LADW APL 620 Symbol Information required in the marking: 1 a 10 iL 12 Figure 4. Official API Standard 620 symbol Manufacturer's name Manufacturer's certificate of authorization number Manufacturer's serial number Nominal capacity Design pressure for gas or vapor space at the top of the tank Maximum permissible specific gravity of liquid contents to be stored Maximum elevation to which tank may be filled for liquid of maximum specific gravity and design pressure at top of the tank Maximum elevation to which tank may be filled with water for test or purging purposes Year of completion SR for stress relieved vessel XR for vadiographed vessel Marking of low pressure storage tanks constructed in accordance with API Standard 620 133.3. Remarks on Design Codes It is useful to recall the philosophy underlying most design codes such as the ASME Code when evaluating the adequacy of a code for particular situations The ASME Gode and other codes are consensus documents that are intended to provide minimim requirements for adequate safery for the operational conditions considered and included in the design. Since they are minimum requirements, the owner is expected to specify, and the designer and the manufacturer should include additional requirements when it is anticipated that the equipment will experience severe and/or not fully known service conditions. This caveat is especially important in general purpose design codes such as Section VITI, Division 1 of the ASME Code. A more difficult and subtle problem regarding the application of design codes occurs when service conditions change in time after some period of operation. Temperatures may increase or decrease more frequently, pressures and flow velocities may become more variable and cyclic, the composition of the process fluids may be slightly different, down-time care may becone less carefully controlled, and greater demands may be put on old equipment. The owner of the pressure vessel may not be fully aware of the technical effects of these changes which were not addressed in the original design. It is important to recall that the two design codes discussed above are design and construction codes. They do not contain rules and procedures for the inservice inspection, examination, and evaluation of the equipment. There is a growing awareness of the needs in this area and several organizations have been initiating or expanding their role in developing recommended practices, guidelines and evaluation criteria for this purpose. These activities are described later in this document in section 7. 4, DETERIORATION AND FAILURE MODES A relatively large margin for reliability and safety is included in the design of pressure vessels and tanks. However, lack of understanding of all service conditions in design, poor quality control during manufacture, and changes in service conditions can erode this margin. A number of articles and books are available which discuss these factors. Among these, Thielsch’s book (9] provides much general and specific information about deterioration mechanisms and failure behavior for pressure vessels and piping. In general, conditions diminishing the safety margin can arise from inadequacies during design and manufacture, or from operational conditions, that is, preexisting before service or service-induced. These are described in greater detail in the following, but with the major emphasis on service-induced causes since these are the most pertinent for this document 4.1 Preexisting Causes 4.1.1 Design and Construction Related Deficiencies Although design and construction deficiencies may not cause immediate reliability and safety problems, they can sometimes be the underlying teason 14for later inservice problems. These preexisting situations include: * Inadequate design considerations for the preservice, operational and down-time conditions © Poor design details such as lack of flexihiliry, severs geometrical stress risers and sharp changes in thickness. + Improper materials either by wrong design selection or mistakes in identification; this includes both base materials and welds or other joint materials + Undetected defects in the base material and in the fabrication Joints (welds). + Incorsect lat treatments and cleaning procedures. In most instances, a deficiency or error in one or more of these preexisting conditions does not lead to an immediate failure. Usually, only gross errors cause a failure during the hydrostatic test 4.1.2 Brittle Fracture The possibility of a sudden and unexpected failure due to brittle fracture is an important consideration in safety and hazard assessment, This kind of failure can occur either due to preexisting conditions or to a combination of preexisting and service-induced conditions. Brittle fracture requires a combination of three factors: * Existence of a crack or crack-like defect, * A crack located in a high stress region, and © A material with low notch toughness. The initiating defect may exist because of its location in an uninspected region or a detection failure in the inspection. High ctresces can be caused by geometrical stress raisers or by locked-in (residual) fabrication stresses, usually from welding. Welds that have not been thermally stress relieved are a prime source of residual stresses. Notch toughness is a measure of the material's sensitivity to brittle fracture. The value of notch toughness depends on temperature for carbon and low alloy steels with the material havi a low value, or brittleness, at lower temperatures and transitioning to much higher toughness at higher temperatures. A typical carbon steel may have this "transition" in behavior over a 55 °C (100 °F) temperature range. For some grades of carbon steels, room temperature lies within the range of this transition. For other kinds and grades of steels, the transition may be at very low temperatures. This transition behavior does not involve any change in the physical characteristics of the material; it is a change in the response to mechanical factors. 