Introduction to WeldSight
Olympus WeldSight software is designed to fast track
the inspector to compliant, repeatable, phased array
and UT-TOFD inspections of welds.
Made for weld inspection, WeldSight contains
the tools for setup, calibration, acquisition
and analysis of fabrication and in-service inspections.
Complete system inspection solutions include
Olympus Focus PX instrumentation,
Olympus scanners,
and Olympus New Weld Series and custom
phased array probes and wedges.
BeamTool Integration and Beamset Creation
WeldSight integrates Eclipse Scientifics'
industry leading UT and phased array
technique development software, BeamTool
for all component piece, weld overlay,
calibration block, probe, wedge
and beamset management.
Supported probe types are 1D linear array,
dual linear and 1.5 dual matrix array,
and conventional UT-TOFD probes.
WeldSight is compatible with a BeamTool software license
or a USB hard key using the standard installation.
Beamsets are created in WeldSight
in one click from any pre-defined BeamTool file
by selection of Update All Beamsets and Piece,
or by adding or replacing any selected beamset.
After beamset creation beam delays, beam angles,
beam exit offsets, and trigonometry
are validated using an S-scan\A-scan \B-scan display layout.
The BeamTool cal block .Btcb file
is a modular component for one-click toggle
between the cal block and weld overlays
in the data displays.
A-scan track mode is selectable in preferences
for gate A detections
or the full UT range.
The WeldSight header is organized by work flow tasks
for Setup, Calibration, Inspection, and Analysis,
and icons update appropriately
for the selected beamset type.
Focus PX Phased Array Instrument
The Focus PX phased array instrument
is a lightweight, compact, rugged unit
designed for use in harsh environments
at operating temperatures up to 40 degrees Celsius.
Designed for IP65 rating,
the FocusPX is protected by removable
industrial strength bumpers for rack mount,
or installation directly on the inspection system.
The Focus PX provides excellent phased array
and UT signal quality resulting in
improved signal-to-noise ratio inspection data.
Other features include 12-bit amplitude digitization,
30 MB/sec digital throughput,
65K samples per A-scan,
and two encoder inputs.
And supports up to 4 Focus PX units
for simultaneous inspection in WeldSight.
PRF, data acquisition rates, and scanner speed
are measured real time during inspection,
and the throttling bottlenecks are calculated
for optimization of UT quality and inspection speed.
Calibration Tools
After completion of basic setup,
the work flow continues in Calibration.
The Acoustic Wedge Validation tool
in one click creates a single element aperture,
single element step E-scan
for validation of wedge parameters,
and to visualize proper coupling of the wedge to the probe.
When the parameters are within user-defined tolerances
green indicators are displayed.
The A-scan is available for troubleshooting,
and the active beamset can be updated
with the new measured values
by selecting Update Beam Delays.
Like the Wedge check,
the Probe check creates a single element E-scan
for validation of instrument pulsers,
multiplexer, probe and instrument connectors,
coaxial cables, and individual probe element activity.
Inactive pulsers from the instrument
or probe elements are visualized,
and statistics are compared to the user- defined tolerances.
A dynamic single point sensitivity calibration
will store a gain offset for each beam.
The window displays 200% amplitude
and 400% saturation limit,
and a zone for the user-defined tolerance in dB.
While in the calibration functions,
background activities in WeldSight are suspended
allowing a fast, smooth display refresh rate for calibration.
The manual sensitivity calibration
is performed on a user-defined number of beams
while imaging targets from a static probe position.
The number of targets is entered,
the gate is positioned over the targets,
and the peaks are selected by the user in any order.
When complete a curve is visualized,
and a dB offset correction applied to equalize
all beams to the reference sensitivity.
The WeldSight TCG allows simultaneous point creation,
successive point creation,
or combinations of the two.
The number of required TCG points is entered
and a TCG gate and envelope window is created for each point.
The envelopes are cleared,
and the calibration block is scanned.
The TCG gates are positioned on each target
to include limits of beam spread for all points.
Individual TCG points can be cropped on the first or last beams,
and beams for which the UT range is too short
for the TCG point creation are treated as cropped.
