JPH03255358A - Ultrasonic automatic flaw detector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To find the erroneous connection of flaw detecting cables for connecting probes and a transmitting/receiving part readily by detecting a test piece wherein artificial defects are provided at the different position for every probe with an ultrasonic wave, displaying the output signal of the defect, and visually checking the defect. CONSTITUTION:Defects are provided at predetermined positions in a test piece 22. A defect-position-gate setting part 8 generates the defect position signal corresponding to the position of the defect. An automatic display part 17 discriminate and displays the defect signal. A rationality checking part 21 checks the rationality of the output sequence of the defects. Since the positions of the defects are different in the scanning directions of probes 3, the results of the detections are displayed on the display device 17 in the sequence corresponding to the positions of the defects after the flaw detection of the test piece 22. Therefore, the connecting errors of flaw detecting cables for connecting the probes 3 and a transmitting/receiving part 2 can be readily found by visually checking the result of the display.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] This invention is an ultrasonic technology that uses ultrasonic waves to inspect defects existing inside an object to be inspected, such as a steel material that is conveyed on an lll1 feed line. This relates to automatic flaw detection equipment.

[Prior Art] A conventional automatic ultrasonic flaw detection device for detecting flaws on a 5IIL board as an example of an object to be inspected is 9, for example, as described in the magazine "Non-Destructive Inspection Vol. 29 No. 10 P731-P" published by the Japan Non-Destructive Inspection Association.
There is one shown in ``737''.

Figure 4 shows a conventional example of an ultrasonic flaw detector that detects flaws from the surface of an object to be inspected. In Figure 1, (1) is a synchronization unit that controls the time system of the ultrasonic flaw detector, (2) (3) is a transmitting/receiving unit for generating a transmitting signal corresponding to a transmitting command signal from the synchronizing unit (1) and amplifying and identifying the flaw detection signal from the probe; a probe that generates an ultrasonic signal; (4) a tracking mechanism for holding the probe (3) and making it follow the object to be inspected (5);
(6) is a pulse generator for generating pulses corresponding to the moving distance of the object to be inspected (5), and (7) is a transmitter/receiver unit (2).
(8) is the gate setting section for setting the flaw detection range of the inspection object (5), and (9) is the flaw detection reflection signal of the object to be inspected (5) identified in . flol is the gate circuit section for determining the defect detection signal (11) within the flaw detection range set by the gate setting section (8), fil) is the defect detection signal determined by the gate circuit section, ( 12) is a determination circuit unit for determining the defect output signal (13) from the defect detection signal (Ill).

(13) is a defect output signal, f14+ is a judgment level setting unit for setting a judgment level signal (15) for judging a defect, f151 is a judgment level signal, (1
6) is a length measuring unit for measuring the length of the object to be inspected (5) using the pulse output signal from the pulse generator (6);
(17) is a display for displaying defects corresponding to the position of the object to be inspected (5), and (18) is a flaw detection cable for connecting the transmitting/receiving section (2) and the probe (3).

Next, the operation will be explained. The transmitting/receiving section (2) generates a transmission signal in response to the transmission command signal from the synchronization section ill, and applies it to the probe (3) through the flaw detection cable (18). The probe (3) generates an ultrasonic signal by applying a transmission signal, and propagates the ultrasonic signal to the object to be inspected (5) through the couplant. The reflected signal from the inspected object (5) passes through the flaw detection cable (18) and is identified by the transmitting/receiving section (2) as a flaw detection reflected signal (7).

Further, a gate signal for setting the flaw detection range of the inspected object (5) is set in a gate setting section (8), becomes a defect gate signal (9), and is inputted to the gate circuit section (10). . In the gate circuit section (lO).

From the above two signals, a defect detection signal (ill) corresponding to the thickness (from the surface to the bottom) of the object to be inspected (5) is output.
Input to the determination circuit section (12). The determination circuit section (12) determines the defect detection signal based on the determination level signal (15) set by the determination level setting section (14), and sends a defect output signal (13) to the display (17).

