Manual Dry Coupled Ultrasonic C-scan Imaging System designed
for corrosion mapping
The ThetaScan is a cost effective, portable ultrasonic C-scan imaging system which has been developed to carry out C-scan corrosion mapping on ferrous plate and pipe.
The system is designed to be operated both on flat plates and curved surfaces with a diameter of 300mm or more.
The Thetascan is simple to set up and use a while providing detailed and accurate
ultrasonic thickness information. Inspection results can be viewed in real time in the field or recalled for post inspection analysis at a later date.
The Thetascan system continuously records thickness measurements as the scanning head is moved over the inspection surface. During a scan, thickness information is presented as an A-scan trace, a digital thickness measurement and a C-Scan image.
The system comprises a manually operated Thetascan scanning head attached to an encoded scanning arm, a portable ultrasonic module, and a
netbook computer or touch screen Ultra mobile PC.
The system comprises of:
- ThetaScan Manual Scanner with Dry Coupled Ultrasonic Wheel Probe
- Portable Ultrasonic Module
- Netbook Computer
- Umbilical Cable
- Lockable USB Cable
Manual Scanner:
The ThetaScan scanning head incorporates Silverwing’s unique dry coupled wheel probe.
The dry-coupled wheel probe is constructed from a twin element 5Mhz transducer, mounted inside solid tyres. The wheel probe tyres are made from a unique material that is able to transmit the Ultrasonic sound wave from the transducer into the material under test in the same way as a liquid or gel couplant.
This completely eliminates the need for a water supply when using the Thetascan and allows the system to be used in even the most remote locations.
Magnetic wheels and magnetic feet hold the ThetaScan scanner to the inspection surface. The ThetaScan scanner incorporates a dual axis encoder to provide positional information to the dedicated software. The ThetaScan scanner is connected to the Ultrasonic Module via the Umbilical cable.
The ThetaScan scanning head is attached to an extending arm. The arm is attached to a rotating base unit fitted with rare earth magnetic feet to attach the system to the part being inspected.
The extending arm and rotating base unit are fully encoded allowing the Thetascan software to continuously combine arm extension and arm rotation measurements to accurately plot the probe position,
this eliminates problems associated with encoder wheel slippage
Portable Ultrasonic Module - UT400:
The battery powered Ultrasonic Module processes the UT and encoder information from the ThetaScan scanner. The Ultrasonic Module is
is powered by an internal 12 volt battery and is supplied with a shoulder bag for site use. The Ultrasonic module will operate continuously for
11 hours from a fully charged battery. The Ultrasonic Module is connected to the
netbook computer via the lockable USB cable.
The dedicated ThetaScan software is designed with similar controls to a standard ultrasonic flaw detector so a trained ultrasonic operator can quickly become familiar with all controls and functions.
All frequently used controls are fully accessible and clearly set out on the same screen as the A-scan and C-scan display.
During a scan, Ultrasonic and encoder data is combined in the Thetascan software to show a real-time A-scan trace, digital thickness measurements, and a C-Scan image.
The C-scan resolution can be adjusted during a scan. This allows the Thetascan operator to quickly scan defect free areas at low resolutions, and scan more important areas with defects at higher resolutions to produce a more detailed image while maintaining good productivity rates.
The Thetascan software incorporates several powerful data review, reporting and printing tools.
Generally, the ultrasonic C-scan image shows a plan view of the scanned area, with differing thicknesses represented as changes in colour. All
ultrasonic C-scan colour options are fully customisable.
Thickness measurements and their associated positional coordinates are displayed on-screen simply by moving or hovering the cursor over specific areas of the saved C-scan image.
A zoom function displays a close up view of a selected section of the C-scan image. The zoomed view also shows the minimum, maximum and average thickness of the selected area, and an active thickness and positional display taken from the cursor position.
The zoom view also shows a two axis B-Scan thickness profile which is also updated from the cursor position.
The 3D View option displays a selected section of the C-scan as a rotating 3D image. The 3D image can be animated to provide a detailed view of the selected area.
The Thetascan software includes a fully featured set of automated report printing tools. All standard views within the Thetascan software can either be printed directly from the software or exported as digital images allowing a custom report to be generated using a preferred format.
Thetascan data can also be exported as CSV files for use with spread-sheet software such as Microsoft excel.
The advanced software features combined with extreme portability make the Thetascan one of the most cost effective, comprehensive and flexible C-Scan ultrasonic imaging systems available on the market.