On Application of an Ultrasonic Inspection Method for Checking Shrink Fitted Conditions between the Rudder Pintle and Sleeve

Abstract

We have experienced in recent years that shrink fitted pintle sleeve in some new ships sliped off and was lost short after delivery, with undue reasons. It is the common practice today for the inspection of shrink fitted conditions to knock the outer surface of the shrink fitted materials with a hammer and judge upon the sounds heard there by a technic requiring much human skill and sometimes unreliable. To improve this practice, we studied the possibility of the application of ultrasonic inspection method, by transmitting the ultrasonic waves from the outer surface and checking the strength of the echoes obtained from the boundary between two materials shrink fitted together.