Ultrasonic inspection of materials with

coarse grain anisotropic structures

I.N. Ermolov and B.P. Pilin
During the ultrasonic testing of coarse-grained anisotropic materials, structural noise due
to scattering of ultrasound by inhomogeneities can be produced which may interfere
with the detection of flaws in the material. This paper reviews the theoretical determination of structural noise and details some of the methods developed to increase the
signal-to-noise ratio in ultrasonic testing of coarse-grained material. Although the problem
of structural noise has not been completely overcome, it is suggested that the methods
described here represent a significant advance towards its solution.

Notation

Vr
Vmin

Vn
D
f
X
C

In
If
Sa
tAB

ds A
dSB
dr
fi
6s
6a
Z
T

k
N
p
a

/'o
Po
Pno

electric signal of flaw

minimum electric signal sensed by set
electric noise signal
average grain size
ultrasonic frequency
wave length
ultrasonic velocity
intensity of noise
intensity of flaw signal
area of piezoelectric element (ie probe area)
distance from a point A of the probe to a point B
of medium
elementary area around point A
elementary area around point B
width of elementary volume around point B
attenuation factor
dissipation factor
absorption factor
acoustic impedance of medium
ultrasonic pulse duration
wave number
length of near field
distance from probe axis to point B
probe radius
focal distance of focusing probe
amplitude of emitted acoustic signal
root-mean-square of the structural noise amplitude
in the far field
noise amplitude, direct proximity to the probe

The authors are both with the Ultrasonics Laboratory, CNIITMASH,

Moscow. Professor Ermolov is international advisory editor for NDT
international for the Soviet Union.

NDT I N T E R N A T I O N A L . DECEMBER 1976

noise amplitude in focal plan of focusing probe

coefficient
acoustic signal of flaw
diameter of spherical flaw
diameter of cylindrical flaw
area of disc-form flaw
signal-to-noise ratio at the accumulator output
signal-to-noise ratio of the accumulator input
width of the main lobe of directivity function of
probe
accumulation interval
structural noise correlation interval

PnF

,of
ds
d
Sf
qout
qin

A
l
lo

\2r /

function determined pattern of probe

Jl

First order Bessel function

coefficient

power of the emitted pulses

In order to detect flaws in any materials using ultrasonic

inspection, two conditions must be met: 1 the signal produced by a flaw (Vf) must be stronger than the minimum
signal (Vmin) sensed by the amplifier of the flaw detector;
and the flaw signal must be stronger than the noise signal
(Vn). That is,

Vf > Vmin
and

Vf > Vn

(1)

In the case of ultrasonic inspection of coarse-grained

materials the second condition cannot usually be met because of the high level of structural noise. This structural
noise is due to scattering of ultrasound at the boundaries of
elastically inhomogeneous crystals of the material. 2 Signals
produced by structural inhomogeneities, reaching the
receiver at the same instant, are known to interfere with one

275

another and, depending on the phases, can either amplify

or attenuate one another. As a result of a random phase
relationship and depending on the properties and number
of crystallites responsible for the scattering of ultrasound,
structural noise may take the form of individual, clearly
defined pulses which can easily be confused with flaw signals. In addition, the energy of the useful signal produced
by a flaw diminishes due to dissipation of ultrasound, with
a resultant decrease in the signal-to-noise ratio.
Structural noise holds a unique position among the whole
variety of noise occurring in the course of ultrasonic inspection. If the characteristics of magnetic, electrical and other
noise differs substantially from those of the useful signals
and are in no way associated with them, the structural noise
characteristics will have much in common with those of the
flaw signals. For example, the frequency spectra of a flaw
signal and reverberation noise are similar in many respects.
The intensity of structural noise varies directly with the
acoustic power level of the emitted pulse. Fluctuations of
the structural noise envelope have a duration of practically
the same order of magnitude as that of the signals produced
by a flaw. All this materially affects the discrimination of
flaw signals against the background of structural noise.
This paper presents a survey of studies concerned with structural noise and elaboration of methods developed to increase
the signal-to-noise ratio in the ultrasonic inspection of
materials with a coarse-grained anisotropic structure.

