Development of a 3D Ultrasonic Inspection Device for Pipeline Girth Welds

Author(s):  
Hiroshi Sato ◽  
Takayuki Hamajima ◽  
Masahiro Katayama ◽  
Yasuhisa Kanamaru

Quality requirements for girth welded joints in gas pipelines necessitate adequate penetration to the inner surface and no harmful defects. Toho Gas has completed development of the world’s first inspection system applying the ultrasonic synthetic aperture method for welds in steel pipes used to carry gas (external diameter 200mm, pipe wall thickness 5.8mm). In recent years, ultrasonic phased-array technology and ultrasonic TOFD methods etc. have attracted attention. However, the ultrasonic synthetic aperture method is an imaging technology that is superior to these, as it can synthesize several thousands of wave form data at high speed, its image clarity is the best in the world. The four features of the system are (1) the ability to provide an image of the interior of a weld, (2) the ability to quantity incomplete root bead penetration, (3) automatic high speed collection of data, and (4) data base management capability. The ultrasonic synthetic aperture method simplifies defect judgments because it does not require that operators possess special qualifications and training. It can produce three-dimensional high picture quality data. It can be handled easily at work sites because it is portable. This report describes the ultrasonic inspection system development process and the results of trial inspections.

Author(s):  
Jan A. de Raad

As an alternative to radiography, a field-proven mechanized ultrasonic inspection system is discussed. Called Rotoscan, this system has been developed for inspection of girth welds during construction of long-distance pipelines, both on- and offshore. It is characterized by high inspection speed and instant recording of results. Unlike prevailing radiography, it provides immediate feedback to the welders. Recent technical improvements in flaw sizing and recording have allowed the application of rejection/acceptance criteria for weld defects based on fracture mechanics principles. The development and actual use of such modern acceptance criteria, particularly in Canada, supported the introduction of mechanised ultrasonic inspection. World wide applications proved that, contrary to expectations, ultrasonic inspection does not lead to higher weld repair rates than radiography does. Between early 1989 and now, over 5.000 km of pipeline (300.000 welds) were inspected with Rotoscan and its reliability proven. The introduction of colour enhanced transit distance “C-scan mapping”, producing a coherent picture based on the signal’s transit distance, enabled the system to cope with most existing ultrasonic procedures and acceptance criteria, because of its capability to detect and quantify volumetric defects. Moreover, the integrated simultaneous Time Of Flight Diffraction (TOFD) function enables through-thickness sizing of defect. The present system is capable of achieving a high Probability Of Detection (POD) together with a low False Call Rate (FCR). In the meantime, Rotoscan has been qualified in various countries, for different customers and for a variety of weld processes, pipe diameters and wall thicknesses. Because of its features, the now mature system has demonstrated its capabilities also for use on lay barges as an alternative to high-speed radiography.


2011 ◽  
Vol 213 ◽  
pp. 291-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hong Wei Hu ◽  
Xiong Bing Li ◽  
Xiang Hong Wang ◽  
Yi Min Shao

With the high speed railway utilization, the probability of defects or fatigue cracks in railway axles is increased. An automatic ultrasonic inspection system for railway axles is presented. This system uses combined probes and inspects the defects with spiral trajectory along the axis of the axle. Through the matrix representation of C-scan image element, a defect edge extraction method is adopted, with which the defect parameters of crack are obtained automatically. Based on these defect parameters, the stress intensity factor is assessed by svm regression and the method to predict remaining life is proposed.


2007 ◽  
Vol 329 ◽  
pp. 595-600
Author(s):  
Zhen Long Wang ◽  
Bai Dong Jin ◽  
Guo Hui Cao ◽  
Z.W. Wei ◽  
Wan Sheng Zhao

This paper proposes a new deposition method using micro electrical discharge machining (EDM) to deposit micro spiral structure in gas. First, the basic principles of micro electrical discharge deposition (EDD) are analyzed and the realized conditions are predicted. Then with an ordinary EDM shaping machine, brass as the electrode, high-speed steel as the workpiece, a lot of experiments are carried out on the micro spiral structure deposition in air. The effects of major processing parameters, such as the discharge current, discharge duration, pulse interval, gravity and working medium, are obtained. As a result, a 19-circle micro spiral structure with 0.19mm in external diameter, 0.1mm in wire diameter and 3.39mm in height is deposited. Measurements show that the deposited material has obvious delaminating structure, the components of which depend on those of the tool electrode material, although Zn in the electrode is oxidized to ZnO. This method establishes the research basis for micro three-dimensional deposition machining.