5 15These features explain why brittle fracture failures tend to occur when an adverse combination of the following conditions exists: * Operation at low temperatures, * Welds in the as-welded (not stress relieved) condition , * Incomplete or inadequate inspection, and * Low notch toughness steel. These characteristics of brittle fracture also explain why it can sometimes occur in service after a successful preservice hydrostatic test. Service conditions may include temperatures much lower than the hydrostatic test temperature, and crack-like defects may be produced or enlarged in operation. The latter éffect is an important reason for including the possibility of brittle fracture in the evaluation of service-iuduced vrackiug damage. Tt may be noted that the new notch toughness rules adopted in Section VIII, Division 1 of the ASME Gode [8] will provide additional margin against brittle failure for vessels manufactured in the future. 4,2 Inservice Deterioration and Damage Deterioration and damage to vessels and tanks as a result of operational service and attendant shutdown and down-time conditions produce three general classes of problems: * Wastage and general loss of material, + Localized attack and cracking, and * Alteration of material properties. There are a number of material, temperature, and environment related attack and deterioration mechanisms in each of these classes but the scope of this decument eliminates some from consideration. For example, the material and temperature limits mean that material wastage by severe oxidation and ombrittlomont by high tomporature exposure do not need ta he considered Similarly, certain kinds of localized corrosion peculiar to high alloy stainless steels are not pertinent. With these limitations, the following provides further information about specific mechanisms in each category listed above. 4.2.1 General Material Loss The two most common forms of general material loss that can occur in carbon and low alloy steel parts are corrosion and erosion. The ASME Code requires that the designer account for corrosion loss. However, in some cases, the corrosiveness of the fluid may not be fully communicated to the designer. Within the range of carbon and low alloy steel grades, chemical composition does not have a major influence in most cases of general corrosion and 16therefore, material selection is not a primary factor. Severe cases of general corrosion require stainless steels or other corrosion resistant materials. Erosion tends to occur in the piping system and valves more than in vessels and tanks because the vear is accentuated by high fluid velocity. Particulate matter content and two-phase flow also can increase the erosion rate. Turns, junctions, and area changes where the fluid flow has to change direction or velocity are regions most susceptible to erosion. Erosion by aqueous fluids often involves the loss of an adherent oxide scale which in turn appears to be related to the chromium content differences even within the low alloy grades. Thus, material selection of either the base material or weld materials can have a role in some instances of erosion. The main safety consequence of deterioration by general material loss is the reduction in thickness and load carrying area which eventually can result in an overstress failure. Because of the relatively large safety margin included in pressure vessel design codes, considerable general material loss can be tolerated under nominal working pressure conditions, and field experience confirms this expectation. 4.2.2 Localized Attack and Cracking Unlike general material loss, localized attack and cracking can have a severe consequence much greater than in proportion to the amount of material degraded. This form of damage can be divided into several categories depending on the underlying cause: * Stress related, © Environment (chemical) related, or = Combination stress and environment related. The most common purely stress related localized damage is fatigue cracking. The cyclic stress responsible for fatigue can arise from purely mechanical sources such as pressure cycling or from stresses produced by thermal differentials in temperature cycling. Temperature cycling can be caused by system characteristics such as intermittent or periodic flow, frequent start-stop operation and problems with associated components such as a leaking valve. Changes in production schedules or rerouting of flow paths external to the vessel or tank may result in a greater intensity of cyclic stressing causing a condition that was previously benign to become critical Fatigue cracking resulting from cyclic stressing can involve either the enlargement of a preexisting discontinuity or the initiation and growth of crack where none existed before. The location in the first case will be determined completely by the location of the existing discontinuity and the rate of growth will depend on the intensity of stresses at the location. In the second case, the cracking often initiates and grows in regions of high stress such as at geometrical transitions and at or near welds. a7Occasionally, a system related condition like “water hammer" can be a source of cyclic or varying pressure and stresses. Obviously, improper or poor control of flow, pressures