The USM Go has been designed and tested according
to DIN
EN 61010-1: 2011-07, Safety requirements for
electrical equipment for measurement, control and lab
oratory use, and was technically in perfectly safe and
faultless condition when leaving the manufacturing
works.
In order to maintain this condition and to ensure a safe
operation, you should always read the following safety
information carefully before putting the instrument into
operation.
The USM Go is an instrument for materials testing. Any use for medical or any
other applications is not permitted!
The instrument may only be used in industrial environments.
The USM Go is waterproof according to IP67. It can be
operated either with the corresponding lithium-ion bat
teries or with the charger/power adapter. The charger/
power adapter meets the requirements of electrical
safety class II.
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Battery operation
For the battery operation of the USM Go, we recommend the corresponding lithium-ion battery. You should
only use this battery for the battery operation.
You can charge the lithium-ion battery either within the
instrument itself or in an external charger. If a lithium-ion
battery is inserted, charging starts automatically as
soon as you connect the charger/power adapter to the
USM Go and to the mains power supply.
For power supply, please also see Chapter 3.2 Power supply, page 3-2. For the use of batteries, please also
see Chapter 7.2 Battery care, page 7-2.
Software
According to the current state of the art, software is never completely free from errors. Before using any software-controlled test equipment, it is therefore necessary to make sure that the required functions operate
perfectly in the intended combination.
If you have any questions about the use of your test
equipment, please contact your nearest representative
of GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies.
1-2Issue 6 (02/2013)USM Go
Important information on ultrasonic testing1 Introduction
Defects/errors and exceptional stresses
If you have reason to believe that a safe operation of
your USM Go is no longer possible, you have to discon
nect the instrument and secure it against unintentional
re-connection. Remove the lithium-ion battery.
A safe operation is no longer possible for example
● if the instrument shows visible damages,
● if the instrument no longer operates perfectly,
● after prolonged storage under adverse conditions
(e.g. exceptional temperatures or especially high air
humidity, or corrosive environmental conditions),
● after being subjected to heavy stresses during transportation.
1.2Important information on
ultrasonic testing
Please read the following information before using your
USM Go. It is important that you understand and ob
serve this information to avoid any operator errors that
might lead to false test results. Such false test results
could result in personal injuries or property damages.
Prerequisites for testing with ultrasonic
test equipment
This operating manual contains essential information on
how to operate your test equipment. In addition, there
are a number of factors that affect the test results, but a
description of all these factors goes beyond the scope
of this operating manual. The three most important pre
requisites for a safe and reliable ultrasonic inspection
are:
● Operator training
● Knowledge of special technical test requirements and
limits
-
-
● Choice of appropriate test equipment
USM GoIssue 6 (02/2013)1-3
1 IntroductionImportant information on ultrasonic testing
Operator training
The operation of an ultrasonic test device requires proper training in ultrasonic test methods.
Proper training comprises for example adequate knowledge of:
● the theory of sound propagation,
● the effects of sound velocity in the test material,
● the behavior of the sound wave at interfaces between
different materials,
● the propagation of the sound beam,
● the influence of sound attenuation in the test object
and the influence of surface quality of the test object.
Lack of such knowledge could lead to false test results
with unforeseeable consequences. You can contact for
example NDT societies or organizations in your country
(DGZfP in Germany; ASNT in the USA), or also GE
Sensing & Inspection Technologies, for information on
the existing opportunities for training of ultrasonic in
spectors as well as on the qualifications and certificates
that can finally be obtained.
-
Technical test requirements
Every ultrasonic test is subject to specific technical test
requirements. The most important ones are:
● the definition of the scope of inspection
● the choice of the appropriate test method
● the consideration of material properties
● the determination of limits for recording and evalua-
tion.
It is the task of the those with overall responsibility for
testing to ensure that the inspector is fully informed
about these requirements. The best basis for such infor
mation is experience with identical test objects. It is also
essential that the relevant test specifications be clearly
and completely understood by the inspector.
