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of
FOUNDRY ENGINEERING ISSN (2299-2944)
Volume 17
DOI: 10.1515/afe-2017-0047 Issue 2/2017
Published quarterly as the organ of the Foundry Commission of the Polish Academy of Sciences
35 – 38

Ultrasonic Inspection Techniques

Possibilities for Centrifugal
Cast Copper Alloy
R. Konar *, M. Mician
Department of Technological Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering,
University of Zilina, Univerzitna 8215/1, 010 26 Zilina, Slovak Republic
* Corresponding author. E-mail address: radoslav.konar@fstroj.uniza.sk

Received 15.03.2017; accepted in revised form 07.05.2017

Abstract
The article deals with ultrasonic testing possibilities of the copper alloy centrifugal casts. It focused on the problems that arise when testing
of castings is made of non-ferrous materials. Most common types of casting defects is dedicated in theoretical introduction of article.
Ultrasonic testing technique by conventional ultrasound system is described in the theoretical part too. Practical ultrasonic testing of
centrifugal copper alloy cast - brass is in experimental part. The experimental sample was part of centrifugally cast brass ring with
dimensions of Ø1200x34 mm. The influence of microstructure on ultrasonic attenuation and limitations in testing due to attenuation is
describes in experimental part. Conventional direct single element contact ultrasound probe with frequencies of 5 MHz, 3.5 MHz and 2
MHz were used for all experimental measurements. The results of experimental part of article are recommendations for selecting
equipment and accessories for casting testing made of non-ferrous metals.

Keywords: Non-destructive testing, Centrifugal casts, Ultrasonic attenuation, Copper alloy, Brass microstructure

defects such as shrinkage cavities, porosity, hot cracks, cold shuts,

1. Introduction etc. Ultrasonic testing of castings made of non-ferrous metals, is
quite demanding. Ultrasonic testing problems can be divided into
The art of casting metal into specific shapes goes back two groups. One of the problems is rough casting surface at
thousands of years, but it is only in recent decades that modern casting to sand molds, when the surface must be mechanically
ultrasonic NDT tools have been available to help insure product machined to the desired quality. The second most fundamental
integrity. In ancient times, a foundryman might tap a casting with problem is the change morphology and grain size of the castings
a hammer to judge its quality by the sound of the ring. Today, microstructure. Large grain and morphology causes high
microprocessor-based instruments that also utilize sound waves attenuation of ultrasound in material, which should be
can provide much more information about the hidden internal countervailed choosing the right testing methods and accessories
structure of both ferrous and non-ferrous castings [1, 2]. for testing [1, 3, 5].
Ultrasonic testing in foundry practice is most often used as a
production of non-destructive testing. Testing is mainly used for
identification of relatively large dimensions volume and surface

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 differential attenuation in material lead to incorrect information
2. Attenuation of ultrasound about the defect size. Consequently, where the castings are tested,
we identify only the presence of defects, its location and
Ultrasonic testing of castings is difficult because castings
approximate size [2, 5, 8].
have usually a large anisotropic structure grain. The
heterogeneous anisotropic cross-sectional structure of a casting is
caused by a different cooling conditions during solidification of
the casting in the mold (Figure 1) [4, 7, 9]. 3. Experimental measurements
Experimental part of this article describes the typical
problems in practical ultrasonic testing of brass castings.
Chemical composition of brass ring is in Table 1.

Table 1.
Chemical composition of brass ring in [%]
Zn Pb Sn P Mn
46.09 4.98 0.80 >1.32 0.89
Fe Ni Si Al S
0.88 0.27 0.66 0.14 >1.16
As Bi Se Sb Cu
>0.60 <0.01 >1.68 >1.44 33.11

a.) b.) c.) Ring shaped casting was centrifugally cast with vertical axis
Fig. 1. Schematic illustration of three cast structures of metal: of steel form rotation. The diameter of ring was Ø 1200 mm and
a.) pure metal, b.) solid-solution alloys, c.) structure obtained by its thickness of 34 mm.
using nucleating agents [1] The experimental part is divided into two parts. The
experimental methodology for measuring the material attenuation
These structures make dispersion of ultrasound energy. The for the longitudinal ultrasonic wave using contact direct probe and
ultrasound dispersion causes significant attenuation of ultrasonic also effect of frequency probe to attenuation value is describes in
energy in material. Rough surface of castings is also negative for the first part. The second part of the article deals with dependence
ultrasonic testing, especially for small contact area between the of ultrasonic attenuation by brass grain size.
probe and the casting. For these reasons, the ultrasonic testing of
castings is not so widespread as in other types of production
materials. Ultrasonic testing costs often exceed the cost of casting 3.1 Change of attenuation depending on the
production of one casting [1, 8, 9].
The biggest problem in ultrasonic testing of castings is
frequency
therefore different grain structure of the casting, which cannot be
The first experiment was focused on determine the effect of
removed without following technological operation (e.g. heat
attenuation depending on the used frequency. Material attenuation
treatment). Different grain size causes different attenuation in
mainly depends on the size and shape of the grain structure.
volume of the testing material. Material attenuation is also
Therefore, the choice of the frequency and the position of the
dependent on the use ultrasound probe frequency. General rule is
probe on casting is very important. Three probes with frequencies
that the higher the frequency the higher the material attenuation is
5 MHz, 3.5 MHz and 2 MHz were used in experiment for
present. Attenuation in the material is expressed by the formula:
illustration.
Probes type Acuscan was used for experiment. These are
𝛼 = 𝛼𝑝 + 𝛼𝑟 [𝑑𝐵. 𝑚𝑚−1 ] (1) probes with narrow frequency band and long pulses. The probe
where: with a frequency of 5 MHz has a type designation SM-A551, 3.5
𝛼𝑝 - material absorbing attenuation, MHz probe has designation A550S-SM and probe with frequency
𝛼𝑟 - dispersion attenuation. 2 MHz has designation PN20-20. The experiment was conducted
on the outer surface of the ring in the seven points (Figure 2).
Both attenuations occur in all types of ultrasonic waves.
Generally, increasing anisotropy of the structure causes an
increase dispersion attenuation. The biggest impact on attenuation
is relationship between the wavelength λ and medium
inhomogeneity dimension 𝐷 ̅ . Dispersion attenuation is usually
higher in the transverse waves than in longitudinal. Therefore, the
overall attenuation of transverse waves is usually higher than in
the longitudinal waves at the same wavelength. Any evaluation
curve cannot be used for casting testing by the diversity of
attenuation in the volume of material. When evaluation of the Fig. 2. Scheme of measuring direction and probe position for
defects is based on the commonly used curves, the effects of experiment

