ASTM E273 – Standard Practice for Ultrasonic Testing of the Weld Zone of Welded Pipe and Tubing

1.1”This practice2 describes general ultrasonic testing procedures for the detection of discontinuities in the weld and adjacent heat affected zones of welded pipe and tubing by scanning with relative motion between the search unit and pipe or tube. When contact or unfocused immersion search units are employed, this practice is intended for tubular products having specified outside diameters ”’2 in. (”’50 mm) and specified wall thicknesses of ¹/₈”to 1¹/₁₆”in. (3 to 27 mm). When properly focused immersion search units are employed, this practice may also be applied to material of smaller diameter and thinner wall. When contact or immersion phased array search units are employed, this practice may also be applied to material of above-mentioned outside diameters and wall thicknesses.

Note 1:”When contact or unfocused immersion search units are used, precautions should be exercised when examining pipes or tubes near the lower specified limits. Certain combinations of search unit size, frequency, thin”’wall thicknesses, and small diameters could cause generation of unwanted sound waves that may produce erroneous examination results.