On the other hand, the length measurement/counting section (16) measures a pulse signal from a pulse generator (6) that generates a pulse signal corresponding to the movement of the object to be inspected (5), and measures the pulse signal from the tip of the object to be inspected (5). The distance information signal is sent to the display (17). Display (17)
The object to be inspected (5) is detected by the defect output signal (13) corresponding to each channel from the judgment circuit section (12) and the distance information signal of the object to be inspected (5) from the length measuring and counting section (16). Show where the defects are.

The tracking mechanism section (4) holds the probe (3) and tracks the movement of the object (5) to transmit the ultrasonic signal from the probe (3) to the object (5). 5) for stable propagation.

Fig. 5 shows the relationship between the flaw detection time system of a conventional ultrasonic flaw detection device. In Fig. 1, T is a transmitted signal, S is a reflected signal (S echo) from the surface of the inspected object (5), F indicates a signal reflected from a defect in the object to be inspected (5) (F echo), and B indicates a signal reflected from the bottom surface of the object to be inspected (5) (S echo). In addition, the relationship between the object to be inspected (5) and the probe (3) is
As shown in the figure.

The figure shows the case where four probes (3) are arranged.
) is one channel of the flaw detection cable (18), and the second channel of the probe (3b) is the flaw detection cable (18).
8), and the 3rd channel of the probe (3C) is the 3rd channel of the flaw detection cable (18), and the 3rd channel of the probe (3C).
The four channels in d) are the four channels of the flaw detection cable (18), which are each connected to the transmitting/receiving section (2).
The flaw detection signals received by the probes (3) of each of the four channels are judged to be defective in each channel by the transmitting/receiving section (2), the gate circuit section (10), and the judgment circuit section (12), and then sent to the probe (3). 3) is displayed on the display (17) in accordance with the flaw detection area determined by the arrangement.

Problem 1 to be solved by the invention In the conventional ultrasonic flaw detection device as described above, the tracking mechanism section (4
), the probe (3) and the flaw detection cable (18),
The channel connection with the transmitting/receiving unit (2) must match, and if the connection is incorrect, the flaw detection result will be displayed at a location different from the actual defect location on the inspected object (5). occurs. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of displaying the flaw detection result output in the case of incorrect connection of the flaw detection cable (18). This is the output display when one channel of the flaw detection cable (18) is connected to the second channel of (3b), and as shown in Figure 9, it differs from the actual position A (position of the first channel) of the inspected object (5). A defect is displayed at the position (dotted line display at the 2nd channel position).

In particular, the probe (3) is held by the tracking mechanism section (4) and is always in contact with the surface of the object to be inspected (5) in order to propagate the ultrasonic signal to the object to be inspected (5). Therefore, it is subject to heavy wear and has to be replaced frequently, and it is necessary to check the channel connection between the probe (3) and the flaw detection cable (18) each time it is replaced. In addition, as the object to be inspected (5) becomes larger, the number of probes (3) and flaw detection cables (18) increases, and the wiring route of the flaw detection cables (18) in the tracking mechanism (4) becomes complicated. In addition, due to the bundling, a great deal of time was spent checking the connection of the channel of the flaw detection cable (18).

As mentioned above, the conventional ultrasonic flaw detection apparatus has a problem in that it does not have a function to automatically check the connection of the flaw detection cable (18).

This invention is intended to solve these problems.
Even if the number of probes (3) increases, the following mechanism (4)
It is an object of the present invention to obtain an ultrasonic flaw detection device that can automatically check the connection of the channel of the flaw detection cable (18), regardless of the complexity of the wiring route and the bundling state of the flaw detection cable (18) in ). purpose.

[Means for Solving the Problems 1] The automatic ultrasonic flaw detection device according to the present invention includes a test piece having a defect at a predetermined position and a defect position gate signal for generating a defect position gate signal corresponding to the defect position of the test piece. The apparatus is equipped with a defect position gate setting section and an automatic display section for distinguishing and displaying a defect output signal obtained by ultrasonic flaw detection using the defect position gate signal.

Further, the automatic ultrasonic flaw detection apparatus according to the present invention further includes a rationality check section that receives the defect discrimination output signal and checks the rationality of the output order of defects corresponding to each probe.

