Does Bead Roughness Interfere with Ultrasonic Testing of Welds of Limited Thickness?

Traditional ultrasonic testing of weld quality using the echo method often faces the problem of detecting signals from defects against the background of interference from weld irregularities. The article provides an example of how design features that usually interfere with flaw detection of welds can be used to suppress such interference and develop a highly productive and reliable ultrasonic testing technology. In this case, we are talking about ultrasonic testing welded joints of small-diameter pipes. The features of solving this problem using a chord sounding scheme are described, a brief historical background of this solution and examples of implementation in testing welded joints are given, including for inhomogeneous materials.