NON DESTRUCTIVE

TESTING
Nondestructive testing (NDT), also called
nondestructive examination (NDE) and
nondestructive inspection (NDI), is testing
that does not destroy the test object. NDE is vital
for constructing and maintaining all types of
components and structures
NDT is an assessment without doing harm, stress
or destroying the test object.
The destruction of the test object usually makes
destructive testing more costly and it is also
inappropriate in many circumstances.
ADVANTAGES OF NDT
NDT tests are made directly upon the objects to be in service and
hence there is no doubt that the tests were made on representative
test objects.
Tests can be made on every unit to be used in service (If
Economically Justified); consequently they may be used validly even
when great differences from unit to unit occur in production lots.
Tests are made if desired on the entire production parts;
consequently the evaluation applies to the part as a whole.
Many Non Destructive tests, each sensitive to different properties
of the material or part, may be applied simultaneously or
sequentially to measure as many properties correlated with service
performance as may be desired.
NDT may be applied to parts in service often without interruption
of service and with no loss of serviceable parts.
Acceptable parts of very high fabrication costs are not lost in
testing, consequently, extensive testing during service is possible.

Little or no specimen preparation is required in
many NDT tests.
Several forms of NDT equipments are portable and
are capable of rapid sorting and testing.
The cost of NDT in most cases is far less than the
cost of adequate Destructive tests except X-Ray
inspection of low fabrication cost items.
Most NDT methods are much more rapid and
require far fewer man hours than typical
Destructive tests and hence economical

Visual Inspection
Visual Inspection is a nondestructive testing
technique that provides a means of detecting and
examining a variety of surface flaws, such as
corrosion, contamination, surface finish, and
surface discontinuities on joints (for example,
welds, seals, solder connections, and adhesive
bonds).
Visual inspection is also the most widely used
method for detecting and examining surface
cracks, which are particularly important because of
their relationship to structural failure mechanisms.


Even when other nondestructive techniques are used to detect
surface cracks, visual inspection often provides a useful
supplement. For example, when the eddy current examination
of process tubing is performed, visual inspection is often
performed to verify and more closely examine the surface
disturbance.
The methods of visual inspection involve a wide variety of
equipment, ranging from examination with the naked eye to
the use of interference microscopes for measuring the depth of
scratches in the finish of finely polished or lapped surfaces.




Liquid penetrant testing
Liquid penetrant testing is a non-destructive method used
to detect surface breaking defects in any nonporous
material.
Liquid penetrant is applied to the surface and is drawn
into defects by capillary action.
Once a preset dwell time has passed, excess penetrant is
removed and developer applied to draw out penetrant from
defects.
Visual inspection is then performed. Visible and Fluorescent
Liquid Penetrant Examinations are Non-Destructive
methods of revealing discontinuities that are open to the
surfaces of solid and essentially non-porous materials,
ferrous or non-ferrous.
Strong dye sprayed onto surface drawn into cracks and
pores by capillary action
Surplus is wiped off
Developer (e.g. chalk powder suspension) sprayed on to
reveal defects
Dye can be UV active so viewing under UV illumination
reveals cracks


PRINCIPLE
The basic principle of penetrant inspection is that
when a penetrant is applied over a clean surface
to be inspected by the combined action of surface
tension and capillary action penetrant seeps into
defect which when developed, by the blotting
action of the developer powder clearly shows up
on a white back ground and can be conveniently
inspected.


STEPS IN DYE PENETRANT
The following are the basic stages on dye-penetrant method:
Surface preparation: The surface on the part to be tested is
thoroughly cleaned to remove dirt.
Application of penetrant: The penetrant is a liquid of a very low
viscosity, carrying a dye - generally red or a fluorescent penetrant
which easily inters into flaws because of low surface tension and
capillary action.
The dye - penetrant may be applied on the parts by the following
methods:
a. Dipping or immersing,
b. Spraying,
c. Brushing,
d. Pouring.
Excess penetrant removal: After the parts stand in the penetrant
for desired time it is washed in clean running water & dried with air.
Developer application: The developer (dry or wet) is applied by
evenly spreading or dusting over the part.
The developer may be chalk powder of very fine grade or wet
developer which is a fine chalk powder suspended in alcohol or
spirit.
Inspection: As the alcohol or spirit in the developer evaporates,
the chalk powder draws back penetrant to the surface because of
blotting properties of the chalk. This shows up as a red line on a
white background.
In case of fluorescent penetrant inspection, the part is inspected in
a dark enclosure under ultra violet or black light. The blotted out
fluorescent particles will give a visible glow under ultra violet light.
Fluorescent penetrant inspection is very effective for machined
machined and finished parts.
Dye penetrant inspection is suitable for rough cast surfaces and
finished surfaces.



