| Class / Patent application number | Description | Number of patent applications / Date published |
|---|
| 073622000 | Of tubing, vessel, or cylindrical object | 66 |
| 20080289424 | Oblique flaw detection using ultrasonic transducers - Ultrasonic transducers and methods for detecting oblique flaws in cylindrically-shaped objects using pulse-echo testing are provided. By mounting one or more transducers on a rotary tester for testing manufactured objects such as tubes and bars, offsetting each transducer horizontally from its position if it were to emit a beam that is perpendicular to the object's outer surface, and actuating the transducer so as to emit an angled beam, oblique surface flaws and internal flaws may be reliably detected without reducing inspection speed, significantly adding to transducer cross-talk, or requiring significant additional hardware or processing. | 11-27-2008 |
| 20090031812 | Spot welding inspecting apparatus - A spot welding inspecting apparatus is provided with: a gun chip; a signal transmitting part; an ultrasonic sensor; an inner cylinder; a through hole; a partitioning cylinder; a first flow path; a second flow path; and a third flow path. | 02-05-2009 |
| 20090031813 | NONDESTRUCTIVE INSPECTION APPARATUS AND NONDESTRUCTIVE INSPECTION METHOD USING GUIDED WAVE - Disclosed herein are an apparatus and a technique for quickly detecting a defective portion including wastage, which has occurred in piping having a straight piping portion or a bending zone, in the nondestructive inspection using a guided wave. | 02-05-2009 |
| 20090078048 | Device for Testing Ferromagnetic Component Walls without Destruction of the Same - A device for destruction-free testing of ferromagnetic component walls with respect to elongate defects has a sending transducer that excites ultrasound waves in a wall area of a ferromagnetic component wall magnetized in a predetermined direction of magnetization. The ultrasound waves propagate on a path oriented by the sending transducer. A receiving transducer receives the ultrasound waves at a spacing from the sending transducer. The configuration of the sending transducer and a high frequency emitted by the sending transducer, which high frequency is to be determined based on a thickness of the ferromagnetic component wall, are selected so as to effect excitation of horizontal shear waves of higher order. The path orientation is selected at a slant angle to the predetermined direction of magnetization. The receiving transducer is positioned lateral to the path and is oriented toward a predetermined testing area of the wall section in the path. | 03-26-2009 |
| 20090095087 | Ultrasonic probe, ultrasonic flaw detection method, and ultrasonic flaw detection apparatus - Minute flaws present on the interior of a high (t/D) metal pipe having a ratio (t/D) of the wall thickness t to the outer diameter D of greater than 15% is carried out with high accuracy and certainty by angle beam flaw detection without an accompanying decrease in detection efficiency or cost increase. This is an ultrasonic probe which, as viewed from the center of a high (t/D) metal pipe, performs flaw detection of the metal pipe by obliquely impinging ultrasonic waves from a transducer on the metal pipe and generating refracted longitudinal waves and refracted transverse waves which are propagated inside the metal pipe. The front end portion of the transducer has at least a portion with an asymmetrically curved shape having a radius of curvature which progressively increases from one end towards the other end of the front end portion. The ultrasonic probe is disposed with respect to a metal pipe such that the end having the smaller radius of curvature is positioned on the side away from the direction of propagation of refracted waves, the end having a larger radius of curvature thereof is positioned on the side in the direction of propagation of refracted waves, and angle beam flaw detection is carried out under such conditions that incident waves are generated which generate refracted longitudinal waves which do not reach the inner surface of the metal pipe and refracted transverse waves which are focused on the inner surface of the metal pipe. | 04-16-2009 |
| 20090120191 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR INSPECTING FURNACE TUBES - Methods and apparatus for inspecting tubes or pipes preferably includes at least one sealed inspection pig having a length to diameter relationship based on a known bend radius of a tube or pipe to be inspected. A plurality of such pigs may be used where such pigs are interconnected, sealed, and releasable by design and where an inspection transducer is located approximately centrally between the ends of at least one of the pigs. | 05-14-2009 |
| 20090139336 | Systems and methods for monitoring system performance - The present disclosure includes systems, apparatus, and methods for monitoring a pipeline network having plural inspection sites. The system comprises a memory module associated with one or more inspection sites, with each memory module storing one or more performance parameters corresponding to the associated inspection site. The system also comprises a measuring device operable to collect performance data of each associated inspection site. The system further comprises a portable reader configured to read the memory module, and in association with the measuring device, to compare the one or more performance parameters with the performance data to validate the performance data while in proximity to the associated inspection site. | 06-04-2009 |
| 20090139337 | GUIDED WAVE PIPELINE INSPECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD WITH ENHANCED NATURAL FOCUSING TECHNIQUES - A method for the nondestructive inspecting of coated or uncoated pipeline, using ultrasonic guided waves excited on the outer or inner pipe surface, wherein at least one or more transducers are individually or simultaneously excited to generate ultrasound, wherein multiple received signals with different focal spot positions are processed and combined to produce a reduced number of final waveforms that show defect axial positions in the pipe, wherein a data calibration scheme is utilized to adjust velocity variability for all the guided wave modes at different frequencies, and wherein the hardware arrangement has at least one pulser channel and one receiver channel for the collection and storage of signals. | 06-04-2009 |
