Titanium alloys are extensively used in aerospace, automotive, machinery manufacturing, shipbuilding and chemical industries. To achieve rapid and efficient inspection, the selection of suitable scanning equipment is crucial.

In the following inspection case of titanium alloy thin sheets, the new wheel-type scanner of Doppler is adopted to test the workpiece. It features a large scanning coverage and easy operation, and is well suited for the inspection of large-area flat or mildly curved surfaces.

Workpiece to Be Inspected

       The workpieces are five titanium alloy thin plates with different thicknesses. One of the plates is shown in Figure 1. The plate thicknesses are 1.0 mm, 1.5 mm, 2.0 mm, 3.0 mm and 4.0 mm. Each workpiece is fabricated with four flat-bottomed holes or vertical through-holes of varying diameters.

Figure 1 Workpiece to Be Inspected

       In this case, a wheel scanner is applied to inspect the titanium alloy thin plates. The physical view of the scanner and the inspection schematic are presented in Figure 3 and Figure 4 respectively.

Figure 3 Physical View of the Wheel Scanner

Figure 4 Schematic Diagram for Thin Plate Inspection

Inspection Results

       The C-scan images of workpieces with different thicknesses are shown below.

Figure 5 C-scan image of the 1.0 mm thick workpiece

Figure 6 C-scan image of the 1.5 mm thick workpiece

Figure 7 C-scan image of the 2.0 mm thick workpiece

Figure 8 C-scan image of the 3.0 mm thick workpiece

Figure 9 C-scan image of the 4.0 mm thick workpiece

Conclusion

       It can be concluded from the above case that the combination of Doppler phased array instrument and wheel scanner delivers excellent inspection performance for titanium alloy thin plates, with defects displayed clearly and easily identifiable.

For base material inspection and corrosion detection of large-area flat or slightly curved workpieces, the Doppler wheel scanner is undoubtedly an optimal solution.