Penetrant Dwell Time
Penetrant dwell time is the total time that the
penetrant is in contact with the part surface. The
dwell time is important because it allows the
penetrant the time necessary to seep or be drawn
into a defect. Dwell times are usually
recommended by the penetrant producers or
required by the specification being followed.
The penetrant material can be applied in a
number of different ways, including
spraying, brushing, or immersing the parts
in a penetrant bath.


Applications
Used for following defects:
Grinding cracks
Heat affect zone cracks
Poor weld penetration
Heat treatment cracks
Fatigue cracks
Hydrogen cracks
Inclusions
Laminations
Micro shrinkage
Gas porosity
Hot tears
Cold shuts
Stress corrosion cracks
Intergranular corrosion

Magnetic Particle Inspection
Magnetic Particle Inspection is a method of locating surface
and subsurface discontinuities in ferromagnetic materials.
It depends on the fact that when the material or part under test is
magnetized, magnetic discontinuities that lie in a direction generally
transverse to the direction of the magnetic field will cause a leakage
field to be formed at and above the surface of the part.
The presence of this leakage field, and therefore the presence of the
discontinuity, is detected by the use of finely divided ferromagnetic
particles applied over the surface, with some of the particles being
gathered and held by the leakage field.
This magnetically held collection of particles forms an outline of the
discontinuity and generally indicates its location, size, shape, and
extent.
Magnetic particles are applied over a surface as dry particles, or as wet
particles in a liquid carrier such as water or oil.


The most common method of magnetic particle inspection
uses finely divided iron or magnetic iron oxide particles,
held in suspension in a suitable liquid (often kerosene).
This fluid is referred to as carrier.
The particles are often colored and usually coated with
fluorescent dyes that are made visible with a hand-held
ultraviolet (UV) light.
The suspension is sprayed or painted over the magnetized
specimen during magnetization with a direct current or
with an electromagnet, to localize areas where the
magnetic field has protruded from the surface.
The magnetic particles are attracted by the surface field in
the area of the defect and hold on to the edges of the
defect to reveal it as a build up of particles.
This inspection can be applied to raw material in a
steel mill (billets or slabs), in the early stages of
manufacturing (forgings, castings), or
most commonly to machined parts before they
are put into service.
It is also very commonly used for inspecting
structural parts (e.g., landing gear) that have
been in-service for some time to find fatigue
cracks.
It is a quite economic non-destructive test
because it is easy to do and much faster
than ultrasonic testing and penetrant
testing.

ADVANTAGES

The magnetic particle method is a sensitive means of locating small and shallow surface
cracks in ferromagnetic materials. Indications may be produced at cracks that are large
enough to be seen with the naked eye, but exceedingly wide cracks will no produce a
particle pattern if the surface opening is too wide for the particles to bridge.
Discontinuities that do not actually break through the surface are also indicated in many
cases by this method, although certain limitations must be recognized and understood. If
a discontinuity is fine, sharp, and close to the surface, such as a long stringer of
nonmetallic inclusions, a clear indication can be produced. If the discontinuity lies
deeper, the indication will be less distinct. The deeper the discontinuity lies below the
surface, the larger it must be to yield a readable indication and the more difficult the
discontinuity is to find by this method.
Magnetic particle indications are produced directly on the surface of the part and
constitute magnetic pictures of actual discontinuities. There is no electrical circuitry or
electronic readout to be calibrated or kept in proper operating condition.
Skilled operators can sometimes make a reasonable estimate of crack depth with
suitable powders and proper technique. Occasional monitoring of field intensity in the
part is needed to ensure adequate field strength.
There is little or no limitation on the size or shape of the part being inspected. Ordinarily,
no elaborate precleaning is necessary, and cracks filled with foreign material can be
detected.

