1995 ASM International. All Rights Reserved. www.asminternational.

org
Nondestructive Testing (06390G)

Nondestructive Testing

Louis Cartz
Marquette University
College of Engineering
Milwaukee WI USA

Manager, Book Acquisitions

Veronica Flint

Manager, Book Production

Grace M. Davidson

Production Project Coordinator

Cheryl L. Powers

The Materials
Information Society
 1995 ASM International. All Rights Reserved. www.asminternational.org
Nondestructive Testing (06390G)

Copyright 1995
by
ASMInternational

All rightsreserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, storedin a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any formor by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the writtenpermission of
the copyrightowner.
First Printing, August 1995
Second Printing, February 1996
Third Printing, April 1999
Greatcare is taken in the production of this Volume, but it shouldbe madeclear that NO WARRANTIES,
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT-
ABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ARE GIVEN IN CONNECTION WITH
THIS PUBLICATION. Although this information is believed to be accurate by ASM, ASM cannot
guarantee that favorable resultswill be obtainedfrom the use of thispublication alone.This publication is
intended for use by personshavingtechnical skill,at their sole discretion and risk. Since the conditions of
productor material useareoutsideof ASM's control, ASMassumes no liability or obligation in connection
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AGES WHETHEROR NOT CAUSED BY OR RESULTING FROM THE NEGLIGENCE OF SUCH
PARTY. As with any material, evaluation of the material under enduseconditions prior to specification is
essential. Therefore, specific testing underactualconditions is recommended.

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Comments, criticisms, and suggestions are invited, and should be forwarded to ASM International.

ASM International

ISBN: 0-87170-517-6
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Printedin the UnitedStatesof America

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 1995 ASM International. All Rights Reserved. www.asminternational.org
Nondestructive Testing (06390G)

Nondestructive Testing
Radiography, Ultrasonics, liquid Penetrant,
Magnetic Particle, Eddy Current

Preface vii

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ix
I. Quality Control and Nondestructive Testing
NDT in Industry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
NDT in EverydayLife 2
Historyof NDT 3
International Organizations of QualityControland NDT 5
Standards for NDT 5
Training NDT Personnel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
A Wealth of NDT Methods 7
Selectingan NDT Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Indications: False, Nonrelevant, Relevant. 8
Appendix 1.1: International Organizations of Standardization,
QualityControl,and NDT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Appendix 1.2: Member Societiesand Associated Membersof the
International Committeefor Nondestructive Testing 12

II. Radiography
PartI Introduction to Radiography 15
Radiographs .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The Historyof Industrial Radiography. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
X-Rays,Grenz-Rays, and y-Rays 19
Outlineof Radiographic Procedures 21
Practical Tips 23
Partn Technical Discussions 24
Generation of X-Rays 24
Absorption and Scattering of X-Raysin Matter 26
Recording the X-Ray Image 35
X-Ray Image Quality 38

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Nondestructive Testing (06390G)

Radiation Units 45
Gamma Radiography 46
Additional Radiographic Techniques 46
Part ill Practical Guidelines to Improved Radiography 52
Useful Radiographs 52
Artifacts and Parasitic Effects 56
Calculations for Trial Exposures 59
Safety Precautions and Shielding 74
ASTM Reference Radiographs 76
Appendix 2.1: Glossary of Some Terms used in Radiography 77

ill. Ultrasonic Testing

PartI General Discussion 81
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Historical Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Ultrasonic Waves 83
Outline of Pulse Echo and Through-Transmission Methods 83
Interpretation of Oscilloscope Displays 86
Practical Tips 88
Part II Technical Discussions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Specific Acoustic Impedance 89
Reflection and Transmission at Boundaries 90
Beam Attenuation 95
Couplants 99
Pulse Shape and Beam Shape 100
Ultrasonic Transducers 101
Immersion Inspection 106
Pulse Echo Display Systems 106
Automated Systems 108
Calibration and Reference Standards 108
Size of the Defect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 111
Part ill Applications................................................ 112
Oscilloscope Interpretations 112
Examination of Welds; Skip Distance 115
Thickness Measurements 118
General Applications 120
Worked Examples 121
ASTM Standards 123
Appendix 3.1: Glossary of Some Terms used in Ultrasonic Testing 124

~ LiquidPenetrant Inspection
PartI General Discussion 127
Historical Background 127
Outline of Penetrant Inspection 128
Liquid Penetrant Processes 129
Commercial Systems 130
Interpretation of Penetrant Indications 132
Practical Tips 133
PartII Technical Discussions 135
Penetration of Liquid into a Crack 135
Limits of Penetrant Inspection 137
Penetrants, Developers, and Crack Visibility 138
ASTM Standards 139

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Nondestructive Testing (06390G)

Appendix 4.1: Glossary of Some Terms used in Liquid Penetrant Inspection 140

\: Magnetic ParticleInspection
Part I GeneralDiscussions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 141
Historical Background. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Magnetic Leakage Field 142
Outlineof MagneticParticleInspection 143
Magnetization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Magnetic Powders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Sensitivity 152
Defect IndicatorStandards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Part n Technical Discussions 158
Magnetization Hysteresis Loop 158
Ferromagnetic Magnetization 158
Required Level of Magnetization 159
Magnetic ParticleInspection Specifications 159
Magnetization Methods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Magnetic Field Gaussmeters 166
Applications of MagneticParticlelnspection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
ASTM Standards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Appendix 5.1: Some Indication Terms and MagneticProperty Definitions 167
Appendix 5.2: MagneticParticleInspection Specifications 170
Appendix 5.3: Glossary of Some Terms used in MagneticParticleInspection 172

VI. Eddy CurrentInspection

Part I GeneralDiscussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Introduction and Historical Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Outlineof Eddy CurrentTesting (ET) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Interpretation of Oscilloscope Displays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177
Testing Circuits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179
Practical Tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Part n Technical Discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Physical Principles 182
Eddy Current Inspection Coils 184
Applications 184
Other Eddy CurrentTesting Procedures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
ASTM Standards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
Appendix 6.1: Glossary of Some Terms used in Eddy CurrentTesting 187

Symbolsand Abbreviations 189

Data Tables 193

References 201

Index 209