Automated Ultrasonic Testing (AUT) : Shantou Institute of Ultrasonic Instruments Co., LTD
Automated Ultrasonic Testing (AUT) : Shantou Institute of Ultrasonic Instruments Co., LTD
Automated Ultrasonic Testing (AUT) : Shantou Institute of Ultrasonic Instruments Co., LTD
2022.01
CONTENT
The applied wall thickness range is 6~50mm, and the pipe diameter is
greater than 500mm.
Common Grooves
Compound grooves
The pipe automatic welding adopts narrow-gap groove for welding, which can greatly
reduce the filling amount of welding materials, reduce the swing width of the welding
torch, increase the swing frequency of the welding torch, and improve the welding
efficiency.
The main welding defect is non-fusion, and there are other defects such as incomplete
penetration, porosity and cracks.
2. Technical Principle
Conventional Multiple
Probes method
PA Probe
Phased Array Method
Coupling
Monitor
Zones
Up Side
Down Side
Fusion(US) Volumetric(US) Volumetric(DS) Fusion(DS)
The AUT probe can emit thousands of focusing laws, adopts the partition
method, sets the testing plan of the fusion zone according to the non-
fused groove, and is supplemented by the volume channel and B-scan to
effectively judge the volume defects, and can be used for testing surface
defects and hidden defects in girth welds of long-distance pipeline. No
blind zone of ultrasonic testing.
Focusing Law of Fusion Zone
Pulse-echo (0°)
Focusing Law of Fusion Zone
When the strip chart is set, there is a gate, which is divided into
amplitude gate and time gate.
The amplitude gate signal is displayed as an A-scan envelope.
The time gate signal is displayed as color rank in the strip chart.
Where the color of the color rank indicates the amplitude of the signal
in the time gate, Green for 20%-40%, Red for 40%-70%,
Yellow for 70%-90%, and Red for over 90%.
The length of the color rank indicates the position where the
maximum amplitude signal in the time gate appears in the gate.
Focusing Law of Volumetric Zone(B scan)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
% POD 50%
40%
30%
20%
10% AUT
0%
AUT RT NDT Method
1 2 MUT
RT 3 4
MUT Weld # 5
The Syncscan32PT, which is the same configuration as the long-distance pipeline PAUT, is for ultrasonic
acquisition. It is connected to the crawler through a 6M cable and wirelessly connected to a laptop. It has rich
functions of a PA instrument, not only for AUT testing, but also for the PAUT solution of long-distance
pipelines, or can be expanded to other PA solution.
The integrated ultrasonic module is built in the automated crawler, designed in a small black box with a single
function for use. The ultrasonic module is built in the crawler that surrounds the pipeline, and the collected
data is wirelessly transmitted to the laptop. This configuration is dedicated for AUT testing, with small size
and light weight, and achieves wireless control and data transmission.
3.1 AUT software:
Workpiece simulation and automatic partitioning
The workpiece is designed for the narrow-gap
groove for pipe automated welding. The user can
quickly simulate the workpiece in real time. The
diagram is simple and easy to understand, and
the common groove types are preset for AUT.
Automatic Partition
Process Parameter Setting
A view is designed with dual gate of time and amplitude. After the gate covers the weld in the
simulation diagram, the echo in the gate of A view shall be the reflected echo of the reflector at
the weld position. During calibration, the user can quickly lock the reflector echo on the
comparative test block.
The peak memory helps the user to better locate the maximum echo position of the reflector.
R view provides a real-time simulation when calibrating and adjusting the process.
One-button sensitivity and delay calibration.
Provide A-scan amplitude envelope to help users determine whether the amplitude of adjacent
reflectors comply with -6 ~ -24dB coverage.
Automatic Monitoring of Calibration Results and
One-Key Calibration
Operating
Manufacturer Model Description
Frequency/Angle
SIUI 7.5SL60-1.0-10-R100E PA probe 7.5 MHz
PA curved focusing probe: frequency 7.5MHz, number of elements 60, size of a single element 0.6×10mm,
pitch 1mm.
