Phased Array Ultrasound Testing of Gears

Gears come in various sizes and designs. They have great importance in the operation of their respective circuits, and the replacement of a gear can be very costly and induce a lot of downtime due to the scope of work. They are often not readily available for purchase, either. Knowing the condition of the gear teeth is of the utmost importance to mining operations. In most cases, gears are covered in grease or run through an oil bath. With traditional NDT methods such as Magnetic Particle or Liquid Penetrant, thorough cleaning of the teeth is required, thus significantly lengthening the inspection time as well as contaminating the oil or grease in situ, forcing you to flush out the lube system to get rid of the contaminants.

When downtime is scheduled throughout a shutdown, a PAUT inspection of your gear system will identify any cracking, in addition to locating crack depths and sizes. The details gathered throughout the inspection will either give you and your insurer piece of mind that your system is in good working order or conversely assist with the planning of repair or replacement. PAUT is unique in the sense that like other methods it can detect defect lengths and locations, but, unlike other methods, it can accurately record defect depths with imaging to be able to pinpoint the defects nature and monitor its growth from inspection to inspection. The data can be reviewed on the spot and further analyzed using the associated PC software.