All or selected TCG points are calibrated,
and the cal block is rescanned for verification
of user-defined tolerance in dB.
TCG repeatability is validated after creation
or in a recalled file with an A-scan envelope
while imaging targets in the S-scan.
Inspection Motion Settings and Displays
After completion of Setup and Calibration,
the work flow continues in Inspection Motion Settings
where the Scan Type is configured for One-line Scan,
Raster Scan, or Clock inspection.
The gate A amplitude C-scan
typical of OmniScan inspection
will visualize all gate A detections.
The amplitude weld gate C-scan
will visualize only detections in the weld
and heat affected zones of the piece overlay.
The merged amplitude C-scan
dynamically merges all beams to visualize detections
in a volume-corrected top-view C-scan with weld overlay.
ASME Vessel and ISO Wind Tower (PA-TOFD)
ASME pressure vessels,
ISO wind towers,
and similar inspections add a TOFD beamset
for improved POD on vertical weld bevels,
supplemental sizing, and lamination checks.
Scan offsets are configured for multi-probe inspection
and the BeamTool scan plan is created in WeldSight
in one click with Update All Beamsets and Piece.
For each PA beamset, the TCG is created or imported,
and the reference sensitivity is set
using one or more calibration targets for each PA probe.
TOFD setup and calibration is performed
on an A-scan and scrolling B-scan display.
The UT range is set on cursors,
and a wedge delay-PCS calibration is performed
using the UT cursors.
TOFD calibration, lateral wave synchronization,
lateral wave removal, and SAFT
are available after data acquisition.
An inspection display layout is loaded,
and the type, length, inspection resolution,
and zoom window are configured,
and the encoder resolution calibrated if necessary.
File name and data options are configured,
and the system is ready for data acquisition.
Acquisition rates of up to 100mm sec
at 1mm resolution are typical
depending on weld thickness and UT quality.
Upon completion of the scan the file is saved and ready for analysis.
API 620 LNG Tank Inspection
LNG cryogenic storage tanks
are made of 9% nickel shells
and an Inconel 625 dissimilar metal weld
that requires an austenitic probe strategy.
The Olympus LNG phased array quad probe
is optimized for the Inconel 625 weld
and combines 4Mhz A32 shear wave pulse echo probes
with 4Mhz A27 dual linear array or DLA probes
into a single phased array connector
using all 128 elements of the multiplexer.
The four S-scans are created in WeldSight
in one click from the BeamTool by selecting
update all beamsets and piece.
The API 620 acceptance criteria
for LNG tank fabrication requires
precision fracture mechanics length and height sizing.
Use of linear shear wave probes
provides precision sizing of bevel and HAZ flaws,
but only the DLA probe penetrates the weld volume.
After UT configuration and TCG import
the refracted longitudinal S-scan visualizes SDHs
in the upper and lower weld volume
to validate TOF and set inspection scan sensitivity.
Using the two SDHs
a dB correction curve to 80% amplitude
is applied to all beams.
The dB correction can be copied
or recalculated for the opposing DLA probe.
Successive shell inspections are updated quickly
by importing the weld overlays
using Beamtool Ebp files created in advance.
Customizable data acquisition layouts
visualize the four C-scans and linked S-scans.
Typical configuration allows data acquisition
of 75mm per second at 1mm resolution on up to 40mm thick weld bevels,
and 1-3 GB data file size for welds up to 12 meters in length.
Typical system and procedure qualifications
require detection and sizing of embedded,
connected, bevel, and HAZ flaws.
Production welds with no recordable indications
are analyzed real time prior to the next inspection.
Customizable data display layouts for analysis
are updated on the active beamset.
In this example, an embedded fusion flaw was detected
and length sized using the RTT signal
at reference sensitivity,
and depth/height sized with the direct L after software gain.
Historically, much of the skill and expertise
required for advanced phased array inspection
was due to complicated software.
WeldSight was designed with this in mind.
Leveraging the BeamTool software for inspection engineering,
WeldSight software was developed for an efficient workflow
and a fast training track to productivity,
with a focus on compliant, repeatable inspections
for the weld fabricator market.