Introduction to Nondestructive

Testing NDT

Outline
Introduction to NDT
Overview of Six Most
Common NDT Methods
Selected Applications

Introduction of NDT
The testing of a material or component for
flaws using physical means (energy) without
impairing the usefulness of the material or
component.

As an NDT technologist you are

a service provider.
As a service provider you shall follow written and verbal
instructions. You will be testing life critical equipment and that
equipment may carry or involve your own family. When you miss a
flaw, they may bear the brunt of your incompetence.
Your responsibility is to find flaws or fault with what other people
manufactured. You are essentially the speed cop of industry.
Most companies only want a signed piece of paper that proves
that they are not to blame when something goes wrong. But when
something goes wrong and eventually it does. YOU will get the
blame. Because you have been certified competent by your
employer and his Level III, therefore the blame will be squarely
placed on your shoulders.
Choosing a career in NDT is a life long commitment and should
not be seen as job.

Definition of NDT
The use of noninvasive
techniques to determine
the integrity of a material,
component or structure
or
quantitatively measure
some characteristic of
an object.
i.e. Inspect or measure without doing harm.

Notable events in early

industrial NDT.

1854 Hartford, Connecticut: a boiler at the Fales and Gray Car works
explodes, killing 21 people and seriously injuring 50. Within a
decade, the State of Connecticut passes a law requiring annual
inspection (in this case visual) of boilers.

1895 Wilhelm Conrad Rntgen discovers what are now known as Xrays. In his first paper he discusses the possibility of flaw detection.

1880 - 1920 The "Oil and Whiting" (Paraffin and Chalk powder)
method of crack detection is used in the railroad industry to find
cracks in heavy steel parts.

The part is soaked in thinned oil, and then painted with a white
coating that dries to a powder. Oil seeping out from cracks turns the
white powder brown, allowing the cracks to be seen. This was the
precursor to modern liquid Penetrant materials.

 1924. H. H. Lester uses radiography to examine castings to

be installed in a Boston Edison Company steam pressure
power plant.
1926 The first electromagnetic eddy current instrument is
available to measure material thicknesses.
1927 - 1928 Magnetic induction system to detect flaws in
railroad track developed by
Dr. Elmer Sperry and H.C.
Drake.
1929 Magnetic particle methods and equipment pioneered
(A.V. DeForest and F.B. Doane.)
1930s Robert F. Mehl demonstrates radiographic imaging
using gamma radiation from Radium, which can examine
thicker components than the low-energy X-ray machines
available at the time.

 1935 - 1940 Liquid Penetrant tests developed

(Betz, Doane, and DeForest)
1935 - 1940s Eddy current instruments
developed (H.C. Knerr, C. Farrow, Theo
Zuschlag, and Fr. F. Foerster).
1940 - 1944 Ultrasonic test method developed
in USA by Dr. Floyd Firestone.
1950 J. Kaiser introduces acoustic emission
as an NDT method.

Popular terms used in NDT.

Fatigue
In materials science, fatigue is the progressive and localized
structural damage that occurs when a material is subjected to
cyclic loading. The nominal maximum stress values are less
than the ultimate tensile stress limit, and may be below the
yield stress limit of the material.
Fatigue occurs when a material is subjected to repeated
loading and unloading. If the loads are above a certain
threshold, microscopic cracks will begin to form at the surface.
Eventually a crack will reach a critical size, and the structure
will suddenly fracture. The shape of the structure will
significantly affect the fatigue life; square holes or sharp
corners will lead to elevated local stresses where fatigue cracks
can initiate. Round holes and smooth transitions or fillets are
therefore important to increase the fatigue strength of the
structure.

Popular terms used in NDT.

Indication.
The response or evidence from an examination. (Bleed-out, Flux Leakage or a blip on screen ...)

Interpretation.
Determining if an indication is relevant or nonrelevant. Relevant indications shall be
investigated. Nonrelevant indications are considered harmless.

Flaw.
A type of discontinuity that must be evaluated to see if it is rejectable.

Evaluation.
Determining if a flaw is rejectable in accordance with acceptance criteria.

Discontinuity.
Disruption in the physical structure of a component or material.

