JP5193950B2 - Ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe used for ultrasonic inspection of various structures, and in particular, a gap is provided between an ultrasonic probe and an object to be inspected, and ultrasonic inspection is performed by filling water therein. The present invention relates to a water gap type ultrasonic probe.

  Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-318606 discloses an example of performing flaw detection through a water gap when performing ultrasonic flaw detection on various structures. In this known example, a gap is provided on the bottom surface of the probe, and a contact medium is accumulated therein to perform ultrasonic inspection.

  In this gap method, it is important to fill the contact medium with water in the gap between the ultrasonic probe and the object to be inspected in order to ensure the flaw detection performance. When the full state is broken, there is a problem that the ultrasonic wave is not transmitted into the inspection object and the flaw detection performance is deteriorated.

  In the known example, water as a contact medium is continuously supplied to the gap between the ultrasonic probe and the object to be inspected in order to solve this problem, but it is unavoidable that leakage occurs from the contact surface. Air is supplied from the outer periphery of the gap to keep water in the gap and to ensure transmission of ultrasonic waves. In the known example, an air supply port and an air discharge port are provided in the member on the outer peripheral portion of the gap for this purpose, and water as a contact medium is confined in the gap by the air from the supply port, and the introduced air is air-discharged. It is made to discharge from.

JP-A-9-318606

  However, it is difficult to balance the supply of water to the inside of the gap and the supply and discharge of air from the outer periphery, and this is a new problem that affects the transmission of ultrasonic waves because air enters the gap. cause.

  In view of the above, the present invention provides an ultrasonic probe capable of performing ultrasonic inspection that solves the problem of the gap method in the prior art and enables stable ultrasonic transmission with a simple apparatus. is there.

To achieve the above tasks,
It consists of an ultrasonic probe main body having a transducer on the lower surface and a skirt portion provided around the ultrasonic probe, and the lower surface of the skirt portion is at a lower position than the lower surface of the ultrasonic probe main body. An ultrasonic probe that abuts the object to be inspected and supplies and fills the gap between the ultrasonic probe body, the skirt, and the object to be inspected by supplying and filling water from the first water supply path. In the tentacle
While providing the 2nd water supply path in the said skirt part, the injection-portion part of the 2nd water supply path was provided in the contact surface side periphery with a to-be-inspected object.

  According to the present invention, when ultrasonic inspection is performed by the gap method, ultrasonic transmission / reception failure due to interruption of the contact medium at the contact surface between the ultrasonic probe and the surface of the object to be inspected is prevented. Ultrasonic inspection is possible.

  In addition, since the skirt can be replaced when the skirt is worn, the life of the ultrasonic probe can be greatly extended.

Sectional drawing which shows Example 1 of the ultrasonic probe by this invention (A) is a bottom view of the skirt portion of FIG. 1, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2 (a). The figure for demonstrating the function of the ultrasound probe by this invention Overview when the skirt part 5 and the ultrasonic probe body 1 are combined. The perspective view which shows the arrangement | positioning relationship of the water supply paths 4a and 4b of FIG. The figure for demonstrating Example 2 of the ultrasonic probe by this invention

  The present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of Embodiment 1 of the ultrasonic probe of the present invention. The ultrasonic probe main body 1 is provided with a plug 2 at the top, a vibrator 3 at the bottom, and a contact medium supply path 4b inside. A skirt 5 is detachably provided on the outer peripheral portion of the ultrasonic probe 1, and a contact medium supply path 4a is also provided inside the skirt. This skirt is used by being installed on the ultrasonic probe in order to prevent damage to the ultrasonic probe.

  The ultrasonic probe of the present invention is composed of the above-described members. Here, the installation height of the transducer 3 provided at the lower portion of the ultrasonic probe main body 1 is set to the skirt 5 on the outer peripheral portion. It is set to a position higher than the bottom surface. For this reason, in a state where the ultrasonic probe of the present invention is installed on the inspection object 7, the outer peripheral skirt 5, the ultrasonic probe main body 1, and the region surrounded by the inspection object 7 are included. A gap portion 10 is formed. In the inspection state, water is supplied to the gap portion 10 from the contact medium supply path 4b provided in the ultrasonic probe main body 1 and the contact medium supply path 4a provided in the outer peripheral skirt 5. Is done. In the apparatus of the present invention, a voltage is supplied to the vibrator 3 of the ultrasonic probe main body 1 through the plug 2 in a state where the gap portion 10 is filled with water, and vibration is applied so that the ultrasonic wave 8 contacts. It is transmitted to the device under test 7 via the medium 6.

  In FIG. 1, a contact medium supply path 4a provided in the skirt portion 5 is composed of a supply path 4a1, a constricted portion 4a2 and an opening 4a3 having an expanded lower portion. In the sectional view of FIG. Water flows from the front to the back (or in the opposite direction), and the water flows through the constricted portion 4a2 and diverts from the opening 4a3 toward the gap portion 10 and outward.