Determination of structural noise

Calculation of the mean structural noise level for the distant
field of a probe has been done. 3 The calculation was performed using the method of determining the volume reverberation at sea. A unitary approach has been proposed 4 for
the derivation of the structural noise equation in the distant,
near and intermediate fields of a probe. In deducing the
structural noise equation, in both Reference 4 and in
Reference 3, the following assumptions were made: (1) the
duration of dissipation due to individual dissipators (crystallites) is equal to that of an emitted pulse, ie dissipation
from an individual dissipator starts at the instant of arrival
there of a probing pulse and ends with the pulse; (2) dissipation is isotropic in all directions; (3) the intensity of the

sound dissipated from an elementary volume varies directly

with the volume in question, intensity of the incident sound
and dissipation factor, the latter being dependent only on
the properties of the medium. Thus, in the proposed solution below, no account is taken of the secondary dissipation
of ultrasonic waves which have already been dissipated once
on the inhomogeneities of the medium, nor of the effect of
wave mode transformation. Such approximations are acceptable only in the case of inspection o_frelatively small-grain
materials with an average grain size D which is much less
than the ultrasonic wavelength.
The expression of intensity of structural noise at any distance r from the probe, derived in Reference 4, has the
following form:
r+

In

Po6sX2
47rSa 2z

xx

e -46"r dr

fl eikrA B

,a

....

r= coIIst

dgAt}4 dSB

(2)

Sa

The expression in square brackets in Equation (2) is a dimensionless quantity characterizing the sonic field of the probe.
As is shown in References 5 and 26, this quantity is a function of the dimensionless parameters r/N, which is a ratio
between the distance to point B along the probe axis and
the length of the nearfield of the probe, and p/a, which is a
ratio between the distance from the probe axis to point B
and the probe radius.
Since the calculation of the structural noise level with the
aid of Equation (2) is difficult, the particular cases of determining the magnitude of the structural noise in the distant
and near fields of the probe will be discussed.
The root-mean-square value of the structural noise amplitude
in the distant field (Pn) is given as:
p.

Po , ~ / T ~ - ~
27 ~ / ~

=
x

CT

q-

e_2~ ~
(3)

o
x

and this conforms to the expression derived in Reference 3.

In the near field, in the intermediate proximity of the probe,

Pno

Po X ,~ 8 ~ r

~/-~a

e-2~r

(4)

In the focal plane of the focusing probe,

PnF
I
2

eo ,t ~ s C ~
2-F ~ / - - ~ n

e-28F

(5)

I
3

N/2
Fig. 1 S t r u c t u r a l noise level as a function of the distance from the
probe. Notation as follows: solid line represents theoretical prediction; x x x x x x experimental (pearlitic steel, f = 4 M H z , 2 a = 2 4 r a m ) ;
o o o o o o experimental (austenitic steel, f = 2 . 5 M H z , 2a = 2 4 r a m )

276

Fig. 1 shows the theoretical level of structural noise as a

function of the distance from the probe relative to the
length of the near zone of the probe. Also indicated in Fig. 1
are experimental data obtained from measurements of the
structural noise level, which corroborate the theoretical

NDT INTERNATIONAL . DECEMBER 1976

curve within acceptable limits of experimental error. Experiments have also shown that when ultrasound is emitted into
a confined medium or at an acute angle to the surface of
the medium being investigated, the structural noise level differs from the determined theoretical relationship - Equation
(2) - and, in the distant field, it diminishes with distance r
proportionally with r -1/3 to r -2:3 and not r -t as would
be inferred from Equation (3). The same effect is produced
by secondary reverberation, which becomes more manifest
as the ratio X/D decreases.

