Patent ID: 6408695
Filing Date: 2002-06-25
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
A method for ultrasonically inspecting a titanium article for at least one critical flaw that acts as a non-Rayleigh scattering source of ultrasonic radiation, the method comprising the steps of:a) selecting a frequency for detecting the at least one critical flaw, the at least one critical flaw being larger than a predetermined dimension; b) providing the titanium article, the titanium article having a plurality of acoustic entities that generate only Rayleigh scattering of ultrasonic radiation, wherein each of the plurality of acoustic entities comprises a colony of &agr;Ti particles having a common crystallographic orientation; c) directing ultrasonic energy of the selected frequency into the bulk of the titanium article; d) detecting ultrasonic radiation scattered from the bulk of the titanium article; and e) determining whether the ultrasonic radiation scattered is a result of one of predominantly Rayleigh scattering and non-Rayleigh scattering, wherein a determination that the ultrasonic radiation scattered is a result of non-Rayleigh scattering is indicative of the critical flaw.