ULTRASONIC TESTING
Ultrasonic denotes high frequency sound waves beyond
the audible range generally above 20,000 cycles per
second.
Generation of Ultrasonic waves is done by means of
Magnetostriction, or Piezoelectric Effect.

The waves are made to pass the material under checking
through a coupling media. The waves propagate into the
material in the form of bean resembling a solid cone
diverging steadily from the source of generation.


UNITS IN UT
A typical UT inspection system consists of several functional units, such as the
pulser/receiver,
transducer, and
display devices.
A pulser/receiver is an electronic device that can produce high voltage
electrical pulses.
Driven by the pulser, the transducer generates high frequency ultrasonic
energy. The sound energy is introduced and propagates through the materials
in the form of waves. When there is a discontinuity (such as a crack) in the
wave path, part of the energy will be reflected back from the flaw surface.
The reflected wave signal is transformed into an electrical signal by the
transducer and is displayed on a screen.
Signal travel time can be directly related to the distance that the signal
traveled. From the signal, information about the reflector location, size,
orientation and other features can sometimes be gained.
The technique is also commonly used to
determine the thickness of the test object,
for example, to monitor pipework corrosion.
TRANSMITTER & RECEIVER
In ultrasonic testing, an ultrasound transducer connected to a diagnostic machine is
passed over the object being inspected. The transducer is typically separated from the
test object by a couplant (such as oil) or by water, as in immersion testing.
There are two methods of receiving the ultrasound waveform, reflection and attenuation.
In reflection (or pulse-echo) mode, the transducer performs both the sending and the
receiving of the pulsed waves as the "sound" is reflected back to the device.
Reflected ultrasound comes from an interface, such as the back wall of the object or
from an imperfection within the object. The diagnostic machine displays these results in
the form of a signal with an amplitude representing the intensity of the reflection and the
distance, representing the arrival time of the reflection.
In attenuation (or through-transmission) mode, a transmitter sends ultrasound through
one surface, and a separate receiver detects the amount that has reached it on another
surface after traveling through the medium. Imperfections or other conditions in the
space between the transmitter and receiver reduce the amount of sound transmitted,
thus revealing their presence.

Advantages


High penetrating power, which allows the detection of flaws deep in
the part.
High sensitivity, permitting the detection of extremely small flaws.
Only one surface need be accessible.
Greater accuracy than other nondestructive methods in determining
the depth of internal flaws and the thickness of parts with parallel
surfaces.
Some capability of estimating the size, orientation, shape and nature of
defects.
Nonhazardous to operations or to nearby personnel and has no effect
on equipment and materials in the vicinity.
Capable of portable or highly automated operation.

Disadvantages

Manual operation requires careful attention by experienced technicians
Extensive technical knowledge is required for the development of
inspection procedures.
Parts that are rough, irregular in shape, very small or thin, or not
homogeneous are difficult to inspect.
Surface must be prepared by cleaning and removing loose scale, paint,
etc, although paint that is properly bonded to a surface usually need
not be removed.
Couplants are needed to provide effective transfer of ultrasonic wave
energy between transducers and parts being inspected unless a non-
contact technique is used. Non-contact techniques include Laser and
Electro Magnetic Acoustic Transducers (EMAT).
Inspected items must be water resistant, when using water based
couplants that do not contain rust inhibitors.

Radiographic Testing (RT)
Radiographic Testing (RT), or industrial radiography,
is a nondestructive testing (NDT) method of inspecting
materials for hidden flaws by using the ability of short
wavelength electromagnetic radiation (high energy
photons) to penetrate various materials.
Either an X-ray machine or a radioactive source (Ir-192,
Co-60, or in rare cases Cs-137) can be used as a source of
photons. Neutron radiographic testing (NR) is a variant of
radiographic testing which uses neutrons instead of
photons to penetrate materials. This can see very different
things from X-rays, because neutrons can pass with ease
through lead and steel but are stopped by plastics, water
and oils.
Since the amount of radiation emerging
from the opposite side of the material can
be detected and measured, variations in this
amount (or intensity) of radiation are used
to determine thickness or composition of
material. Penetrating radiations are those
restricted to that part of the electromagnetic
spectrum of wavelength less than about 10
nanometres.