Solution: Long Seam Weld Inspection

1© Zetec Inc. All rights reserved

Long Seam

Weld Inspection

Application Solution

Overview

• Inspection Challenge

• Recommended Ultrasound (UT) Solution

• Results

• Benefits of Zetec Solution

© Zetec Inc. All rights reserved 2

• Manufacturing inspection of pipe seam welds requires a

volumetric nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technique

• The use of industrial radiography (RT) comes with

inherent radiation safety issues and productivity issues

(welding shop needs to be evacuated)

• Safety regulations are getting more severe worldwide,

drastically restricting the use of RT

Inspection Challenge


• Combination of Phased Array Ultrasonic (PA UT) and Time of Flight Diffraction (TOFD) is a reliable and efficient alternative for RT :

– Excellent inspection capability, with permanent records

– Drastic time reduction for global inspection process

– Immediate feedback for welders

• Solution dealing with variety of diameters and thickness :

– Zetec WeldCrawler® scanner dedicated for long seam welds

– Simultaneous deployment of PA UT and TOFD techniques, using a powerful portable data acquisition unit

– On-board software tools allowing for efficient and reliable interpretation of inspection data in cylindrical geometry `

Recommended UT Solution


• Scanner with strong magnetic wheels

• Adapts to long seam welds in tubes down to 6" NPS

• Carries 4 probes, individually spring-loaded

• Automatic detection of encoder parameters

• One-line inspection sequence, manually driven or motorized

Zetec WeldCrawler® Scanner



Inspection Technique

• Two-sided PA UT (SW sector scan)

• Excellent detection of planar and surface breaking flaws

• Ray-tracing for cylindrical geometry

• Optimized data file size, via « distance » time-base setting

• TOFD (LW) for detection and sizing of embedded flaws

• Feedback on coverage, cross-over depth and dead-zone extent in cylindrical geometry

• Automatic time-base setting

+


• Portable PA UT unit

• Fully integrated

• 10.4” Multi-touch display

• PA UT 16/128 + 1 UT at 200 V

• Rugged, lightweight

• No air intake

• Battery operated

• Driven by UltraVision Touch

software

Zetec Instrument


Results – OD Crack

toe crack

7.5 x 25 mm

Detection and accurate plotting of PA UT signals from OD crack,

after ½ and 1 skip


Results – OD Crack

toe crack

7.5 x 25 mm

TOFD technique confirms length and depth of OD crack


Results – Cluster Porosity

cluster porosity

7.5 x 16 mm

Excellent detection, positioning and length sizing of cluster porosity, using

12 dB software gain on PA UT signal


Results – Cluster Porosity

cluster porosity

7.5 x 16 mm

Detection of cluster porosity confirmed with TOFD;

Interrupted lateral wave because of cylindrical geometry


• and systems,

capable of simultaneously performing TOFD and PA UT :– High data throughput

– Capability to record large data files (up to 2 GBytes)

• Zetec WeldCrawler, easily adaptable for a wide range of

axial weld configurations

• Easy setup of PA UT and TOFD techniques using the

embedded UltraVision Touch software

• Stream-lined inspection process :– Dynamic Merge views for on-line monitoring of inspection data

– Accurate positioning of flaws in on-board Polar View and TOFD Views

– Indication Table & Report Generation

Benefits of Zetec Solution

Thank You!

Learn more at: www.zetec.com


Engineering

Solution: Long Seam Weld Inspection