GE Sensing & Inspection Technologies regularly holds
specialized training courses in the field of ultrasonic
testing. The scheduled dates for these courses will be
given to you on request.
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1-4Issue 6 (02/2013)USM Go
Important information on ultrasonic testing1 Introduction
Limits of testing
The information obtained from ultrasonic tests only refers to those parts of the test object which are covered
by the sound beam of the probe used.
Any conclusions from the tested parts to be applied to
the untested parts of the test object should be made with
extreme caution.
Such conclusions are generally only possible in cases
where extensive experience and proven methods of sta
tistical data acquisition are available.
The sound beam can be completely reflected from
boundary surfaces within the test object so that flaws
and reflection points lying deeper remain undetected. It
is therefore important to make sure that all areas to be
tested in the test object are covered by the sound beam.
Ultrasonic wall thickness measurement
All ultrasonic wall thickness measurements are based
on a time-of-flight measurement. Accurate measure
ment results require a constant sound velocity in the test
object. In test objects made of steel, even with varying
alloying constituents, this condition is mostly fulfilled.
The variation of sound velocity is so slight that it is only
-
of importance for high-precision measurements. In oth
er materials, e.g. nonferrous metals or plastics, the
sound velocity variations may be even larger and thus
affect the measuring accuracy.
Effect of the test object material
If the material of the test object is not homogeneous, the
sound waves may propagate at different velocities in dif
ferent parts of the test object. An average sound velocity
should then be taken into account for the range calibra
tion. This is achieved by using a reference block with a
sound velocity equal to the average sound velocity of
the test object.
If substantial sound velocity variations are expected,
then the instrument calibration should be adjusted to the
actual sound velocity values at shorter time intervals.
Failure to do so may lead to false thickness readings.
-
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USM GoIssue 6 (02/2013)1-5
1 IntroductionImportant information on ultrasonic testing
Effect of temperature variations
The sound velocity within the test object also varies as
a function of the material's temperature. This can cause
appreciable errors in measurements if the instrument
has been calibrated on a cold reference block, whereas
the measurement is carried out on a warm test object.
Such measurement errors can be avoided either by ad
justing the temperature of the reference block used for
calibration or by taking the temperature effect into con
sideration on the basis of a correction factor obtained
from published tables.
Measurement of remaining wall thickness
The measurement of the remaining wall thickness on
plant components, e.g. pipes, tanks, and reaction ves
sels of all types which are corroded or eroded from the
inside, requires a perfectly suitable gauge and special
care in handling the probe.
The inspectors should always be informed about the
corresponding nominal wall thicknesses and the likely
amount of wall thickness losses.
-
Ultrasonic evaluation of flaws
In present-day test practice, there are basically two different methods of flaw evaluation:
If the diameter of the sound beam is smaller than the extent of the flaw, then the sound beam can be used to explore the boundaries of the flaw and thus determine its
area.
-
If, however, the diameter of the sound beam is larger
that the extent of the flaw, the maximum echo indication
from the flaw must be compared with the maximum
echo indication from an artificial flaw provided for com
parison purposes.
Flaw boundary method
The smaller the diameter of the probe's sound beam,
the more accurately the boundaries, i.e. the actual flaw
area, can be determined by the flaw boundary method.
If, however, the sound beam is relatively broad, the flaw
area determined can substantially differ from the actual
flaw area. Care should therefore be taken to select a
probe which will give a sufficiently narrow sound beam
at the position of the flaw.
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1-6Issue 6 (02/2013)USM Go
Important information on ultrasonic testing1 Introduction
Echo display comparison method
The echo from a small, natural flaw is usually smaller
than the echo from an artificial comparison flaw, e.g. cir
cular disc flaw of the same size. This is due, for instance, to the roughness of the surface of a natural flaw,
or to the fact that the sound beam does not impinge on
it at right angles.
If this fact is not taken into account when evaluating natural flaws, there is a risk of false evaluation.
