JPH0547807U - Ultrasonic probe - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] The problem that the contact medium is not sufficiently interposed between the tip of the focusing part and the surface of the material to be probed, and a minute gap that remains as an error factor remains there. (EN) Provided is a means capable of solving at once a problem of confusing a reflected wave with a surface reflected wave on the surface of a material to be probed and a problem that the tip of the focusing part is easily worn. [Structure] A tip portion is provided with a contact portion 7a that can be brought into contact with the surface of the material to be probed, and the ultrasonic contactor 3 is surrounded based on the contact and is kept a certain distance from the surface of the material to be probed. The contact cylinder 7 is provided. A supply path P for supplying the contact medium B to the tip gap S formed between the ultrasonic contactor 3 and the surface of the probed material is provided with the contact cylinder 7 and the ultrasonic contactor 3.
Form between and. A couplant supply device for continuously supplying the couplant B to the supply path P is provided.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probing device, and more specifically, to an ultrasonic wave transmitting section, a focusing section for ultrasonic waves transmitted from the ultrasonic wave transmitting section, and a reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave on a probed material. An ultrasonic contactor having an ultrasonic wave receiving portion for receiving is configured to be freely contactable with the surface of the probed material, and based on the information received by the ultrasonic wave receiving portion in the contact state, the probed material of the probed material is detected. The present invention relates to an ultrasonic probe device for conducting an exploration.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 Such an ultrasonic probing device is used, for example, for measuring the thickness of a material to be probed, for flaw detection inside the material to be probed, and the like. In the conventional ultrasonic probe, the tip of the ultrasonic contactor is composed of a converging part in a bare state, and the tip of the converging part is brought into direct contact with the surface of the material to be probed. The ultrasonic contactor was in contact with the surface of the material to be probed. Then, in order to avoid occurrence of a search error due to the presence of the gap formed between the ultrasonic contactor and the probed material, for example, a catalyst catalyst material previously applied to the surface of the probed material is used. It was made to interpose, and thus the said gap was filled with the said contact medium. As the material of the focusing part, a material such as polystyrene has been used in order to enhance the focusing property of ultrasonic waves.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 Since the material of the focusing part, that is, the material such as polystyrene is generally hard, it is difficult for the tip of the focusing part to conform to the unevenness of the surface of the probed material, and the uneven part is contacted as described above. Even if the medium is applied to the surface of the material to be probed in advance, the interposition of the contact medium becomes insufficient and minute voids (air bubbles) remain, which causes a problem that the minute voids cause an error in the survey. there were. Also, since the tip of the ultrasonic contactor (that is, the tip of the focusing portion) is brought into contact with the surface of the material to be probed, the reflection of ultrasonic waves at the tip of the ultrasonic contactor and There is a problem that the ultrasonic wave is easily confused with the reflection of ultrasonic waves on the surface of the exploration material, and the confusion easily causes an exploration error, and the tip of the focusing portion is easily worn and its durability is poor. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ultrasonic probe apparatus that can solve the above problems all at once.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The characteristic configuration of the ultrasonic measuring device according to the present invention is that the tip of the abutting part is abutting against the surface of the probed material, and the ultrasonic contactor is surrounded by the abutting part to surround the probed material. An abutting cylinder that holds a certain distance from the surface is provided to supply the couplant to the tip gap formed between the ultrasonic contactor and the surface of the probed material. A supply path is formed between the contact cylinder and the ultrasonic contactor, and a couplant supply device for continuing to supply the couplant to the supply path is provided.

[0005]

[Action]

 When the abutting portion of the abutting cylinder is brought into contact with the surface of the probed material and the ultrasonic contactor is held by the abutment cylinder, the tip of the ultrasonic contactor is the surface of the probed material. It will be a certain distance away from them. Therefore, the reflection of ultrasonic waves at the tip of the ultrasonic contactor and the reflection of ultrasonic waves at the surface of the probed material are clearly distinguished, and confusion of these two reflections can be avoided. Further, since the ultrasonic contactor is used with the tip thereof separated from the surface of the material to be probed, contact wear of the tip portion, that is, the tip portion of the focusing portion is avoided. Become so. Further, since the contact medium from the contact medium supply device is continuously supplied through the supply path to the front end gap formed between the front end of the ultrasonic contactor and the surface of the probed material, The contact medium is replenished in the tip gap without any minute void (bubble).

[0006]

[Effect of the device]

 Thus, according to the present invention, the confusion between the reflection of the ultrasonic wave at the tip of the ultrasonic contactor and the reflection of the ultrasonic wave at the surface of the probed material is avoided, and the occurrence of the search error due to the confusion is eliminated. In addition, the contact wear of the tip of the ultrasonic contactor is avoided and the problem of its durability is solved, and further, the existence of the minute void (bubble) in the tip gap is avoided. The occurrence of exploration error based on the above will be solved, and thus the conventional problems will be solved all at once.