and temperatures are a source of abnormal and varying stresses. The second category of localized attack listed above, namely, that due to chemical attack by the environment alone without the necessity for stress, occurs in one of several ways: * Pitting corrosion resulting in numerous surface cavities, * Selective galvanic corrosion in the region between two electrochemically different metals, * Selective corrosion attack along a metallurgically altered region, commonly the weld heat affected zone (HAZ), or * Corrosion attack in crevices resulting from the concentration of the aggressive chemical specie(s). It is impossible to list the many combinations of chemical species, concentrations, metallurgical conditions, temperatures, and geometries where problems due to localized chemical attack have been observed. Specialized reference articles and handbooks are available for detailed discussion of the problem and precautions. However, some commentaries on the safety consequences will be helpful. Pitting corrosion attack generally dees not pose a safety hazard for pressure vessels because the rate of attack is relatively small compared to the usual thickness of the vessel wall. Severe through wall pitting attack is a leakage problem in thinner wall parts such as heat exchanger tubing The other three types of selective attack listed above can lead to significant safety problems because, in the extreme, they can produce a crack- like discontinuity. Additionally, the localized susceptible regions can be located in areas difficult to inspect. The crevice under the weld backing material is an example The third category of localized attack is stress corrosion cracking (SCC); it results from the combined action of stress and environment. The occurrence of SCC requires a combination of three conditions + Susceptible material or material condition, © Chemically aggressive environment, and © Sufficiently high stress SCC will not occur if the magnitude of any one of the three conditions is not sufficient. 18There are several distinctive characteristics about SCC which can be summarized by the following: * Very little or no general corrosion in the surface region around the cracking, and virtually no corrosion of the crack surfaces. * Cracking on a plane transverse to the principal stress direction in the region; this may not always coincide with the direction of primary loading due to local perturbations. * In cross section, the cracking may proceed as a single continuous erack or with a branching pattern * Metallurgically, the cracking can be through the grains (transgranular) or along the grain boundaries (intergranular) Sketches in figure 5 schematically illustrate some of the major features of soc Since three factors are involved, generalizations about environments that can cause SCC are difficult even when restricted to a specific class of material. However, experiments and service experience have identified environments that can or have caused SCC in carbon and low alloy steels, and these have been tabulated and described in many references, for example, Logan [10]. The listing below from Logan and other sources gives the major damaging environments for carbon and low alloy steels © Hot or boiling caustic (sodium hydroxide) solutions, the cause of "caustic embrittlement", * Hot or cold nitrate solutions, © Wet hydrogen sulfide, the cause of “sulfide cracking", + Anhydrous ammonia, possibly aggravated by air and carbon dioxide contamination, * Amine solutions, and * Hot, oxygenated water Experience and statistics for vessels in service in several of these environments are discussed in greater detail in section 6 The metallurgical condition of the material is an important determinant of the severity of the SCC problem. Tn general, sensitivity to SCC increases with hardness and strength. Therefore, high strength bolts and the HAZ of welds without a postweld heat treatment (not stress relieved) are examples of susceptible materials and conditions 19i i Non Branching intergranular) Branching Crack Figure 5. Illustration of non-branching and branching stress corrosion cracks. (Both can be either intergranular or transgranular.) 20Stress is the third required ingredient for SCC and high stresses, both applied and residual, increase the severity of the problem. There has been much effort to determine a lower limiting threshold stress for SCC, or more recently, the limiting fracture mechanics quantity "threshold stress intensity factor, Ktgee" as illustrated in figure 6, and these values are very useful for design, Aap. Soss o Sess inlensity Fector Wo Faire Figure 6. Concept of threshold stress or stress intensity factor (Ktscc) in stress corrosion cracking. However, very little of this kind of data exists for carbon and low alloy steels in the environments of interest; in addition, using these as a design bacie means that careful attention has to be paid to eliminating or minimizing stress concentration details and sources of residual stresses such as severe machining and welds in the as-welded condition. In addition to SCC, some environments can accelerate fatigue crack growth For carbon and low alloy steels, hot water containing small amounts of dissolved oxygen appears to be such a detrimental environment. This problem of the interaction between the environment and fatigue crack growth is a relatively recent area of study and a listing of detrimental environments is incomplete Stress corrosion cracking and environmentally assisted fatigue crack growth have major and severe safety and hazard consequences for two reasons The resulting crack-like defects have a detrimental effect on structural integrity that far outweighs the amount of material affected. In addition, SCC aand fatigue cracking often occur in high stress regions. For these reasons, SCC and fatigue cracking are damage mechanisms of major concern for pressure vessel safety assessment. 