Structural

(o) S<<rX

(b) S < rX

n o i s e a n d f l a w signals
I

The analytical relationship between structural noise and signals produced by various flaws, according tO the results
disclosed in References 3, 6, 7 and 26, can be expressed as
in Table 1. As can be seen, if a flaw is in the distant field
the probe area should be increased to enhance the signal-tonoise ratio: in this way its directivity is improved (see Figs.
2a and 2b), but, when a flaw is detected in the near zone,
the probe area should be decreased (Fig. 2c). In practical
terms this means that the detection of flaws against a background of structural noise increases with the ratio of the
reflecting surface of a flaw to the area of metal crystallites
which are exposed to ultrasound and are responsible for the
structural noise. Further increases in this ratio, in the near
zone, are possible if the ultrasonic beam is focused by means
of focusing probes (Fig. 2d) 8 .

Improving

r=f
(d) S>>rX

(c) S~=.rX

III

II

LII

Fig. 2 Relationship between amplitudes of flaw signals (Vf) versus

that of structural noise (Vn): a = flaw in the distant zone;
b = improvement in the directivitv pattern through enlargement of
the probes; c = flaw in the near zone; d = flaw in the focal plane of
a focusing probe

To determine the effect of frequency on the signal-to-noise

ratio, the frequency dependence of the dissipation factor 6s
must be taken into account. As is known, 9'1 6s is proportional t o f n, where, depending on the relationship X / D , n
may vary from 2 to 4. Table 1 suggests that depending on
the value of n, the size of the reflector and probe field in
which the reflector is located, the signal-to-noise ratio may
increase or decrease as the frequency increases. According to
a well-known practical rule, the greater the thickness of the
item being investigated and the degree of ultrasound attenuation, the lower should be the oscillating frequency selected.
This rule, however, holds true if the former condition is met
rather than the latter.

the signal-to-noise

To summarize, the following recommendations can be given

as to ultrasonic inspection of coarse-grained materials:

It can also be seen from Table 1 that the shorter the duration of the probing pulse, the better the conditions for discriminating the flaw signal against the noise background; ie
the signal-to-noise ratio is higher. As can be inferred from the
above the signal-to-noise ratio can be increased if the volume
of the space confining the ultrasonic pulse at the site of a
flaw is reduced.

highly directional probes should be used;

the ultrasonic pulse selected should be as short as possible;
depending on the size of crystallites in the material being
investigated, the ultrasonic frequency should be selected
such as to ensure maximum signal-to-noise ratio.

Table 1. Analytical relationship between structural noise and flaw signals (see also References 3, 6, 7 and 26)

Ratio of flaw signal amplitude to RMS level of structural noise

Type of reflector

in the near field

in the distant field

r<N
Pf

Disk with area Sf

Sphere with diameter d

Pn

Infinite cylinder w i t h diameter d

NDT I N T E R N A T I O N A L .

DECEMBER 1976

Pf
Pn

r>3N

2Sf

,,/

/r

,gsa

~ / 8,c-rrSa

4' d
XS,c,

Ps

2Sf

po -

X2r

Pn

2~%/~a

Pf

1A 2~Sd

Po

277

Statistical approach
~nother method of enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio is the
use of the difference in the statistical characteristics of flaw
signal and structural noise. The need to use probabilisticstatistical methods of detecting a signal in the presence of
noise arises because of the fact that structural noise is, in
many repsects, similar to flaw signals, as far as its effect on
the receiver is concerned. Devices based on the analysis of
statistical characteristics of signals and noise make it possible
(with the signal-to-noise ratio being invariable at the input of
the receiving channel) either to increase this ratio at the
device output or to raise the probability of determining the
presence or absence of a flaw signal against the background
of noise: this latter leads to more reliable results.
A requisite condition for carrying out statistical methods of
detecting a flaw signal in the presence of structural noise is
the allowance for such changes in the acoustic field of the
probe where the noise signals are non-correlated, while the
flaw signals remain largely correlated. Given this, it is possible
to perform probabilistic-statistical, correlative processing of
the received flaw signalnoise combination and to discriminate the useful signal from this combinationJ ~