| 20090151457 | Ultrasonic Testing System and Ultrasonic Testing Technique for Pipe Member - Disclosed are an ultrasonic testing system and an ultrasonic testing technique for a pipe member capable of detecting minute flaws of several hundreds of microns or less located at positions in the wall thickness inside portion of a welded portion of a seam-welded pipe and the like without omission and further easily setting optimum conditions when the size of the pipe is changed. A transmitting beam, which is focused to the welded portion at an oblique angle, is transmitted using a part of the group of transducer elements of a linear array probe as a group of transducer elements for transmission, a receiving beam, which is focused at the focusing position of the transmitting beam at an oblique angle, is formed using the transducer elements of a portion different from the above group of transducer elements for transmission as a group of transducer elements for reception, and a flaw echo is received from the welded portion. | 06-18-2009 |
| 20090193899 | SYSTEM AND PROCESS FOR ULTRASONIC CHARACTERIZATION OF DEFORMED STRUCTURES - Generally speaking, the method of the present invention is performed by making various ultrasonic scans at preselected orientations along the length of a material being tested. Data from the scans are then plotted together with various calculated parameters that are calculated from this data. Lines or curves are then fitted to the respective plotted points. Review of these plotted curves allows the location and severity of defects within these sections to be determined and quantified. With this information various other decisions related to how, when or whether repair or replacement of a particular portion of a structure can be made. | 08-06-2009 |
| 20090217763 | Ultrasonic probe, ultrasonic testing equipment, ultrasonic testing method, and manufacturing method of seamless pipe or tube - The ultrasonic testing method according to the invention includes the steps of arranging an ultrasonic probe | 09-03-2009 |
| 20090235749 | ULTRASONIC INSPECTION METHOD AND ULTRASONIC INSPECTION APPARATUS - The present invention provides an ultrasonic inspection method and ultrasonic inspection apparatus capable of easily inspecting a weld line and detecting a circumferential crack and an axial crack that are present in the weld line. An ultrasonic probe is placed on the surface of a structure and transmits an ultrasonic wave. A welded part is present on the opposite surface to the surface on which the ultrasonic probe is placed. The ultrasonic wave is transmitted at an optional in an X′-Z plane defined by an X′ axis and a Z axis, when the direction of a normal to the surface on which the ultrasonic probe is placed is defined as an X axis, the direction in which the weld line extends is defined as a Y axis, the direction perpendicular to the X axis and the Y axis is defined as a Z axis, and an axis obtained by rotating the X axis around the Z axis is defined as an X′ axis. After the ultrasonic wave is transmitted at an optional angle in the X′-Z plane, a control mechanism performs signal processing based on the intensities of signals reflected from an axial crack defect DE-V, a circumferential crack defect DE-H and the like to detect the defects and measure the lengths of the defects. | 09-24-2009 |
| 20090277270 | METHOD FOR INSPECTING JOINED MATERIAL INTERFACES - A method for inspecting joined material interfaces, such as butt fusion pipe joints of plastic pipes, using ultrasonic waveforms to discriminate between acceptable and unacceptable interfaces. The waveforms (amplitude vs time) having been transmitted to a material interface of interest are divided into a number of time zones and the amplitudes of the waveforms within the time zones compared against waveform amplitudes obtained from known acceptable joined material interfaces to determine the quality of the material interface of interest. | 11-12-2009 |
| 20090301201 | Ultrasonic Flaw Detection Method and Ultrasonic Flaw Detection Device - An ultrasonic transmission medium is received in a medium container, and an opening of the container is sealed by a polymer membrane. An inspection object is received in an inspection object receiving container body that is a separate body from the medium container and whose opening is formed opposite the polymer membrane of the medium container. The opening of the inspection object receiving container body is covered by the polymer membrane of the medium container, and a measurement environment space formed by a frame body, the polymer membrane, and the inspection object is reduced in pressure to cause the polymer membrane to be in intimate contact with the inspection object. Then, flaw detection is performed by emitting and applying an ultrasonic wave from an ultrasonic probe to the inspection object via the ultrasonic transmission medium and the polymer membrane. | 12-10-2009 |
| 20090301202 | NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING, IN PARTICULAR FOR PIPES DURING MANUFACTURE OR IN THE FINISHED STATE - Non-destructive testing device for pipes. It extracts information on defects from signals captured by ultrasound receivers following the selective excitation of ultrasound transmitters according to a selected time rule. The receivers form an arrangement with a selected geometry, coupled in an ultrasound fashion, with relative rotation/translation movement, with the pipe. The device comprises a converter ( | 12-10-2009 |
| 20090314089 | ULTRASONIC INSPECTION PROBE CARRIER SYSTEM FOR PERFORMING NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING - An ultrasonic probe carrier includes a base, a first side arm having a first end thereof attached to the base and a second end thereof extending outwardly from the base on one side of a tube, and a second side arm having a first end thereof attached to the base and a second end thereof extending outwardly from the base on an opposite side of the tube, at least a portion of the first and second side arms being biased towards each other to removably secure the carrier around at least a portion of a circumference of the tube. An ultrasonic probe is attached to the base, and the carrier and ultrasonic probe are rotatable around the tube to scan at least one of: the circumference of the tube and a weld disposed around the circumference of the tube. | 12-24-2009 |