In the case of very jagged or fissured flaws, e.g. shrink
holes in castings, it may be that the sound scattering oc
curring at the boundary surface of the flaw is so strong
that no echo at all is produced. In such cases, a different
evaluation method should be chosen, e.g. use of the
backwall echo attenuation in the evaluation.
The distance sensitivity of the flaw echo plays an important part when testing large components. Attention
should be paid here to choosing artificial comparison
flaws which are as far as possible governed by the same
"distance laws" as the natural flaws to be evaluated.
The ultrasonic wave is attenuated in any material. This
sound attenuation is very low, e.g. in parts made of finegrained steel, likewise in many small parts made of oth
-
er materials. However, if the sound wave travels larger
distances through the material, a high cumulative sound
attenuation can result, even with small attenuation coef
ficients. There is then a danger that echoes from natural
flaws appear too small. For this reason, an estimate
must always be made of the effects of attenuation on the
evaluation result and taken into account if applicable.
If the test object has a rough surface, part of the incident
sound energy will be scattered at its surface and is not
available for the test. The larger this initial scattering, the
smaller the flaw echoes appear, and the more errors oc
cur in the evaluation result.
It is therefore important to take the effect of the test object's surfaces on the height of the echo into account
(transfer correction).
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USM GoIssue 6 (02/2013)1-7
1 IntroductionThe USM Go
1.3The USM Go
The USM Go is a lightweight and compact ultrasonic
flaw detector which is especially suitable
● for locating and evaluating material flaws,
● for measuring wall thicknesses,
● for saving and documenting test results.
Due to its design, the USM Go can be used in almost all
flaw detection applications in a wide range of industries,
including aerospace, power generation, automotive, as
well as oil and gas. These include:
Weld inspection
● Trigonometric projections
● AWS
● DAC
● DGS
Inspection of forgings and castings
● Manual PRF adjustment
Rail inspection
● High PRF (up to 2000 Hz)
● Lightweight: 850 g (1.87 lb)
● Small and ergonomic
Inspection of composites
● RF display
● 2 gates A and B
● Gate B is triggered by the event in gate A
For even more demanding applications
● Narrow band-pass filters
● Low-noise digital amplifiers
● Optional square pulsers
● DAC (TCG) with 120 dB/µs slope
● Backwall echo attenuation (BEA)
● Phantom echo detector
● DGS
1-8Issue 6 (02/2013)USM Go
The USM Go1 Introduction
Instrument versions USM Go and USM Go+
A joystick is used in the USM Go for navigation, for
changing settings, and for selecting adjustment values.
USM Go
These functions are carried out by means of five keys in
the keypad of the USM
Go+. The arrow keys in the key-
pad correspond to the movement of the joystick in the
corresponding direction, and pressing the center key
corresponds to pressing the joystick.
USM Go+
USM GoIssue 6 (02/2013)1-9
1 IntroductionThe USM Go
Options
Various options extend the basic functions of the USM
Go and can be enabled by a code in each case.
USM Go Base
● Basic version, for universal ultrasonic
test jobs.
USM Go AWS
● Amplitude evaluation according to AWS D1.1 for the
weld inspection.
USM Go DAC
● DAC amplitude evaluation using up to 16 points according to EN 1712, EN 1713, EN 1714, ASME, and
ASME
III, in conformity with JIS Z3060
● DAC (TCG) 110 dB dynamic
● DAC (BEA) 120 dB/µs slope
USM Go DGS
● DGS amplitude evaluation according to EN 1712
USM Go with an on-board data logger
● Recording and documentation of measurement values in linear and grid file mode.
USM Go with square pulser
● Enables the fine adjustment of initial pulse parameters
● Voltage setting 120 … 300 V in increments of 10 V
● Pulse duration setting 30 … 500 ns in increments of
10
ns
● PRF
● 3G (gate C)
1-10Issue 6 (02/2013)USM Go
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