The gain in the increasing signal-to-noise ratio at the probe

output (qout) with respect to the signal-to-noise ratio at the
input (qin) was calculated for a point defect, ie a flaw having
a maximum size (d) much less than the width (A) of the
main lobe of the directional function of the probe. This
gain can be expressed as follows:
2r

aklo'

qout =

where r is the distance from the probe to the zone being

checked; a is the radius of the probe piezoelectric element;
k is the wave number; I is the accumulation interval; l o is
the structural noise correlation interval; f (akl/2r) is a function determined by the directivity pattern of the probe and,
in the case of a disk probe, takes the form (shown in Fig. 3):

f(akll
\2r J

The essence of the proposed method of inspecting high-noise

materials 1~ is as follows. In the case of continuous uniform
motion of the probe, echo signals are accumulated as the
probe covers equal distances within several emissionreception cycles. Since the amplitude of flaw echo signals is
determined by the direction of the probe and the flaw itself,
it will vary according to the motion of the probe, and, in
the process of accumulation, it will manifest itself as a
regular (highly correlated) signal. Structural noise signals
exhibit arbitrary, random values (insignificantly correlated
signals) during the movement of probe. Therefore, in accordance with the probability theory, in the acase of accumulation of signals where there is a flaw signal, the accumulated
signal is greater than that arising where only structural noise
is present.

278

~k!
2,

&(aktl

\2rJ. d(aklt
akl
k 2r ]

(6')

2r

As can be seen from the analysis of Equation (6), an optimum accumulation interval (/opt) exists at which maximum
gain is achieved. The interval value for d ~ A corresponds
to the width A of the probe directivity pattern and is given
as
/opt

r
3.82 a 7

(7)

Equation (7) suggests that the optimum accumulation interval increases with the distance from the probe. In the case

2.0

-fo this end, it has been proposed r2 that the probe should
be moved in a continuous, uniform manner with respect to
the item being inspected. In this case, structural noise
recorded during each pulse-to-pulse interval may be regarded
as random in time.

Theoretical considerations

(6)

qin

Moving probe (accumulation) method

As has already been mentioned, structural noise occurs as a
result of emitting ultrasonic vibration into a solid in which
the mutual arrangement and orientation of dissipating elements remains invariable. Under invariable conditions of
emission and reception of elastic waves (the probe is stationary with respect to the item being inspected and the parameters of the emitted pulse remain invariable from emission
to emission), noise can be considered to be random within a
pulse-to-pulse interval and completely correlated in other
intervals; this rules out the possibility of processing signals
between such intervals. In order to make use, during processing of signals, of techniques elaborated for analysis of
random processes, appropriate methods of establishing a
time dependence of echo signals at different periods of
emission and reception should be chosen.

f \2r}

15

i.o

'4--

0.5

O"

2
okAL
2r

Fig. 3 D i r e c t i v i t y pattern i n t e g r a t i o n f u n c t i o n in the case of a

moveable probe

NDT INTERNATIONAL . DECEMBER 1976

of an optimum accumulation interval, the gain in the signalto-noise ratio due to accumulation is equal to
qout =
qin

0.78 -//7"~-t
"~/ 1o

(8)

It can be seen from Equation (8) that the gain in accumulation is determined by the ratio of the accumulation interval
to the structural noise correlation interval, the efficiency of
accumulation of signals increasing with the depth of the
layer being investigated: ie the efficiency of accumulation
increases precisely when the conditions of detecting a flaw
against the background of noise by conventional methods
of selection deteriorate.
Practical testing

To check the theoretical results of the proposed method of

improving the sensitivity, a test flaw detector was designed
and built. It was developed for checking the shrink rings of
turbogenerators manufactured from austenitic steel of complex composition with anisotropic structure, the average
size of the crystallites in the structure being 0.35 to 0.17 ram.
The value of l o appeared to be equal to 2 mm at a depth of
70 mm from the surface. Laboratory and production tests
of the flaw detector have proved the efficiency and feasibility
of accumulating signals in the process of scanning during
ultrasonic inspection of coarse-grained materials.

