Phased Array UT Simulator: Build and Scan a PAUT Set-Up

Phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT) adds something conventional UT does not have: the instrument steers and focuses the beam through focal laws, so a careless set-up produces a convincing image of the wrong thing. The phased array simulator in Atlantis Practical NDT, with 18 PAUT jobs in the catalogue, makes you build the set-up in order: select the array and wedge, check the elements, set sectorial or linear laws, set skew and the encoder datum, then scan, while the procedure panel tracks each check from recorded evidence.

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The PAUT set-up you rehearse

  1. Match the array and the wedge to the work order. The component and the objective decide what is suitable, and an instrument that does not support the probe you picked is refused.
  2. Check the elements. A dead element fails the array check and the practical goes no further, because one missing element degrades every focal law that uses it.
  3. Set the laws: a sectorial sweep through a range of angles, or a linear scan at a fixed angle, as the technique requires.
  4. Set skew and the encoder datum, so every A-scan in the image has a known position relative to the weld.
  5. Calibrate, keep coupling and scan. As in every Practical NDT job, an action that would invalidate earlier evidence withdraws it, so a setting changed after calibration sends you back to recalibrate.
  6. Review data quality, interpret the sectorial or linear image and submit the training report for the instructor's review.

What the phased array model does, and does not do

The PAUT runtime uses a ray and envelope model of the focal laws. It traces how each law's beam travels and adds up, which is enough to show what steering, focusing and a dead element do to the image, and it is fast enough to run in a browser or on a headset. It provides no calibrated flaw sizing. Use the sectorial image to practise reading geometry, position and the effect of your settings, not as a measurement you could report.

One of the real screenshots on the Practical NDT hub shows a guided sectorial-scan practical: the flaw detector, couplant and weld specimen on the bench, with the procedure checklist tracking each step. Interpretation in that practical is reviewed by the instructor, not scored by the software.

Why the operator still matters in phased array

A study of human factors in mechanised ultrasonic inspection identified potential failures in both data acquisition and evaluation, with human, technological and organisational causes, and observed operators misusing and disusing an automated aid in ways that reduced its sizing reliability. Automation moves the human contribution; it does not remove it. A practical that will not move past a failed array check, and that withdraws evidence when a setting invalidates it, is training the part of the job no phased array instrument does for you.

Where the PAUT jobs run

PAUT jobs sit with the other ultrasonic techniques in the shared catalogue: weld coupons and fabrication joints in the welding workshop, bench work in the NDT lab, weld and corrosion work on the process plant and jobs in the aircraft hangar. Because the set-up sequence is the same twelve-step procedure as every other method, the habit of confirming the array before trusting the image carries straight over from the conventional UT jobs.

What the PAUT simulator cannot teach

Sizing, first: the model is not calibrated for it, and sizing for acceptance belongs to a qualified procedure on real reference blocks. Beyond the model, a screen cannot reproduce couplant behaviour under a moving wedge, wedge wear, the effect of a weld cap on contact, the noise of a real instrument or the judgement of a real indication against a real geometric reflector. Those are learned in person, on real equipment, which is the second half of every Atlantis practical.

Phased array practice and SNT-TC-1A

PAUT is an ultrasonic technique, so it sits within the UT method body of knowledge. The site's SNT-TC-1A hours table covers the basic methods only; for UT its recommended figures are 40 and 40 training hours for Level I and Level II and 210 and 630 hours of method experience, and your employer's written practice sets what phased array adds on top. Simulator sessions can count toward organised training where the written practice allows web-based or computer-based training. They are never experience in the work environment, and they do not replace the practical examination.

Test the theory with the free PAUT Level II practice questions.

Frequently asked questions

Can the PAUT simulator size a flaw?

No. The phased array model provides no calibrated flaw sizing, and the job brief says so. Use it for set-up, focal laws, skew, the encoder datum and image reading; learn sizing on real reference blocks under a qualified procedure.

What happens if an element is dead?

The array check fails and the practical does not continue. Spotting a dead element before scanning is part of the job, because it degrades every focal law that uses it.

Is there a free phased array demo?

The free ultrasonic A-scan simulator covers the single A-scan every phased array image is built from: gain, range and a gate. The PAUT jobs themselves are shown in a Practical NDT demo.

Next steps

Practical NDT is a training simulation, not a validated engineering tool. It runs in a standard browser, works offline once downloaded, extends to standalone headsets and is integrated with the Atlantis LMS and ERP, so learners reach it from the client portal with one sign-in. Practice in it does not replace the practical examination or the experience hours your written practice requires.

Speak to an ASNT NDT Level III

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