nozzle, 117119
signal
rocessing, 103104
use in data analysis, 9099
Babcock Energy, 160, 169, 173
backwall echo, 69, 2036, 73, 78, 81,
86, 92, 93, 98, 99, 104, 132,
155, 156, 182, 184
basic TOD techniue, 67, 2024
beach marks, 184
beam angle, see also
robe angle, 4, 7,
25, 26, 29, 31, 34, 40, 41, 45,
5253, 64, 69, 72, 111, 144,
203
beam
rofile, 21, 44, 62, 138, 202, 207
beam skewing, 130, 137, 139
bend s
ecimen
Char
y, 187
notch, 186
bends, 185
Bessel function, 57, 202, 207
binomial distribution, 217218
blind trials, for ins
ection ualification,
182, 197
bodycentred cubic, 129
boiling water reactor (BWR), 124, 125,
167, 168, 182
boundary conditions, 18, 215, 216
boxcar integrator, 9
Index
bridges, steel, ins
ection of, 187188
British Standard
BS1501, 107, 151
BS4360, 140
BS5400, 187
BS7706, 195
brittle fracture, 2, 150
broadband
ulse, see short
ulse
robe
bulk modulus, 16
bulk waves, 18, 23, 24, 145, 216
caissons, 185
calibration, 4, 8, 9, 156
hole, see sidedrilled hole or flatbottomed hole
in absence of lateral wave, 29
use of backwall echo, 27
velocity effects, 31
calibration block, 4, 31, 36, 75, 77, 137
calibration curve, 135
calibration reflector, 4, 57, 6069, 203
204
calibration signal, 45, 57, 62, 66
calibration slots, 8
canonical
roblem, 19, 52, 201
ca
ability, demonstration of, 147179
carbon cracks, 120, 161
causes of defects, 1
Central Electricity enerating Board, 10,
107, 151, 156, 160
certification of
ersonnel, 196
characterisation of defects, 102, 104105,
107, 116, 150, 151, 153, 161
164, 192, 195, 213
Char
y bend s
ecimens, 187
chemically induced cracks in
i
elines,
185
cladding, see austenitic cladding
classification of defects, 148149, 176,
178179, 191, 220221
closure welds, 185
codes, fabrication, 192
codes, ins
ection
a

lication to TOD, 192198
colour dis
lay, 8789
247
columnar grains, 129130, 213214
Committee on the Safety of Nuclear Installations (CSNI), 165
com
act tension s
ecimens, 186
com
lex arc
atterns, 94
com
lex geometry, 10, 11, 29, 31, 32,
75, 107125, 138, 150, 151
com
onent curvature, 145146, 215217
com
ression waves, 58, 1619, 2324,
45, 47, 53, 54, 64, 94, 96, 111,
129145, 164, 196, 199, 200
206, 216
com
ressionwave
robes, 7, 8, 45, 47,
66, 118, 169, 174
com
ressionwave velocity, 7, 9, 16, 17,
24, 27, 31, 47, 78, 90, 97, 129
132, 135, 145, 203, 207
com
ressive stress, 81, 139145, 185
confidence level/limit, 148149, 153, 154,
156, 166, 197, 217218, 220
constructional members, 186
constructive interference, 99
contact between crack faces, 19, 140144
contact
robes, 25, 29, 44
co

er, 139
co

er cracks, 161
corrosion in
i
elines, 185
cou
ling layer, 2632, 35
cou
ling medium, 75, 90, 111, 118, 156
cou
ling monitoring, 156
coverage design, 7180
crack de
th/size, see throughwall size
crack growth monitoring, 186187
crack orientation, see defect orientation
crack
rofile, see defect
rofile
crack surface
rofile, 142
crack ti