| 20090320599 | Method for inspecting the state of a rotating machine drive shaft - A method for non-destructive testing of a drive shaft that is accessible by only one of its ends in longitudinal waves, using a multi-element annular ultrasonic transducer. Such a transducer consists of independent elements that can be excited by electrical pulses of the same frequency, but for which different electronic phase shifts will be applied, in the invention, to the pulses transmitted to the elements. Such an electronic phase shift allows the focussing or deflection of a final beam synthesized by all the elements constituting the transducer, the said final beam being concentrated to adopt a generally cylindrical shape with a cross-section that is far smaller than the cross-section of the shaft to be tested and is highly energetic over a long distance due to the waveguide effect created by the cylindrical geometry of the shaft. | 12-31-2009 |
| 20100024556 | ULTRASONIC INSPECTION METHOD UTILIZING RESONANT PHENOMENA - A transmission probe and a reception probe for transmitting and receiving a wideband ultrasonic wave are provided. Each time when the locations of the probes and are moved, a received wave G | 02-04-2010 |
| 20100031751 | Methods and Systems for Ultrasonic Inspection of Rotating Shafts - A method of inspecting a rotatable shaft for the presence of defects may include continuously rotating a shaft under an applied load. As the shaft is rotated, an ultrasonic signal may be propagated along the length of the shaft. Attenuated or reflected ultrasonic signals may be collected from the shaft as the shaft is rotated. The presence of a defect in the shaft is determined by analyzing the collected ultrasonic signals. | 02-11-2010 |
| 20100263450 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PRODUCING AND TESTING METAL PARTS - A cylindrical metal part is formed by filling a metallic jacket with a powdered metal material and subjecting the metallic jacket to heat and pressure to cause the powdered metal material to form a unitary metal part. The small grain size of the metal material forming the unitary metal part will then allow for ultrasonic testing to be performed to detect voids and imperfections having very small dimensions. The ultrasonic testing can be performed through the metallic jacket, or after the metallic jacket has been removed from the unitary metal part. Additional forging steps may be performed to form shaped protrusions on the exterior of the metal part. | 10-21-2010 |
| 20100275691 | NON-DESTRUCTIVE PIPE SCANNER - A non-destructive examination pipe scanner that employs a main carriage on which a sensor is mounted, a tensioner carriage and an idler carriage. The main carriage and the tensioner carriage are positioned around the pipe at spaced locations and connected on either side by a spring band. The idler carriage is slidably supported by the spring band in between the main carriage and the tensioner carriage. The sensor on the main carriage collects data about a circumferential weld on the pipe as the main carriage drives the tensioner carriage and the idler carriage around the circumference. The tensioner carriage has a variable length connection that adjusts the tension on the spring band to urge the main carriage, idler carriage and tensioner carriage into contact with the surface of the pipe. | 11-04-2010 |
| 20100319456 | METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR DETECTING DEFECTS IN WELDED STRUCTURES - A method for processing ultrasonic response signals collected from a plurality of measurement locations along a weld of a test sample to determine the presence of defects in the weld may include filtering an ultrasonic response signal from each measurement location to produce a plurality of filtered response signals for each measurement location, wherein each filtered response signal corresponds to specific types of defects. Thereafter, a plurality of energy distributions may be calculated for the weld based on the plurality of filtered response signals for each measurement location. The plurality of energy distributions may be compared to corresponding baseline energy distributions to determine the presence of defects in the weld. | 12-23-2010 |
| 20110005321 | NON-DESTRUCTIVE INSPECTION OF HIGH-PRESSURE LINES - The invention relates to a method for the non-destructive ultrasound inspection of a high-pressure line as a testing piece by means of the pulse-echo method, where the high-pressure line is conveyed to a near-field range of at least one ultrasonic transducer and an ultrasonic pulse is emitted with a perpendicular sound incidence on the high-pressure line in such a way that the high-pressure line is completely captured in its cross section by the near-field sound emission caused by the ultrasonic transducer, and the reflected ultrasonic pulse(s) is/are received by the ultrasonic transducer and/or, optionally, further ultrasonic transducers, the associated echo delay times are recorded and, optionally, evaluated. | 01-13-2011 |
| 20110030478 | INSPECTING DEVICE INCLUDING DETACHABLE PROBE - An inspecting device including a detachable probe has a link structure, and thus a subject having various diameters is tested. In addition, since various probes are changeably used in a scanner housing, ultrasonic wave testing and eddy current testing are simultaneously performed. | 02-10-2011 |
| 20110056298 | FLOW AND PIPE MANAGEMENT USING VELOCITY PROFILE MEASUREMENT AND/OR PIPE WALL THICKNESS AND WEAR MONITORING - The present invention provides new techniques for non-invasive and real-time measurement of the velocity profile of slurry flow in horizontal pipes, as well as the measurement and trending of pipe wear on slurry lines. In the first case, this information can be used to determine the approach and onset of solid deposition on the bottom of the pipe. Having this information in real time can enable operation at lower velocities or higher solids concentration or both while avoiding solids deposition or plugging and their associated operational costs. In the second case, the present invention uses a permanently or semi-permanently installed ring of conformable ultrasonic transducers clamped onto the outside of the pipe. These transducers are used to measure the thickness of the pipe under their respective locations. | 03-10-2011 |
| 20110072904 | Ultrasonic Probe Apparatus, System, and Method for Detecting Flaws in a Tubular - An ultrasonic probe apparatus for detecting flaws in a tubular includes a probe house. The probe house has an axial axis, a central cavity lying along the axial axis, and a bottom face adapted for placement on the tubular. The bottom face of the probe house has an opening in the middle. A probe support is disposed within the central cavity and rotatable about the axial axis of the probe house. An ultrasonic probe is mounted on the probe support and has a scanning face exposed to the opening of the bottom face of the probe house. The scanning face is tiltable relative to a selected plane of the tubular by rotation of the probe support about the axial axis of the probe house. | 03-31-2011 |
