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Automated ultrasonic inspection of welds on wind turbine towers

As soon as you need 100 % NDT inspection on circumferential welds on wind turbine towers, FORCE Technology may supply a dedicated automated ultrasonic weld inspection system, based upon FORCE Technology proprietary P-scan System 4 data acquisition system.

This sophisticated inspection procedure was de-veloped together with BAM in Berlin, using probe scanner movements only parallel to the weld center-line. This allows for very fast inspection, typically 30 – 35 mm/s, corresponding to 14 meters of weld in approx. 10 minutes.

Ultrasonic Inspection System

The whole scanner trolley

MTS-1 scanner for the circumferential welds For inspection of the circumferential welds FORCE Technology would recommend the MTS-1 scanner, mounted on a table as shown in the pictures. Rotation of the tower tube is provided by a tradi-tional roller lay-up. An encoder mounted on the scanner table measures the X-axis scanning move-ment along the tube. A Y-axis module provides the second axis (Y-axis). The probe arrangement can easily be moved to the tabletop, where the necessary calibration block is available. This allows for very fast and accurate on-site calibration before and after inspection. With several transducers on each side of the weld, inspection of different weld zones is feasible. The recommended setup includes 6 individual transduc-ers, three on each side of the weld.

Included is a probe holder fixture for 6 pieces of ultrasound transducers. The position with respect to the weld centerline during scanning is controlled by a servo motor arrangement. In standard lay-out, the weld line is followed visually by interaction from the operator on a joystick. FORCE Technology may provide an optional seam tracker for fully automated weld inspection of semi-conical tower segments. The system will by itself follow the apparently moving weld centerline during rolling. The probe arrangement is kept in contact with the tower by a spring loaded arm system. On the table there is a tray for a calibration block, holding water, used as coupling agent. The probe arrangement is moved from the tower to the calibra-tion block for easy calibration.

Equipment Two options of the weld scanner system are avail-able.

• A basic automated weld scanner equipment with manual seam tracking.

• A fully automated weld scanner system with automated weld line seam tracking.

The systems do not include a laptop PC.

Anyone concerned with the need for an automated system for inspection of tower welds may ask FORCE Technology for a commercial offer on a dedicated system. This offer may include all required hardware and software, as well as supporting services and basic training.

Scanner system inspecting circumferential weld

Location of transducers for fast weld inspection

2 x 3 pcs. ultrasound transducers

Centerline location

Rail for probe adjustment

Adjustment of probe set-up angle

Further information: Morgan Troedsson, tel. (direct) +45 43 26 71 12, mtr@force.dk

Subject to changes without notice

FORCE Technology Sweden AB Tallmätargatan 7

721 34 Västerås, Sweden Tel. +46 (0)21 490 3000 Fax +46 (0)21 490 3001 info@forcetechnology.se www.forcetechnology.se

FORCE Technology Headquarters Park Allé 345

2605 Brøndby, Denmark Tel. +45 43 26 70 00 Fax +45 43 26 70 11

force@force.dk www.forcetechnology.com

FORCE Technology Norway AS Claude Monets allé 5

1338 Sandvika, Norway Tel. +47 64 00 35 00 Fax +47 64 00 35 01

info@forcetechnology.no www.forcetechnology.no

FORCE Technology USA Inc. Tel. +1 713 975 8300

FORCE Technology Brazil Ltda. Tel. +55 21 2610 7400

FORCE Technology Netherlands B.V. Tel. +31 71 523 5212

FORCE Technology Rusland LLC Tel. +7(812) 326 80 92

Software for data collection, analysis and reporting The PC used to control the processor is used to store all recorded ultrasonic data. FORCE Technology de-livers a complete software package operating in con-ventional Windows environment.

Ultrasonic instrument The ultrasonic processor designed for the P-scan System 4 is an 8 channel instrument designed for automated scanner inspection. Amplification of ultra-sound signals are handled by a logarithmic amplifier with a 120 dB dynamic range. The unit also contains control and interface system to the FORCE modular manipulator and encoder system of the scanner unit.

The picture shows the P-scan processor and a con-ventional portable PC to control the system, provid-ing a general Windows environment. The system records all set-up parameters along with the ultrasound data. This means that the operator may recall a complete and already approved system set-up for the specific object, and thereby reduce the risk for operator errors during data acquisition.

To ensure an easy interpretation for operators as well as customers and authorities, FORCE Technol-ogy invented the well established P-scan graphic data presentation, called Top, Side and End View. NDT indications are projected into three single plane views. By combining the Top View information with the Side View and End View it is possible to easily locate and position the defects. Signals are stored with a full 120 dB dynamic range. All information is available in the images, and it is possible to re-analyse the recorded data with a dif-ferent sensitivity setting without new data collection. Picture shows some examples of the data evaluation and reporting facilities on the laptop PC. Pages can easily be printed, or embedded in separate inspec-tion reports using standard Windows software. The presentation shows all three imaging modes, Top View, Side View and End View. It is also pos-sible to store the corresponding A-scan. The P-scan System 4 handles Pulse-Echo as well as Through Transmission ultrasonic modes.