Peak NDT – Development of High Performance, Lightweight Compact, Ultrasonic Phased Array Controller with DRE Capabilty

超声波检测（UT）广泛应用于工业中，用于检查组件、设备和产品的缺陷，确保其符合使用要求，并降低使用中出现故障的风险，根据故障的性质，这些故障可能对环境和当地居民造成灾难性影响。相对较新的技术进步已经将相控阵（PA）技术引入工业UT世界，类似于医院婴儿扫描仪。由于相控阵能够为操作员提供比传统超声单元更容易解释的显示，因此相控阵越来越多地用于许多工业部件的超声无损检测。目前的市场在高规格高成本的单元和能力较低的低成本便携式单元之间两极分化。目前，中间地带，其中紧凑但高规格的PA单元可能需要集成到在线测试系统中，没有得到充分的服务。在被检查的部件对超声高度衰减的情况下，或者在非常接近某个大的几何特征的地方寻找非常小的缺陷的情况下，两种不同的灵敏度水平。该开发项目旨在解决不仅是一个中等价格的紧凑型，但高性能PA UT单元的要求，但也需要在动态范围，动态范围增强（DRE）的瞬时增加。技术上的挑战不仅在于将PA电子设备“硬塞”到一个更小的外壳中，同时还在于增加系统的动态范围，这些挑战都是不容忽视的，并促使女王奖创新奖得主Peak NDT申请SMART资金，以便在合理的时间范围内将产品推向市场。

Ultrasonic Testing (UT) is widely used in industry to interrogate components, plant andproducts for flaws; to make sure that they are fit for purpose and to reduce the risk of failure in service, which, depending on the nature of the failure, may be catastrophic for the environment and for the local population. Relatively recent advances in technology have seen the introduction of Phased Array (PA) technology, similar to a hospital baby scanner, to the industrial UT world. With the ability to present the operator with a more readily interpretable display than that from a conventional ultrasonic unit, phased arrays are becoming increasingly popular for the ultrasonic non-destructive inspection of many industrial components. The present market is polarised between high specification high cost units and less capable low cost portable units. Currently the middle-ground, where compact but high specification PA units may be needed to integrate into in-line testing systems, is not adequately served.Additionally, where the component being inspected is highly attenuating to ultrasound or where very small defects are being sought in close proximity to some large geometric feature then the dynamic range of existing systems may be inadequate and the operator may need to view the responses at two different sensitivity levels.This development project seeks to address not only the requirement for a mid-priced compact but high performance PA UT unit but also the need for an instantaneous increase in dynamic range, Dynamic Range Enhancement (DRE). The technical challenges posed not only in ‘shoehorning’ the PA electronics into a smaller enclosure but also at the same time increasing the dynamic range of the system are not insignificant and have prompted Queen’s Award forInnovation Winners, Peak NDT to apply for SMART funding so that a product can be brought to market in a reasonable time-frame.