lastic zone, 144
crack trans
arency, 185
cracks, see s
ecific ty
es, such as fatigue
cracks etc.
cree
ing wave, 18, 145146
critical angle, 64, 132134, 204
critical crack, 23
crossing loci for defect edge location, 38
248
curve fitting for de
th measurement, 97
Dscan, 39, 83, 8694, 101, 182, 184,
195
data analysis, 90106
modelling studies, 105106
data analysis software
CTOD, 125
MUSE, 124, 198
data collection, 8081, 119
data dis
lay, 8590
data flattening, 9092
data storage, 8990
defect characterisation, see characterisation of defects
defect classification, see classification of
defects
defect de
th measurement, 97
defect detection, 17, 9, 15, 37, 38, 44,
49, 53, 66, 7181, 86, 93, 104
110, 114, 117124, 137, 139,
145, 148198, 217, 219222
Defect Detection Trials (DDT), 10, 71
82, 84, 118121, 129, 153164
defect growth monitoring, 186187
defect length measurement, 98104
defect location measurement, 9798
defect orientation, 1, 2, 4, 15, 5170, 77,
85, 101, 107, 115, 117, 121,
139, 178, 198, 217
defect
rofile, 25, 9899, 106, 114, 116,
120, 183, 186
defect sha
e, 51, 52, 62, 69, 81, 98105,
139, 187, 213
defect size measurement, see throughwall
size
defect size, need for accurate, 2, 3
defects, see s
ecific ty
es, es
ecially ty
es
of crack
de
th linearisation, 97
de
th resolution, 6, 24, 3234, 5254,
78, 79, 97, 152, 196
de
thcorrected Bscan dis
lay, 97
destructive examination, 25, 47, 113114,
148151, 156164, 166, 184,
Index
197
destructive interference, 41, 101
DS sizing, 152
diffraction, 2, 56, 1819
angular s
read, 4, 19, 58, 60
anisotro
ic materials, 138139
geometrical theory, 52, 200202
visualisation, 5
diffraction am
litude, 5170
circular defects, 6669
com
arison with ex
eriment, 59, 60
com
arison with
ulseecho, 6169
effect of tilt and skew, 5559, 6970
elli
tical crack, 5559
ribbon defects, 6669
zero at
hase change, 59
diffraction arcs, 3843, 9396
diffraction by curved edges, 201202
diffraction by smooth flat cracks, 5261
diffraction by straight crack edges, 19,
204206
diffraction coefficient, 52, 6970, 7273,
138139, 201, 204206
diffraction signal
hase, 6, 9, 3537, 59,
60, 206
diffusion scattering, 128
digital data collection, 9, 8084
digital data dis
lay, 9, 8889
digital gauge, 8
digital instrumentation, 11
recent develo
ments, 8284
DIN organisation, 192
dis
lay of TOD data, see data dis
lay
dissimilar metal welds, 168171
dry cracks, 144
eddy current ins
ection, 110, 182, 189
edge waves, 6, 208210
eigenvalues/eigenvectors, 215
elastic constants, 1617, 132, 139, 142,
213215
elastic modulus, 2, 16, 142
elastic waves, see com
ression waves,
shear waves, Rayleigh waves etc.
elastic
lastic analysis, 177
Index
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI),
124, 182, 198
electricdischargemachined defects, 45,
171, 195
electromagnetic acoustic transducer
(EMAT), 1, 138
elli
tical defect, 45, 5557, 69, 101, 202,
221
elli
tical locus, 36, 37, 42, 44, 49, 98,
100
euiaxed austenite, 137138
eui
ment design for sim
le geometry,
7184
errors, see accuracy
Euro
ean Committee for Standardisation
(CEN), 195
Euro
ean Network for Ins
ection Qualification (ENIQ), 197
Euro
ean Standards, 194196
EN 473, 196
EN 583, 195
ENV 5836, 195196
evanescent waves, 64
ex
erimental techniue develo
ment, 7
11
249
filled cracks, 144, 145
fitness for
ur
ose, 3, 110, 191
flash
oint, 69, 101, 102
flatbottomed hole, 4, 51, 5562, 66, 203
204
flaw detector, 4, 7, 82, 8586
focused
robes, 44, 174
fracture, 186, 193, 220
fracture mechanics, 107, 145, 153, 165,
177, 179, 186, 187, 191193,
196, 219222
fracture toughness s
ecimens, 186
raunhofer diffraction, 207
freuency, 19, 3237, 41, 52, 58, 78, 90,
92, 128, 138, 143, 144, 151,
201, 202, 206210
freuency choice, 72, 194, 196
freuency domain, 92
freuency filtering, 116
freuency s
ectrum, 62, 138, 208209
gain settings, 195
gascooled nuclear
lant, 182183
gaugecorner cracking, 189190
aussian envelo
e, 34, 41, 207
generators, 183185
end rings, 184
retaining rings, 184
eometrical Theory of Diffraction, 52,
70, 200202
good workmanshi
criteria, 3, 192
grain alignment, see grain orientation
grain clutter (noise), 82, 128, 137, 138,
194
grain orientation, 127, 129, 130, 137, 166
grain size, 127129, 137, 138, 144, 166,
188
grain structure, 137, 139, 168
grainboundary scattering, 128, 137, 212
greyscale dis
lay, 910, 35, 8789
grou
velocity, 130134, 215
fabrication codes, 192
facecentred cubic, 129
failure in service, 1, 154, 177179, 186,
189, 191, 219222
false calls, 105, 172176, 189, 194
false indications, reasons for, 195
far field, 22, 42, 62, 74, 103, 202
fatigue, 1, 110, 145, 188
fatigue cracks, 25, 35, 47, 59, 6061, 109,
113, 140145, 155, 161, 171
172, 183188
feedwater nozzle, 124, 182, 198
ermats Princi
le, 99, 135, 200
ferritic steel, 7, 10, 45, 123, 127137,
150, 182, 184
A533B, 134, 167
BS1501 grade 22332B, 107, 151
Hankel function, 215
BS436050D, 140
hardco
y out
ut, 88
SA508 Class 2, 118, 164, 167
250
Index
Harwell Laboratory, 611, 45, 107, 151,
154165, 168, 185
head wave, 18
Helmholtz
otential, 199, 205, 215
history of TOD, 37
hologra
hy, 152
Hough transform, 104
hydrocracker vessel, 186
hydrogen, 183
hydrogen cracks, 152
hydro
rocessing reactors, 183
hy
erbolic cursor, see sha
ed cursor
lateral
osition of defects, 98
lateral resolution, 103
lateral wave, 69, 1837, 45, 7880, 86,
9097, 101, 104, 108, 119, 132
134, 145, 155156, 216