Wedge angle 33.7°, high wear-resistant material, designed with wear-resistant nail to improve the service
life of the wedge.
Compare the scan data of the four positions with the basic
scan data. The amplitude of the main reflector shall not change
by more than ±2dB, and the amplitude of the main reflector
shall not exceed 100%.
Scanning results of AUT comparison test block
5% amplitude= 24dB resolution
Volume reflector
Fusion Fill
Volumetric Zone
Zone
Compare the scanning image of each channel of the test block, where the test block is made according to SYT 4112-2017;
Among them, the main reflector shall have a longitudinal resolution of 6-24dB relative to the adjacent reflector between each partition of the bevel
surface filling area;
The size of the hole in the filling area of the groove face is Φ2mm, the distance between the centers of the holes is less than 2.5mm, the hole gap
is less than 0.5mm, and the longitudinal density distribution requires a longitudinal resolution of 6 ~24dB, so there is a higher requirement for the
focused beam. Generally, the size of the focused beam is required to be controlled at ≤2.5mm.
The size of the drill hole in the internal volume area is Φ1.5mm, which requires a non-focused beam, and the size of the beam is controlled at
about 6.4mm.
To test the TOFD testing capability of 5 reflectors, two grooves on the upper and lower surfaces, and a through groove in the middle, were all
detected.
Instructions for Repeatability Tests
0 o’clock
9 o’clock 3 o’clock
6 o’clock
Before the testing, the AUT system was set up and calibrated with a reference block,
and the amplitude value of the reference reflector was recorded. In the repeatability
test of the test block, the center of the comparison test block shall be placed at 4
positions (0, 3, 6 and 9 o’clock) on the circumference, and no less than 10 consecutive
scans shall be carried out respectively.
0 o’clock
Reference amplitude
Max. and Min. amplitude
80%FSH±2dB
80%FSH±1dB
3 o’clock
Reference amplitude
Max. and Min. amplitude
80%FSH±2dB
80%FSH±1dB
6 o’clock
Reference amplitude
Max. and Min. amplitude
80%FSH±2dB
80%FSH±1dB
9 o’clock
Reference amplitude
Max. and Min. amplitude
80%FSH±2dB
80%FSH±1dB
5. Field Engineering Applications
AUT Testing Process
Track
AUT block Water cooling
installation at
calibration for welding
the weld
Interpretation Scanning
of weld joint Weld scan device
scanning data installation
Comparing the calibration time spent for SIUI and Olympus instruments when using
the same AUT test block.
SIUI
Olympus
Natural Gas Pipeline Engineering
Shandong Network Management South Main Line
The two sets of instruments were sent to the
field together. Upon arrival at the site there was
an inertia problem. Both generators failed. The
Olympus instrument could not start normally.
Due to the bulky device size and the car not
moving on the muddy road after the rain, the
Olympus instrument was delayed for hours.
The SIUI instrument was not affected by the
adverse factors above. The original plan of
Installing the guide rail simultaneous testing and comparison of the two
instruments was changed to scanning and
mapping with SIUI instrument first and
subsequent comparison after returning to the
Project Department.
Start testing
After finishing the testing job on site, perform the check-in calibration on
the AUT comparative test block to re-check the sensitivity and upper &
lower coverage of each channel.
The amplitude of the main reflector of each channel shall be kept
between 70%~99% of FSH, and the displayed amplitude of the adjacent
reflector shall be 6~24dB lower than the main amplitude.
Project Department of Natural Gas Pipeline Engineering
Shandong Network Management South Main Line
Chroma display
at the root
Images from SIUI and Olympus instruments for weld No. NGX05-01-HJY102-
033-Q, incomplete-fusion defects from the weld to the root are displayed on
both instruments at 1100mm.
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