Defect.
A discontinuity / flaw that is rejectable does not meet acceptance criteria.
Defects are removed or repaired.

NDT standards:

Laws and Regulations:

Laws and regulations are issued by the authorities and are normally written in
general terms. In some cases NDT programs may be specified.

Standards and Codes:

A standard is a document prepared by international or national standardization
organizations. Examples are ISO (International Standardization Organization)
and ANSI (American National Standards Institute). The term code may indicate
the same level of recognition as a standard. Examples are the ASME Pressure
Vessel Code, EURO Norms (EN).

Guidelines and Recommendations:

Different international or national societies, organizations or bodies may issue
guidelines, recommendations etc. concerning NDT. Guidelines are
publications giving practical information on specific items like for instance
Ultrasonic Inspection of Weld Connections.

Specification:
A specification is a precise statement of a set of requirements to be satisfied by a
material, product, system or service.

 ASME:
American Society of Mechanical Engineers has issued a Boiler and
Pressure Vessel Code containing 11 sections. The relevant sections
are:

Section V, Non-destructive Examination, which describes in detail the

performance of NDT.
Section VIII Pressure Vessels describing NDT and acceptance
criteria for such vessels.
The ASME-code is extensively used throughout the world.

ASTM:
American Society for Testing and Materials Standards are often referred
to for radiography of steel castings. Corresponding standards exist
for castings of aluminium, magnesium
IIW:
International Institute of Welding has established, as a recommendation,
collections of reference radiographs of welds in steel and aluminium.

5 Main NDT Technique/Method

Electromagnetic Radiation
Sound
X-Ray and radiation
Microscopy
Visual with dyes flourescent.

 NDT methods may rely upon use of

electromagnetic radiation, sound, and
inherent properties of materials to examine
samples. This includes some kinds of
microscopy to examine external surfaces in
detail, although sample preparation
techniques for metallography,
optical microscopy and electron microscopy
are generally destructive as the surfaces
must be made smooth through polishing or
the sample must be electron transparent in
thickness.

Electromagnetic radiation
Electromagnetic radiation (often abbreviated E-M radiation or
EMR) is a phenomenon that takes the form of self-propagating
waves in a vacuum or in matter. It comprises electric and
magnetic field components, which oscillate in phase
perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to the direction
of energy propagation. Electromagnetic radiation is classified
into several types according to the frequency of its wave;
these types include (in order of increasing frequency and
decreasing wavelength): radio waves, microwaves,
infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and
gamma rays. A small and somewhat variable window of
frequencies is sensed by the eyes of various organisms; this
is what is called the visible spectrum. The photon is the
quantum of the electromagnetic interaction and the basic
"unit" of light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation
and is also the force carrier for the electromagnetic force.
EM radiation carries energy and momentum that may be
imparted to matter with which it interacts.

Sound
Sound is a travelling wave which is an
oscillation of pressure transmitted through a
solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies
within the range of hearing and of a
level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the
sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by
such vibrations.

Microscopy

Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view

samples or objects that cannot be seen with the unaided eye(objects
that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are
three well-known branches of microscopy, optical, electron, and
scanning probe microscopy.

Optical and electron microscopy involve the diffraction, reflection, or

refraction of electromagnetic radiation/electron beams interacting
with the subject of study, and the subsequent collection of this
scattered radiation in order to build up an image. This process may
be carried out by wide-field irradiation of the sample (for example
standard light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy) or
by scanning of a fine beam over the sample (for example
confocal laser scanning microscopy and
scanning electron microscopy). Scanning probe microscopy involves
the interaction of a scanning probe with the surface or object of
interest. The development of microscopy revolutionized biology and
remains an essential tool in that science, along with many others
including materials science and forensic engineering where
microstructure and surface details such as trace evidence are
important for understanding properties or the causes of accidents.

X-ray

X-radiation (composed of X-rays) is a form of electromagnetic radiation.