ulse sha
e, 3435, 207210
velocity, 24
layback, 130
life extension, 187
limitations of test block exercises, 148
150
line drawing dis
lays, 86
linear elastic behaviour, 17
ISCC, 171, 172, 184
linear elastic fracture mechanics, 177
immersion
robes, 25, 29, 42, 44, 47, locus of constant transit time, 3738
156
longitudinal scan, 79
inservice ins
ection, 47, 48, 107, 110, lossofcoolant accident, 117, 178, 222
123, 156, 165, 168, 181190,
magnetic
article ins
ection, 110
192, 198
Magnox reactors, 182
incident
otential, 202
inclusions, 93, 115, 151, 152, 160, 175, manual ins
ection, 110, 113, 153, 155,
175, 189, 194, 197
194, 212
ins
ection coverage, see coverage design manual metal arc welding, 152
manual scanner, 113
ins
ection modelling software, 198
Marshall function, 219, 222
ins
ection
rocedure, 3, 69, 110, 111,
147, 149, 155, 165, 166, 175, Marshall re
ort, 179, 219222
martensitic steel, 184
182, 184, 188, 191, 195198
maximum am
litude techniue, 151152
ins
ection ualification, 196197
maximum entro
y method, 103
insurance, 193
MicroPlus instrument, 82, 175, 198
interactive cursor, see sha
ed cursor
microvoids, 144
introduction to TOD, 113
mill rolls, a

lication of TOD, 188
isochronal surface, 100101
isotro
ic media, 1518, 2042, 58, 129, Ministry of Defence (Navy), 192
mode conversion, 78, 1824, 47, 93
150, 199200
94, 96, 108, 111, 140, 142, 172
Knodes, 75, 111
multi
le signal arcs, see diffraction arcs
lack of fusion, 61, 108, 140, 152, 161,
167, 175, 195, 217
lack of root
enetration, 151, 175, 195
lamellar tears, 108
Lam constants, 16
largegrained materials, 129, 137139,
171174, 188
lasers, 2, 59, 60, 186
National NDT Centre, 6, 151, 188
Nautilus subsea mani
ulator, 185
near field, 22, 39
nearfield distance, 22, 42, 62, 103
nearsurface defects, 45, 47, 92, 97, 98,
118, 122, 164, 186
coverage, 7273, 193
ins
ection design, 7880
Index
nearsurface de
th resolution, 33
Nerason tube ins
ection intsrument, 183
Netherlands Institute of Welding, 194
Netherlands Society for NonDestructive
Testing and Ins
ection Techniues, 194
nodes, 75, 107, 111117, 185
noise, 7, 9, 49, 52, 8182, 105, 128, 137,
194, 210212
nonnuclear
ressure vessels, 183
non
arallel scan, 79
North Sea, 1, 84, 109, 110, 185, 188
notch bend s
ecimens, 186
nozzle inner radius, 117121, 154, 164
nozzle scanner, 118
nozzletoshell weld, 107, 121122, 176,
178
nozzles, 10, 75, 107, 117125, 154, 164
171, 176, 178, 182, 198
Nuclear Electric, 169, 173, 174
nuclear
lant, 181183
251