| 20110072905 | Membrane-Coupled Ultrasonic Probe System for Detecting Flaws in a Tubular - An ultrasonic probe apparatus for detecting flaws in a tubular includes a probe housing. The probe housing has an axial axis, a central cavity lying along the axial axis, and a bottom face adapted for placement on the tubular. The bottom face of the probe housing has an opening in the middle. A probe support is disposed within the central cavity and rotatable about the axial axis of the probe housing. An ultrasonic probe is mounted on the probe support and has a scanning face exposed to the opening of the bottom face of the probe housing, and may be coupled to the pipe with a liquid acoustic couplent medium. | 03-31-2011 |
| 20110083512 | WELD SEAM TRACKING SYSTEM USING PHASED ARRAY ULTRASONIC DEVICES - A weld seam tracking device for tracking weld seams on pipes or the like uses NDT/NDI sensor(s) in conjunction with an NDT/NDI operation, such as an ultrasonic phased array (PA) inspection. Processing of the weld seam tracking data is integrated or combined with the existing data processing element of the existing NDT/NDI inspection devices. Wide scanning areas of phased array probes allow weld seam tracking and inspection to be performed using a single set of probe and data processing elements to achieve both fault scanning and seam tracking with a single run of the PA scan. | 04-14-2011 |
| 20110120224 | ULTRASOUND TEST DEVICE WITH IMPROVED ALIGNMENT - The invention relates to an ultrasound inspection device for the inspection of tubular workpieces, where the ultrasound inspection device can be coupled to the workpiece by means of a fluid medium, so that sound emitted from a transducer unit hits an insonification point on the lateral surface of the workpiece, the workpiece and the ultrasound inspection device can be moved relative to each other, and where the transducer unit is pivotable on a pivoting line which corresponds to an arc of a circle whose center is formed by the insonification point. | 05-26-2011 |
| 20110219881 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INSPECTING FLAWS IN OIL FIELD TUBULARS - Methods and apparatus for inspecting a flaws in tubular disclosed herein include but are not limited to inspection stations comprising one or more chutes adapted to receive a tubular, an inspection assembly adapted to ultrasonically inspect a tubular in the one or more chutes, and one or more rotators for apply directional forces on the tubular to advance and rotate the tubular in the one or more chutes. The inspection assembly is adapted to ultrasonically inspect tubulars while the tubulars are under a rotational force in the chute. The inspection assembly may be further adapted to identify the end of a tubular in a first chute and index the position of the inspection assembly over a second chute to inspect a tubular loaded in the second chute. | 09-15-2011 |
| 20110308316 | NONDESTRUCTIVE INSPECTION APPARATUS AND NONDESTRUCTIVE INSPECTION METHOD USING GUIDED WAVE - A nondestructive inspection apparatus includes a pair of guided wave sensors disposed on an outer surface of a piping and a guided wave inspection device connected to the pair of guided wave sensors which, outputs a transmitting signal for propagating a guided wave to the guided wave sensors, and obtains a receiving signal by receiving a propagated signal by the guided wave sensors. An inspection-result storage device stores the guided wave as a digitized signal of the received wave and an inspection-result diagnostic device performs arithmetic processing of judging whether or not a signal associated with a defect exists. | 12-22-2011 |
| 20110314917 | METHOD AND DEVICE FOR LOW FREQUENCY VIBRATION EXCITATION USING ULTRASONIC WAVE - Provided is a method and device for low frequency vibration excitation, which may generate a low frequency using a plurality of ultrasonic generators for high frequency. The method generates ultrasonic waves using a plurality of ultrasonic generators attached to a target structure to induce a beat phenomenon, and extract a frequency lower than a frequency of each of the plurality of the ultrasonic generators to measure a property of the target structure, and thereby may be freely applied to a target structure, regardless of a shape of the target structure such as a plate, a curved pipe, and the like, using a relatively small-sized ultrasonic sensor for high frequency, and may excite a specific frequency of an acceleration range, so that the ultrasonic excitation method may be applicable in a relatively poor Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) range. | 12-29-2011 |
| 20120055253 | METHOD FOR NONINVASIVE DETERMINATION OF ACOUSTIC PROPERTIES OF FLUIDS INSIDE PIPES - A method for determining the composition of fluids flowing through pipes from noninvasive measurements of acoustic properties of the fluid is described. The method includes exciting a first transducer located on the external surface of the pipe through which the fluid under investigation is flowing, to generate an ultrasound chirp signal, as opposed to conventional pulses. The chirp signal is received by a second transducer disposed on the external surface of the pipe opposing the location of the first transducer, from which the transit time through the fluid is determined and the sound speed of the ultrasound in the fluid is calculated. The composition of a fluid is calculated from the sound speed therein. The fluid density may also be derived from measurements of sound attenuation. Several signal processing approaches are described for extracting the transit time information from the data with the effects of the pipe wall having been subtracted. | 03-08-2012 |
| 20120297882 | APPARATUS FOR PIPELINE INSPECTION - An apparatus for pipeline inspection includes a body including a longitudinal axis and a sensor unit in association with the body. The sensor unit has an array of ultrasonic sensors configured to inspect a pipe wall. The sensor unit includes a skid having an outer surface intended to run adjacent or in contact with a pipe wall. The sensor unit also includes a recess, wherein the sensors are arranged in the recess at a predetermined stand off from the outer surface of the skid. The sensor unit also includes a flushing system configured to direct pipeline fluid through the recess to flush debris from the recess when the outer surface of the skid is in contact with a pipe wall. | 11-29-2012 |
