Propagation and Attenuation Characteristics of an Ultrasonic Beam in Dissimilar-Metal Welds

Ultrasonic inspection of welds joining dissimilar metals in nuclear power plants has proven to be a challenge, because the ultrasonic waves are subject to diffraction, distortion, scattering, and noise. These perturbations are due to their interactions with coarse-grained microstructures having anis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2020-11, Vol.20 (21), p.6259
Main Authors: Hwang, Young-In, Sung, Deokyong, Kim, Hak-Joon, Song, Sung-Jin, Kim, Ki-Bok, Kang, Sung-Sik
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
anisotropy
beam distortion
Cooling
Corrosion resistance
Defects
Dissimilar metals
dissimilar-metal welds (DMWs)
Distortion
Grain size
Industrial plants
Inspection
Measurement methods
Nondestructive testing
Nuclear power plants
Nuclear reactors
Physical properties
Radiation
Stainless steel
Steel pipes
Transducers
Ultrasonic attenuation
ultrasonic beam characteristics
Ultrasonic testing
Wave attenuation
Wave diffraction
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Summary:Ultrasonic inspection of welds joining dissimilar metals in nuclear power plants has proven to be a challenge, because the ultrasonic waves are subject to diffraction, distortion, scattering, and noise. These perturbations are due to their interactions with coarse-grained microstructures having anisotropic and heterogeneous metallurgical properties that can promote ultrasonic attenuation. In this paper, to improve the reliability of ultrasonic testing for dissimilar-metal welds (DMWs), ultrasonic beam characteristics for DMWs with a buttering layer were investigated in order to analyze the beam distortion phenomenon caused by inhomogeneous anisotropic properties and coarse grains. Ultrasonic testing was performed on DMW specimens using single ultrasonic transducers to investigate the behavior of the ultrasonic beam in the welds. According to the anisotropic and heterogeneous properties, when passing through the weld and the buttering layer of the DMW, ultrasonic waves were distorted and attenuation was high. In particular, in the case of using angular incidence that passed through the weld and the buttering layer in turn, the received ultrasonic data did not contain accurate internal information. From this, it was verified that internal defects may be detected by transmitting ultrasonic waves in different directions. Finally, the existing limitations on the application of non-destructive ultrasonic testing to dissimilar-metal welds were verified, and a solution to the measurement method was proposed.
ISSN:1424-8220
1424-8220
DOI:10.3390/s20216259