Case Study: Non-Pressurized Systems

The seals around the windows and doors of the military's KC-135 air cargo tanker cannot have any cracks or holes. According to procedure, the KC-135 must go through a 10.9 pressure drop down test to ensure that cabin pressure is maintained at high altitudes. Just because the tanker passed the drop-down test does not mean there aren't any defects. The UL101 Ultrasound Sensor is used after the drop down test to verify the existence, or lack, of defects.

The Universal Transmitter (UT2000) is placed into the cabin, all hatches are closed up, and the UL101 receiver is used to listen for the strongest ultrasound signal, which indicates the location of a defect. This works a lot better than dunking the tanker in water, and it also helps pinpoint failures that are easily missed with other tests.

The US Army requires the UL101 and UT2000 in several tool kits for wheel and track vehicles and uses ultrasound technology for both testing of non-pressurized vessels for Nuclear-Biological-Chemical (NBC) related testing, and for testing the operating condition of hydraulics, gears, bearings, and more.

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