New Generation of Air-Coupled Ultrasonic Testing

Transcription

1 New Generation of Air-Coupled Ultrasonic Testing World s 1 st Non-Contact Phased-Array Inspection System

2 Company Location SONOTEC US Inc. in New York, USA Sales and Stock Office for Americas SONOTEC GmbH in Halle (Saale), Germany Headquarters, R&D and Production

3 Company Info Founded in 1991 Strong technology leadership philosophy >200 employees (>30 R&D engineers) All products 100% made in Germany In-house piezo-composite production >30,000 transducers manufactured annually Worldwide sales and support More than 50 distribution partners Standard products and customized solutions

4 Company Business Units Preventive Maintenance Noninvasive Fluid Monitoring Nondestructive Testing

5 Air-coupled UT in the Past First systems in the 1970s Niche application in aerospace industry Change towards lightweight material makes technology more interesting Until today: Many times no testing at all (e.g. wind power, automotive)

6 Challenges of Air-coupled UT Large acoustic impedance difference between Air and Solid Test Objects >99% of the ultrasonic signal are reflected on the material surface Less than 1% of the transmitted signal are received Test Object Impedance Air = Zair = 400 Rayl Impedance Plastic = Zplastic = 3 MRayl Reflection + Transmission = 1 T = 1 - R Tair to plastic = 0,03%

7 Challenges of Conventional UT Couplant such as water, oil, etc. Need for large gantry systems and water tanks Corrosion or maceration Complicated discharging process of water Expensive and time consuming drying processes

8 Conventional vs. Air-coupled UT Conventional UT SONOAIR Frequency Range 0.5 MHz 25 MHz 50 khz 1 MHz Pulser Energy < 0.5 kw 2 kw Noise < 80 nv/ Hz 1 nv / Hz Modes T-T, Pitch-Catch, P-E T-T, Pitch Catch

9 Requirements for Air-coupled UT Air adapted and highly sensitive probes High power and high energy sending electronics Very sensitive and low noise receiving electronics Flexible evaluation algorithms Sound Intensity Sender Receiver Amplifier and Scanner Test Object

10 SONOAIR Probes khz In-house made piezo-composite elements Less lateral sound losses = higher sensitivity Improved matching layer for air

11 SONOAIR Probes CF 400 3E First air-coupled phased array probe Electronic depth focusing Closer near field = smaller offset to test part Less sound losses = higher sensitivity and resolution Grey: Red: Blue: 200 khz Unfocused Probe 400 khz Unfocused Probe 400 khz Focused Probe Unfocused vs. Focused Sound Field

12 SONOAIR Electronics Single or multi-channel systems available Up to 800 V sender voltage Continuous wave operation possible 2 kw pulser power (burst or single pulse) Low noise amplification (1 nv/ Hz) with up to 120dB GaGe 16 bit A/D converter (or custom) 100 MS/s data acquisition rate

13 SONOAIR Software A-, B-, C- and D-Scan signal evaluation Data post processing (Filters, FFT, etc.) Automatic defect recognition and threshold levels Access to all data and levels Export interface (MatLab, LabView, etc.) Software development kit available

14 SONOAIR Scanning Mechanics Custom scanners according to requirements Standard scanners for R&D/lab applications Robot arms for complex geometries Integration in gantry systems possible

15 Applications Traditional: Through-transmission New: Single-sided Pitch-catch

16 Applications CFRP Aerospace Step Block Standard Reference Block in Aerospace Steps: 10, 8.8, 6.6, 4.4, 2.2 mm 300 khz probe frequency Side View Top View

17 Applications NOMEX Honeycomb 1 60 mm complex geometry NOMEX structure Standard reference from aerospace customer 200 khz probe frequency

18 Applications CFRP Laminated NOMEX Honeycomb 14 mm NOMEX core 1 mm CFRP top and bottom layer Impact damages 200 vs. 300 vs. 400 khz focused 200kHz C-Scan 300kHz C-Scan 400kHz electronically focused phased-array C-Scan

19 Applications GFRP Wind Turbine Rotor Blade Heavy delaminations

20 Applications Full Aluminum Honeycomb Top and bottom: 1 mm aluminum Core: 20 mm aluminum Clear detection of reference defects Visibility of cooling channels

21 Applications High Performance Ceramics/ Refractories Metal production industry (steel plants, etc.) Aerospace industry (shuttle protection, etc.) Up to 800 mm thickness Fresh or or burnt material Pressing defects/ delaminations Detection of inhomogeneities

22 Applications Welded and Glued Metal Plates Common in automotive industry Few mm steel or aluminum plates Different color codes (standard or traffic light) Glue level dependend intensity differences Spot weld inspection (high intensity = good weld)

23 Applications Automotive Brake Pads High safety critical parts Cast iron and ceramic bond 60 mm thickness Strong signal = good bonding No or weak signal = disbonding

24 Applications Plastic Multiwall Plates Missing connection

25 Applications Laser Welded Aluminum Plates Weld inspection of plates with different thicknesses Common in the automotive industry Single-sided testing on welding robot simultaneously to production possible

26 Summary Advantages of the SONOAIR System No liquid couplant needed First air-coupled phased-array system in the world Multi-channel capability for fast scanning or electronic focusing Modular system with custom hardware and software Intelligent data post processing for clear results Signal intensity and time of flight evaluation Up to 800 V pulser voltage 2 kw high power pulser Up to 120 db gain Fast data acquisition up to 100 MS/s Digitizer Resolution 16 bit Low noise amplification 1 nv/ Hz Highly sensitive piezo composite probes Extensive training and support Quality made in Germany

27 Interested in Air-coupled UT Training? In Cooperation with the Ultrasonic Research Center Halle and TB3 NDT

28 Thank you for your Attention. Have an Ultrasonic Day!