[Operation] This invention performs ultrasonic flaw detection on a test piece in which artificial defects are provided at different positions for each probe, and displays the resulting defect output signal on a display.

Additionally, the connection of the flaw detection cable is confirmed by automatically determining the output order of the defect output signals.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, which is applied to an ultrasonic flaw detection apparatus by flaw detecting a test piece and checking the connection of a flaw detection cable. In Figure 1, (1) ~
(18) is similar to that shown in FIG.

(19) is a defect order setting unit that sets the order in which each probe detects defects; (20) is a defect detection order signal;
+211 receives the defect discrimination output signal (13) from the judgment circuit section (12) and the defect detection order signal (20) from the defect order setting section (19), and determines the output order of defects corresponding to each probe. A rationality check unit that checks rationality (221 is a connected N-word test piece in which artificial defects are provided at positions with different defect detection times in the scanning direction for each probe.

Next, the operation will be explained. In response to the transmission command signal from the synchronization unit (11), the transmission/reception unit (2) generates a transmission signal and applies it to the probe (3) through the flaw detection cable (18).The probe (3) By applying the transmission signal, an ultrasonic signal is generated, and the ultrasonic signal is propagated to the object to be inspected (5) through the couplant.The reflected signal from the object to be inspected (5) passes through the flaw detection cable (18) to the transmitter/receiver section. (2) is identified by
As a flaw detection reflection signal (7), a gate signal for setting the flaw detection range of the object to be inspected (5) is set in a gate setting section (8), and becomes a defect gate signal (9), which is sent to each gate circuit. (IO). Gate circuit section (10
) then.

From the above two signals, a defect detection signal (11) corresponding to the thickness (from the surface to the bottom surface) of the object to be inspected (5) is outputted.
Input to the determination circuit section (12). The determination circuit section (12) determines the defect detection signal based on the determination level signal (15) set by the 9 determination level setting section (14), and sends a defect output signal (13) to the display (17).

On the other hand, the length measurement/counting section (16) measures a pulse signal from a pulse generator (6) that generates a pulse signal corresponding to the movement of the object to be inspected (5), and measures the pulse signal from the tip of the object to be inspected (5). The distance information signal is sent to the display (17).

The display device (17) displays the defect output signal (13) corresponding to each channel from the determination circuit section (12) and the length measurement counter section (1
6) The distance information signal of the object to be inspected (5) is used to display where the defect is located on the object to be inspected (5). The tracking mechanism section (4) holds the probe (3) and
This is for stably propagating the ultrasonic signal from the probe (3) to the object to be inspected (5) while following the movement of the object to be inspected (5).

Next, the operation of checking the connection of each channel of the flaw detection cable (18) using a test piece (22) instead of the object to be inspected (5) will be described.

Now, the test piece (22) is provided with an artificial defect corresponding to each probe, and the position of each artificial defect is different in the scanning direction of the probe. The defect detection results are displayed on the second display (17) in the order corresponding to the position of each defect. Therefore, by visually checking the displayed results, it is possible to easily discover a connection error in the flaw detection cable.

The above situation will be explained in more detail with reference to FIG.

In Figure 2 ia), the circle mark on the test piece (22) indicates the flaw detection area of the probe (in the figure, there are 4 probes in the example, 1-
It was divided into 4 channels (CH). ), and here it is assumed that they are processed at different positions sequentially starting from channel 1 as shown in the figure. CHs 1-4 of the defect output signal (13) in FIG. 2(b) are the output signals of the determination circuit (12) obtained by testing the test piece (22), and the display is displayed according to this signal. (17) A defect map as shown in FIG. 2(c) is output for the soil. If the connection state of the flaw detection cable is normal, the defect map will naturally be on the test piece (22
), but if the connection status is abnormal, you can immediately know the location of the erroneous connection from the display output. In this case, it is assumed that the final flaw detection results are output on the display, but it goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained by using an output device such as a printer or a Ben recorder.

Next, another embodiment of the invention will be described.

