Patent ID: 8776604

Claim:
An ultrasonic testing equipment for detecting a flaw by ultrasonic waves in a tubular test object, comprising an ultrasonic probe including a plurality of transducers arranged along an annular curved surface; and a transmission/reception control device that controls transmission/reception of ultrasonic waves by said ultrasonic probe, wherein said annular curved surface is obtained by cutting a predetermined spheroid with two parallel planes facing to each other that do not pass through a center of the spheroid and do not sandwich the center of the spheroid, said two parallel planes being orthogonal to a rotational axis of the spheroid, a shape of said annular curved surface is determined so that when transducers appropriately selected from said plurality of transducers are caused to transmit and receive ultrasonic waves, respective internal refraction angles θκ of the ultrasonic waves are approximately equivalent regardless of propagation directions of the ultrasonic waves, said ultrasonic probe is arranged so as to face said tubular test object so that a longer axis direction of said annular curved surface is along a longitudinal axial direction of said tubular test object, a shorter axis direction of said annular curved surface is along a circumferential direction of said tubular test object and the center of said spheroid correctly faces a longitudinal axial center of said tubular test object, and said transmission/reception control device causes at least two transducers among said plurality of transducers to transmit the ultrasonic waves to and receive the same from said tubular test object.