[0007]

【Example】

 FIG. 1 shows a main part of an ultrasonic probe device (specifically, an ultrasonic wall thickness gauge) according to the present invention in association with each reflection pulse read by the ultrasonic wall thickness gauge. 2, the overall configuration of the ultrasonic wall thickness gauge is shown.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a control device for the wall thickness gauge, and an ultrasonic contactor 3 is connected to the control device 1 via a signal cable 2. Between the control device 1 and the ultrasonic contactor 3, input / output signals for wall thickness measurement are exchanged via the signal cable 2. The ultrasonic contactor 3 was brought into contact with the material A to be inspected (specifically, an actual corrosion pipe in which corrosion has progressed), which is the target of wall thickness measurement, with the contact medium B 1 interposed on the surface thereof. The couplant B is arranged in a state, but the couplant B is supplied from a couplant supply device 4 separate from the control device 1 via a supply tube 5 as described later. Incidentally, 6 is a flow rate adjusting knob.

The ultrasonic contactor 3 transmits and receives ultrasonic waves to and from a transmitter / receiver 3A (that is, the probe 3A receives ultrasonic waves from an ultrasonic wave transmission section X and the reflected waves of the ultrasonic waves). Functioning as both the ultrasonic wave receiving unit Y) and a focusing unit 3D (which focuses the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit X on the tip of the ultrasonic wave receiving unit Y via a spacer 3B and a coupling 3C). Specifically, a focusing lens made of polystyrene or the like having an ultrasonic focusing effect is provided, and each of them has a contact portion 7a for contacting the surface of the probed material at its tip and The contacting cylinder 7 (specifically, the contacting cylinder 7 that separates the tip of the ultrasonic contactor 3 (that is, the tip end surface of the focusing portion 3D) from the surface of the material to be probed by the first set distance L1 in the contact state. A cylinder with a reduced diameter tip made of stainless steel or the like with a certain strength. It is held by the body). The first set distance L1 is set to ½ or more of the wavelength of the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the transceiver 3A.

At the tip of the ultrasonic contactor 3, a tip formed between the contact cylinder 7 and the focusing section 3D, between the tip of the focusing section 3D and the surface of the material to be probed. A supply path P that connects the gap S to the supply tube 5 is formed. The supply path P 1 is formed in the contact cylinder 7 on the proximal side of the ultrasonic contactor 3. Then, the contact medium B from the contact medium supply device 4 is continuously supplied to the supply path P via the supply tube 5, and the contact medium B passes through the supply path P to the tip. The gap S is replenished without interruption.

In such a wall thickness gauge, an ultrasonic wave which is appropriately set by the control device 1 is transmitted from the transmitter / receiver 3A (the ultrasonic wave transmitting section X). The ultrasonic wave is reflected as a tip reflected wave at the tip of the ultrasonic contactor 3 (tip surface of the focusing portion 3D), and is reflected as a surface reflected wave on the surface of the probed material A, In addition, it is reflected as a bottom surface reflected wave on the bottom surface of the material A to be probed, so that three kinds of reflected waves are generated. Then, the signals of the respective reflected pulses due to the three types of reflected waves are received by the transmitter / receiver 3A (the ultrasonic receiving unit Y), and then sent to the control device 1 to be read, Based on the reading, the thickness measurement of the material A to be probed is executed.

In the control device 1, the condition of the ultrasonic wave transmitted from the ultrasonic wave transmitting unit X is set so that each reflected pulse becomes a pulse of 1.5 wavelengths. Then, the tip end of the ultrasonic contactor 3 (that is, the tip end of the focusing portion 3D) corresponds to ½ or more of the wavelength of the ultrasonic wave and is shorter than the first set distance L1 by a second set distance L2. The reading of the signal of each reflected pulse is started on condition that the ultrasonic wave from the ultrasonic wave transmission unit X reaches a position separated from the surface). That is, the signals of the respective reflection pulses until the above conditions are blanked.

