JPH07318539A - Ultrasonic flaw detector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an ultrasonic flaw detector in which a contact catalytic liquid being consumed in nondestructive inspection process is saved along with the manpower required for rearrangement. CONSTITUTION:A contact medium liquid 5 is fed from a supply tank 4 to an open end face casing 3 incorporating an ultrasonic probe 2 which is moved on the surface of an object to be measured while substituting the residual air in the gap between the probe 2 and the object 1 by the contact catalytic liquid 5 thus performing nondestructive inspection. In such ultrasonic flaw detector, a collection tank 10 coupled through a collection pipe with a casing 3, a vacuum pump 11 coupled with the collection tank 10, and a vacuum pressure regulation valve 12 are provided as means for collecting the contact catalytic liquid 5 leaking to the periphery of the casing 3 directly therefrom. The contact medium liquid 5 fed from the supply tank 4 to the casing 3 during the nondestructive inspection process is collected through the vacuum pump 11 and utilized again.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ultrasonic flaw detector for performing nondestructive inspection of an object to be inspected using ultrasonic waves.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ultrasonic flaw detection has been well known as one of nondestructive inspection methods. FIGS. 3 (a) and 3 (b) show an ultrasonic flaw detector which has been conventionally implemented. In the figure, 1 is an object to be inspected, 2 is an ultrasonic probe, 2a is a measuring part, 3 is An open-ended casing incorporating the ultrasonic probe 2, 4 is a supply tank containing a viscous couplant medium liquid 5 in which water and glycerin are mixed, and 6 is provided between the supply tank 4 and the casing 3. Supply pipe,
Reference numeral 7 is a flow rate adjusting valve, and 8 is a compressor for introducing pressurized air into the supply tank 5.

When performing a nondestructive inspection with such a configuration, the pressurized air boosted by the compressor 7 is added to the supply tank 4, and the couplant medium liquid 5 contained in the supply tank 4 is pressure-fed to the casing 3 to generate ultrasonic waves. The air remaining in the gap between the probe 2 and the surface of the DUT 1 (ultrasonic waves are attenuated as they propagate through the air) is replaced with the contact medium liquid 5 and purged, while maintaining this state. The ultrasonic probe 2 is moved along the surface of the DUT 1 together with the casing 3 (moving speed: about 50 mm / sec) to perform the nondestructive inspection.

[0004]

By the way, the conventional ultrasonic flaw detector described above has the following problems in handling. That is, (1) As shown in FIG. 3B, the couplant medium liquid 5 pressurized and supplied from the supply tank 4 into the casing 3 enters the gap between the ultrasonic probe 2 and the DUT 1. After the remaining air is expelled, the air leaks from the gap between the open end surface of the casing 3 and the surface of the DUT 1 as it is, and flows out to the periphery of the casing in a drooping state. For this reason, the consumption amount of the contact medium liquid used in the nondestructive inspection process increases, which is one of the causes for increasing the inspection cost.

(2) Further, since the contact medium liquid 5 has a viscosity, the contact medium liquid 5 flowing out from the casing 3 directly adheres to and contaminates the surface of the object 1 to be inspected. For this,
It is necessary to perform a troublesome work of wiping off a large amount of the contact medium liquid adhering to and remaining on the device under test 1 after the inspection, which is conventionally done manually. The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to solve the above-mentioned problems, to save the contact medium liquid consumed in the nondestructive inspection process, and to save labor for cleaning up. An object is to provide an ultrasonic flaw detector.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a contact medium liquid from the outside under pressure to a casing having an open end face in which an ultrasonic probe is incorporated, so that the probe In an ultrasonic flaw detector for performing non-destructive inspection by moving the probe onto the surface of the inspection object while purging by replacing the air remaining in the gap between the surface of the inspection object with the contact medium liquid,
A contact medium liquid recovery means for directly recovering the contact medium liquid from the casing is provided.

Here, the couplant liquid recovery means is a recovery tank connected to the casing via a recovery pipe,
It can consist of a vacuum pump attached to the recovery tank and a vacuum pressure adjusting valve. Further, as a means for effectively collecting the contact medium liquid, a pocket-shaped medium liquid collecting chamber is formed in the peripheral region of the casing on the side of the open end surface, and the contact medium liquid collecting device is connected in communication with the chamber. Good to do.

[0008]

In the above structure, the couplant medium pressure-supplied in the casing in the nondestructive inspection step is a vacuum drawing operation after purging air from the gap between the ultrasonic probe and the object to be inspected. The air collected in the collection tank through the collection pipe, and at the same time, the air mixed in the couplant liquid is discharged into the atmosphere through the vacuum pump from the collection tank.

In this case, a pocket-shaped medium liquid collecting chamber is formed in the peripheral region on the open end face side of the casing, and the recovery pipe of the contact medium liquid collecting means is connected to the chamber so as to communicate with the casing. The medium liquid is directly collected from the medium liquid collecting chamber to the recovery tank through the recovery pipe before it leaks to the outside through the gap between the open surface of the casing and the object to be inspected. In addition, high recovery efficiency of the medium liquid is secured.

