2. Time of flight diffraction
Time of flight diffraction (TOFD) technique is based on the detection and analysis of ultrasonic waves diffracted from the extremities of discontinuities. It is a well established technique and has been applied successfully for accurate sizing of defects in thick material sections . The main advantage of this technique is its higher probability of detection and reduced inspection time.
Faster scanning also makes TOFD a preferred technique for high temperature applications [15]. This makes TOFD a necessary tool in in-service inspection of nuclear reactors, pressure vessels etc. A typical TOFD set up and the corresponding A-scan signals are
shown in Fig. 1. Two longitudinal beam transducers of similar nature are arranged in a pitch catch configuration with a particular probe separation in which one probe acts as a transmitter and the other one as a receiver. The transducers are symmetrically positioned over the defect. The longitudinal wave which travels just below the surface from the transmitter to the receiver is called the lateral wave (LW). The wave which is reflected from the opposite surface of the material is called the back wall echo. The LW and the BW echoes are used to define the thickness of the material. Additional signals that appear in between LW and BW are the diffracted waves from the top (1) and bottom extremities of the discontinuity. By knowing the transit time between
different signals, the location and size of the discontinuity can be obtained [16]. The difference in arrival times of the diffracted waves are directly related to the size of the discontinuity and hence the name time of flight diffraction (TOFD) technique.