Ultrasonic method of measuring the thickness of the plating on a metal tube, the corresponding apparatus and its application to Zr plated alloy tubes
US4918989A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 9, 1989 |
| Grant date | Apr 24, 1990 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 9, 2009 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01N2291/02854
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
According to the method of the invention concerning tubes, of which the plating to be checked is at least 0.4 mm thick and in which the acoustic impedance differs by at least 1% relative from that of the core of the tube, a properly dampened transducer is selected which has a frequency of 4 to 10 MHz. The position of the transducer in respect to the tube is adjusted experimentally, and its parameters of distance and orientation are differently adjusted in order to increase the "signal-to-noise" ratio. For determining the thickness of the plating, at least one double echo from the interface between the plating and the tube core is used, or alternatively, a triple echo from this interface. Also, there is a corresponding ultrasonic measuring apparatus as well as an application of the method to the ultrasonic measuring of the thickness of the plating of Zr alloy tubes. The tubes are plated with non-alloyed Zr or with some other Zr alloy.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.