Method for inspecting a weld seam

1. A method of non-destructive inspection of a weld seam, comprising:

positioning an ultrasonic sensor including an array of transducer elements over a weld seam of a pipe, wherein the weld seam extends parallel to a longitudinal axis of the pipe and wherein the transducer elements are arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the weld seam;

exciting each transducer element of the array of transducer elements to emit an ultrasonic signal in which the array of transducer elements is positioned to extend over at least part of a width of the weld seam;

receiving a plurality of reflected ultrasonic signals at the array of transducer elements;

converting the reflected ultrasonic signals to electrical signals;

measuring time of flight between all of the transducer elements and a surface of the weld seam;

selecting at least one set of delay law based on the measured time of flight;

applying the selected at least one set of delay laws to the electrical signals to generate a plurality of virtual probes steered to a plurality of angles, foci, or a combination of angles and foci; and

identifying, by at least one of the virtual probes, a defect in the weld seam.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying a time inversion algorithm to the electrical signals to compensate for changes in geometry of the weld seam.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the array of transducers are positioned on the weld seam in an on-bead configuration.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the defect comprises a longitudinal defect, a transversal defect, or a lamination defect.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the array of transducers is at least partially submerged in a fluid to facilitate transmission of the ultrasonic signals.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the ultrasonic signals are emitted without a time delay and the reflected signals are received without a time delay.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying the at least one set of delay laws electronically applies a delay in the transmission of the electronic signal to steer the beam of a virtual probe to a particular angle, foci, or combination of angle and foci.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein a variety of virtual probes are generated steered at a range of beam angles.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the defect comprises an inclination angle within a range of −15 degrees to 15 degrees.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein a second array of transducer elements is positioned opposite the array of transducer elements to carry out a coupling check with the array of transducer elements.

11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing the electrical signals in memory.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transducer elements of the array of ultrasonic transducer elements simultaneously emit the ultrasonic signal.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the array of ultrasonic transducers is positioned to extend over an entire width of the weld seam.

14. The method of claim 1 , further comprising generating a B-Scan or geometry corrected B-Scan.

15. The method of claim 14 , further comprising applying an image-processing algorithm to the B-Scan to detect or characterize image features with respect to a potential defect.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein positioning the ultrasonic sensor further comprises centering the ultrasonic sensor over the weld seam.

17. The method of claim 1 , wherein the emitted ultrasonic signal covers the entire width of the weld seam.

18. The method of claim 1 , wherein the transducer elements are arranged in a two-dimensional or three-dimensional array.