Some Insights On Conventional And Advanced Ultrasonic Testing Of Large Forgings

This research focuses on ultrasonic inspection of large-thickness forgings (100–300 mm) used in power generation applications. Conventional manual ultrasonic testing (UT) following ASTM A388 and EN 10228-3 increasingly struggles to detect small defect sizes (0.5–1 mm FBH-equivalent) due to microstructure-driven scattering, acoustic attenuation and hardware limitations. The research evaluates the performance of pulse-echo straightbeam longitudinal-wave UT using Probability of Detection (PoD) curves and compares conventional techniques (manual and immersion) with advanced approaches including, for example, phased array (PAUT) and Total Focusing Method (TFM). The study includes the characterization of acoustic behavior of F22 steel grade and numerical modelling via Model-Assisted Probability of Detection (MAPoD) techniques. The outcome provides a quantitative framework for selecting UT methods aligned with operational requirements.