new generation of air-coupled ultrasonic testing

New Generation of Air-Coupled Ultrasonic Testing

Ultrasonic Testing - Made in Germany

World’s 1st Non-Contact Phased-Array Inspection System

SONOTEC US Inc. in New York, USA SONOTEC GmbH in Halle (Saale), Germany

Headquarters, R&D and Production


Sales and Stock Office for Americas

Company – Location


Worldwide sales and support

More than 50 distribution partners

Standard products and customized solutions

Founded in 1991

Strong technology leadership philosophy

>200 employees (>30 R&D engineers)

All products 100% made in Germany

In-house piezo-composite production

>30,000 transducers manufactured annually

Company – Info


Company – Business Units

Preventive Maintenance

Noninvasive Fluid Monitoring

Nondestructive Testing


Air-coupled UT in the Past

First systems in the 1970s

Niche application in aerospace industry

Change towards lightweight material makes technology more interesting

Until today: Many times no testing at all (e.g. wind power, automotive)

Challenges of Air-coupled UT

Test Object


Large acoustic impedance difference between Air and Solid Test Objects

>99% of the ultrasonic signal are reflected on the material surface

Less than 1% of the transmitted signal are received

Impedance Air = Zair = 400 Rayl

Impedance Plastic = Zplastic = 3 MRayl

Reflection + Transmission = 1

T = 1 - R

Tair to plastic = 0,03%

Couplant such as water, oil, etc.

Need for large gantry systems and water tanks

Corrosion or maceration

Complicated discharging process of water

Expensive and time consuming drying processes

Challenges of Conventional UT


Conventional vs. Air-coupled UT


Conventional UT SONOAIR

Frequency Range 0.5 MHz … 25 MHz 50 kHz … 1 MHz

Pulser Energy < 0.5 kW 2 kW

Noise < 80 nV/ √Hz 1 nV / √Hz

Modes T-T, Pitch-Catch, P-E T-T, Pitch Catch

Air adapted and highly sensitive probes

High power and high energy sending electronics

Very sensitive and low noise receiving electronics

Flexible evaluation algorithms

Requirements for Air-coupled UT

Test Object

Receiver Amplifier and

Scanner

Sound Intensity

Sender


SONOAIR – Probes


50 … 500 kHz

In-house made piezo-composite elements

Less lateral sound losses = higher sensitivity

Improved matching layer for air

SONOAIR – Probes


CF 400 3E

First air-coupled phased array probe

Electronic depth focusing

Closer near field = smaller offset to test part

Less sound losses = higher sensitivity and resolution

Unfocused vs. Focused Sound Field

Grey: 200 kHz Unfocused Probe

Red: 400 kHz Unfocused Probe

Blue: 400 kHz Focused Probe

SONOAIR – Electronics


Single or multi-channel systems available

Up to 800 V sender voltage

Continuous wave operation possible

2 kW pulser power (burst or single pulse)

Low noise amplification (1 nV/√Hz) with up to 120dB

GaGe 16 bit A/D converter (or custom)

100 MS/s data acquisition rate

SONOAIR – Software


A-, B-, C- and D-Scan signal evaluation

Data post processing (Filters, FFT, etc.)

Automatic defect recognition and threshold levels

Access to all data and levels

Export interface (MatLab, LabView, etc.)

Software development kit available

SONOAIR – Scanning Mechanics


Custom scanners according to requirements

Standard scanners for R&D/lab applications

Robot arms for complex geometries

Integration in gantry systems possible

Traditional: Through-transmission


Applications

New: Single-sided Pitch-catch


Standard Reference Block in Aerospace

Steps: 10, 8.8, 6.6, 4.4, 2.2 mm

300 kHz probe frequency

Top View

Applications – CFRP Aerospace Step Block

Side View


60 mm complex geometry NOMEX structure

Standard reference from aerospace customer

200 kHz probe frequency

Applications – NOMEX Honeycomb 1


14 mm NOMEX core

1 mm CFRP top and bottom layer

Impact damages

200 vs. 300 vs. 400 kHz focused

200kHz C-Scan 300kHz C-Scan

400kHz electronically focused phased-array C-Scan

Applications – CFRP Laminated NOMEX Honeycomb


Heavy delaminations

Applications – GFRP Wind Turbine Rotor Blade


Top and bottom: 1 mm aluminum

Core: 20 mm aluminum

Clear detection of reference defects

Visibility of cooling channels

Applications – Full Aluminum Honeycomb


Applications – High Performance Ceramics/ Refractories

Metal production industry (steel plants, etc.)

Aerospace industry (shuttle protection, etc.)

Up to 800 mm thickness

Fresh or or burnt material

Pressing defects/ delaminations

Detection of inhomogeneities


Applications – Welded and Glued Metal Plates

Common in automotive industry

Few mm steel or aluminum plates

Different color codes (standard or traffic light)

Glue level dependend intensity differences

Spot weld inspection (high intensity = good weld)


Applications – Automotive Brake Pads

High safety critical parts

Cast iron and ceramic bond

60 mm thickness

Strong signal = good bonding No or weak signal = disbonding


Applications – Plastic Multiwall Plates

Missing connection


Applications – Laser Welded Aluminum Plates

Weld inspection of plates with different thicknesses

Common in the automotive industry

Single-sided testing on welding robot simultaneously to production possible


Summary – Advantages of the SONOAIR System

No liquid couplant needed

First air-coupled phased-array system in the world

Multi-channel capability for fast scanning or electronic focusing

Modular system with custom hardware and software

Intelligent data post processing for clear results

Signal intensity and time of flight evaluation

Up to 800 V pulser voltage

2 kW high power pulser

Up to 120 dB gain

Fast data acquisition up to 100 MS/s

Digitizer Resolution 16 bit

Low noise amplification 1 nV/√Hz

Highly sensitive piezo composite probes

Extensive training and support

Quality made in Germany

Interested in Air-coupled UT Training?

In Cooperation with the Ultrasonic Research Center Halle and TB3 NDT


Thank you

for your

Attention.

Have an

Ultrasonic

Day!


new generation of air-coupled ultrasonic testing

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