Ultrasonic Probe Construction

An ultrasonic probe consists of

A piezoelectric transducer,

A backing material.

Damping material is Tungsten Araldite

A matching transformer

Transformer matches the piezoelectric transducer’s electrical impedance to that of the cable to
the flaw detector,

to transfer maximum energy from the cable to the transducer and vice versa.

A case which is simply a holder of suitable dimensions and construction

Normal beam probe / Straight beam probe

0 Degree probe transmits sound at 90 deg to the surface

Compressional or Longitudinal wave

Crystal is mounted on a metal or plastic housing

Wire from connection is bonded to it to carry the electrical pulses from the unit

Causes the crystal to vibrate

Plastic plate or wear plate is fitted in the front to minimize wear and tear

The thickness of the wear plate is 0.25λ

Twin crystal/ double / dual probe/TR Probe

Two crystals mounted

One acts as transmitter and another as Receiver

The cork separator prevents cross talks or chatter

Dead zone eliminated

Detection of near surface defects & thickness gauging

Slightly focussed to have a focal point

Difficult to use on curved surfaces

Single crystal

Transmits and receives

Crystal mounted on Perspex shoe that can be machined to any angle

Angle of wedge decides the angle of incidence and thus the angle of refraction in the material

Damping material or backing slug on the back of the crystal by absorbing the back pulses, controls
the length of the pulse

Length of the pulse decides the resolution of the equipment

Damping material is Tungsten Araldite

Shorter the pulse length/width/duration results in good resolution

Any probe that contains more than 2 crystals (elements) is called a mosaic probe.

A long paintbrush type arrangement consisting of many elements

The probe are up to 100 mm long and if swept sideways, can inspect a 100 mm wide strip very
quickly.

Suitable for carbon fibre composite inspections

in-situ inspection of aircraft wing skin.

Air Coupled Transducer

a non-contact technique

To avoid contaminations due to the couplants

to be very efficient and fast for the testing of large areas,

the application of plate waves can cover long distances

the absence of water columns allows for high scan velocities.

Without a couplant, i.e. with air as the natural couplant, the impedance mismatch causes the
following typical high reflection losses:

Specimen : 60 - 90 dB

Transducers: 90 dB

Total Reflection Losses: 180 dB.

Frequency Range 50 to 400 KHz

Another restriction to be considered is the sound attenuation in air

designed to operate in a liquid environment

all connections are watertight.

usually have an impedance matching layer that helps to get more sound energy into the water
and, in turn, into the component being inspected.

Available as planer, cylindrically focused or spherically focused lens.

A focused transducer can improve the sensitivity and axial resolution by concentrating the sound
energy to a smaller area.

Immersion transducers are typically used inside a water tank or as part of a squirter or bubbler
system in scanning applications
To generate shear wave in steel the probe angulation should be

19 in water - 45 in steel

23.5 60

25.6 70

20 45 in aluminium

24.6 60

27 70

Immersion-Focused Probes
Immersion tank systems allow use of “focused beam transducers”.
The beam is focused to a point at a particular distance called the “focal point”.

Focused probes acts as a spherical lens, and focuses the sound at the centre of its radius.

Acoustic Lens

Straight (flat) crystals with a focusing lens attached and causes the sound waves to refract to a
focal point.

Formula for calculating focal length

n = ratio of velocity between lens material and liquid velocity.

V1-lens material
V2 –Water

Focal Length=Radius x n /n-1

Wheel type probes

Crystal is within the axle of the wheel filled with water

Sound travels through the soft tyre

Spring loaded system helps the wheel to travel over the specimen

External couplant not needed

Wheel can be moved or the specimen can be moved

Good for rough or uneven surface testing

Contact cum immersion technique

Water is fed to the nozzle through plastic pipes.

Inside the nozzle the water passes by the front face of the probe then passes out of the nozzle
through a small diameter hole to produce a jet of water, jet of water acts as a couplant

usually used in pairs to produce a through transmission arrangement.

pairs of probes kept in alignment and usually achieved by mounting them on a moveable gantry.

The component is mounted rigidly while the pair of probes on the gantry performs the scanning
action.

Alternatively, the probes may be fixed and the component passed between the probes.
 Bubbler Probes

Low water pressure single probe systems used

The component rests on the top of the probe nozzle assembly

water provides a couplant cushion as the components are manually passed over the probe
assembly.
 Delay tip probe

For detection of flaws close to the sound entry surface

consists of a plastic cylinder screwed into the crystal as shown below.

wave generated by the crystal passes through the plastic before it reaches test specimen.

A large portion of the near field used up in the plastic cylinder.

introduces a time delay between the generation of the sound wave and the arrival of any
reflected waves.

This allows the transducer to complete its "sending" function before it starts its "listening"
function so that near surface resolution is improved

Only the time base beyond the plastic delay tip is monitored

crystal ringing & electric zero signals are effectively eliminated.

The interface between the delay tip and the specimen will still produce a signal that will conceal a
portion of the time base close to the entry surface.

When calculating delay tip thickness required, 3 mm should be added

Delay tip probes also be used when inspecting high temperature components .

The delay tip acts as an insulator for the crystal.

surface wave probe

Also known as Rayleigh waves.

Surface waves have a velocity, which is approximately 90% of a shear wave (or 45% of a
longitudinal wave).
will be attenuated or reflected back by surface contamination (paint, liquids, etc.) or small
surface breaking discontinuities.

suitable for applications where the surface is not readily accessible for other inspection means

care exercised when applying couplant.

frequency ranges from 0.2 mhz to 25 mhz

crystals cut for use above 10 mhz are too thin and fragile for contact testing.

transducers of 10 mhz are used for immersion testing.

a low test frequency for coarse grained internal structure, such as a casting.

a high test frequency for fine grained materials because the lower frequency will not detect the
desired discontinuity.

at higher frequencies, the wavelength is short in relation to the grain size.

a higher frequency will provide the greatest sensitivity for small defects.

a lower frequency will give greater penetrating power.

a larger diameter transducer required for thicker materials.

SELECTION OF FREQUENCY

SENSITIVITY REQUIRED

RESOLUTION REQUIRED

THICKNESS OF MATERIAL

ATTENUATION CHARACTERISTICS

STABILITY OF PROBE
 SELECTION OF FREQUENCY - GUIDELINE

200 KHz – 1 MHz

CASTINGS, GREY IRON, CAST IRON, COARSE GRAINED MATERIAL, COPPER, STAINLESS
STEEL

2 MHz – 4 MHz

WELDS

2 MHz – 6 MHz

FORGING, ROLLED AND EXTRUDED PRODUCTS

6 MHz – 10 MHz

MAINTENANCE, INSPECTION, FATIGUE CRACKS

10 MHz – 20 MHz

IMMERSION TESTING