Thus, when the thickness of the material A to be probed is measured using the ultrasonic thickness gauge, the distance between the surface of the material to be probed and the tip of the ultrasonic contactor 3 is equal to the first set distance L1. Since they are separated from each other, the reflected pulse due to the tip reflected wave and the reflected pulse due to the surface reflected wave can be distinguished from each other. In addition, from the ultrasonic wave transmitting portion X, the ultrasonic wave transmitter 3 is located at a position that is shorter than the first set distance L1 and is closer to the second set distance L2 that is closer to the front end of the ultrasonic contactor 3 from the ultrasonic contactor 3. Since the reflected pulse is read after the arrival of the ultrasonic wave, the reading of the reflected pulse by the tip reflected wave is avoided and the reading of the reflected pulse by the surface reflected wave is executed. (Of course, reading of the reflected pulse by the reflected wave on the bottom surface of the material A to be probed is executed), so that confusion between the tip reflected wave and the surface reflected wave can be surely avoided. Become.

The first set distance L1 and the second set distance L2 are set to ½ or more of the wavelength of the ultrasonic wave emitted from the ultrasonic contactor 3 because the reflection by the tip reflected wave is generated. Since the ultrasonic wave conditions are set so that both the pulse and the pulse reflected by the surface reflected wave have a pulse of 1.5 wavelengths as described above, if the set distance is set to less than 1/2 of the wavelength, This is because there is a risk that the latter half ½ wavelength of the reflected pulse due to the tip reflected wave and the former ½ wavelength of the reflected pulse due to the surface reflected wave may intersect.

Further, since the ultrasonic contactor 3 is used in a state where the tip end thereof is separated from the surface of the material to be probed, the tip end portion thereof, that is, the tip end portion of the focusing portion 3D is abutted. Wear will be avoided. Furthermore, the tip space S formed between the tip of the ultrasonic contactor 3 and the surface of the material to be probed is supplied with the contact medium B from the contact medium supply device 4 via the supply path P. In order to continue, the contact medium B is replenished in the tip end gap S without any minute void (bubble).

Next, the result of wall thickness measurement by the ultrasonic probe device (the ultrasonic wall thickness meter) according to the present invention will be described. The result of measuring the wall thickness of the actual corrosion pipe using the ultrasonic wall thickness gauge was compared with the result of measuring the wall thickness of the actual corrosion pipe using the laser displacement meter. The comparison results are listed in Table 1. FIG. 3 shows the correlation between the thickness measurement result obtained by the ultrasonic thickness gauge and the thickness measurement result obtained by the laser displacement gauge.

[0017]

[Table 1]

The result of thickness measurement using the ultrasonic thickness gauge corresponds well with the result of thickness measurement using a laser displacement meter, confirming the effectiveness of the present invention.

Next, another embodiment will be described. The ultrasonic wave transmission unit X and the ultrasonic wave reception unit Y may be configured by different transceivers. In that case, the ultrasonic contactor 3 is composed of a combination of a transmitter / receiver dedicated to transmission and a transmitter / receiver dedicated to reception.

In addition to the ultrasonic wall thickness gauge, the ultrasonic probing apparatus according to the present invention reflects the ultrasonic waves from the ultrasonic contactor 3 on the surface and the inside of the material A to be probed, and reflects them. It can also be applied to an apparatus for detecting flaws in the material to be probed based on the reading of the reflected pulse by.

It should be noted that reference numerals are added to the claims of the utility model for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configurations of the accompanying drawings by the entry.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a main part of an ultrasonic probe according to the present invention together with a reflection pulse.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of the ultrasonic probe.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing the effectiveness of the search results by the ultrasonic search device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Ultrasonic contactor 3D Focusing part 7 Contact cylinder 7a Contact part 4 Contact medium supply device A Probed material B Contact medium P Supply path S Tip gap X Ultrasonic wave transmitter Y Ultrasonic wave receiver

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Souichi Kishino 4-1-2, Hiranocho, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Osaka Gas Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An ultrasonic wave transmission unit (X) and a focusing unit (3D) for ultrasonic waves transmitted from the ultrasonic wave transmission unit (X).
And an ultrasonic wave contactor (3) including an ultrasonic wave receiving section (Y) for receiving a reflected wave of the ultrasonic wave on the probed material (A).
Is configured to be freely contactable with the surface of the material to be probed (A), and ultrasonic probe for performing the probe of the material to be probed (A) based on the information received by the ultrasonic wave receiving unit (Y) in the contact state. A device, which is abutment part (7a) capable of abutting freely on the surface of the probed material (A).
A contacting cylinder (7) which is provided at the tip and which holds the ultrasonic contactor (3) in a state of being separated from the surface of the probed material (A) by a certain distance while surrounding the ultrasonic contactor (3) based on the contact. And a supply path (P) for supplying the contact medium (B) to the tip gap (S) formed between the ultrasonic contactor (3) and the surface of the probed material (A). A contact medium supply device (4) formed between the contact cylinder (7) and the ultrasonic contactor (3) and continuously supplying the contact medium (B) to the supply path (P). An ultrasonic probe provided.