| 20130019686 | Method and apparatus for a railway wheel ultrasonic testing apparatus - A method and apparatus for collecting ultrasonic test data from a railway wheel with an ultrasonic testing apparatus is described. The railway wheel is supported by two drive rollers, each having an indentation which engages with and rotates the wheel. An indexing transducer moves across the rotating wheel, collecting ultrasonic test data while a fixed transducer correlates a reference position on the wheel to the collected test data. To maintain the accuracy of the reference position to the collected test data, it is desirable to maintain the rotational stability of the wheel, minimizing any dynamic instability caused by dimensional tolerances in the wheel. To mitigate instabilities resulting from dimensional tolerances, the indentation of the drive rollers, which engage and drive the flange of the wheel, is adjustable by the flexing design of the drive rollers to maintain frictional contact between the wheel and the drive roller. This allows the indentation to accommodate the varying dimensional tolerances of the wheel flange, mitigating the possibility of dynamic instability resulting from departure of the wheel flange from the indentation. | 01-24-2013 |
| 20130283918 | METHOD AND SYSTEM OF USING 1.5D PHASED ARRAY PROBE FOR CYLINDRICAL PARTS INSPECTION - A method of using a 1.5D array ultrasonic probe as a component of an inspection system intended for different diameter cylindrical parts without mechanical adjustments of the probe is presented. In particular, the method is presented as a way to improve the near surface resolution over an extended range of cylindrical parts diameter and inspection depths/tubes wall thickness with respect to usual 1D arrays of fixed curvature along the elevation axis. The method relies on a customizable concentric firing pattern of the acoustic pulses with respect to the cylindrical part surface, and on adjustment of the aperture size of the said array. The intended effect is to sharpen and minimize the extent of the front wall echo and to optimize the response from an eventual flaw in the inspected range. | 10-31-2013 |
| 20140026666 | WEAR MONITORING WITH ROTATIONAL SENSOR AND SENSOR THICKNESS - Apparatus for determining a thickness of a wall of a pipe, featuring a signal processing module configured to respond to signaling containing information about traveling stress waves transmitted to and reflected back from a wall of a pipe by a sensor band that includes a series, ring or array having multiple transducers circumferentially arranged and mounted around, and attached to or clamped onto, an outside wall of the pipe; and determine a profile of a thickness of the wall of the pipe corresponding to circumferential locations of the multiple transducers based on the signaling received from the sensor band; and one or more orientation or rotation sensors, each responding to its orientation in relation to its displacement on the pipe and to provide an orientation signal containing information about the same. | 01-30-2014 |
| 20140026667 | GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE RE WEAR MONITORING - Apparatus for determining a thickness of a wall of a pipe, featuring a signal processing module configured to respond to signaling containing information about traveling stress waves transmitted to and reflected back from a wall of a pipe by a sensor band that includes a series, ring or array having multiple transducers circumferentially arranged and mounted around, and attached to or clamped onto, an outside wall of the pipe; determine a profile of a thickness of the wall of the pipe corresponding to circumferential locations of the multiple transducers based on the signaling received from the sensor band, and the provides corresponding signaling containing information about the profile of the thickness of the wall of the pipe; and another module configured to receive the corresponding signaling and provide a visual indication of either data or a graph of the thickness of the wall of the pipe. | 01-30-2014 |
| 20140060195 | ULTRASONIC TESTING METHOD AND EQUIPMENT THEREFOR - An ultrasonic testing equipment of the present invention includes: an ultrasonic probe having a plurality of transducers arranged along a predetermined annular curved surface; a transmission/reception control unit that causes at least two transducers selected from the plurality of the transducers to transmit the ultrasonic waves to and receive the same from the tubular test object and a ultrasonic testing waveform display unit which displays ultrasonic testing waveforms received by the selected transducers radially corresponding to the propagation directions of the ultrasonic waves transmitted from and received by the selected transducers. The ultrasonic testing waveform display unit displays the ultrasonic testing waveforms radially with a point of time corresponding to an echo on an incident point of the ultrasonic wave to the tubular test object contained in the ultrasonic testing waveform as a beginning point and displays circles indicating points of time corresponding to the echo on the internal surface and/or the external surface of the tubular test object around the beginning point. | 03-06-2014 |
| 20150377838 | CONDUIT LOCATING METHOD AND APPARATUS - An apparatus for use with at least one associated elongated conduit having first and second axial extremities and for facilitating the identification of the location of the second axial extremity of the associated conduit when presented with the first axial extremity thereof which includes an audio generator having an emitter port having an acoustic output amplitude equal to or greater than 110 dB measured at 2 inches from said emitter port. | 12-31-2015 |
| 20160003780 | METHOD FOR DETECTING TEMPORALLY VARYING THERMOMECHANICAL STRESSES AND/OR STRESS GRADIENTS OVER THE WALL THICKNESS OF METAL BODIES - The present invention relates to a method for detecting temporally varying thermomechanical stresses and/or stress gradients over the wall thickness of metal bodies, in particular pipelines. In the method, the temperature on the outer surface of the body is measured in order to determine a temperature progression and stress progression therefrom. In addition, electromagnetic ultrasonic transducers are used at at least one measuring point on the outer surface in order to determine the progression of the stresses and/or stress gradients over time over the wall thickness of the body in conjunction with the result of the temperature measurement. The method allows the fatigue monitoring of pipelines even in the event of rapid stress changes. | 01-07-2016 |