X-rays have a wavelength in the range of 0.01 to 10 nanometers,
corresponding to frequencies in the range 30 petahertz to 30 exahertz
(3 1016 Hz to 3 1019 Hz) and energies in the range 120 eV to 120 keV.
They are shorter in wavelength than UV rays and longer than
gamma rays. In many languages, X-radiation is called Rntgen
radiation, after Wilhelm Conrad Rntgen, who is generally credited as
their discoverer, and who had named them X-rays to signify an
unknown type of radiation.[1]:1-2
X-rays from about 0.12 to 12 keV (10 to 0.10 nm wavelength) are
classified as "soft" X-rays, and from about 12 to 120 keV (0.01 to
0.10 nm wavelength) as "hard" X-rays, due to their penetrating
abilities.
Hard X-rays can penetrate solid objects, and their largest use is to
take images of the inside of objects in diagnostic radiography and
crystallography. As a result, the term X-ray is metonymically used to
refer to a radiographic image produced using this method, in addition
to the method itself. By contrast, soft X-rays can hardly be said to
penetrate matter at all; for instance, the attenuation length of 600 eV (~
2 nm) x-rays in water is less than 1 micrometer.[4] X-rays are a form of
ionizing radiation, and exposure to them can be a health hazard

 The distinction between X-rays and gamma rays has

changed in recent decades. Originally, the electromagnetic
radiation emitted by X-ray tubes had a longer wavelength
than the radiation emitted by radioactive nuclei (gamma
rays).[2] So older literature distinguished between X- and
gamma radiation on the basis of wavelength, with radiation
shorter than some arbitrary wavelength, such as 1011 m,
defined as gamma rays.[3] However, as shorter wavelength
continuous spectrum "X-ray" sources such as
linear accelerators and longer wavelength "gamma ray"
emitters were discovered, the wavelength bands largely
overlapped. The two types of radiation are now usually
distinguished by their origin: X-rays are emitted by electrons
outside the nucleus, while gamma rays are emitted by the
nucleus.[

Visual with Dyes

One method (liquid penetrant testing)
involves using dyes, fluorescent or nonfluorescing, in fluids for non-magnetic
materials, usually metals.

Methods of NDT
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 NDT is divided into various methods of nondestructive testing,

each based on a particular scientific principle. These methods
may be further subdivided into various techniques. The
various methods and techniques, due to their particular
natures, may lend themselves especially well to certain
applications and be of little or no value at all in other
applications. Therefore choosing the right method and
technique is an important part of the performance of NDT.
Acoustic emission testing (AE or AT)
Dye penetrant inspection Liquid penetrant testing (PT or LPI)
Electromagnetic testing (ET)
Alternating current field measurement (ACFM)
Alternating current potential drop measurement (ACPD)
Barkhausen testing
Direct current potential drop measurement (DCPD)
Eddy-current testing (ECT)
Magnetic flux leakage testing (MFL) for pipelines, tank floors, and wire
rope
Magnetic-particle inspection (MT or MPI)
Remote field testing (RFT)

Ellipsometry
Guided wave testing (GWT)
Hardness testing
Impulse excitation technique (IET)
Infrared and thermal testing (IR)
Thermographic inspection

Laser testing
Electronic speckle pattern interferometry
Holographic interferometry
Profilometry
Shearography

Leak testing (LT) or Leak detection

Absolute pressure leak testing (pressure change)
Bubble testing
Halogen diode leak testing
Hydrogen leak testing
Mass spectrometer leak testing
Tracer-gas leak testing method Helium, Hydrogen and refrigerant gases

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and NMR spectroscopy

 Optical microscopy
Positive Material Identification (PMI)
Radiographic testing (RT) (see also Industrial radiography
and Radiography)
Computed radiography
Digital radiography (real-time)
Neutron radiographic testing (NR)
SCAR (Small Controlled Area Radiography)
X-ray computed tomography (CT)

Scanning electron microscopy

Ultrasonic testing (UT)
Electro Magnetic Acoustic Transducer (EMAT) (non-contact)
Laser ultrasonics (LUT)
Internal rotary inspection system (IRIS) ultrasonics for tubes
Phased array ultrasonics
Time of flight diffraction ultrasonics (TOFD)
Time of Flight Ultrasonic Determination of 3D Elastic Constants (TOF)

Visual inspection (VT)

Pipeline video inspection

What are Some Uses

of NDE Methods?
Flaw Detection and Evaluation
Leak Detection
Location Determination
Dimensional Measurements

Fluorescent penetrant indication

Structure and Microstructure Characterization

Estimation of Mechanical and Physical Properties
Stress (Strain) and Dynamic Response Measurements
Material Sorting and Chemical Composition
Determination

When are NDE Methods Used?

