INFLUENCE ON ULTRASONIC INCIDENT ANGLE AND DEFECT DETECTION SENSITIVITY BY CAST STAINLESS STEEL STRUCTURE

摘要

It is well known that ultrasonic waves are affected strongly by macro-structures in cast stainless steel, as in the primary pipe or other components in pressurized water reactors (PWRs). In this work, ultrasonic refractive angles and defect detection sensitivities are investigated at different incident angles to cast stainless steel. The aims of the investigation are to clarify the transmission of ultrasonic waves in cast stainless steel and to contribute to the transducer design. The results are that ultrasonic refractive angles in cast stainless steel shift towards the 45-degree direction with respect to the direction of dendritic structures by 11.8 degrees at the maximum and that the sensitivity of transducer for inner surface breaking cracks increases with decreasing incident angle. However, in an ultrasonic inspection of actual welds at smaller incident angles, a trade-off occurs between increased defect detection sensitivity and decreased defect discrimination capability due to intense false signals produced by non-defective features.