| 20160025684 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR NONDESTRUCTIVE INSPECTION OF TUBULAR PRODUCTS, ESPECIALLY ON SITE - A device for inspection of a tubular piece includes a cart including plural elemental ultrasound transducers distributed along at least a first direction and a guide which cooperates with an exterior surface of the piece to position the cart such that the first direction essentially corresponds to a direction transverse to the tubular piece. A control electronics, connected to the electroacoustic transducers, includes a memory storing the timed excitation laws and a controller that applies in succession a respective timed excitation law to subsets of mutually adjacent elemental transducers along the first direction. The timed excitation laws are designed so that the elemental transducers of the respective subsets jointly produce incident beams of ultrasonic waves propagating along respective directions inclined relative to a direction normal to the exterior surface of the tubular piece. | 01-28-2016 |
| 20160109410 | PIPE INSPECTING APPARATUS AND PIPE INSPECTING METHOD - In one embodiment, a pipe inspecting apparatus includes a selection module configured to select first and second ultrasonic optical probes from a plurality of ultrasonic optical probes attached to a pipe. The apparatus further includes a power supplying module configured to supply power to an ultrasonic transducer of the first ultrasonic optical probe to input an ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic transducer to the pipe and to supply the ultrasonic wave via the pipe to an optical fiber sensor of the second ultrasonic optical probe. The apparatus further includes a light detection module configured to detect laser light transmitted through the optical fiber sensor of the second ultrasonic optical probe. | 04-21-2016 |
| 073623000 | Scan from within object | 23 |
| 20080236287 | Method And Apparatus For Detecting A Crack In A Pipeline From Inside The Pipeline With Ultrasound - A method for detecting a crack in a pipeline from an inside of the pipeline, wherein, with the aid of at least one ultrasonic transmitter in the pipeline, successively ultrasonic pulses are transmitted in a direction of an inner wall of the pipeline and wherein, with the aid of at least one ultrasonic receiver in the pipeline, reflections of the ultrasonic pulses on the pipeline are received. The ultrasonic transmitter and the ultrasonic receiver are mutually separated at a distance from each other, wherein the ultrasonic transmitter and the ultrasonic receiver are moved together along the inner wall in tangential direction of the pipeline and at a distance from the inner wall for scanning the pipeline. The pipeline is filled with a liquid such as water for obtaining an immersion between the ultrasonic transmitter, the ultrasonic receiver and the inner wall of the pipeline. | 10-02-2008 |
| 20090078049 | NON-CONTACT FEATURE DETECTION USING ULTRASONIC LAMB WAVES - Apparatus and method for non-contact ultrasonic detection of features on or within the walls of hollow pipes are described. An air-coupled, high-power ultrasonic transducer for generating guided waves in the pipe wall, and a high-sensitivity, air-coupled transducer for detecting these waves, are disposed at a distance apart and at chosen angle with respect to the surface of the pipe, either inside of or outside of the pipe. Measurements may be made in reflection or transmission modes depending on the relative position of the transducers and the pipe. Data are taken by sweeping the frequency of the incident ultrasonic waves, using a tracking narrow-band filter to reduce detected noise, and transforming the frequency domain data into the time domain using fast Fourier transformation, if required. | 03-26-2009 |
| 20090084184 | Inspection device and method for inspection - Device for ultrasonic inspection of a wall of a pipeline that encloses a fluidum. The device is arranged to be moveable along a device axis through the pipeline along a longitudinal direction of the pipeline. The device is provided with electronic means, a body, a transmitting transducer and at least two receiving transducers, mutually spaced apart in a first transducer array along an array direction that is directed substantially parallel to the device axis. The electronic means are arranged to operate the transmitting transducer for transmitting a first ultrasonic signal to propagate through the fluidum to reach the wall, and to operate the at least two receiving transducers for receiving a second ultrasonic signal, which originates from the first ultrasonic signal after it is modified by the wall, according to a tandem method. The at least two receiving transducers are operated for receiving substantially simultaneously. | 04-02-2009 |
| 20090120192 | ULTRASONIC TESTING APPARATUS FOR TURBINE FORKS AND METHOD THEREOF - An ultrasonic testing apparatus for a turbine fork of a turbine blade joined to a turbine disc, comprising:
| 05-14-2009 |
| 20090158850 | METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR ULTRASONICALLY INSPECTING PIPES - An apparatus for inspecting a pipe comprising a body adapted for passage through the bore of a pipe to be inspected, a main transducer array comprising a plurality of circumferentially spaced transducers for transmitting ultrasound energy, the transducers being mounted on the body for movement between a retracted position, wherein the body can freely move through the bore of the pipe, and an extended position wherein the plurality of transducers are pressed into operative contact with the inner wall of the pipe. An actuator selectively urges the plurality of transducers to their extended positions. A control transmits ultrasound energy into the pipe to propagate a guided wave within the pipe walls in at least one longitudinal direction along the pipe when the transducers are in their operative position and receives the propagated wave and analyzes the wave to determine the presence or absence of defects in the pipe wall. | 06-25-2009 |
| 20090314090 | METHODS, SYSTEMS, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCTS FOR DETERMINING A PROPERTY OF CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL - Methods, systems, and computer program products for determining a property of construction material. According to one aspect, a material property gauge operable to determine a property of construction material is disclosed. The gauge may include an electromagnetic sensor operable to measure a response of construction material to an electromagnetic field. Further, the electromagnetic sensor may be operable to produce a signal representing the measured response by the construction material to the electromagnetic field. An acoustic detector may be operable to detect a response of the construction material to the acoustical energy. Further, the acoustic detector may be operable to produce a signal representing the detected response by the construction material to the acoustical energy. A material property calculation function may be configured to calculate a property value associated with the construction material based upon the signals produced by the electromagnetic sensor and the acoustic detector. | 12-24-2009 |