Therefore, the contact medium liquid hardly leaks from the casing to the surroundings, whereby the contact medium liquid remaining on the surface of the inspection object can be minimized. Will be easier. In addition, the contact medium liquid recovered in the recovery tank can be reused as it is, so that the consumption amount of the contact medium liquid in the inspection process can be reduced.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In the drawings of the embodiments, the same members corresponding to those in FIG. 3 are designated by the same reference numerals. That is, in the configuration of FIG. 1, the recovery tank 10 is connected to the casing 3 incorporating the ultrasonic probe 2 via a recovery pipe 9 separately from the same supply system of the couplant medium liquid 5 as in FIG. At the same time, the recovery tank 10 is provided with a vacuum pressure pump 11 and a vacuum pressure adjusting valve 12, which constitute recovery means for the contact medium liquid according to the present invention.

The casing 1 has a structure as shown in FIG. 2 and is connected to the recovery pipe 9 described above.
That is, a ring-shaped collection block body 3a is connected to the outer peripheral side of the open end of the casing 3 to define a pocket-shaped liquid pool chamber 3b in the peripheral region of the tip of the ultrasonic probe 2, and the collection is performed. The block body 3a has the above-mentioned liquid reservoir 3b,
Also, a recovery slot 3c that opens toward the end surface facing the object to be inspected 1 is drilled, and a recovery pipe 9 is connected to the side surface of the recovery block body 3a so as to be continuous with the recovery slot 3c.

In the nondestructive inspection step, the compressor 8 and the vacuum pump 11 are operated with the ultrasonic probe 2 incorporated in the casing 3 as shown in the figure hitting the surface of the device under test 1. From the supply tank 4 to the casing 3
The contact medium liquid 5 is introduced under pressure to purge the air remaining in the gap between the surface of the DUT 1 and the probe 2, and at the same time, the contact medium liquid 5 is sucked out from the casing 3 by the vacuuming operation. The air mixed in the contact medium liquid 5 is collected in the recovery tank 10 through the recovery pipe 9 and separated in the recovery tank 10 and then discharged into the atmosphere through the vacuum pressure pump 11. Further, in the process of recovering the contact medium liquid, the contact medium liquid 5 which is about to leak outward through the facing gap between the DUT 1 and the recovery block body 3a of the casing 3 passes through the recovery groove 3c. Since it is evacuated, there is almost no leakage to the outside. Then, the contact medium liquid 5 recovered in the recovery tank 10 is transferred to the supply tank 4 for reuse. According to the actual machine test conducted by the inventor, it was confirmed that this method can reduce the consumption amount of the couplant liquid by about 70% as compared with the conventional method shown in FIG.

In the above description, when the liquid feeding pressure and the vacuuming pressure of the contact medium liquid 5 are expressed by specific numerical values, the liquid feeding pressure is about 200 KPa, and the vacuum pressure of the recovery tank 10 is about 30 KPa.
Is.

[0015]

As described above, the present invention has the following effects. (1) The contact medium liquid supplied to the casing of the ultrasonic probe in the nondestructive inspection process can be recovered in the recovery tank and reused without leaking from the casing and flowing down around the casing. As a result, the waste of the contact medium liquid can be suppressed and the inspection cost can be reduced.

(2) Further, since the amount of the couplant medium liquid remaining on the surface of the object to be inspected after the inspection is kept to a very small amount, the cleaning work for cleaning up can be easily completed with a small labor. A labor effect can also be obtained. (3) In particular, by adopting a configuration in which a pocket-shaped medium liquid pool chamber is formed in the peripheral region on the open end face side of the casing, and the contact medium liquid recovery means is connected to the chamber, leakage from the casing is almost eliminated. Thus, the contact medium liquid can be efficiently recovered in the recovery tank.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of supply and recovery of a contact medium liquid in an ultrasonic flaw detector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a structural cross-sectional view of a casing of an embodiment of the present invention incorporating an ultrasonic probe.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a conventional ultrasonic flaw detector,
(A) is a supply system diagram of a contact medium liquid, (b) is a structural cross-sectional view of a casing incorporating an ultrasonic probe

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inspected object 2 Ultrasonic probe 3 Casing 3a Recovery block body 3b Liquid collection chamber 3c Recovery groove hole 4 Supply tank 5 Contact medium liquid 6 Supply pipe 8 Compressor 9 Recovery pipe 10 Recovery tank 11 Vacuum pump 12 Vacuum pressure adjustment valve

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A contact medium liquid is pressure-supplied from the outside into an open-ended casing incorporating an ultrasonic probe, and the air remaining in the gap between the probe and the surface of the object to be inspected is brought into contact with the casing. In an ultrasonic flaw detector for performing nondestructive inspection by moving a probe onto the surface of an object to be inspected while substituting with medium liquid and purging, a contact medium liquid recovery means for directly recovering the contact medium liquid from the casing is provided. An ultrasonic flaw detector characterized in that it is provided. 2. The ultrasonic flaw detector according to claim 1, wherein:
An ultrasonic flaw detector, wherein the couplant liquid recovery means comprises a recovery tank connected to the casing via a recovery pipe, a vacuum pump attached to the recovery tank, and a vacuum pressure adjusting valve. 3. The ultrasonic flaw detector according to claim 1, wherein:
An ultrasonic flaw detector, characterized in that a pocket-shaped medium liquid collecting chamber is formed in a peripheral region on the open end surface side of a casing, and a contact medium liquid collecting means is connected in communication with the chamber.