Comparative analysis of ultrasonic control sensitivity in using straight and angle piezoelectric transducers of different manufacturers on the example of flaw detector UD2-102 Peleng

Introduction. Railway transport has ultrasonic control as one of the main methods of detection of defects of the type of continuity violation (cracks, pores and others) both in the base metal and in weld seams of various items. Ultrasonic control tools primarily include a flaw detector with piezoelectric transducers. Piezoelectric transducers are usually supplied with the flaw detector depending on the general or specialized configuration. Flaw detector manufacturers often offer the customer their own piezoelectric transducer kits for certain device configurations with installed software referring to incompatibility of other manufacturers piezoelectric transducers with the electronic unit. The article is intended to carry out a comparative analysis of ultrasonic control sensitivity using straight and angle transducers of different manufacturers, and to compare the results with the control sensitivity using piezoelectric transducers traditionally used on the railways.

Materials and methods. The paper gives the results of testing the sample using Flaw Detector UD2-102 Peleng produced by Altek LLC. Industrial oil I-20 was used as a contact fluid. The authors compared the following piezoelectric transducers: straight (made by Altek LLC and NPO INAKON (Russia)) and angle (Altek LLC (Russia), Iskatel-2 LLC (Russia) and SIUI (China)).

Results. The paper reports the results of an experiment detecting artificial reflectors in the form of through cylindrical side holes in a sample of 20GL steel by straight and angle piezoelectric transducers of different manufacturers using Flaw Detector UD2-102 Peleng.

Discussion and conclusion. Connection of other manufacturers transducers to Flaw Detector UD2-102 Peleng of Altek LLC confirmed that they are compatible with the electronic unit. Thus, given the choice of a wide selection of piezoelectric converters from various manufacturers, the requirement of coordination with the electronic unit of Flaw Detector UD2-102 may be neglected. At the same time, it is important that the manufacturer stipulates the joint use of its product with other types of flaw detectors.

1. Sharapov V. M., Sotula Zh. V. Piezoceramic converters. New design technologies. Electronics: Science, Technology, Business. 2012;(5):96-102. (In Russ.).

2. Otoka A.G., Kholodilov O.V. Ultrasonic testing of the bearing part of the axis of the wheels pair using phased array transducers. Bulletin of BSUT: science and transport. 2022;(2):73–78. (In Russ.).

3. Akhmedzhanov R.A., Makarochkin V.V., Rodchenko L.A. Improvement of ultrasonic inspection of the wagon wheelset axle. Journal of Transsib Railway Studies. 2014;(2):7-18. (In Russ.).

4. Dymkin G.Ya., Lokhov V.P. Influence of Products’ Surface Roughness on Results of Ultrasonic Inspection with the Use of Piezoelectric Transducers. NDT World Review. 2007;(1):25-26. (In Russ.).

5. Sinitsa A.N., Kulikov V.P., Sinitsa M.A. Ultrasonic inspection of tramway car axles with UD2-102 Peleng flaw detector. Belarusian-Russian University Bulletin. 2023;(3):153-160. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.24412/2077-8481-2023-3-153-160.

6. Kireev A.N. Equivalent sensitivity setting during ultrasonic inspection of steel butt welded joints. NDT World Review. 2016;19(3):74–76. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.12737/21175.

7. Kireev A.N., Vitrenko V.A. Application of DAC function at the setting of conditional sensitivity of ultrasonic control of rolling stock parts with echo-pulse method. Russian Railway Science Journal. 2017;76(6):377-382. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.21780/2223-9731-2017-76-6-377-382.

8. Mogilner L.Yu. Application of a cylindrical reflector for sensitivity adjustment in ultrasonic control. Russian Journal of Nondestructive Testing. 2018;(7):27-36. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0130308218070047.

9. Kireev A.N, Kireeva M.A. Analysis of the errors of conditional sensitivity use at ultrasonic control of railroads rolling stock details. Herald of the USURT. 2018;(2):27-34. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.20291/2079-0392-2018-2-27-34.

10. Otoka A.G., Kholodilov O.V. Influence of the temperature of the contact medium for immersion ultrasonic testing wheelsets of wagons during repair. Journal of Transsib Railway Studies. 2023;(3):24-33. (In Russ.). EDN: https://www.elibrary.ru/xdkmwg.

11. Otoka A.G., Logunov V.G., KholodilovO.V. Sensitivity of contact and immersion ultrasonic control methods in detecting reference reflectors in a tuning sample. Nondestructive testing and diagnostics. 2023;(1):30-36. (In Russ.). EDN: https://www.elibrary.ru/gvyrpj.