| 20100043559 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR ULTRASONIC EXAMINATION OF THREADED SURFACES - A system and method for ultrasonic examination of a threaded test object, and more particularly, the mounting threads of a compressed gas tube while the tube is affixed to a tube trailer is provided. The disclosed ultrasonic test instrument includes a probe having one or more transducers for transmission and reception of ultrasound pulses, a contoured wear plate, and a shoe of highly attentuative material having a thread-like exterior surface adapted to mate with the threaded surface of the test object. The shoe further includes a narrow window in the thread-like exterior surface such that the shoe absorbs most of the ultrasonic pulses transmitted from the piezoelectric crystal except for the ultrasonic transmissions passing through the narrow window to the test object. | 02-25-2010 |
| 20100071470 | STEAM GENERATOR NONDESTRUCTIVE EXAMINATION METHOD - A method of examining a steam generator heat exchange tube from the outside surface employing ultrasonic nondestructive inspection techniques. An ultrasonic transducer contacts the outside surface of the tube and transmits a pseudo helical Lamb wave into the wall of the tube chosen to have a mode that does not significantly interact with water in the tube. The reflected waves are then analyzed for changes in modes to identify defects in the wall of the tube. | 03-25-2010 |
| 20100199767 | IN-LINE INSPECTION TOOL FOR PIPELINE INTEGRITY TESTING - Apparatus and methods are provided for non-destructive in-line pipeline inspection utilizing electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) technology wherein the EMATs are arrayed circumferentially in a belt around the body of the tool and wherein the EMAT belt includes a plurality of EMAT clusters, each cluster including a transmitting EMAT essentially sandwiched between a pair of receiving EMATs. The EMAT arrangement enables a single receiving EMAT to monitor both the test signal and the returning reflection from the pipewall defect thus providing each signal with its own internal reference. The number of transducers and their positional relationship limits the generation of interference signals, is conservative in power consumption, and provides a tool having enhanced negotiability through the pipeline. | 08-12-2010 |
| 20100307249 | NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING, IN PARTICULAR FOR PIPES DURING MANUFACTURE OR IN THE FINISHED STATE - A device forming an operating tool, for non-destructive testing of iron and steel products, intended to extract information on possible defects in the product, from feedback signals captured by transmitting ultrasound sensors, receiving ultrasound sensors forming an arrangement with a selected geometry, assembled to couple in an ultrasound fashion with the product via a liquid medium intermediary, with relative rotation/translation movement between the pipe and arrangement of transducers. The operating tool includes: a converter capable of selectively isolating a digital representation of echoes in designated time windows, as a function of relative rotation/translation movement, the representation including amplitude and time of flight of at least one echo, and of generating a parallelepipedic 3D graph, a transformer unit capable of generating a 3D image of possible defects in the pipe from the 3D graph and a database, a filter capable of determining, in the images, presumed defect zones, and properties of each presumed defect, and an output stage configured to generate a product conformity or non-conformity signal. | 12-09-2010 |
| 20100313664 | Inspection apparatus for tubular members - An ultrasonic inspection system useful for inspecting a tubular member provides for the use of ultrasonic transducer assembly for detecting weld flaws or other out-of range conditions in the tubular member. According to the invention, the tubular member is positioned horizontally on a rolling carriage and a predetermined amount of sound-conductive fluid is deposited into the tubular member. Wide rings secured to opposing open ends of the tubular member prevent the liquid from escaping, while forming a barrier for retaining a given level of liquid inside the tubular member. The transducers are submerged in the liquid and transmit/ receive sonic booms from reflected medium inside the tubular member. The transducers are connected to a computing control unit, which receives signals generated by the transducers and creates a report of any out-of range condition. | 12-16-2010 |
| 20100313665 | System and method for inspecting a pipeline with ultrasound - A system for inspecting a pipeline with ultrasound, provided with a transport device arranged to move in a transport direction through the pipeline, a plurality of transducers and a transmitting and receiving device connected with the transducers. The transducers and the transmitting and receiving device are mounted on the transport device. The transducers are provided with a first set of transducers, a second set of transducers and a third set of transducers. The system is arranged to move the first set of transducers, the second set of transducers and the third set of transducers in a tangential direction with respect to the transport direction along an interior wall of the pipeline. The system is arranged to bring the transducers of the first set, the second set and the third set into contact with the interior wall of the pipeline during the performance of a measurement. | 12-16-2010 |
| 20110041612 | PIPELINE INSPECTION APPARATUS AND METHOD - Ultrasonic pipeline inspection apparatus which utilises two different wave modes (e.g. a horizontally polarised shear mode and a symmetric Lamb wave mode) to discriminate different defect types by comparing corresponding signals collected from defects. EMATs may detect the signals. The detected amplitudes of the collected signals from both wave modes are compared to calculate a ratio, which may be compared with a distribution of ratio values for known defects to evaluate the type of defect detected. The apparatus may be a sensor module mountable on a pipeline vehicle and having a plurality of sensors distributed around its periphery. | 02-24-2011 |
