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Advantages and Application Prospects of Phased-Array Ultrasonic Testing
Release Date:
2022/05/19
Ultrasonic phased arrays have garnered increasing attention due to their flexible beamforming capabilities and rapid imaging performance, making them a burgeoning research focus in the field of ultrasonic nondestructive testing.
The concept of phased arrays originated in radar antenna electromagnetic wave technology, and ultrasonic phased arrays were initially used exclusively in the medical field.
In recent years, with the rapid advancement of new technologies such as microelectronics and computing, ultrasonic phased arrays have increasingly been applied in the field of industrial nondestructive testing.
Ultrasonic phased arrays can flexibly generate steered and focused beams through the coherent superposition of acoustic beams emitted by individual array elements, enabling high-resolution inspection of regions of interest without the need to change the probe. Moreover, their unique operating modes—such as linear scanning, sector scanning, and dynamic focusing—allow for highly efficient inspection of components with minimal or no probe movement.
Therefore, compared with conventional single-element ultrasonic testing, phased-array ultrasonic testing offers more flexible beam steering, faster inspection speeds, higher resolution, and greater suitability for inspecting components with complex geometries.
An ultrasonic phased-array probe consists of multiple independent piezoelectric elements arranged in a specific array configuration. By using computer-controlled excitation sequences and time delays for these elements, the probe can steer and focus the acoustic beam.
I. Phased-array probes with diverse configurations
To meet diverse application requirements, ultrasonic phased-array transducers are available in several configuration types, primarily linear (linear array), planar (two-dimensional rectangular array), and annular (circular array).
All phased-array configurations can achieve flexible beam steering by controlling the transmit delays of the array elements, enabling inspection of large areas without moving the probe.
We know that a conventional ultrasonic focusing probe can focus ultrasound waves onto a specific point, thereby achieving optimal resolution and sensitivity at that location; however, defects that are not located at this focal point will not benefit from the same level of resolution and sensitivity.
In contrast, the focal position of a phased-array probe can be controlled by a computer and is dynamically adjustable; therefore, the focal region can be defined within the sound-path range. The computer can automatically control the transmission and reception of ultrasonic waves by each element of the probe, enabling dynamic focusing within this region. Consequently, the focus forms a linear beam, as illustrated in the figure below:
We can set the angular range for ultrasonic scanning in the instrument, and the computer will then drive the scanning transducer in the appropriate manner to perform inspection scans within that angular range, as illustrated in the figure below.
During each pulse repetition cycle, the groups that are simultaneously excited and received during the electronic scanning of the chip are moved according to a predetermined sequence. This enables complete coverage of the inspection area without requiring physical movement of the optical grating, as illustrated in the figure below:
If the probe is moved in a direction perpendicular to the array of transducer elements while an encoder simultaneously records its travel path, ultrasonic phased-array C-scan inspection can be performed, which is significantly more efficient than conventional C-scan.
The design of the ultrasonic phased-array transducer is based on Huygens’ principle.
The transducer consists of an array of multiple, mutually independent piezoelectric elements, with each element referred to as a “unit.” An electronic system controls the excitation of these units according to a specific pattern and timing sequence, causing the ultrasonic waves emitted by each unit in the array to superimpose and form a new wavefront.
Similarly, during the reception of reflected waves, the receiving units are controlled according to a specific set of rules and timing sequences to acquire the signals and perform signal synthesis, after which the synthesized results are displayed in an appropriate format.
As its operating principle reveals, the most salient feature of phased-array transducers is the flexible, convenient, and effective control of beam shape and sound-pressure distribution.
Its beam angle, focal column position, and focal spot size and location can be continuously and dynamically adjusted within a specified range; moreover, the acoustic beam can be rapidly translated within the transducer.
Therefore, compared with conventional ultrasonic testing techniques, the advantages of phased-array technology are:
1. Single-axis sector scanning can increase inspection speed.
2. By keeping the probe stationary or minimizing its movement, it is possible to scan all areas of thick, large workpieces and those with complex geometries, making this an effective approach for addressing poor accessibility and spatial constraints.
3. Typically, no complex scanning equipment is required; multiple-angle and multi-directional scans of the entire volume or of areas of interest can be performed without changing the probe, thereby reducing radiation exposure time during inspections of nuclear industrial equipment.
4. Optimizing the focal column length, focal spot size, and sound beam direction confers certain advantages in terms of resolution, signal-to-noise ratio, and defect detection rate.
Summary:
Currently, ultrasonic phased array technology has been successfully applied across various industrial sectors, including nuclear power, transportation, metallurgy, and construction, playing a crucial role in production quality inspection, equipment operation and safety performance evaluation, and scrap sorting.
Driven by the overarching trend of nondestructive testing development, ultrasonic phased-array inspection has seen continuous and rapid improvements in performance metrics such as detection accuracy and efficiency, while steadily advancing toward greater automation, image-based visualization, intelligent operation, and portability.
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