Non-destructive inspection

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What faults can inspection find?

Physical features

Surface and buried flaws, dimensional deviations

Can often be discovered by inspection

Material property features

Defective strength, ductility or corrosion performance

Caused by defective composition or processing
Rarely discovered by inspection
Management requires careful process control or
destructive testing

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Physical flaws
Flaw, discontinuity or imperfection

Deviation from perfection

Can include atomic scale and large flaws

Non-conformity and defect

Flaw which fails to meet prescribed standard

Nonconformity may not be discovered, or may be
allowed after critical engineering assessment
Defects cause rejection, material is repaired or
scrapped.

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Seriousness of flaws
Planar flaws

May initiate catastrophic brittle or fatigue

failure
Often difficult to find
Cracks, incomplete fusion, inadequate
penetration

Volumetric flaws

Non-critical flaws

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Loss of cross section

Easier to find
Pores, blowholes, inclusions, many surface
irregularities

Cracks
Metallurgical phenomena

Presence may indicate low ductility

Variety of locations

Weld, HAZ, base metal

Transverse, longitudinal

Crater crack
Often difficult to find

Longitudinal crack
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Inspection does not guarantee

freedom from cracking

Serious stress raisers

Not tolerated
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Inadequate penetration
Loss of cross section
Sharp edge causes stress
concentration
Joint geometry or welding
parameters error
May cause fatigue or brittle failure
Not tolerated in fatigue applications

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Incomplete fusion
Low arc energy, high quench severity,
poor joint design
Planar flaws with a sharp edge
If small and intermittent, not very
significant

Low effect on toughness, fatigue

If large and continuous as serious as

inadequate penetration
Some standards allow significant levels
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Slag inclusions
Due to improper technique
Volumetric defect easily found by
radiography
Only occurs using processes with a flux
Up to 4% may be tolerated without loss
of impact toughness
Ductility is only affected in high strength
steels
Some is tolerated by all standards
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Porosity
Caused by evolution of gas (usually hydrogen,
oxygen or nitrogen) during solidification

Contamination of base material, shielding gas

or electrodes

No effect on strength unless >3% by volume

No effect on ductility
Only affects fatigue in butt joints if it breaks
the surface
Easily found by radiography
Far less is tolerated by standards than is
structurally significant

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Surface defects
Underfill and undersized welds
Excessive weld metal

Convexity, distortion and waste

Undercut
Overlap
Warping or distortion
Misalignment
Arc strikes and spatter

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Weld profile defects

Insufficient
throat

Incomplete
penetration

Insufficient
leg length

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Undercut

Overlap

Excessive
size

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All inspection requires

An identified area to test

Uniquely identified
Properly prepared and accessible

A defined test procedure

National standard, work instruction

An acceptance standard

Permitted level of imperfections

A competent and unbiased inspector, with

appropriate equipment
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Accreditation
National Association of Testing Authorities
Accreditation of Laboratories in Australia

Not individuals

Accreditation and audit by peer review

Reports can be endorsed with NATA logo

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NATA requirements

Written test methods and procedures

Adequate staff and technical control
Appropriate and calibrated equipment
Control of test reports and laboratory or field
records

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Level of inspection
Decided by design authority and owner
Random or 100%?

Criticality of area to be inspected

Chance of a flaw existing
Cost of inspection

May be better to target inspection

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Random inspection

NOT for critical nonconformities

As specified by code / contract
Must be random (not just the most convenient)
Logically defined batch
Statistical sampling techniques

AS 1199 and AS 1399

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Targeted inspection
May be better to target inspection to:

where defects are most likely to occur, or

would have the most serious implications on
performance

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Visual inspection of welds

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Visual scanning
The finished component is viewed from a distance
to see if all fabrication and welding has been
done, and there are no gross discrepancies
100% is required

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Final visual inspection (VI)

Finished welds are viewed from a close distance (300mm)
with adequate light to determine if there are surface
defects
Primary evaluation method of underestimated importance

Detects critical flaws

Prerequisite to other tests

Method often not detailed, but see AS3978 and BS5289

(superseded)
Aided possibly with a mirror, magnifier, video camera or
borescope
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Limitations of visual inspection