i
es, 7, 107, 123, 125, 137, 145, 166,
172, 182, 185, 186
PISC exercises, 148
PISC I, 5, 148, 153
PISC II, 61, 121122, 150, 154, 156, 164
166

arametric studies, 61, 105, 204
PISC III, 150, 166174
Action 3, 168171
Action 4, 171174

iston source, 22, 57, 202, 207210

lanar cracks/defects, 4, 5161, 6970,
96, 105, 121, 150155, 177
178, 188, 193, 195, 201, 213

lant life extension, 182

lant monitoring, 186

oint defects, 39, 41, 95, 195

oint s
read function, 103
Poisson distribution, 218
Poissons ratio, 16, 59, 200

olarisation, 16, 18, 140, 214215

ores/
orosity, 39, 108, 151, 195
Oceaneering International, 113

recision of re
eat measurements, 186
offshore structures, 84, 107, 109117,

referred orientation, 127130, 138
127, 144145, 147, 181, 185, 188

ressurised water reactor, see PWR
oil and gas industry, 185

rimary circuit nozzles, 182
oil refinery, 186, 194

rimary circuit
i
ework, 137, 166, 182
Oilfield Ins
ection Service (OIS), 169

robabilistic fracture mechanics, 179, 219
Oja transform, 104
222
o
erator training, 195

robability
of detection, 105, 149, 176,
o
timum beam angles, 5253, 73
194,
217218
oscillosco
e, see data dis
lay

robe angle, 2528, 3336, 40, 4549,
55, 62, 6469, 7273, 83, 111,
Pwaves, see com
ression waves
141, 174, 196

arallel scan, 79

robe arrays, 11, 38, 7579, 121

erformance demonstration, 196197

robe cou
ling, see also immersion
robes,

er
endicular scan, 79
29, 30

etrochemical industry, 183

robe delay, 9, 26, 31, 36

hase coherence, 9, 38

hase of diffracted signal, see diffraction
robe diameter, 22, 34, 35, 4042, 44,
58, 66, 72, 73, 103, 118, 196,
signal
hase
210

hase velocity, 130134, 215216

robe edge signals, 39, 208210

hotogrammetry, 110

robe firing seuence, 77, 80, 82

iezoelectric transducer, 1, 2, 4, 137

i
elines, 1, 88, 147, 175, 185, 194

robe freuency, 22, 35, 41, 4547, 53,
252
58, 6168, 7273, 78, 118, 140
146, 151, 196, 207

robe index
oint, 19, 20, 27, 41, 45, 72,
93, 94, 97, 98

robe masking, 4243

robe mountings, 8, 29, 75, 77, 78, 111,
118, 121

robe movement sizing, 4, 100103, 145,
151, 177, 183, 184, 188

robe se
aration, 6, 8, 9, 11, 2028, 31,
3437, 4042, 45, 55, 58, 72
73, 75, 7879, 81, 83, 9394,
105, 122, 135137, 193, 203

robe shoes, 8, 23, 2529, 41, 43, 47, 78,
90

robe skewing, 75

rofilometer, 142
Programme for Ins
ection of Steel Com
onents, see PISC

ul
and
a
er industry, 183

ulse com
ression, 186

ulse sha
e, 32, 3437, 41, 90, 103, 138,
207210

ulseecho and TOD used together, 194

ulseecho techniue, 29, 19, 42, 46,
49, 5155, 6169, 8588, 103
105, 107, 122123, 139, 144
145, 153, 155, 164169, 175,
179, 183188, 193194, 198,
203204
PWR, 6, 82, 117123, 153164, 168,
178179, 181183, 190, 219221
inservice ins
ection, 181
PWR nozzles, 117123, 154, 164, 167
PWR
ressure vessel, 6, 82, 129, 157,
178179, 219221
failure, 154, 178179, 219222
threaded studs, 183
PWR
rimary circuit
i
ework, 137, 182
PWR safe end weld, 168
PWR steam generator
feedwater nozzle, 124, 182, 198
PZT (lead zirconate titanate), 8
ualification of
ersonnel, 196, 197

