MEMBRANE-COUPLED ULTRASONIC PROBE SYSTEM FOR DETECTING FLAWS IN A TUBULAR

摘要

An ultrasonic testing apparatus (10) for detecting flaws in a tubular (12), comprising:
a probe housing (14) having an axial axis (11), a central cavity (17) lying along the axial axis, and a bottom face (16) adapted for placement on the tubular, the bottom face having an opening (30) in the middle; and
a probe support (32) disposed within the central cavity of the probe housing (14) and rotatable about the axial axis of the probe housing;
characterized in that the ultrasonic testing apparatus further comprises:
an ultrasonic probe (62) mounted on the probe support and having a scanning face (66) exposed to the opening of the bottom face of the probe housing, the scanning face being tiltable relative to a selected plane of the tubular by rotation of the probe support about the axial axis of the probe housing; and
a lock arrangement (34, 40, 42, 44) for selectively preventing rotation of the probe support (32) about the axial axis of the probe housing (14).