this layer against the background of structural noise: the

dots corresponding to the flaw are much wider in the direction of movement of the probe than those corresponding to
structural noise (see Fig. 4). The operator compares, on the
display screen, the flaw signals with noise and, by way of
visual correlation, discriminates the flaw signal. (In this case,
the operator's own memory performs the function of a
storage device.)
Tests indicate that the method of statistical accumulation of
echo signals during scanning by the probe and the method of
visual detection of flaws against the background of noise
have practically the same sensitivity and complement each
other well. The accumulation method permits on-the-spot
checks and lends itself easily to automation, while the visual
detection method allows more precise determination of the
location of the flaw and, in some cases, its size and configuration.
Frequency

variation

Another promising way to improve the sensitivity of ultrasonic inspection of high-noise materials is to vary the

The results of experiments and further theoretical studies ~3

have shown a particularly high efficiency of the accumulation method in detecting elongated rather than point defects
namely cracks, pore chains and other defects extending in
the direction of movement of the probe. With elongated
defects, the gain in sensitivity with an optimum accumulation
interval increases with the length of a defect.
In order to use the accumulation method with a movable
probe, a number of solutions have been proposed; in particular a flaw detector with A-scan, ~4 a flaw detector with
B-scan is and a flaw detector for differential layer-by-layer
checks. 16

Visual

flaw detection

The method of statistical accumulation of signals in the

process of scanning has the disadvantage that it is impossible
to locate a flaw precisely; only the area where the flaw is
located can be defined. Another disadvantage is that when
signals are accumulated, there is a loss of information on
the maximum value of the amplitude of the echo signal and
its variation in the course of movement on the probe.
Nevertheless it is known ~7 that the magnitude of the echo
signal can be used for determining the size of the flaw, and,
by studying the way in which the echo signal varies (depending on the probe position relative to the flaw) the type of
the flaw can be determined.
A method of visual flaw detection in the presence of structural noise has been proposed, 1~,19 which is free of the
above disadvantages and which has found application for
ultrasonic inspection of coarse-grain materials. 12
The proposed method consists of visual analysis of echo signals from a layer selected for check. These signals are displayed on the screen of a long-persistence cathode-ray tube.
The image on the screen permits easy detection of a flaw in

NDT I N T E R N A T I O N A L . DECEMBER 1976

Fig. 4 Oscillograms of echo signals from the layer being checked:

a = structural noise from a depth of 130 mm, frequency of 2.5 MHz;
b = hole with a flat bottom 6 mm in diameter at a depth of 70 ram,
frequency of 1.8 MHz; c = hole with a flat bottom 3 mm in diameter at a depth of 130 ram, frequency of 2.5 MHz; d = natural
fissure 4 mm long at a depth of 75 ram; frequency of 2.5 MHz, angle
probe 50; e = natural fissure 3.5 mm long at a depth of 75 ram;
frequency of 2.5 MHz; angle probe 50

279

frequency of probing pulses when the frequency of ultrasonic vibration of one emitted pulse differs from that of
another pulse by a certain value. 2 This technique is also
based on the difference in the statistical characteristics of a
flaw and the structural noise.
This frequency variation will bring about a considerable
change in the structural noise amplitude. At the same time,
the flaw signal amplitude depends on the frequency variation to a lesser degree, which makes it possible statistically
to discern it against the background of varying signals. Using
the principles of frequency variation, a flaw detector has
been developed which emits frequency-modulated pulses
into the item being inspected and processes them upon
reception in an optimal manner. 21
In a later study 22 a theoretical dependence of the structural
noise correlation function on the electro-acoustic channel
parameters was devised; in particular, its dependence on the
frequency and duration of ultrasonic probing pulses. The
increase in the signal-to-noise ratio was estimated quantitatively in the case of accumulation of echo signals whose
frequency changes from emission to emission.

Multi-frequency testing
Particular cases of frequency modulation, aimed at enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio in ultrasonic inspection of
coarse-grained materials with obvious elastic anisotropy and
lamination, are two- and three-frequency 23'z4 methods of
inspection with amplitude selection. The detection of a flaw
is indicated by the coincidence of the co-ordinates of pulse
reflectors with two or three frequencies being used, respectively. The test in Reference 24 indicated that immunity to
noise during inspection of coarse-grained materials can be
substantially improved (particularly so for austenitic weld
joints) provided the presence of a fault is ascertained from
the results of inspection on several frequencies.
The multifrequency method of inspection does not require
the use of special equipment and can easily be performed
with the aid of standard ultrasonic flaw detectors. Only one
condition should be met, namely that on all frequencies the
directivity patterns of the probes must be of the same width.

