The Influence of Inspection Angle, Wave Type and Beam Shape on Signal-to-Noise Ratios in Ultrasonic Pitch-Catch Inspections
- Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011 (United States)
Grain noise, which arises from the scattering of sound waves by microstructure, can limit the detection of small internal defects in metal components. Signal-to-noise (S/N) ratios for ultrasonic pitch/catch inspections are primarily determined by three factors: the scattering ability of the defect; the inherent noisiness of the microstructure (per unit volume); and finite-beam effects. An approximate single-scattering model has been formulated which contains terms representing each of these factors. In this paper the model is applied to a representative pitch/catch inspection problem, namely, the detection of a circular crack in a nickel cylinder. The object is to estimate S/N ratios for various choices of the inspection angle and sonic wave types, and to demonstrate how S/N is determined by the interplay of the defect, microstructure, and finite-beam factors. We also explore how S/N is influenced by the sizes, shapes, and orientations of the transmitter and receiver sound beams.
- OSTI ID:
- 21054975
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 894, Issue 1; Conference: Conference on review of progress in quantitative nondestructive evaluation, Portland, OR (United States), 30 Jul - 4 Aug 2006; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2718022; (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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