Development of an ultrasonic imaging system for the inspection of nuclear reactor pressure vessels. Final report

Abstract

The development of an experimental model of an ultrasonic linear array system for the inspection of weldments in nuclear reactor pressure vessels is described. The imaging system is designed to operate in both pulse echo and holographic modes of operation. The system utilizes a sequentially pulsed, phase steered linear array to develop pulse echo images and a line focused illumination transducer in conjunction with a linear receiver array to develop holographic reconstructed images. The results recorded from the computer-based system demonstrate the capability of array technology. Excellent results from both the pulse echo and holographic modes of operation have been achieved. Pulse echo images of flaws in weldments are displayed in B-scan, C-scan, or isometric presentations. Reconstruction of the phase or holographic images are compared with pulse echo results and demonstrate the enhancement potential for the holographic procedure.