Patent ID: 7421901
Filing Date: 2008-09-09
Classification: G01N

Abstract:
1. A method of inspecting a part in immersion with a multi-element annular ultrasound transducer associated with focusing electronics, the method comprising the steps of: emitting a focused ultrasound wave beam; picking up echoes produced by the focused ultrasound beam being reflected on a defect in said part, and measuring an amplitude of said echoes, wherein, when an axis of the focused beam is remote from an edge of the part, the step of emitting is performed so that the axis of the emitted focused ultrasound beam is perpendicular to a surface of the part, and wherein, when the axis of the focused ultrasound beam is close to an edge of the part so as to pass into a shadow zone associated with said edge, the step of emitting is performed so that the axis of the emitted focused ultrasound beam is tilted towards the edge of the part relative to the normal to the surface of the part, by an angle that is small enough to avoid modifying the amplitude of the echoes relative to the amplitude measured when said focused ultrasound beam is emitted perpendicularly to the surface of the part, and large enough to eliminate the shadow zone over all or substantially all of a depth of the part.