Notches :

For evaluating incomplete penetration in welds or discontinuities

forming a corner, such as a surface crack or weld undercut,
machined surface notches may be employed for sensitivity
calibration and size comparison, since they more nearly represent
the actual discontinuity. A Vee shaped notch is an useful reference
for evaluating side wall lack of fusion in vee welds. Square
notches are useful for evaluating Lack of penetration.
Reflection amplitude from Vee, square and U – shaped notches of
comparable dimensions may vary widely depending on the angle,
frequency and vibrational mode of the interrogating sound beam.
These notches are best produced by Electric Discharge Machining
[ spark eroded ] process.

The notches are usually at least one inch long [ min two times
the probe crystal width is recommended ], with a depth
[ d ] of 2 to 10 % of thickness of the part for weld inspection.
The width [ w ] of the cut is usually 1/16". For base material
examination of tubular products, axial and circumferential notches of
the required dimensions on the outside and the inside surfaces, in
a calibration block made from the product being examined is used.
For plates, 3% of thickness depth notch is recommended.
[ always refer applicable test procedure for notch details ]

Sound beam path in curved part :

While testing curved parts, increase in beam path due to part
curvature must be considered.
Two similar angle probes can be used to find the beam path
to hit the undersurface of a curved part. Using a calibrated
range, the equipment is set to dual probe mode. The probes
are positioned on the part, facing each other, and at
approximately one skip distance apart. Keeping one probe fixed,
the other probe is moved to produce a maximized signal. The
distance indicated on the CRT is the effective beam path for
the angle probe in use to hit the under surface of the part.
The maximum incident sound beam angle, [ grazing incidence ]
which can still hit the undersurface [ irradiation depth ] of a
curved part can be found from the relation ;
Probe angle A = Inv Sin [1- ( 2 t / D )]
where, t is wall thickness and D is outside diameter of pipe.
Depth of irradiation can be calculated from ;
Irradiation depth = Irradiation factor X Diameter

Irradiation factor : 350 450 600 700

.5 [ 1 - sin A ] 0.213 0.146 0.067 0.030

K. Chatterjee, 75643 Center for NDT P 00 Rv 02 Self study material.