Index
ualification of
rocedures and eui
ment,
197
ualification of TOD, 198
uasi com
ression waves, 130132
uasi shear waves, 130131
radiogra
hy, 110, 175176, 183, 185186,
194
rail ins
ection, 189190
Rayleigh scattering, 128
Rayleigh wave velocity, 18
Rayleigh waves, 18, 24, 69, 96, 199200,
206
RayTrAIM, 139, 170
referable defects, 156
reference reflector, 51, 58
reflection coefficient, 52, 140143, 203
reliability, 147149, 151, 157, 166, 176,
178179, 194, 217, 219222
remotely o
erated vehicle, 84, 185
re
eatability of TOD, 187
risers, 185
Risley Laboratory, 77, 122, 157, 160, 164,
165, 168
Rolls Royce & Associates, 169, 173, 181
rough cracks, 4, 20, 61, 122, 140144
roughness of defect faces, 4, 61, 81, 122,
139144
roundrobin exercises, 150
DDT, see Defect Detection Trials
PISC, see PISC exercises
Welding Institute, see Welding Institute study
Rules for Pressurised Eui
ment (RTOD),
194
safeend weld, 168, 198
safety, 4, 89, 117, 121, 147, 165, 189,
191, 198
SAT, 88, 98, 102104, 168, 182185
sam
ling interval, 33, 35, 92
sam
ling rate, 33, 72, 80, 83, 122
Satellite Pulse Techniue, see SLIC
scanners, 53, 7679, 113, 118, 119, 121,
123, 169, 198
Index
scanning direction, 79
scanning
attern/seuence, 7580, 84,
119, 121, 198
scattering in anisotro
ic materials, 128
SCC, 150, 171, 172, 184
seismology, 16
serviceinduced defects, 197
settingu