There are NDE application at almost any stage
in the production or life cycle of a component.
To assist in product development
To screen or sort incoming materials
To monitor, improve or control
manufacturing processes
To verify proper processing such as heat
treating
To verify proper assembly
To inspect for in-service damage

Six Most Common NDT

Methods

Visual
Liquid Penetrant
Magnetic
Ultrasonic
Eddy Current
X-ray

Visual Inspection
Most basic and common
inspection method.
Tools include
fiberscopes,
borescopes, magnifying
glasses and mirrors.
Portable video inspection
unit with zoom allows
inspection of large tanks
and vessels, railroad tank
cars, sewer lines.
Robotic crawlers permit
observation in hazardous or
tight areas, such as air
ducts, reactors, pipelines.

Liquid Penetrant Inspection

A liquid with high surface wetting characteristics
is applied to the surface of the part and allowed
time to seep into surface breaking defects.
The excess liquid is removed from the surface
of the part.
A developer (powder) is applied to pull the
trapped penetrant out the defect and spread it
on the surface where it can be seen.
Visual inspection is the final step in the
process. The penetrant used is often loaded
with a fluorescent dye and the inspection is
done under UV light to increase test
sensitivity.

Magnetic Particle Inspection

The part is magnetized. Finely milled iron particles coated with a dye
pigment are then applied to the specimen. These particles are attracted to
magnetic flux leakage fields and will cluster to form an indication directly
over the discontinuity. This indication can be visually detected under
proper lighting conditions.

Magnetic Particle Crack Indications

Radiography
The radiation used in radiography
testing is a higher energy (shorter
wavelength) version of the
electromagnetic waves that we
see as visible light. The radiation can
come from an X-ray generator or a
radioactive source.

High Electrical Potential

Electrons
+

X-ray Generator
or Radioactive
Source Creates
Radiation

Radiation
Penetrate
the Sample
Exposure Recording Device

Film Radiography
The part is placed between the
radiation source and a piece of film.
The part will stop some of the
radiation. Thicker and more dense
area will stop more of the radiation.

X-ray film

The film darkness

(density) will vary with
the amount of radiation
reaching the film
through the test object.
= less exposure
= more exposure

Top view of developed film

Radiographic Images

Eddy Current Testing

Coil

Coil's
magnetic field

Eddy current's
magnetic field
Eddy
currents
Conductive
material

Eddy Current Testing

Eddy current testing is particularly well suited for detecting
surface cracks but can also be used to make electrical conductivity
and coating thickness measurements. Here a small surface probe
is scanned over the part surface in an attempt to detect a crack.

Ultrasonic Inspection (Pulse-Echo)

High frequency sound waves are introduced into a
material and they are reflected back from surfaces or
flaws.
Reflected sound energy is displayed versus time, and
f
inspector can visualize a cross section of the specimen
showing the depth of features that reflect sound.
initial
pulse

crack
echo

back surface
echo

crack
0

Oscilloscope, or flaw
detector screen

10

plate

Ultrasonic Imaging
High resolution images can be produced by plotting
signal strength or time-of-flight using a computercontrolled scanning system.

