UT Quality/UT Quality USA servicesServices/Phased array UT
Phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) steers and focuses a multi-element probe electronically, building a cross-sectional image of the weld or wall in a single pass. It is faster and more sensitive than single-element UT, it needs no radiation exclusion zone, and every scan is kept as an encoded data file that can be reopened and reviewed.
The same probe technology runs on a mechanized AUT band, on a hand-driven scanner, or by hand, matched to the weld in front of the crew.
Mechanized AUT with encoded PAUT and TOFD channels for new-construction girth-weld acceptance as an alternative to radiography, including API 1104 Annex A alternative (ECA-based) acceptance criteria where the project specifies them.
Semi-automated UT (encoded PAUT and TOFD on a hand-driven scanner) where an AUT band will not fit, with the same encoded record as mainline AUT.
Manual and encoded PAUT on process piping, pressure-vessel seams and nozzle welds where access or geometry limits radiography.
PAUT wall-thickness mapping over an area of pipe, piping or vessel to show where corrosion, erosion and wall loss run and how deep they go.
Time-of-flight diffraction reads the signals diffracted from a flaw’s tips rather than the reflected echo.
A pair of probes scans along the weld and records the full cross-section in one pass, so the weld volume is screened quickly.
Because the timing of the diffracted signals tracks the flaw tips, TOFD sizes the through-wall height of an indication, which is what acceptance and ECA-based criteria depend on.
On AUT and semi-automated scans TOFD runs alongside the phased array channels, so detection and sizing come from the same encoded record.
The data is on screen as the scan is made. There is no film to develop and no exclusion zone to clear before the crew moves on.
Cross-sectional imaging is well suited to planar flaws such as lack of fusion, which can be harder to characterize on a radiograph.
Encoded scans are stored as data files, reviewable later by the owner, a third party or a Level III.
Scanning procedures are written and qualified to the examination requirements of ASME Section V and the acceptance criteria your specification names: API 1104, ASME B31 or ASME Section VIII.
PAUT uses a multi-element ultrasonic probe that steers and focuses the sound beam electronically, producing a cross-sectional image of the weld or wall in a single scan. It is faster and more sensitive than single-element conventional UT.
PAUT is the probe technology. AUT (automated ultrasonic testing) is a mechanized scanner, usually carrying several PAUT and TOFD channels, that records and encodes full coverage of a pipeline girth weld. It is commonly used in place of radiography on new construction.
On many new-construction pipeline projects, yes. API 1104 accepts AUT as an alternative to radiography when it is run to a qualified procedure. Acceptance criteria are confirmed against your project specification before mobilization.
Encoded phased array and TOFD on a hand-driven scanner. It is used on tie-ins, repair welds, fittings and short runs where an AUT band will not fit, and it produces the same encoded, reviewable record.
Technicians are certified Level I, II and III to our written practice under ASNT SNT-TC-1A / ANSI/ASNT CP-189, with Level III oversight of procedures and interpretation.
Tell us the line, the pipe size and wall, and the governing code, and a UT Quality representative will follow up.
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