A Survey of the Ultrasonic Inspection of Welds.

A state-of-the-art survey was made on the ultrasonic inspection of welds including a thorough search of the literature and personal contacts with representatives of companies engaged in fabricating and inspecting steel welds. In general this survey revealed that both the technology and equipment are available for weld inspection by ultrasonics. Many examples of successful application are cited. The survey also revealed that many potential applications with economic advantage are precluded by contractual agreements which specify a different form of testing. This and other problems which retard the further usage of ultrasonics are discussed and recommendations are made.