Probes – Guidedwave

Shear Wave Acoustic Emission Sensors

Guidedwave has developed a patent-pending¹ omnidirectional shear wave acoustic emission (AE) sensor. This sensor is unique in its ability to detect shear wave energy from all directions, allowing use for generalized AE inspection problems on plates, shells, and other structures. This is a significant advancement over previously developed shear wave AE sensors, which are highly directional, and therefore useful for location analysis on non-bar geometries.

AE events generate both Lamb-type and shear horizontal-type guided ultrasonic wave content. Conventional AE sensors in use today only detect Lamb-type wave content, leaving the information contained within the shear waves undetected and unanalyzed. Use of Guidedwave’s shear AE sensors can provide a variety of benefits, including:

Higher accuracy during source location analysis. The shear velocity is used, avoiding confusion, user error, and error from triggering off of multiple different Lamb wave modes that travel at different velocities. The fundamental shear horizontal guided wave always travels at the same velocity, the bulk wave shear velocity, regardless of structure thickness or frequency.
Lower sensitivity to environmental noise. Rain and wind-blown particles primarily excite Lamb wave content. This allows Guidedwave’s shear AE sensors to be largely immune to rain noise.
Active/passive testing. The element was designed as a sender as well as a receiver. This allows for both passive AE testing and active guided wave testing.
Source type identification. Based on the different mode type content received by the sensors, additional source information can be obtained. This is useful for advanced users and research scientists.

Sensors are available with or without an integrated preamplifier and in several frequency configurations. Contact us for additional information.

¹ J. Philtron, C. Borigo, S. Owens, and R. Love, “Shear wave sensors for acoustic emission and hybrid guided wave testing,” U.S. Patent Appln. 15/715,276.

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Long-Range Pipe Piezoelectric Collars

UltraWave piezoelectric pipe inspection collars are designed to be used in conjunction with the UltraWave LRT acquisition unit and software. These collars offer a low-profile, lightweight, ruggedized option for low-frequency, long-range pipe inspection with torsional guided waves. They have an operating frequency range of 15 to 85 kHz and are available in standard pipe sizes from 2″ to 36″ with custom options available for any pipe size.

Advantages

Low-profile and short axial-length design for tight access scenarios
Lightweight, flexible collars for easy transportation and assembly
Completely sealed modules for improved reliability
Stainless steel face plates for improved durability
Frequency range 15 kHz to 85 kHz
Color-coded cables and bands for easy wiring
Kevlar reinforced bladders with easy to install buckle

For more information on the UltraWave LRT piezoelectric collars and the UltraWave system, please visit Olympus’ product page here.

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Long-Range Pipe Magnetostrictive Collars

PowerFocus magnetostrictive collars offer an alternative to traditional piezoelectric collars for long-range pipe inspection. The PowerFocus collars can be operated with Olympus’ UltraWave LRT platform and software to perform inspection via magnetostrictive means. These collars are extremely low profile compared to piezoelectric collars and are segmented, which means they can be used to do both active and synthetic focusing. PowerFocus collars are also available in permanent-mount configurations for both below- and above-ground monitoring applications. Collars are available in multiple center frequencies and pipe diameters to suit various applications.

Advantages

Extremely low-profile
Designs available for permanent-mount health monitoring
Lightweight, flexible collars
Can be used to do active and synthetic focusing
Operated with the UltraWave LRT platform and software

To learn more about the Olympus UltraWave LRT system used to operate the PowerFocus collars, please visit Olympus’ product page here.

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Guided Wave Phased Array Probes

The GWPA^TM probes utilize phased array beam steering technology to focus ultrasonic guided wave energy away from the probe and sweep this beam 360° to generate a guided wave sector scan (GS-scan). The GS-scan, which is collected and displayed in a matter of seconds, displays information on the location and extent of any flaws in the test area that reflected ultrasonic energy back to the probe. The guided wave beam steering is accomplished by utilizing an array of highly specialized guided wave sensor elements arranged in a GWPA^TM probe coupled with a powerful tone-burst guided wave pulser/receiver system and advanced signal processing algorithms.

Combining the GWPA^TM probes with a dry coupling membrane and pressure coupling device allows for robotic deployment for difficult-to-access areas including structures at height, inaccessible areas, and in-service structures. Robotic GWPA^TM data collection makes the most of this revolutionary technology.

Advantages

Small footprint
Large-area coverage from a single position
Insensitive to liquid loading on the surface of the structure
Capable of detecting far-side corrosion

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Medium-Range Magnetostrictive Pipe Scanner

The guided wave MRUT system is suitable for medium-range (~10 ft. or less) inspection of pipes 4” or larger. The probe is used in conjunction with the Innerspec PowerBox H and specialty software to inspect supports, elbows, ground penetrations and short runs of pipe. The system uses proprietary software to generate C-scan like images of the pipe from a remote location. The probe is operated by the user scanning the probe around the circumference of the pipe. As the user does this, the probe sends a series of guided waves along the axis of the pipe and generates a defect colormap of the area several feet in front of the probe.

Advantages

Rapid assessment of large areas from a single position
Detection of wall loss under supports or insulation
Not sensitive to liquids in the pipe
Probe uses magnetic wheels to maintain contact with the pipe
Single probe accommodates pipe sizes 4” and above

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Custom Magnetostrictive Probes

Guidedwave can develop custom magnetostrictive probes for any application. We offer probes for single-element pulse-echo and through-transmission applications, as well as focused arrays and multi-element arrays for focusing. We also have experience with packaging arrays for various environments. Magnetostrictive probes offer an excellent solution for inspection and health monitoring with guided waves. They can be more cost-effective and provide better mode control and signal-to-noise ratios than other guided wave probes.

Advantages

Low-profile
Cost-effective
Excellent mode control
Multi-element arrays and curved arrays available for focusing

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Piezo SHM Probes

For use in tomographic monitoring and also single- and dual-element applications. Guidedwave produces a wide range of piezoelectric sensors designed specifically for guided wave health monitoring. Thin plate shear sensors are available for aircraft monitoring applications and larger sensors are also available for tank floor monitoring or similar applications. Sensors are optimized for penetration power and to have minimal damping and a short dead zone like traditional bulk wave UT transducers. Sensors can be purchased in single elements or pre-configured arrays.

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Guided Wave Angle Beam Probes

Guidedwave offers a complete range of acrylic angle beam wedges and accompanying transducers for ultrasonic guided wave applications in plates, rails, pipes, and more. Angle beam wedges take advantage of Snell’s law to control the mode and direction of guided wave excitation. Guidedwave engineers can help you in selecting the appropriate angle beam probe to meet your needs.

Available angle beam probe designs include:

Fixed angle wedges
Variable angle wedges
Flat-bottom wedges for plates
Contoured wedges for pipes, rails, and specialty application
Accompanying transducers available across a wide range of frequencies and bandwidths

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