Industrial ultrasonics is a non-destructive test, classified as an inspection method that is based on the ultrasonic waves that propagate within the material. In the past, a surface was hit with an object and the sound it emitted was heard by the technician or person in charge of carrying out the inspection to proceed with its repair, but clearly, at that time the execution of the method was not very effective, it was simply sound inspections.
(…) It is known that the propagation of the waves inside the piece depends on the discontinuities of the examined material, which allows evaluating this discontinuity regarding its shape, size, orientation, since these oppose resistance known as acoustic impedance (…)
Ultrasonics are sounds imperceptible to the human ear. The frequency range perceptible by the human ear is between 16 and 500 kHz. The range above 500 kHz is called ultrasound.
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Applications
The ultrasonic method is used for the evaluation of metallic and non-metallic materials, that is, to look for defects or cracks in the materials. It is also used for thickness measurement and detection of areas with corrosion.
In the ultrasonic method, instruments are used that transmit waves with certain frequency ranges and are applied to detect defects such as pores, cracks, also to know the basic properties of liquids and solids such as composition, structure.
Ultrasonic is easy to apply as an inspection method for the control and analysis of materials, for a correct quality control. It is possible to apply it to different objects or material surfaces as mentioned above, such as: pipes, storage tanks, rods, rails, etc.
