in a pinch, I'm sure it would, just be sure to calibrate the unit with it beforehand.
As long as it isn't the same type of hair jel used by Mary in the movie "There's Something About Mary".
Scott,
How do you know that won't work?
Mankenberg
It's a stronger adhesive. One squeeze glued the heel back on my workboot, fixed the handle on my wife's coffee cup, and re-attached the weather stripping on my neighbor's Volkswagen.
[quote]
One squeeze glued the heel back on my workboot, fixed the handle on my wife's coffee cup, and re-attached the weather stripping on my neighbor's Volkswagen. [/quote]
Bwhahahaha!...I don't think I will touch this one with a ten foot pole.
Hey! I'm using Holiday Inn Express hair shampoo with my UT Thickness gauge. I only use this because the little tube that it comes in fits in the case with the instrument, and I use so little when making spot thickness measurements. I virtually live in Motels, so it was available. I can tell you that Tide Liquid soap works well with shear wave.
So what are you saying, Joe? That you're not a UT guy but you did stay at a Holiday Inn last night?
Mankenberg
I think this is a "sticky" issue....LOL...I suppose that if you were able to calibrate with it and it remained the same consistancy until you were finished inspecting, then it might be possible to use hair gel as a couplant?...I dunno....never tried it, all speculation on my part.
Kipman
Welllllll, to be totally correct that is Holiday Inn EXPRESS!
In the old days doing thickness testing on water wall & pendants in power plants, we used Dippity-Do by the case. The regular pink colored, not the extra strength green. The customer specified it for non-contamination issues. You get about 10 inspectors in there working and that whole boiler would smell like a beauty shop....
~thirdeye~
Wow that's wierd ...I remember doing the same thing thirdeye. You are not in Wisconsin are you?
No, I'm in Wyoming. We worked pretty much in the Rockies
My counter part likes to use clean gear oil and it sure makes a mess even if cleaned with a mild solvent, sometimes its to cold here to use couplant that doesn't have an additive to keep it from freezing.
I met a guy once doing thickness readings on boiler tubes whe was using molassas.
Along these same lines, in a pinch (for undocumented, personal use ONLY), a can of flat white spray paint (rattle cans) works as a developer for dye penetrant.
The cleaner always runs out first, then the developer, and for some reason there is always an ample supply of penetrant (plenty left over to coat pad locks, hammer handles, helmet liners etc.....).
"AWS D1.5, 6.19.4 & AWS D1.1, 6.26.4: A couplant material shall be used between the search unit and the test material. The couplant shall be either glycerin or a cellulose gum and water mixture of a suitable consistency. A wetting agent may be added if needed. Light machine oil may be used for couplant on calibration blocks". I saw an inspector use Pam. Ive had to argue with one shop that was using water squirted on with a bottle sprayer. If allowed by the client engineer then go for it otherwise AWS gives you no wiggle room. Jeff
I got my start in this industry doing thickness gaging in shipyards back in the 80's. We used the cheapest hand lotion you could buy. Reasons were that 1) cheap (obviously); 2) it dried to a powder when done so we did not have to remove it for re-painting; and 3) already in convenient squirt bottle although we often put it into smaller, pocket size bottles when tank climbing; 4) kept hand moisturized. Worked well. Went to drug store and bought by case, often for less than a buck a bottle.
Any liquid will work. Immersion testing uses a tank of water with additives such as surfactants and biocides, but still it is basically water.
I've used KY jelly in a pinch many times. No, not for that you silly people, as UT couplant!
How many of you have used petroleum jelly in the bed room? I found it works great. I used to put some on the bedroom door knob so the kids couldn't open the door in the morning! My wife and I could get a few minutes of extra sleep with that trick!
Best regards - Al
In a way, it’s all relative.
I had the same issue with a tech using water in a spray bottle with just a pinch of powdered cellulose gum on beam and column splices and moment connections … The reply being, “they don’t say how much”. (At the time, he, a Level III and me, a trainee!)
Unfortunately, AWS is sometimes clear as mud … As are a LOT of other codes!
If you have a burning desire (no real life) you need to go to ASTM 03.03 for a better answer.
Penned in the back of an old D1.1 … Because I didn’t have a life ;-)
Couplants – ASTM 03.03
E 484-05 - 6.1.3 - “Most liquids will not support transverse waves.”
(I guessed that might be reasonably important because I wrote it out.)
E 587-00 - 6.1.3.1 – Table 1 - “Suitable Consistency”
E - Illegible numbers - Position - Flat, horizontal, vertical, and, over-head.
(1G, 2G, 3G and 4G couplants … It’s now a joke at the shop!)
I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to refresh my memory when I get back to the shop on Tuesday.
Getting back to the OP’s question.
My guess is that you would have to run a number of tests with ‘real couplant’ and the hair gel to get a correlation between the two.
And then, have the Level III incorporate it into your procedure. (CYA!!)
Cheers,
jb
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