Phased Array Advanced Ultrasonic Flaw Detection - Advantages of Phased array Technique

1) With phased array Ultrasonic testing you have an image to interpret rather than an A-scan.
2) Phased array Ultrasonic testing interrogates the part under inspection with a multitude of inspection angles. With single element you have a fixed refracted angle in the part and whatever beam divergence you have relative to the acoustic element characteristics.
3) Phased array Ultrasonic testing provides the ability to electronically steer, scan, and focus the ultrasonic beam. Since this possible, many inspections become easier and less time consuming (i.e. scan time reduction).
4) Phased array Ultrasonic testing provides the ability to cover more area with the detectability of a probe with smaller elements. Consider the reduced sensitivity to small defects you see when using large single element or paintbrush probes. Phased array elements are typically very small in comparison and therefore increased sensitivity for detecting small defects.

Bottom line, phased array Ultrasonic testing is still ultrasonics with all of the limitations associated with single element inspections but phased array is more versatile. Because phased array presents inspection data with an image the probability of detecting an anomaly is improved while manually scanning materials at a quicker rate. Although these are not all of the advantages, they do represent a few of the major advantages of switching to phased array inspection.