Ultrasonic guided wave inspection concepts for steam generator tubing
- Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
- Florida Power and Light Co., Juno Beach, FL (United States)
Some very exciting and promising results have been obtained with respect to the utilization and guided wave techniques for inspecting steam generator tubing. In addition to some theoretical considerations that were studied recently, work has been carried out in special probe design and development. This special probe is used in demonstration of law detection feasibility, and in understanding the conceptual development of a complete flaw detection system. This includes transducer, pulser-receiver system, and appropriate signal processing and pattern recognition software for reliable inspection. Ultrasonic NDE techniques have progressed quite rapidly during this decade for two principal reasons: advanced signal processing, and the use and understanding of multi-mode ultrasonic wave propagation. Both concepts are useful in the proposed work on guided wave propagation in steam generator tubing. These new directions go beyond the use of normal beam longitudinal waves and angle beam shear waves for inspection. Guided waves such as surface and Lamb waves can be used to monitor larger volumes of material with greater efficiency. The generation of these waves, however, is more complex. Theoretically one can produce a large number of modes in a structure with a simple loading arrangement. However, the generation of sufficient amounts of energy in a specific mode strongly depends on several factors. They include the loading system, angle of attack, probe frequency, frequency bandwidth, and a whole host of special transducer design and instrumentation parameters.
- OSTI ID:
- 7205122
- Journal Information:
- Materials Evaluation; (United States), Vol. 52:2; ISSN 0025-5327
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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