The rationality check section (21) in FIG.
) is used to check the rationality of the order in which each probe detects artificial defects in the test piece (22) by receiving the defect determination signal (13) from It is automatically determined whether the order in which defects appear is normal or not according to a defect order setting signal (20). If the order of the artificial defects provided on the test piece (22) is determined, it is not necessary to provide the defect order determining section (19).

Figure 3 shows the case where there are four probes as in Figure 2.
This figure shows the operation when the flaw detection cable (18) is incorrectly connected to the probe (3) (lCH and 2CH are connected in reverse). Figure 3 (Al test piece (22
) are processed to detect defects in order from IcH to 4CH of the probe, but the ICH of the defect output signal (13) in Fig. 3 fbl is the result of 2CI of the probe (3). The defect to be detected is output, and the defect output signal (1
2CH of 3) is 1.CH of probe (3). CH outputs the defects to be detected. Here, as an example of the rationality check signal of fcl in FIG.
When considering a gate signal that falls by , if a defective output signal of another CH appears during the period of the gate signal, it can be assumed that there is an error in the connection of the flaw detection cable.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention performs ultrasonic flaw detection on a test piece in which artificial defects are provided at different positions for each probe, and displays the defect output signal obtained as a result on a display section. This has the effect of making it possible to easily discover connection errors in the flaw detection cable that connects the probe and the transmitter/receiver by visually checking the defect output signals and automatically determining the output order of the defect output signals. .

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ultrasonic flaw detection device showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams for explaining the operation of an embodiment of the invention, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the operation of a conventional ultrasonic flaw detection device. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between an object to be inspected and a probe in a conventional ultrasonic flaw detection device. The figure is a diagram showing the relationship between the actual defect position of the part to be inspected and the position of the defect detected and output. In the figure, (1) is a synchronization section, and (2) is a transmission/reception section. (3) is a probe, (4) is a tracking mechanism, (5) is an object to be inspected, (6) is a pulse generator, and (7) is a flaw detection reflection signal. (8) is a gate setting section, and (9) is a defective gate signal. (10) is the gate circuit section, (111 is the defect detection signal. (12) is the judgment circuit section, (13) is the defect output signal. (14) is the judgment level setting section, f151 is the judgment level signal, and f161 is the length measuring needle. Several copies, f17) is the display. (18) is the flaw detection cable, (191 is the defect order setting section, (20) is the defect order setting signal, f211 is the rationality check section, and (221 is the test piece.) The same reference numerals in each figure indicate the same or A considerable portion is shown.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In an ultrasonic automatic flaw detection device that uses ultrasonic waves to detect defects in a test object, there is a synchronization section that controls the time system of the entire device, and a synchronization section that generates transmission signals to the probe and receives them from the probe. A transmitter/receiver unit that amplifies and identifies signals, a probe that generates ultrasonic waves based on the transmitted signal, a flaw detector cable that connects the transmitter/receiver unit and the probe, and a flaw detector cable that holds the probe and contacts the object to be inspected. A tracking mechanism section for tracking, a gate setting section for setting a flaw detection range in the cross-sectional direction of the object to be inspected, a gate circuit section for determining a defect detection signal within the flaw detection range set by the gate setting section, and a gate circuit section for determining a defect detection signal within the flaw detection range set by the gate setting section; a determination circuit unit that determines a defect output signal from a detection signal; a determination level setting unit that sets a determination level signal for determining a defect; and a display unit that displays a defect corresponding to a position of an object to be inspected; Each probe is equipped with a test piece for connection confirmation in which artificial defects are provided at positions with different defect detection times in the scanning direction,
An automatic ultrasonic flaw detection device characterized in that a defect output signal during flaw detection of the test piece is displayed on a display, thereby making it possible to determine whether there is a connection error in a flaw detection cable. (2) A rationality check unit is provided which receives the defect discrimination output signal from the discrimination circuit unit and checks the rationality of the output order of defects corresponding to each probe, and is equipped with The automatic ultrasonic flaw detection device according to claim 1, characterized by having a function of automatically determining cable connection errors.