| 20110067496 | OBLIQUE FLAW DETECTION USING ULTRASONIC TRANSDUCERS - Ultrasonic transducers and methods for detecting oblique flaws in cylindrically-shaped objects using pulse-echo testing are provided. By mounting one or more transducers on a rotary tester for testing manufactured objects such as tubes and bars, offsetting each transducer horizontally from its position if it were to emit a beam that is perpendicular to the object's outer surface, and actuating the transducer so as to emit an angled beam, oblique surface flaws and internal flaws may be reliably detected without reducing inspection speed, significantly adding to transducer cross-talk, or requiring significant additional hardware or processing. | 03-24-2011 |
| 20110067497 | HIGH PRECISION ULTRASONIC CORROSION RATE MONITORING - The invention relates to very precisely measuring changes in thickness of pipe walls to determine corrosion rate prior to any significant corrosion loss. The thickness is determined by ultrasonic testing where many measurements of the wall thickness are taken at the same spot by a fixed sensor and errors associated with noise and temperature changes are substantially eliminated. A highly sensitive receiver converts each reflected pulse to waves that are averaged with other pulse measurements. The resulting average wave is analyzed so that each waveform is analyzed to identify the extrema and inflection points of each reflected pulse. The resulting analysis provides a far more accurate determination of the time between reflected pulses. As a result, a far more accurate picture of corrosion at the location of the wall of the pipe can be determined within weeks with a high degree of confidence. | 03-24-2011 |
| 20110113883 | ULTRASONIC INTERNAL ROTATING INSPECTION PROBE THAT SELF-ELIMINATES AIR BUBBLES - Disclosed is an improved ultrasonic probe for Internal Rotating Inspection System (called IRIS) for inspecting tube-like structures from the inside of the tubes. The improved design deploys a rotor with rotor blades and a slotted stator located close to the emitting face of the transducer, to direct the flow of water such that air bubbles are carried away from a zone immediately in front of the transducer emitting face. Inspection accuracy and efficiency is significantly improved when air bubbles are effectively removed. | 05-19-2011 |
| 20110113884 | INSPECTION METHOD - A method of monitoring the condition of a flexible pipeline comprising the step of scanning the pipeline with an ultrasonic scanner to produce and/or record a signal indicative or the level of flooding within the annulus of the pipeline and/or indicative of the integrity of the layers of the pipeline. | 05-19-2011 |
| 20110226063 | APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR SENSING FLUID FLOW IN A PIPE WITH VARIABLE WALL THICKNESS - A method and apparatus for sensing a fluid flow within a pipe is provided. The method includes the steps of: a) providing an ultrasonic sensor having a transmitter operable to transmit ultrasonic signals through the first pipe wall, the fluid flow disposed within the pipe, and the second pipe wall, and a receiver operable to receive the transmitted signal after the signal has passed through the pipe walls and fluid flow; b) disposing the transmitter adjacent the first wall and the receiver adjacent the second wall; c) disposing at least one acoustic member between at least one of the transmitter and the first wall, and the receiver and the second wall, which acoustic member has acoustic properties such that the combined respective member and pipe wall have half wave resonant frequencies that substantially match the half wave resonant frequencies of the opposite wall, or opposite wall and respective member; and d) sensing the fluid flow through the pipe walls and structure using the ultrasonic sensor. | 09-22-2011 |
| 20110314918 | PIPE INNER SURFACE INSPECTION APPARATUS - A pipe inner surface inspection apparatus that can accurately inspect the inlet portion of a pipe is provided. The pipe inner surface inspection apparatus provides a guide unit ( | 12-29-2011 |
| 20120125111 | METHOD FOR NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING OF PIPES - The invention relates to a process for the destruction-free testing of metallic pipes, in particular seamlessly produced steel pipes, in which method the entire length of the pipe is scanned following the circumference precisely and in this case, in addition to the wall thickness (WD) and the external diameter (D | 05-24-2012 |
| 20120222484 | SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING DEPOSITS IN A FLUID LINE - A system is provided for the detection of deposits in a fluid line that includes, but is not limited to a measuring body, and ultrasonic transducer and an ultrasonic receiver and at least one evaluation unit connected to the ultrasonic transducer and the ultrasonic receiver. The ultrasonic transducer transmits an ultrasonic signal and the ultrasonic receiver receives response signals generated by reflections in the fluid line. From known geometric changes in shape of the fluid line, resulting response signals are finally filtered out of the response signal sequence and from the remaining response signals relating to the deposits, the distances can be calculated between the ultrasonic transducer and the deposits. | 09-06-2012 |
| 20130133429 | APPARATUS FOR PIPELINE INSPECTION - An apparatus for pipeline inspection, the apparatus comprising a body comprising a longitudinal axis, an array of ultrasonic sensors configured to inspect a pipe wall, a skid comprising an outer surface configured to run adjacent to, or in contact with, the pipe wall, wherein the array of ultrasonic sensors are arranged at a stand off from the outer surface of the skid, and a chamber comprising an ultrasonic couplant, wherein the ultrasonic couplant permits ultrasound communication between the array of ultrasonic sensors and an inner surface of the pipe wall. | 05-30-2013 |
| 20150122030 | NON-TRAVERSING TUBE INSPECTION SYSTEM - Tube inspections are performed by combining the use of APR technology with GW technology. The reflections measured by both technologies are compared to each other and used to more specifically identify the type and location of a flaw or anomaly that appears in the interior of the tube. Further, embodiments of novel probes to be used in GW technique for inspecting tubes with mechanical waves having bandwidth that is equal to 150 KHz or more are disclosed. | 05-07-2015 |
