[3A3] Ultrasonic monitoring of high-performance materials at high temperature, utilising thin film sensors and coded excitation
C Thring, D Lunardi, C Mackenzie, D Irving and D Hughes
Novosound Ltd, UK
High temperature and corrosive industrial environments often call for the usage of high-performance alloys such as high chromium steel, and super alloys such as Inconel. These are selected due to their increased resistance to wear, however, even these high-performance materials are still subject to corrosion over time. Ultrasonic monitoring can provide continuous access to pipe wall thickness measurements. This allows for corrosion monitoring, increased safety and improved predictive maintenance. However, these high-performance materials are notoriously difficult to monitor with ultrasound, with factors such as grain size and structure making them highly scattering and attenuating. This paper presents work demonstrating the usability of the Novosound Belenus; a broadband, thin film, high temperature ultrasonics sensor, to provide thickness monitoring of high-performance exotic materials. In addition to the use of conventional ultrasonic inspection hardware, this paper demonstrates the use and value of coded excitation for improved sensor performance, overcoming the inherent challenges of inspecting these exotic materials. Results are demonstrated at temperatures in excess of 400°C, showing these sensors to be ideally suited to monitoring challenging materials in the harsh environments in which they are used.