Gray scale image produced using

the sound reflected from the front
surface of the coin

Gray scale image produced using the

sound reflected from the back surface
of the coin (inspected from heads side)

Common Application of NDT

Inspection of Raw Products
Inspection Following Secondary
Processing
In-Services Damage Inspection

NDT is used in a variety of settings that covers a wide range of industrial activity.
Automotive
Engine parts
Frame

Aviation / Aerospace
Airframes
Spaceframes

Powerplants
Propellers
Reciprocating Engines
Gas turbine engines

Rocketry

Construction
Structures
Bridges
Cover Meter

Maintenance, repair and operations

Bridges

Manufacturing
Machine parts
Castings and Forgings

Industrial plants such as Nuclear, Petrochemical, Power, Refineries,

Pulp and Paper, Fabrication shops, Mine processing and their
Risk Based Inspection programmes.
Pressure vessels
Storage tanks
Welds
Boilers
Heat exchangers
Turbine bores
In-plant Piping

Miscellaneous
Pipelines
In-line Inspection using "pigs
Pipeline integrity management
Leak Detection

Railways
Rail Inspection
Wheel Inspection

Tubular NDT, for Tubing material

Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI)
Amusement park rides
Submarines and other Naval warships
Medical imaging applications (see also Medical physics)

Inspection of Raw Products

Forgings,
Castings,
Extrusions,
etc.

Inspection Following
Secondary Processing
Machining
Welding
Grinding
Heat treating
Plating
etc.

Inspection For
In-Service Damage
Cracking
Corrosion
Erosion/Wear
Heat Damage
etc.

Power Plant Inspection

Periodically, power plants are
shutdown for inspection.
Inspectors feed eddy current
probes into heat exchanger
tubes to check for corrosion
damage.

Pipe with damage

Probe
Signals
produced by
various amounts
of corrosion
thinning.

Wire Rope Inspection

Electromagnetic devices
and visual inspections are
used to find broken wires
and other damage to the
wire rope that is used in
chairlifts, cranes and other
lifting devices.

Storage Tank Inspection

Robotic crawlers
use ultrasound to
inspect the walls of
large above ground
tanks for signs of
thinning due to
corrosion.
Cameras on
long
articulating
arms are used
to inspect
underground
storage tanks
for damage.

Aircraft Inspection
Nondestructive testing is used
extensively during the
manufacturing of aircraft.
NDT is also used to find cracks
and corrosion damage during
operation of the aircraft.
A fatigue crack that started at
the site of a lightning strike is
shown below.

Jet Engine Inspection

Aircraft engines are overhauled
after being in service for a period
of time.
They are completely disassembled,
cleaned, inspected and then
reassembled.
Fluorescent penetrant inspection
is used to check many of the parts
for cracking.

Crash of United Flight 232

Sioux City, Iowa, July 19, 1989
A defect that went
undetected in an
engine disk was
responsible for
the crash of
United Flight 232.

Pressure Vessel Inspection

The failure of a pressure vessel
can result in the rapid release of
a large amount of energy. To
protect against this dangerous
event, the tanks are inspected
using radiography and
ultrasonic testing.

Rail Inspection
Special cars are used to
inspect thousands of miles
of rail to find cracks that
could lead to a derailment.

Bridge Inspection
The US has 578,000
highway bridges.
Corrosion, cracking and
other damage can all
affect a bridges
performance.
The collapse of the Silver
Bridge in 1967 resulted in
loss of 47 lives.
Bridges get a visual
inspection about every 2
years.
Some bridges are fitted
with acoustic emission
sensors that listen for
sounds of cracks
growing.

Pipeline Inspection
NDT is used to inspect pipelines
to prevent leaks that could
damage the environment. Visual
inspection, radiography and
electromagnetic testing are some
of the NDT methods used.

Remote visual inspection using

a robotic crawler.

Magnetic flux leakage inspection.

This device, known as a pig, is
placed in the pipeline and collects
data on the condition of the pipe as it
is pushed along by whatever is being
transported.

Radiography of weld joints.

Special Measurements
Boeing employees in Philadelphia were given the privilege of
evaluating the Liberty Bell for damage using NDT techniques.
Eddy current methods were used to measure the electrical
conductivity of the Bell's bronze casing at various points to
evaluate its uniformity.

Reliability and statistics

Defect detection tests are among the more commonly
employed of non-destructive tests. The evaluation of
NDT reliability commonly contains two statistical
errors.
First, most tests fail to define the objects that are
called "sampling units" in statistics; it follows that
the reliability of the tests cannot be established.
Second, the literature usually misuses statistical
terms in such a way as to make it sound as though
sampling units are defined. These two errors may
lead to incorrect estimates of probability of detection.