4.2.3. Material Property Degradation A number of operating conditions can change the properties of materials. Some of the well known among these include high temperature thermal exposure and nuclear radiation. However, within the material and temperature scope of this document, only one service environment is of major concern in this regard. This is the degradation caused by ingress of hydrogen into carbon and low alloy steels from a hydrogen producing reaction at the metal surface. Aqueous solutions containing hydrogen sulfide is a prime example of an environment known to cause the generation and uptake of the hydrogen into steels. A loss of ductility in ordinary tensile tests caused by hydrogen dissolved in steels has been known for a long time. Recent tests [3] indicate that fracture mechanics quantities, such as fracture toughness and tearing resistance, can also be decreased by the presence of dissolved hydrogen. Additional studies are needed to develop a full understanding of dissolved hydrogen effects on fracture mechanics properties and the results would be an important consideration in evaluating the safety and hazards of vessels operating in hydrogen producing environments. The effects of dissolved hydrogen on ductility and toughness are manifested without the formation of any internal physical discontinuities However, if the amount of hydrogen ingress becomes excessive, a damage condition kuown as "blisceriug* eau vceut. IL is characuerized by irregularly spaced, small-to-fairly large swellings on the surface of the steel. Cross- sectioning through these swellings shows that voids have formed on a plane parallel to steel surface. Figure 7 shows the surface appearance of blistering and cross sections of blisters A small amount of blister formation would generally not have a major detrimental effect on structural integrity and safety margin. This is partly because the planes of responsible voids ate nearly parallel to the vessel surface and therefore not subjected to pressure stresses. However, blister formation is an indicator that hydrogen ingress into the material has occurred, and that other forms of localized cracking and degradation of properties may be present. 5. INSPECTION METHODS AND IMPLEMENTATION A working understanding of nondestructive examination (NDE) methods and their capabilities and limitations in the inspection of vessels and tanks is an important element in the safety assessment of these structures. The total NDE scope involves a number of organizations whose activities cover the formulation of NDE requirements and acceptance standards, the development and validation of NDE techniques, and the qualification and certification of NDE personnel. The first part of this section provides a brief description of organizations involved in the NDE of pressure vessels and the relationship 22among them. This is followed by a summary of the major NDE methods and some remarks about the capabilities and limitations of each method. 5.1 Role of Organizations Involved 5.1.1 ASME Code Section VIII of the Code contains examination requirements, acceptance standards, and personnel qualification requirements specific to the materials Surface Appearance aries p Viliags RES: Magnified Cross Section Appearance Figure 7. Appearance of hydrogen induced blisters in a carbon steel 23and fabrication processes permitted in this Section of the Code. In addition, Section VIII refers to Section V, "Nondestructive Examination" [11] of the Code for requirements and guidelines relating to the general aspects of NDE techniques and personnel qualification. Specifically, Section VIII requires that personnel performing radiographic examination of welds shall be qualified and certified to a written practice. The guideline for this purpose is the ASNT (American Society for Nondestructive Testing) recommended practice which is described later. For other NDE methods, Section VIII requires the manufacturer to certify personnel competency but specific use of the ASNT recommended practice as the guideline is not required. Overall, the ASME Code uses the format that if the design Section has no specific personnel qualification requirements, then the requirements of Section V of the Code applies which in turn is often an ASNT recommended practice. 9.1.2 API Standards API Standard 620, for the design and fabrication of low pressure storage tanks, requires that the NDE methods when specified be in accordance with Section V of the ASME Code. The acceptance standards for the specified NDE methods are essentially identical to ASME Section VIII, Division 1 requirements. API has no specific requirements regarding the qualifications of the personnel performing the NDE tests and evaluations. API has another standard, API 510, for the inservice inspection of vessels and tanks used in the petroleum and chemical industries [12]. Usually, this inservice inspection is done under the direction of a third party inspector whose qualifications are those required by the inspector’s employer. API 510 also permits inservice inspection to be done under the direction of an inspector employed by an owner-user (the Ovner-User Inspector). In this case, the inspector is required to have one of several alternative education and experience qualifications which in brief are: © Engineering degree plus 1 year of relevant experience, or * A 2-year engineering or technology certificate plus 2 years of relevant experience, or © High school education or equivalent plus 3 years of relevant experience API 510 has no specified certification requirements for the personnel performing the NDE. 9.1.3 National Board To aid in their efforts to maintain uniformity in the construction, inspection, and repair of pressure vessels, the National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors issues a Manual entitled "National Board Inspection Code" [13]. This Manual covers both initial and inservice inspections. 