The
purpose of this equipment is to provide both ultrasonic and eddy
current inspection of tube and bar products. The ultrasonic inspection
is achieved using a number of adjustable Water Column Coupled
Probe (WCCP) units for shear wave longitudinal flaw detection
and fixed WCCP unit for thickness monitoring. The eddy current
inspection can be either a rotating eddy current probe or using
differential probes mounted in holder.
Diameter
range 10mm to 300mm
WCCP ultrasonic
probe units
Longitudinal,
oblique and transverse ultrasonic shear wave testing
Compression
wave testing
Eddy
current inspection for surface defects
The
Spiral Test systems rotate and advance a bar or tube through the
central test area in which a series of test heads are located.
The test heads incorporate WCCP type probe units for ultrasonic
testing and can include eddy current probes for surface testing.
The WCCP (Water Column Coupled Probe) units are designed to give
a high signal to noise ratio without requiring immersion testing.
The test heads ride on the product upper surface and give excellent
access and ease of adjustments. Units are available for longitudinal,
transverse and oblique ultrasonic shear wave testing, and also
lamination and thickness ultrasonic compression wave testing.
Multiple function test heads are readily configured for specific
test requirements with up to ten WCCP units in each test head.
The WCCP units may also be combined with an eddy current test
for high sensitivity surface inspection. Adjustable oblique shear
wave WCCP units are available. The compact configuration of the
WCCP unit enables testing to less than 20mm from the product ends.
WCCP Ultrasonic Probe Units
The
WCCP units have been developed to replace existing water jet type
probe units and to obtain an inspection signal to noise ratio
similar to immersion systems. Units have been supplied for longitudinal
shear wave and compression wave inspection. In addition a mode
conversion technique is available for inspecting the bores of
low Diameter/Thickness ratio tubes using easily interchangeable
probe top blocks.
The units are very compact and permit multi-probe heads to be
configured using a simple modular construction. The latest WCCP
twin units can configure ten probes in a 100mm length. The index
between probes is selected to ensure full interlacing of probe
scans. Standard multiple probe configurations have been defined
such that full interleaving of probe scans is achieved for detection
of a specific minimum flaw length or full ultrasonic coverage.
The
WCCP units offer the following advantages:
-
Units
applied to product top surface to give easy access for setting
up
-
Good
signal to noise ratio with performance similar to immersion
systems
-
Minimal
adjustment when changing tube diameters
-
No immersion tank required
-
Inspect within 20mm of the product ends, with instantaneous
coupling
-
Incorporate end detection facilities using small receiver probes
to monitor product position
-
Supplied with probe top blocks to permit low Diameter/Thickness
ratio tubes to be tested
Mechanical
Handling Systems
A range of spiraling tube and bar inspection systems are available,
these can be configured for varying product diameters, lengths
and weights.
Systems are available with:
-
Bottom
driven roll, top idler rolls for skew angles up to 21o
-
Bottom idler roll, top driven rolls for skew angles up to 45o