  FIG. 2 shows a bottom view and an AA sectional view of the skirt portion 5 of FIG. 1, and as is clear from the bottom view of FIG. 1 (a) and the AA sectional view of FIG. Supply paths 4a1 are formed on the four sides of the skirt portion 5 to supply water, the water pressure is increased at the constricted portion 4a2, and the water is discharged from the opening 4a3.

  Further, as apparent from the AA sectional view, the skirt portion is devised such that the central portion is thinner than the outer portion so as to be in close contact with the curved surface of the piping when the object to be inspected is a piping. . Note that the contact medium supply path 4b provided inside the ultrasonic probe main body 1 is provided at a position that does not interfere with the ultrasonic wave generation action outside the transducer 3, and fills the gap portion 10 with water. The main source of water supply.

  FIG. 3 shows a flow path of water supplied to the gap portion 10 as a result of adopting the above configuration. The contact medium is supplied from the ultrasonic probe and the skirt part, and the contact medium is held by the pressure of the jet from the skirt part, and the contact medium is sufficiently held between the ultrasonic probe and the object to be inspected. Is possible. Thus, in the present invention, the nozzle-shaped injection ports 4a3 are continuously provided on the four sides of the contact surface of the skirt 5 with the object 7 to be inspected, the contact medium 6 is supplied, and the contact medium 6 is injected. By holding the contact medium 6 in the gap between the ultrasonic probe 1 and the inspection object 7 by pressure, stable transmission / reception of ultrasonic waves is made possible.

  FIG. 4 shows an overview when the skirt portion 5 and the ultrasonic probe main body 1 are combined, and is an overview when the bottom portion of FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the arrangement relationship between the water supply paths 4a and 4b in the case of the overview of FIG.

  The ultrasonic probe skirt 5 in FIG. 1 is made of an acrylic resin (or polyetherimide resin, polyimide resin, or polystyrene resin) that is also used for a wedge in a general-purpose probe. Thus, the inspection object 7 is not damaged and can be replaced when the skirt portion 5 is worn to some extent. For this purpose, it is advantageous that the skirt portion 5 is configured to be detachable from the ultrasonic probe main body 1, and various specific attachment / detachment mechanisms can be employed. In the present invention, there is no point in the attachment / detachment mechanism itself, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The shape of the skirt portion 5 can be eliminated by adjusting the surface shape of the object to be inspected, that is, the curvature shape of the pipe or the like, so that the contact medium can be transmitted and received without leaking the contact medium. Stable ultrasonic inspection was realized.

  FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. As is clear from FIG. 3, water as a contact medium 6 is supplied to a gap portion 10 formed between the vibrator 3 and the inspection object 7. The difference is that the supply passage and the injection port 4b are formed in the skirt 5. That is, in this embodiment, two supply paths (4a and 4b in the example of FIG. 6) are both provided in the skirt portion.

  According to this embodiment, since there is no extra structure such as a contact medium supply path inside the ultrasonic probe, an ultrasonic probe that easily transmits an electrical signal from the plug 1 to the vibrator 3 is manufactured. It is easy to use. According to this embodiment, it is possible to use a general ultrasonic probe that does not have a water supply path inside.

  The present invention can be used as an ultrasonic probe used for ultrasonic inspection of various structures.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ultrasonic probe 2 Plug 3 Vibrator 4 Injection port 5 Skirt part 6 Contact medium 7 Inspected object 8 Ultrasonic wave

Claims (7)

It consists of an ultrasonic probe main body having a transducer on the lower surface and a skirt portion provided around the ultrasonic probe main body, and the lower surface of the skirt portion is positioned lower than the lower surface of the ultrasonic probe main body. Ultrasonic inspection is performed by supplying water from the first water supply path to the gap portion surrounded by the ultrasonic probe main body, the skirt portion, and the inspection object, and filling and filling the gap. In the acoustic probe,
A second water supply passage is provided in the skirt portion, and an injection port portion of the second water supply passage is continuously provided around the gap portion on the surface side where the skirt portion contacts the object to be inspected. Ultrasonic probe characterized by The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1,
An ultrasonic probe characterized in that the shape of the contact surface of the skirt with the object to be inspected is adapted to the curvature of the object to be inspected. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1,
The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the jet port provided in the skirt portion has a nozzle shape in the opening portion. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1,
The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the skirt portion is detachably provided to the ultrasonic probe main body. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1,
The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1, wherein the water supply path provided in the skirt portion includes a plurality of water supply paths. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1,
The ultrasonic probe, wherein the first water supply path is formed in an ultrasonic probe main body. The ultrasonic probe according to claim 1,
The ultrasonic probe, wherein the first water supply path is formed in a skirt portion.

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