May miss significant defects

Buried defects
Small or narrow defects (cracks)
Surface colour variation (scale, heat tint) masks defects

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Liquid penetrant inspection

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Liquid penetrant inspection

Dye penetrant inspection (DPI)
Bleed-out of penetrant against a contrasting
developer
Can reveal leaks through a vessel wall
Reveals much finer flaws than visual inspection
For example, fine cracks 0.2mm long

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Features of DPI
Finds surface defects in non-porous materials

Non-magnetic materials can be examined

Light, portable equipment

Aerosol cans, rags, paper towels

Properly done it takes time

Test surface has to be smooth, uncontaminated,
and undeformed

Machined or ground surfaces may have defects

smeared over

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Procedure
Follow the supplier's directions
Standards specify test methods, eg ASTM E165, ASME
Section V, ISO 3879, AS 2062
All materials (penetrant, remover and developer) should be
from one supplier as a kit
Parts must be clean and dry and at the correct
temperature
Precleaning requires removal of all oil, grease, dirt, paint,
slag, spatter
Dry after cleaning by warming
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Penetrant
Liquid with a high surface tension is
applied and wets the surface

Soaking into surface flaws

Coloured with a dye for visibility

Fluorescent dyes for use with UV
illumination in a darkened cubicle
Applied by dipping, flooding, brushing or
spraying
Wait the specified dwell time
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Removing surplus penetrant

Water washable penetrants are flushed
with water
Post emulsifiable penetrants require the
emulsifier to be applied by dipping,
flooding or spraying
Solvent removable penetrants are first
wiped up with dry rags then with a rag
dampened with the solvent

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Developers
Blot up dye from flaws revealing their
location
Absorbent material with a colour which
contrasts the penetrant
Developers may be suspended in water
or other liquid, or may be dry powder
Applied by dipping, immersing, flooding,
dusting or spraying
Wait for a minimum dwell time of 7
minutes, or as specified
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Defects found by DPI

Most are cracks, which can be exceedingly fine
Also finds inadequate penetration, incomplete
fusion, and pores that are open to the surface
Does not find buried flaws
Overlap and undercut best seen by visual
inspection

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Limitations of DPI
Rough surfaces and those with scale can give
false indications
Coatings, smeared metal and contamination may
hide defects
Materials may emit hazardous or toxic vapours
The process takes considerable time and effort

Cleaning is essential before testing and may be

required after testing

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Magnetic Particle Inspection

Detecting distorted magnetic fields
around a flaw

Flux leakage

Part must be magnetised

Magnetic particles are applied while
part is magnetised
Accumulations of magnetic particles
may indicate a flaw

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Application of MPI
Technique applied after & during welding

Root run, backgouged second side and during repair

All welding supervisors and inspectors should be

familiar with it
Final inspections should be by authorised
personnel

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Features of MPI
Part must be uniformly ferromagnetic (ferritic steel)

Cannot be used for non magnetic materials: austenitic

steels, non-ferrous alloys
Dissimilar joints can show indications at the interface

Finds planar flaws close to surface

Sub-surface rounded flaws are indistinct

Quicker than dye penetrant inspection

Not as influenced by contamination as DPI
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Magnetisation

May magnetise whole component or only part of it

Passing current through the part
Making the part the core of an electromagnet
Applying an electromagnet
Applying a permanent magnet

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Magnetisation by current flow

Current

Current passing longitudinally

in shaft generates a
circumferential field

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Amps

Longitudinal
Flaw

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Magnetisation in solenoid core

Current

N
Amps
Longitudinal magnetic field created by inserting shaft in a coil,
And passing an electric current through the coil.

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Prod magnetisation
Power supply

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Yoke magnetisation

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MPI Media
Dry powders

Rounded, mobile particles

Can be used at high temperatures
Easily removed

Inks (powders suspended in liquid)

Finer particles than dry powders - more sensitive

Coloured for visibility
Black light version

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Test method
ASTM E709, ASME V, AS1171 describe method
Written procedures required
Technique is to ensure particles are flowed gently
across the surface while the magnetic field is
applied
Remanent magnetism can sometimes be used
Confirm all indications
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False Indications

Joints with dissimilar magnetic properties

Rough surfaces
Local cold work
Residual magnetism from some other source

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