Non-Destructive Testing
Non-Destructive Testing
INTRODUCTION
Compiled by:
Dr. Vikram Dabhade
Dept. of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee,
This course material has been compiled for Roorkee-247667, Uttrakhand, INDIA.
internal use at IIT Roorkee, INDIA
No part of this material is to be reproduced,
transmitted or uploaded without permission
What is Non-destructive Testing?
• Non-destructive testing (NDT) or Non-destructive
evaluation (NDe) is a wide group of analysis techniques
used in science and industry to evaluate the properties
of a material, component or system without causing
damage.
crack
RADIOGRAPHY TEST
= less exposure
= more exposure
Top view of developed film
Applications of NDT
• Power plant inspection
• Wire rope inspection
• Storage tank inspection
• Aircraft inspection
• Pressure vessel inspection
• Rail inspection
• Bridge inspection
• Pipe line inspection
Power Plant Inspection
Periodically, power plants
are shutdown for inspection.
Inspectors feed eddy
current probes into heat
exchanger tubes to check
for corrosion damage.
Signals produced by
various amounts of
corrosion thinning.
Wire Rope Inspection
Electromagnetic devices and
visual inspections are used to
find broken wires and other
damage to the wire rope that
is used in chairlifts, cranes and
other lifting devices.
Storage Tank Inspection
Robotic crawlers use
ultrasound to inspect
the walls of large
above ground tanks
for signs of thinning
due to corrosion.
Cameras on
long
articulating
arms are used
to inspect
underground
storage tanks
for damage.
Aircraft Inspection
• Nondestructive testing is
used extensively during the
manufacturing of aircraft.
• NDT is also used to find
cracks and corrosion
damage during operation of
the aircraft.
• A fatigue crack that started
at the site of a lightning
strike is shown below.
Jet Engine Inspection
• Aircraft engines are overhauled
after being in service for a
period of time.
• They are completely
disassembled, cleaned,
inspected and then
reassembled.
• Fluorescent penetrant
inspection is used to check
many of the parts for cracking.
Air Crash Investigation
A defect that went
undetected in an
engine disk was
responsible for the
crash of United
Flight 232.
Pressure Vessel Inspection
The failure of a pressure
vessel can result in the rapid
release of a large amount of
energy. To protect against
this dangerous event, the
tanks are inspected using
radiography and ultrasonic
testing.
Rail Inspection
Special cars are used to
inspect thousands of miles of
rail to find cracks that could
lead to a derailment.
Bridge Inspection
• Corrosion, cracking
and other damage can
all affect a bridge’s
performance.
• Bridges get a visual
inspection about every
2 years.
• Some bridges are fitted
with acoustic emission
sensors that “listen” for
sounds of cracks
growing.
Pipeline Inspection
Both pipe and laminations defects are centrally located and, in the
case of lamination the defect is planar and parallel to the flat
faces. The preferred NDT method for pipe and lamination is
ultrasonic testing. In smaller sections pipe may also be detected
by radiography
Inclusions
• These are non-metallic material such as:
(a) Products of steelmaking reactions, for example, sulphides,
oxides, silicates, slag, etc.
(b) Refractory material dispersed through the metal.
• Inclusions are always present to some degree in steel but are of
concern in gross form or at excessive levels. Inclusions tend to
be orientated in the direction of metal working as shown below.
The preferred NDT method for detecting gross inclusions is
ultrasonic testing. For smaller sections radiography may be used
Hydrogen flakes
• Hydrogen flakes are also called snowflakes because when
viewed on a fracture surface they tend to glisten like snowflakes.
• Hydrogen flakes form in the central portion of steel bars as a
series of very fine, circular shaped cracks of longitudinal
orientation. In severe cases the individual flakes may measure up
to 50 mm in diameter
• Flakes are usually confined to higher carbon and alloy steel
grades in larger sections such as blooms, slabs and billets. They
are rare in the lower carbon steels such as mild steel.
• They are caused by situations where hydrogen dissolved in steel
during the steelmaking process has not had sufficient
opportunity to diffuse out of the metal to the atmosphere.
• They can be avoided by minimizing moisture entering
steelmaking furnaces and also slower cooling of susceptible
grades after hot rolling.
• The main distinction between gas holes and porosity is the size.
• Gas holes are smooth-faced cavities greater than 1.5 mm
diameter.
• Typical causes are:
(a) Evolution of gas from molten metal during solidification.
(b) Gas trapped as the molten metal enters the mould.
(c) Reactions between the metal and the mould, also known as
blowholes.
• Again the best method to detect gas holes is radiography.
Ultrasonic testing can also be used
Air locks
Air locks are cavities formed by air trapped in the mould during
pouring of the casting. Air locks tend to form just below and
parallel to the top surface during casting. They have a smooth
surface and can be quite large.
Eeeeee
mmmmmm
• Porosity
• Trapped slag
• Lack of fusion
• Lack of penetration
• Hot cracking
• Heat affected zone (HAZ) cracks
Porosity
• This refers to incomplete fusion between the weld metal and the
parent metal or weld metal with previously deposited weld metal.
• Three distinct types of fusion defect occur depending on the
location of the defect within the weld zone:
(a) Lack of side wall fusion.
(b) Lack of inter-run fusion, that is, between weld runs.
(c) Lack of root fusion.
• Causes include such factors as:
(a) Poor welding technique.
(b) Incorrect electrode size.
(c) Inadequate weld preparation.
• Lack of fusion defects are generally planar and crack-like in nature.
The best NDT method is ultrasonic testing. Radiography may be
used for lack of side wall and root fusion.
Lack of penetration
• This is where the weld metal has failed to penetrate into the
root of a joint as opposed to lack of root fusion where weld metal
has penetrated into the root area but has failed to fuse to one
side.
• The causes of lack of penetration are the same as for lack of
fusion defects.
• These are also called underbead cracks or toe cracks. The heat
affect zone, HAZ, of a weld is that part of the parent metal
adjacent to the weld fusion line where the metal has been
heated to a sufficiently high temperature by the weld to alter its
grain structure.
• Underbead cracks occur in the weld HAZ and lie parallel to the
fusion line while toe cracks commence at the weld toe and angle
across the HAZ as shown below.
• HAZ cracks form at temperatures around room temperature and
may form shortly after welding or take hours or even days to
form.
• The cracks occur under the combined action of:
(a) Hydrogen in the HAZ – hydrogen can originate, for example,
from using damp electrodes.
(b) Weld restraint – that is, stress.
(c) A hard HAZ – this relates to parent metal chemistry and
cooling rate after welding.
• The tendency to cracking is influenced by:
(a) The type of steel used (it is favored by higher carbon and
alloy steels).
(b) Material thickness.
(c) Type of joints.
(d) Type of welding process.
The best NDT technique for underbead cracks is ultrasonic testing
while magnetic particle testing is best for toe cracks.
4. Other types of defects:
Other types of defects include the following:
• Fatigue cracks
• Quench cracks
• Stress corrosion cracking
• Grinding cracks
Fatigue Cracks