The most common nondestructive weld inspection technique is X-rays and, since a few years ago, the ultrasound-based phased array. Their comparison has been done from the top view of both, with the result that the phased array is much more efficient in discovering flaws. From the last studies of the authors, a welding flaw can be three-dimensionally reconstructed from the sectorial phased array information. The same methodology is applied to compare quantitatively X-rays and phased array on 15 metal inert/active (MIG/MAG) welding specimens covering pores, slag intrusion and cracks. The results can be summarized in the correlation of the top views and in the correlation profiles between the X-ray top-view and the reconstructed top-view at the depths from phased array in the weld. The maximum correlation is the depth when the flaw in the X-ray looks like that in the phased array records at some depth, leading to an effective quantitative comparison of X-rays and phased array.
Keywords: X-rays; metallic welding; nondestructive inspection; phased array.