NDT Chater 1
NDT Chater 1
NDT Chater 1
Introduction
Up to this point we have learnt various testing
methods that somehow destruct the test
specimens.
These were, tensile testing, hardness testing, etc.
In certain applications, the evaluation of
engineering materials or structures without
impairing their properties is very important, such
as the quality control of the products, failure
analysis or prevention of the engineered systems
in service.
The field of NDT is a very broad, interdisciplinary field
that plays a critical role in inspecting that structural
component and systems perform their function in a
reliable fashion.
Certain standards has been also implemented to assure
the reliability of the NDT tests and prevent certain
errors due to either the fault in the equipment used,
the miss-application of the methods or the skill and the
knowledge of the inspectors.
Successful NDT tests allow locating and characterizing
material conditions and flaws that might otherwise
cause planes to crash, reactors to fail, trains to derail,
pipelines to burst, and variety of less visible, but
equally troubling events.
However, these techniques generally require considerable
operator skill and interpreting test results accurately may
be difficult because the results can be subjective.
These methods can be performed on metals, plastics,
ceramics, composites, cermets, and coatings in order to
detect cracks, internal voids, surface cavities, delamination,
incomplete c defective welds and any type of flaw that
could lead to premature failure.
Commonly used NDT test methods can be seen in table 1.
These are universal NDT methods; however, very special
tests have been developed for specific applications.
When are NDE Methods Used?