Therefore, if the probe area is periodically varied with Ihe

emission power kept constant, the average noise level will
also be constant, and the flaw signal will be amplitudemodulated with the frequency of probe area variation. By
passing the received echo signals through an adequate filter,
the flaw signal can be easily discriminated from a background
of structural noise. Calculations indicate that the method of
modulation of the directivity pattern permits a substantial
improvement in the sensitivity of ultrasonic inspection of
coarse-grain materials, ensuring a several-fold increase in the
signal-to-noise ratio.

Conclusions
From the work described above it appears that the method
of selection of optimum parameters of the electro-acoustic
channel and methods making use of the probabilisticstatistical characteristics of flaw signals and structural noise
contribute to a considerable degree to solving the problem
of ultrasonic inspection of coarse-grained anisotropic
materials. This problem has in fact attracted the attention
of many investigators, a measure of its importance and
urgency. The practical results obtained so far hold out a
hope that the problem will be successfully solved.

References
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Etmolov, I.N., Defektoskopiya No 6 (1965) pp 51-61

Shraibet, D.S. Zavodskyaya laboratoriya No 9 (1940) p 1001
Golubev, A.S., Merkulov, LG. and Schukin, V.A. Zavodskaya
laboratoriya No 1 (1962) p 192
Ermolov, I.N. and Pilin, B.P. Defektoskopiya No 3 (1972)
pp 26-33
Ermolov, l.N. Defektoskopiya No 2 (1970) p 51
Etmolov, I.N. Metody ul'trazvukovoi defektoskopii (Ultrasonic
Inspection Methods) part 1, Moscow Mining Institute, 1967
Gutvieh, A.K. and Yermolov, LN. Ul'trazvukovoi kontrol'
svarnykh soyedineniy (Ultrasonic Inpsection of Welded Joints),

(Kiev, 1972)
Saglio,R. and Roule, M. Vll International conference on NDT,
paper F-05 (Warsaw, 1973)
9 Mason,W.P. and McSkimin, 'Attenuation and dissipation of
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p 464
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8

i izdeliy {Nondestructive Testing of Materials and Articles),

Variation of probe-pattern width

Yet another promising method of obviating the effect of
structural noise is the one in which use is made o f periodical
variations of the probe directivity pattern width, the ultrasonic power being kept constant. 2s A variation in the directivity pattern is attained by varying the probe diameter. This
method is based on the following theoretical considerations.
As is well known, the average intensity of structural noise
(In) in the distant field of the probe is independent of the
width of its directivity pattern if the power of the emitted
pulses (W) is invariable. Thus
W6scr

In

rl e "46r

(9)

47rr 2

where rl is determined by the shape of the probe and in the

case of a spherical probe has a value of . The signal
produced by a flaw (If) varies directly with the probe area

(S~):
If

280

--

WSaSf2 e -46r
X4 r4

(10)

12
13
14
15

16
17

Collection of papers edited by S.T. Nazarov (ONTIpribor,

Moscow, 1964) pp 461-470
Ermolov, I.N. and Pilin, B.P. Defektoskopiya No 1 (1969)
pp 53-57
Karminsky, Yu.A., Kondratiev, Yu.A. and Korolev, M.V.
Defektoskopiya No 1 (1973) pp 97-102
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(Moscow, 1964) pp 128-140

18 USSR Inventor's Certificate No 218 508; el. G 01n, 29/04
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paper C1-1-2 (Moscow, 1968)
20 Kay, L., Whipp, E. and Bishop, M.J. J Br Inst Radio Engr, 23
No 5 (1962) pp 373-380
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pp 87-94
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NDT I N T E R N A T I O N A L . DECEMBER 1976