Ultrasonic Transducers, Performance Variability, Design, and Manufacturing Procedures.

摘要

A study and analysis of the open literature and a survey of military nondestructive inspection (NDI) personnel and facilities were conducted to determine the extent of and the causes for performance variability of ultrasonic transducers and to identify common problem areas encountered in their use. Significant variations in the performance of nominally identical transducers were identified as a major problem area which has reduced the reliability of ultrasonic NDI below a desirable level. Such performance variations are basically caused by the difference in the basic design and manufacturing procedures of transducers between different manufacturers, as well as the lack of adequate quality control by the manufacturers. To improve the reproducibility and the reliability of ultrasonic NDI, the following actions are recommended: (a) rigorous implementation of in-process quality control by transducer manufacturers; (b) generation and implementation of performance specifications; and (c) development of a more detailed transducer classification system. (Author)