Abstract: Disclosed is a flexible coil circuit for a non-destructive inspection probe. The coil circuit is made of multiple layers of thin flexible ceramic material, each ceramic layer having a metallization layer deposited thereon. The circuit is capable of continuous operation at temperatures up to 350° C. The metallized layers are able to slide freely over one another as the probe is flexed, enabling the probe to conform to the circumference of pipes as small as 2 inches in diameter.

Abstract: Disclosed is a flexible coil circuit for a non-destructive inspection probe. The coil circuit is made of multiple layers of thin flexible ceramic material, each ceramic layer having a metallization layer deposited thereon. The circuit is capable of continuous operation at temperatures up to 350° C. The metallized layers are able to slide freely over one another as the probe is flexed, enabling the probe to conform to the circumference of pipes as small as 2 inches in diameter.

Abstract: Disclosed is a composite focusing wedge for ultrasonic non-destructive testing/inspection. The composite wedge comprises a base made of machined or cast material, and a lens made of a material which is cast in liquid form and subsequently solidifies. The acoustic velocity in the base material is less than that in the lens material. The castable lens material conforms exactly to a convex machined or cast surface of the base, thereby forming a concave lower surface of the lens. A flat ultrasonic probe is coupled to a planar upper surface of the lens. The minimum distance between the lower concave and upper planar surfaces of the lens is less than one acoustic wavelength in the lens material. The ringdown time of reverberations between the two surfaces is then sufficiently short that there is no interference between the reverberations and signals from sub-surface flaws in the object being tested.

Abstract: Disclosed is a portable non-destructive testing (NDT) instrument system that transmits spectrum data measured from a test material sample to a remotely located computer for computation of the sample's atomic element composition. The atomic element composition is subsequently transmitted back to the portable instrument for display to the operator in real time. The precision and accuracy of the compositional computation is improved by the greater processing power of the high performance remote computer. The operator of the NDT instrument may choose to use the remote computer to perform part or all of the compositional computation.

Abstract: Disclosed is a portable non-destructive testing (NDT) instrument system that transmits spectrum data measured from a test material sample to a remotely located computer for computation of the sample's atomic element composition. The atomic element composition is subsequently transmitted back to the portable instrument for display to the operator in real time. The precision and accuracy of the compositional computation is improved by the greater processing power of the high performance remote computer. The operator of the NDT instrument may choose to use the remote computer to perform part or all of the compositional computation.

Abstract: Disclosed is a composite focusing wedge for ultrasonic non-destructive testing/inspection. The composite wedge comprises a base made of machined or cast material, and a lens made of a material which is cast in liquid form and subsequently solidifies. The acoustic velocity in the base material is less than that in the lens material. The castable lens material conforms exactly to a convex machined or cast surface of the base, thereby forming a concave lower surface of the lens. A flat ultrasonic probe is coupled to a planar upper surface of the lens. The minimum distance between the lower concave and upper planar surfaces of the lens is less than one acoustic wavelength in the lens material. The ringdown time of reverberations between the two surfaces is then sufficiently short that there is no interference between the reverberations and signals from sub-surface flaws in the object being tested.