This practice employs the use of normal-incident, or straight beam, longitudinal wave ultrasound for the detection and evaluation of discontinuities in materials requiring volumetric examination.

Although not all requirements of this practice can be applied universally to all inspection situations and materials, it does provide the basis for establishing contractual criteria between suppliers and purchasers of materials for performing contact longitudinal wave pulse-echo examination and may be used as a guide for writing detailed procedures for particular applications.

Types of information that may be obtained from the pulsed-echo straight-beam practice are as follows:

Apparent discontinuity size (see Note 1) by comparison of the signal amplitudes from the test piece to the amplitudes obtained from a reference standard.

Depth location of discontinuities by calibrating the horizontal scale of the A-scan display.

Material properties as indicated by the relative sound attenuation or velocity changes of compared items.

The extent of bond and unbond (or fusion and lack of fusion) between two ultrasonic conducting materials if geometry and materials permit.

Note 1—The term “apparent” is emphasized since true size depends on orientation, composition, and geometry of the discontinuity and equipment limitations.

1. Scope

1.1 This practice covers ultrasonic examination of materials by the pulse-echo method using straight-beam longitudinal waves introduced by direct contact of the search unit with the material being examined.

1.2 This practice shall be applicable to development of an examination procedure agreed upon by the users of the document.

1.3 The values stated in inch-pound units are to be regarded as standard. The values given in parentheses are mathematical conversions to SI units that are provided for information only and are not considered standard.

1.4 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

2. Referenced Documents (purchase separately) The documents listed below are referenced within the subject standard but are not provided as part of the standard.

ASTM Standards

E317 Practice for Evaluating Performance Characteristics of Ultrasonic Pulse-Echo Testing Instruments and Systems without the Use of Electronic Measurement Instruments

E543 Specification for Agencies Performing Nondestructive Testing

E1316 Terminology for Nondestructive Examinations

ASNT Standards

Other Documents

Keywords

contact; examination; nondestructive testing; pulse-echo; straight-beam; ultrasonic; Nondestructive evaluation (NDE); Pulse-echo ultrasonic testing; Reflection method; Straight-beam ultrasonic testing; Ultrasonic testing;

ICS Code

ICS Number Code 19.100 (Non-destructive testing)

Citing ASTM Standards

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