2012 ◽  
Vol 562-564 ◽  
pp. 2007-2010
Author(s):  
Jin Wang ◽  
Zhi Ling Sun ◽  
Qi Chang Guo ◽  
Min Quan Huang

This thesis proposes a new inspection system for wheels of high speed trains, using Piezoelectric ultrasonic technology and parallel processing technology. This system allows all the wheelsets mounted in a train to be inspected within a few minutes. When a train passes through the testing line at low speed(3-5Km/h), wheel tread contact with the probe arrays in turn, which are installed inside of a special rails. Meanwhile, ultrasonic controllers stimulate the probes , collect inspection data and transfer the data to the host computer. Application results in field are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed structure.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (19) ◽  
pp. 6967
Author(s):  
Jea Seang Lim ◽  
Tae Sung Park ◽  
Yu Min Choi ◽  
Ik Keun Park

Composite materials have attracted significant attention with regard to the manufacturing of structures that require weight reduction, such as automobiles and aircraft, because they are more resistant to corrosion and fatigue than conventional metal materials. However, such materials exhibit a reliability degradation problem, i.e., their mechanical and physical properties deteriorate due to the occurrence of delamination and voids. Ultrasonic inspection methods have been widely applied for nondestructive detection of such defects in structures; however, the application of these approaches has been impeded due to high anisotropy and acoustic attenuation. In addition, the existing ultrasonic inspection methods require considerable time and cost for the inspection of large materials or structures. These problems were addressed in this study by developing an automatic ultrasonic inspection system; this was achieved by adopting a squirter-type water injection device, which uses a multi-joint robot and the through-transmission ultrasonic method. In addition, a software program to correct axis misalignment was developed and verified to solve the deterioration in defect detectability and accuracy that was caused by axis misalignment, which may occur during the use of the developed system. This development was accomplished after measuring the coordinates of the deformed mechanical part using a three-dimensional laser measuring instrument.


2010 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 414-414
Author(s):  
Masahiro Anzai

Mass-produced items such as cars, consumer electronics, electronic parts, precision instruments, office supplies, and daily necessities are invariably connected to dies and molds – basic manufacturing technology whose quality determines product quality. Die and mold production is difficult due to product complexity and high-precision requirement. Advances in processing and elemental technology such as machine tools and CAD/CAM software determine whether die and mold products are acceptability and the level of production techniques in the country of manufacture. This special issue focuses on advanced die and mold manufacturing technology. Among the many interesting papers are those on machining and measurement of texture, fabrication of parts using welding, high-speed servo press, CAM system for metal forming, surface inspection system, development of liner motor machining centers, and machine tools. We are certain that you will find this issue both interesting and informative. We thank the authors for their generous cooperation and the editing staff for their many helpful suggestions.


2006 ◽  
Vol 532-533 ◽  
pp. 305-308
Author(s):  
Bai Dong Jin ◽  
Wan Sheng Zhao ◽  
Guo Hui Cao ◽  
Zhen Long Wang ◽  
Kai Xiao

A new deposition method is described using EDM to deposit tool electrode material on workpiece in air. Then by exchanging the polarities the deposited material can be removed selectively, thus micro structure can be fabricated. First, the EDD realized conditions are predicted. Then with ordinary brass, steel and tungsten electrodes and high-speed steel workpiece, EDD experiments are carried out to obtain micro structure in air. With continuous deposition strategy of single cylinder, a HIT character type array made up of 15 micro cylinders is deposited. And micro three-dimensional spiral structure can be obtained with brass electrode using feed of only z axis. The 19-circle micro spiral structure is 0.19mm in external diameter, 0.1mm in wire diameter and 3.39mm in height. Measurements show that deposited material has obvious delaminating structure and is corrosion resistant, whose components depend on those of the tool electrode material.


Author(s):  
Robert W. Mackin

This paper presents two advances towards the automated three-dimensional (3-D) analysis of thick and heavily-overlapped regions in cytological preparations such as cervical/vaginal smears. First, a high speed 3-D brightfield microscope has been developed, allowing the acquisition of image data at speeds approaching 30 optical slices per second. Second, algorithms have been developed to detect and segment nuclei in spite of the extremely high image variability and low contrast typical of such regions. The analysis of such regions is inherently a 3-D problem that cannot be solved reliably with conventional 2-D imaging and image analysis methods.High-Speed 3-D imaging of the specimen is accomplished by moving the specimen axially relative to the objective lens of a standard microscope (Zeiss) at a speed of 30 steps per second, where the stepsize is adjustable from 0.2 - 5μm. The specimen is mounted on a computer-controlled, piezoelectric microstage (Burleigh PZS-100, 68/μm displacement). At each step, an optical slice is acquired using a CCD camera (SONY XC-11/71 IP, Dalsa CA-D1-0256, and CA-D2-0512 have been used) connected to a 4-node array processor system based on the Intel i860 chip.


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