Measuring the amplitude of reflected signal is a relatively unreliable method of sizing defects because the amplitude strongly depends on the orientation of the crack. Instead of amplitude, ToFD uses the time of flight of an ultrasonic pulse to determine the position and size of a reflector.

In a ToFD system, a pair of ultrasonic probes sits on opposite sides of a weld. One of the probes, the transmitter, emits an ultrasonic pulse that is picked up by the probe on the other side, the receiver. In defect free welds, the signals picked up by the receiver probe are from two waves: one that travels along the surface and one that reflects off the far wall. When an indication (crack) is present, there is a diffraction of the ultrasonic wave from the tip(s) of the indication. Using the measured time of flight of the pulse, the depth of an indication tip can be calculated automatically by simple trigonometry.

Features:

• A computerized and automated system for weld inspection.
• Probes are mounted on a buggy that travels along a weld, recording data as it moves.
• Compared to conventional methods of ultrasonic testing, ToFD is sensitive to cracks and vertically orientated defects and measures their dimensions accurately.
• ToFD has a dead zone at the surface where it is not sensitive to defects, hence ToFD ought always to be supplemented by a conventional pulse-echo examination or phased array. The pulse echo probes are commonly mounted on the same buggy as the ToFD probes.