Improved detection of rough defects for ultrasonic NDE inspections based on finite element modeling of elastic wave scattering
- Rolls-Royce Nuclear, PO BOX 2000, Derby, UK, DE21 7XX and Research Centre for NDE, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)
- Rolls-Royce Nuclear, PO BOX 2000, Derby DE21 7XX (United Kingdom)
- Research Centre for NDE, Imperial College London, Exhibition Road, London SW7 2AZ (United Kingdom)
Defects which posses rough surfaces greatly affect ultrasonic wave scattering behaviour, often reducing the magnitude of reflected signals. Ultrasonic inspections rely upon this response for detecting and sizing flaws. For safety critical components reliable characterisation is crucial. Therefore, providing an accurate means to predict reductions in signal amplitude is essential. An extension of Kirchhoff theory has formed the basis for the UK power industry inspection justifications. However, it is widely recognised that these predictions are pessimistic owing to analytical approximations. A numerical full field modelling approach does not fall victim to such limitations. Here, a Finite Element model is used to aid in setting a non-conservative reporting threshold during the inspection of a large pressure vessel forging that might contain embedded rough defects. The ultrasonic response from multiple rough surfaces defined by the same statistical class is calculated for normal incident compression waves. The approach is validated by comparing coherent scattering with predictions made by Kirchhoff theory. At lower levels of roughness excellent agreement is observed, whilst higher values confirm the pessimism of Kirchhoff theory. Furthermore, the mean amplitude in the specular direction is calculated. This represents the information obtained during an inspection, indicating that reductions due to increasing roughness are significantly less than the coherent component currently being used.
- OSTI ID:
- 22263808
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 1581, Issue 1; Conference: 40. annual review of progress in quantitative nondestructive evaluation, Baltimore, MD (United States), 21-26 Jul 2013, 10. international conference on Barkhausen noise and micromagnetic testing, Baltimore, MD (United States), 21-26 Jul 2013; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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