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 Probe and system calibration was performed directly at the The results confirmed the theoretical assumption that with
test object in the place with the lowest attenuation, which was on decreasing frequency attenuation decreases. Attenuation at 5 MHz
the edge of the casting. Calibration was performed based on the frequency is about 2.5 times larger as at 2 MHz. The use of a
position of the first and second end echo on the screen flaw of lower frequency probe therefore makes it possible to test the
defectoscope Olympus MX2. materials of greater thickness.
The principle of attenuation measurement by direct contact
ultrasonic probe (longitudinal wave attenuation) is established to
measure the acoustic energy difference of the first and second 3.2 Change of attenuation depending on the
backwall echo in dB. This value is divided by the actual distance
travelled by ultrasound in mm. The result is the attenuation value grain size
of material for a given frequency in the units dB.mm-1. Thus, the
attenuation is ultrasound energy loss per unit of length (Figure 3). Samples for microstructure evaluation was taken from
locations of attenuation measurement of ultrasonic energy 1, 2, 3,
and 4. Grain size was measured on the prepared samples. The
measurement points 5, 6 and 7 was not evaluated by
microstructure because it is symmetrical structure sample. The
images of the microstructure are shown in Figure 4. – Figure 7.

Fig. 4. Brass microstructure in point No. 1

Fig. 3. The principle of attenuation determining

The results have confirmed the expected change of

attenuation along the line of measurement. In some cases, it was
even impossible to identify the second backwall echo on the
defectoscope display. This is the case of the probes with
frequencies of 5 MHz and 3.5 MHz. The second echo was
identifiable only in the position of the probes on ring in points 1, 6
and 7. In the remaining points it was not possible to identify the
second backwall echo, therefore could not be determined material Fig. 5. Brass microstructure in point No. 2
attenuation. Attenuation was being measured at all points with
probes with frequency of 2 MHz. Velocity of longitudinal
ultrasonic waves was also measured in experiment. Results of
attenuation and velocity measurements are listed in Table 2.

Table 2.
Material attenuation and longitudinal wave velocity in brass ring
Ultrasonic probe frequency

5 MHz 3.5 MHz 2 MHz

cL Attenuation cL Attenuation cL Attenuation

Point
[m.s-1] [dB.mm-1] [m.s-1] [dB.mm-1] [m.s-1] [dB.mm-1] Fig. 6. Brass microstructure in point No. 3
1 4384 0.2456 4418 0.2231 4409 0.1029
2 4384 - 4418 - 4409 0.1426
3 4384 - 4418 - 4409 0.1882
4 4384 - 4418 - 4409 0.2235
5 4384 - 4418 - 4409 0.1750
6 4384 0.2647 4418 0.2250 4409 0.1000
7 4384 0.2235 4418 0.2103 4409 0.0691

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 4. Conclusions
The article deals with real problems when testing of castings
with large grained structure is performed. The results of
experiments show that attenuation of the ultrasound in the material
cross-section is different and depends mainly on the frequency and
size of the grains. The results also confirmed the assumption that it
is not appropriate to use the evaluation curve for casting testing.
Probe with low frequency (1-2 MHz) is suitable to use for
ultrasound test castings, however the testing sensitivity decreases.
Fig. 7. Brass microstructure in point No. 4 The compromise between these facts should always be done when
testing castings.
Table 3 shows the average grain size in the individual points
of measurement. Measurement of average grain size was
graphically done.
Acknowledgements
Table 3.
Average grain size and attenuation This work has been supported by the Scientific Grant Agency
Attenuation of the Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic, grant,
Average grain size KEGA: 034ZU-4/2015.
Measuring point 2 MHz
[mm]
[dB.mm-1]
1 0.1029 0.19
2 0.1426 0.24 References
3 0.1882 0.56
4 0.2235 0.62
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Attenuation in castings causes problems when the evaluation
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curves are used for defect evaluation. It's because during their
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