What is NDT?

ThefieldofNondestructiveTesting(NDT)isaverybroad,
interdisciplinaryfieldthatplaysacriticalroleinassuringthat
structuralcomponentsandsystemsperformtheirfunctionina
reliableandcosteffectivefashion.NDTtechniciansand
engineersdefineandimplementteststhatlocateand
characterizematerialconditionsandflawsthatmightotherwise
causeplanestocrash,reactorstofail,trainstoderail,pipelines
toburst,andavarietyoflessvisible,butequallytroubling
events.Thesetestsareperformedinamannerthatdoesnot
affectthefutureusefulnessoftheobjectormaterial.Inother
words,NDTallowspartsandmaterialtobeinspectedandmeasuredwithoutdamagingthem.
Becauseitallowsinspectionwithoutinterferingwithaproduct'sfinaluse,NDTprovidesan
excellentbalancebetweenqualitycontrolandcosteffectiveness.Generallyspeaking,NDT
appliestoindustrialinspections.ThetechnologiesthatareusedinNDTaresimilartothose
usedinthemedicalindustry,butnonlivingobjectsarethesubjectsoftheinspections.

What is NDE?
Nondestructiveevaluation(NDE)isatermthatisoftenusedinterchangeablywithNDT.
However,technically,NDEisusedtodescribemeasurementsthataremorequantitativein
nature.Forexample,anNDEmethodwouldnotonlylocateadefect,butitwouldalsobe
usedtomeasuresomethingaboutthatdefectsuchasitssize,shape,andorientation.NDE
maybeusedtodeterminematerialproperties,suchasfracturetoughness,formability,and
otherphysicalcharacteristics.

Some NDT/NDE Technologies:

ManypeoplearealreadyfamiliarwithsomeofthetechnologiesthatareusedinNDTand
NDEfromtheirusesinthemedicalindustry.MostpeoplehavealsohadanXraytakenand
manymothershavehadultrasoundusedbydoctorstogivetheirbabyacheckupwhilestillin
thewomb.Xraysandultrasoundareonlyafewofthetechnologiesusedinthefieldof
NDT/NDE.Thenumberofinspectionmethodsseemstogrowdaily,butaquicksummaryof
themostcommonlyusedmethodsisprovidedbelow.

VisualandOpticalTesting(VT)
ThemostbasicNDTmethodisvisualexamination.Visualexaminersfollowproceduresthat
rangefromsimplylookingataparttoseeifsurfaceimperfectionsarevisible,tousing
computercontrolledcamerasystemstoautomaticallyrecognizeandmeasurefeaturesofa
component.
Radiography(RT)
RTinvolvesusingpenetratinggammaorXradiationonmaterialsandproductstolookfor
defectsorexamineinternalorhiddenfeatures.AnXraygeneratororradioactiveisotopeis
usedasthesourceofradiation.Radiationisdirectedthroughapartandontofilmorother
detector.Theresultingshadowgraphshowstheinternalfeaturesandsoundnessofthepart.
Materialthicknessanddensitychangesareindicatedaslighterordarkerareasonthefilmor
detector.Thedarkerareasintheradiographbelowrepresentinternalvoidsinthecomponent.

MagneticParticleTesting(MT)
ThisNDTmethodisaccomplished
byinducingamagneticfieldina
ferromagneticmaterialandthen
dustingthesurfacewithiron
particles(eitherdryorsuspendedin
liquid).Surfaceandnearsurface
flawsdisrupttheflowofthe
magneticfieldwithinthepartand
forcesomeofthefieldtoleakoutat
thesurface.Ironparticlesareattractedandconcentratedatsitesofthemagneticflux
leakages.Thisproducesavisibleindicationofdefectonthesurfaceofthematerial.The
imagesabovedemonstrateacomponentbeforeandafterinspectionusingdrymagnetic
particles.

UltrasonicTesting(UT)
Inultrasonictesting,highfrequencysoundwavesare
transmittedintoamaterialtodetectimperfectionsortolocate
changesinmaterialproperties.Themostcommonlyused
ultrasonictestingtechniqueispulseecho,wherebysoundis
introducedintoatestobjectandreflections(echoes)from
internalimperfectionsorthepart'sgeometricalsurfacesare
returnedtoareceiver.Belowisanexampleofshearwaveweld
inspection.Noticetheindicationextendingtotheupperlimitsof
thescreen.Thisindicationisproducedbysoundreflectedfromadefectwithintheweld.

PenetrantTesting(PT)
 Withthistestingmethod,thetestobjectiscoatedwitha
solutionthatcontainsavisibleorfluorescentdye.Excess
solutionisthenremovedfromthesurfaceoftheobjectbut
isleftinsurfacebreakingdefects.Adeveloperisthen
appliedtodrawthepenetrantoutofthedefects.With
fluorescentdyes,ultravioletlightisusedtomakethe
bleedoutfluorescebrightly,thusallowingimperfectionsto
bereadilyseen.Withvisibledyes,avividcolorcontrast
betweenthepenetrantanddevelopermakesthebleedout
easytosee.Theredindicationsintheimagerepresenta
defectinthiscomponent.
ElectromagneticTesting(ET)
Thereareanumberofelectromagnetictestingmethodsbut
thefocusherewillbeoneddycurrenttesting.Ineddycurrent
testing,electricalcurrents(eddycurrents)aregeneratedina
conductivematerialbyachangingmagneticfield.The
strengthoftheseeddycurrentscanbemeasured.Material
defectscauseinterruptionsintheflowoftheeddycurrents
whichalerttheinspectortothepresenceofadefectorother
changeinthematerial.Eddycurrentsarealsoaffectedbythe
electricalconductivityandmagneticpermeabilityofamaterial,
whichmakesitpossibletosortsomematerialsbasedon
theseproperties.Thetechnicianintheimageisinspectinganaircraftwingfordefects.

LeakTesting(LT)
Severaltechniquesareusedtodetectandlocateleaksinpressurecontainmentparts,
pressurevessels,andstructures.Leakscanbedetectedbyusingelectroniclisteningdevices,
pressuregaugemeasurements,liquidandgaspenetranttechniques,orsimplesoapbubble
tests.

AcousticEmissionTesting(AE)
Whenasolidmaterialisstressed,imperfectionswithinthematerialemitshortburstsof
acousticenergycalled"emissions."Asinultrasonictesting,acousticemissionscanbe
detectedbyspecialreceivers.Emissionsourcescanbeevaluatedthroughthestudyoftheir
intensityandarrivaltimetocollectinformation(suchastheirlocation)aboutthesourcesofthe
energy.1

1
"AboutNDTNDTED.org."2014.20Aug.2014<
https://www.ndeed.org/AboutNDT/aboutndt.htm
>