Phased-array ultrasonic system for the inspection of titanium billets.

A phased-array ultrasonic system was developed by R/D Tech mainly to improve the probability of detection and reduce the number of probes needed to inspect billets that come in a wide variety of diameters. The dynamic depth (DDF) technique is used to expand the depth of field of the probe and inspect the whole depth of the billet by firing only once. The probes are characterized after manufacturing, and an electronic correction can be made if necessary to correct for non-negligible position errors of the elements. Billets ranging from 5 to 14 in. in diameter were inspected using only two phased-array probes. The results obtained show a high probability of detection of flat-bottom holes and validate the DDF algorithm to improve the inspection speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]