rocedure, 195
sha
ed cursor, 93
Sha
iroWilk Wstatistic, 218
shear modulus, 142
shear waves, 5, 7, 1618, 2324, 47, 53,
62, 6468, 96, 111, 129131,
140, 142, 145, 174, 199, 201,
202205, 216
SH waves, 16, 130131, 137, 140
SV waves, 16, 18, 62, 130131
shearhorizontal (SH) waves, see shear
waves, SH waves
shearvertical (SV) waves, see shear
waves, SV waves
shearwave
olarisation, 16, 18, 130
shearwave
robes, 62, 64, 68, 140, 174
shearwave velocity, 7, 16, 17, 129, 203
short
ulse
robes, 9, 72, 118
sidedrilled hole, 4, 20, 39, 42, 60, 61,
77, 135, 195, 204
signal arcs, see diffraction arcs
signal averaging, 81, 138, 210212
signal
hase measurement, 104
signal
rocessing, 102104
signal recognition, 9394
signaltonoise ratio, 9, 49, 8182, 105,
111, 119, 122, 182, 210212
single
robe techniues, 7, 4449
Sizewell B nuclear
ower station, 10,
156, 183
sizing errors, statistical distribution, 218
219
skewed defects, 19, 53, 55, 6970, 79,
121
skewed
robes, 102, 104
skewing angle, 130134
slag, 105, 108, 151, 161, 175, 195
253
SLIC, 4748
slowness surface, 130, 131, 215
smooth cracks, 4, 19, 20, 5261, 122,
201, 204
Snells Law, 130, 203
solidification cracks, 140, 152
s
arkmachined defects, see electricdischargemachined defects
s
atial averaging, 138, 212
s
atial coherence, see
hase coherence
s
atial freuency, 144
s
ecular reflection, 2, 47, 20, 53, 57, 59,
62, 66, 81, 107, 139, 144
s
iral welds, 185
stainless steel, see austenitic steel
standards for TOD, 191198
steam boiler ex
losions, 193
steam generator tubing, 183
steel, see austenitic steel or ferritic steel
stochastic scattering, 128
stresscorrosion cracking, see SCC
intergranular, see ISCC
stressfree boundary, 18, 61
structural integrity, 177179, 219222
subsea node welds, 185
submerged arc welding, 152
surface roughness, 47, 78, 92, 111, 164
surfacebreaking cracks/defects, 33, 45,
71, 86, 101, 116, 155, 172, 178,
182, 183
surfacewave
robe, 8
Synthetic A
erture ocusing Techniue,
see SAT
Tbutt welds, 107, 185
Tnodes, 111
tandem techniue, 19, 49, 53, 66, 105,
107, 139, 145, 204
tension leg
latform, 84
testblock trials, 197
theoretical basis of TOD, 1544
theoretical justification of ins
ection techniues, 197
theory of signal am
litude, 5170
threadlike flaws, 195
254
throughwall size, 3, 810, 2025, 32,
37, 38, 41, 45, 47, 103, 106,
110111, 117, 120122, 147
179, 182188, 193198, 217
222
tight cracks, 109, 141144
tilted defects, 19, 53, 55, 66, 6970
timing reference, 6, 9, 3536, 92, 119,
127, 134, 145, 210
TOD and
ulseecho used together, 194
TOD as alternative to radiogra
hy, 186
TOD assessment by existing codes, 193
TOD used for ra
id defect detection, 186
TOD, alternative methods, 4244
transducers, see
robes
transmission coefficient, 140, 142, 143
transverse defects, 75, 77, 121
transverse
robe array, 121
transverse scan, 79, 80
transversely isotro
ic, see anisotro
ic media
turbine discs, 183, 184
turbine rotors, 183, 184
turbines, 183185
twincrystal
robes, 4547, 83, 164, 174
Index
Vweld, 66
vessel failure, 154, 178179, 219222
viscous cou
lant, 137
visualisation of diffraction, 5
Voigt notation, 129
volumetric defects, 145, 195
Wstatistic, 218
water cou
ling, 11, 29, 30, 47, 7581,
9092, 111, 118, 156
watercooled nuclear
lant, 181182
wave euation, 199, 214
wavefront, 1819, 22, 142, 200, 201
wavefront curvature, 200201
wavelength, 17, 22, 24, 32, 34, 52, 61,
62, 103, 105, 128129, 140
142, 166, 201205, 212, 214
waves, see com
ression waves, shear waves,
Rayleigh waves etc.
waves in isotro
ic media, 1518
waves
eeds, 1617
wavevector, 52, 130, 142, 201202, 206,
213216
weld defects in
i
elines, 185
weld ins
ection, 186
welder
erformance, 192
welding cracks/defects, see also s
ecific
ultrasonic attenuation, 128
ty
es, 108, 114, 118, 155, 162,
ultrasonic hologra
hy, 152
175
ultrasonic test train, 189
Welding Institute, 8, 107, 151, 188
ultrasonic thickness gauge, 110
Welding Institute study
ultrasonic tomogra
hy, 104
Phase 1, 151152
ultrasonically clean material, 86
Phase 2, 152153
ultrasonically smooth defects, 61
Phase 4, 107109
underclad cracks, 4547, 135, 136, 140, wet cracks, 144
164, 176, 182
widebeam
robes, 102
undersizing, 121, 165, 184
Wiener filtering, 103
underwater ins
ection, 109117, 185
work of fracture, 2
underwater ins
ection vehicle, 185
written
rocedures, 175, 197
underwater
i
e welds, 185
Youngs modulus, 16, 142
underwater sizing a
aratus, 185
underwater tendons and risers, 185
United Kingdom Atomic Energy Author zero crossing, 3436, 90, 119, 210
ity (UKAEA), 10, 45, 150, 153, Zi
scan, 11, 169, 178
158, 159, 168, 185
Ultrasonic Ins
ection in Engineering Series
Series Editor: Dr M. J. Whittle,
John Whittle & Associates
Engineering A

lications of Ultrasonic
Timeoflight Diffraction
Second Edition
J. P. Charlesworth
J. A. . Tem
le
Ultrasonic Timeoflight Diffraction (TOD) was invented in
the early 1970s. Both Phili
Charlesworth and Andrew Tem
le
have s
ent a considerable
art of their
rofessional careers
develo
ing and evaluating TOD. Our first edition of this book,

ublished in 1989, came at a time when much of the
develo
ment work had been com
leted and several testblock
trials had also been undertaken. The techniue had
roved
itself and was being ado
ted as one of the essential tools,
alongside enhanced
ulseecho ins
ection, of nuclear reactor
ins
ection. Our ho
e then was that the techniue would s
read
to other industrial sectors. This has ha

ened and the
techniue is now a mature one being a

lied in railways,
bridges, marine, aeros
ace, defence and nuclear sectors.
One of the strengths of TOD is that theoretical understanding
was develo
ed at an early stage and this has been used
consistently to develo
the ins
ection techniues used in real
a

lications. The techniue, if used correctly, is ca
able of
yielding accurate results for crack size. To use the techniue

ro
erly, it is necessary to understand the sources of
otential
error and how to minimise them. This book gives a thorough
background to TOD, how to achieve accuracy and minimise
errors by knowing its limitations.
RESEARCH STUDIES PRESS LTD.
Baldock, Hertfordshire, England