Comparison of Ultrasonic Phased Array and Film Radiography in Detection of Artificially Embedded Defects in Welded Plates

Abstract

Ultrasonic and radiographic testing are generally two basic methods for volumetric (internal) defect detection in non-destructive testing. Since both methods are commonly used for the same thing, the question arises as to whether both are equally capable of detecting some commonly occurring defects in manufacturing. Commonly occurring defects are generally considered to be fusion defects, drilled holes (which act as pores), etc. To prove or disprove the hypothesis that both methods can generally be used to detect these defects, an experiment was conducted using three welded plates with artificially inserted defects. The welded plates had multiple defects that were intentionally placed close to each other to further complicate the interpretation of the UT results. UT investigation was based on phased-array technology with a multi-element probe. RT investigation was performed with an X-ray machine. Both investigations were based on the respective European standards: for UT, EN ISO 17640, and for RT, EN ISO 17636-1. The results and conclusions from the experiment are presented in this paper.