A new British invention, following the co-location of our Physicists and Scientists at Durham University, a globally outstanding centre of teaching and research excellence, Coltraco Ultrasonics’ handheld Portagauge® 5 is our most capable multiple-echo ultrasonic thickness measurement tool that allows its user to perform better-faster-cheaper non-invasive and non-destructive thickness measurement on various metals and hard plastics, ignoring any coating up to 20mm in thickness, allowing the material’s true thickness to be measured to within +/- 0.1mm.
Built with exceptional quality materials in the UK, competitively priced in the market due to Coltraco Ultrasonics’ unique R&D position, and available for exporting globally now, the Portagauge® 5 ultrasonic thickness meter has been developed to meet BS EN 15317:2013 which is the standard for the ultrasonic testing, characterisation and verification of ultrasonic thickness measuring instruments, giving its users total confidence in the accuracy and reliability of the Portagauge® 5’s thickness measurements.How to measure thickness: The operating principle of the Portagauge® 5
The Portagauge® 5 multi-echo ultrasonic thickness gauge uses dual element sensors which are commonly used for corrosion inspection work and are highly sensitive to detecting corrosion in the form of pitting corrosion and most other forms of corrosion.
The Portagauge® 5’s Dual element sensors contain two piezoelectric crystals, one acting as an ultrasonic transmitter and the other as an ultrasonic receiver. The transmitter sends a strong electrical signal to the receiver, causing it to emit a high energy (2.25 MHz or 5Mhz) ultrasound signal that is above the highest frequency a human can hear (20,000 Hz), and reflected to the receiver.
The reflected sound wave echo from the portion of the good material will then provide a wall thickness measurement that represents the remaining wall thickness of the good material, and is displayed on the Portagauge® 5 digital thickness gauge. A minimum of three echoes are checked for each pulse that is sent into the material, qualifying the Portagauge® 5 as a multi-echo thickness gauge. Comparing this wall thickness measurement to the actual wall thickness of the material when it was in brand new condition allows the operator to determine the severity of the corrosion.
Better-Faster-Cheaper – Comparing the Portagauge® 5 to Single-Echo Thickness Measuring Instruments
The Portagauge® 5 is better-faster-cheaper in comparison to single-echo thickness gauge tools:
- Better – The Portagauge® 5 features multi-echo technology and A-scan and oscilloscope trace functionality as standard to assist its users’ measurements, observe the material condition, and help them verify the correct return backwall echo to give them the confidence that they are measuring the correct wall thickness. This confidence is increased by the Portagauge® 5’s ability to ignore paint coatings up to 20mm in thickness, providing its user with the material’s true thickness readings accurate to +/- 0.1mm.
- Faster – Following testing of the Portagauge® 5 by Coltraco Ultrasonics’ Physicists and Scientists on a large number of different materials, including various metals and hard plastics, our ultrasonic thickness gauge includes a built-in database containing the speed of sound data of over 12 different materials, pre-loaded into the unit for user convenience, as well as an option to enter custom materials. This allows the user to non-invasively and non-destructively undertake thickness measurements on a variety of materials quickly and regularly, making the Portagauge® 5 more than just a thickness meter for steel.
- Cheaper – The ability to regularly check the thickness of various metals and hard plastics in a single, portable, hand-held device allows one operator with minimal training to test multiple materials across the same site with no installation costs, facilitating quick, precise, low-cost remedial work.
Suited to marine applications, the Portagauge® 5 meets Classification Society requirements for marine thickness gauge measurement equipment and has an LCD backlight to allow working in dark spaces with poor visibility, as well as a battery life of up to 12 hours continuous use on a standard 9V PP3 battery for easy replacement, with an additional battery saving mode
