Patent ID: 7698944
Filing Date: 2010-04-20
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. An ultrasonic method for evaluating a spot weld zone formed by welding a plurality of stacked metal sheets, wherein an ultrasonic wave propagating in a sectional plane which has one axis parallel to the surface of the metal sheets or the spot weld zone and has another axis parallel to the thickness direction is referred to as an ultrasonic wave propagating along the surface of a test object, comprising: transmitting ultrasonic waves propagating along the surface of the test object in a plurality of directions from a plurality of wave sending positions outside the spot weld zone in the metal sheets, and receiving ultrasonic waves propagating along the surface of the test object with propagation paths not including the spot weld zone and ultrasonic waves propagating along the surface of the test object with propagation paths including the spot weld zone at a plurality of wave receiving positions outside the spot weld zone to evaluate soundness of the spot weld zone on the basis of the ultrasonic waves received at the plurality of wave receiving positions.