Improvement of detection of stress corrosion cracks with ultrasonic phased array probes

Probes with linear arrays can be used for the detection of stress corrosion cracks especially if the variability of the sound field is used to change the skewing angle of angle beam probes. The phased array concept can be used to produce a variable skewing angle or a variable angle of incidence depending on the orientation of the linear array on the wedge. This helps to adapt the direction of the ultrasonic beam to probable crack orientations. It has been demonstrated with artificial reflectors as well as with corrosion cracks, that the detection of misoriented cracks can be improved by this approach. The experiences gained during the investigations are encouraging the application of phased array probes for stress corrosion phenomena close to the heat effected zone of welds. Probes with variable skewing angles may find some interesting applications on welds in tubular structures e.g., at off shore constructions and on some difficult geometries within the primary circuit of nuclear power plants