Real-time ultrasonic weld evaluation system

Gopichand Katragadda; Satish Nair; Harry Liu; Lawrence M. Brown

doi:10.1117/12.259052

15 November 1996 Real-time ultrasonic weld evaluation system

Gopichand Katragadda, Satish Nair, Harry Liu, Lawrence M. Brown

Proceedings Volume 2944, Nondestructive Evaluation of Materials and Composites; (1996) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.259052
Event: Nondestructive Evaluation Techniques for Aging Infrastructure and Manufacturing, 1996, Scottsdale, AZ, United States

Abstract

Ultrasonic testing techniques are currently used as an alternative to radiography for detecting, classifying,and sizing weld defects, and for evaluating weld quality. Typically, ultrasonic weld inspections are performed manually, which require significant operator expertise and time. Thus, in recent years, the emphasis is to develop automated methods to aid or replace operators in critical weld inspections where inspection time, reliability, and operator safety are major issues. During this period, significant advances wee made in the areas of weld defect classification and sizing. Very few of these methods, however have found their way into the market, largely due to the lack of an integrated approach enabling real-time implementation. Also, not much research effort was directed in improving weld acceptance criteria. This paper presents an integrated system utilizing state-of-the-art techniques for a complete automation of the weld inspection procedure. The modules discussed include transducer tracking, classification, sizing, and weld acceptance criteria. Transducer tracking was studied by experimentally evaluating sonic and optical position tracking techniques. Details for this evaluation are presented. Classification is obtained using a multi-layer perceptron. Results from different feature extraction schemes, including a new method based on a combination of time and frequency-domain signal representations are given. Algorithms developed to automate defect registration and sizing are discussed. A fuzzy-logic acceptance criteria for weld acceptance is presented describing how this scheme provides improved robustness compared to the traditional flow-diagram standards.

Citation Download Citation

Gopichand Katragadda, Satish Nair, Harry Liu, and Lawrence M. Brown "Real-time ultrasonic weld evaluation system", Proc. SPIE 2944, Nondestructive Evaluation of Materials and Composites, (15 November 1996); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.259052

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