24For inservice inspection, the National Board Inspection Code (NBIC) is intended for application to installations other than those covered by API 510 NBIC inservice inspections can be performed by Authorized Inspectors or by Ovner-User Inspectors. Authorized Inspectors are third-party individuals who hold National Board Commissions and who are authorized by the applicable Jurisdictions. Owner User Inspectors alse must hold a National Board Commission and be authorized by the jurisdiction but are employed by the owner- user of the pressure vessels. The education and experience requirements for a NBIC Owner-User Inspector are essentially identical to those described above for an API 510 Owner-User Inspector Like API 510, the National Board Code does not have specific certification requirements for the personnel performing the examinations 5.1.4 ASNT Recommended Practice The ASNT in their Recommended Practice No. SNT-TC-1A [14] provides initial qualifications, training guidelines, and examination requirements for three qualification levels of personnel performing NDE. The three levels are I, II and III in order of increasing qualification. Table I summarizes the main features of SNI-TC-14 to provide more information about the three levels of certification This recommended practice is used by many organizations as a guideline for their internal competency testing and qualifying of NDE personnel, and by design codes and inspection agencies as a requirement for personnel certification 5.1.5 ASTM Specifications ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) issues many specifications and test methods for NDE. The ASNE Code has adopted and included ASTM specifications and methods which are relevant to pressure vessel applications in its Section V on NDE. In these cases, the ASME Section V methods and procedures are identical to the corresponding ASTM specification 5.1.6 NACE Recommended Practices NAGE (National Association of Corrosion Engineers) has issued or is preparing recommended practices for the inspection of vessels in some applications that have been experiencing problems. In some cases, the reconmended practice includes a requirement that the NDE must be done by personnel holding a specified ASNT Level certification. 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INS 39119VUd CONN: 1 avi INSV 40. AUVKANS I5.2 Examination Methods The application of NDE methods involves many considerations about matcrials and fabrication, structural geometry, and accessibility fur examination. A detailed discussion of each of these methods and applications is beyond the scope of this document but references such as those by McMasters [15], McGonnagle [16], and Chapter 1V of the API Guide [17] can be consulted for additional information. Of the various conventional and advanced NDE methods, five are widely used for the examination of pressure vessels and tanks and the discussion in this section will be limited to these five. The names and acronyms of these five Visual Examination .......... VT Liquid Penetrant Test... Pr Magnetic Particle Test ...... MT Gamma and X-ray Radiography .. RT Ultrasonic Test .. ese wt There is a significant differance in the capabilities and therefore applicability between the first three methods as a group and the last two. VT, PT and MT can detect only those discontinuities and defects that are open to the surface or are very near the surface. In contrast, RT and UT can detect conditions that are located within the part. For these reasons, the first three are often referred to as "surface" examination methods and the last two as "volumetric" methods. Table II summarizes the main features of these five methods; additional commentary on each is presented in the following. 5.2.1 Visual Examination (VT) A visual examination is easy to conduct and can cover a large area in a short time. It is very useful for assessing the general condition of the equipment and for detecting some specific problems such as severe instances of corrosion, erosion, and hydrogen blistering. The obvious requirements for a meaningful visual examination are a clean surface and good illumination 5.2.2 Liquid Penetrant Test (PT) This method depends on allowing a specially formulated liquid (penetrant) to seep into an open discontinuity and then detecting the entrapped liquid by a developing agent. When the penetrant is removed from the surface, some of it remains entrapped in the discontinuities. Application of a developer draws out the entrapped penetrant and magnifies the discontinuity, Chemicals which 27wornesusduoo pup way yeaah te injazes saatnbon orsusutp 203 310213310 kqu0 wn8ueq soe205 ree ener Aaxiovo0d aavd pue Spear ydee [oudye ana, Pa ats uorsenuonae TeUTE Leoyzouoet & aiyanas40. nyt Supvserep O191FT ne gtstuai at fsoegana esp peeing en 539030 4343, (320 vworseutentty poo “soup ine uel ETE sc pe So tae > apoge Hanapuad Sop a2vonboag seooone on «Wet at doap un coro * ETT Tee big uo Aeyderp pus ywutys pooerged so prnovenoesy 33610 nu} seen 320(uy 09 savanpauesy ery wo 2393418 P3020 satan 30) vamos we gol doped oTaeueu 47d0 prety 2] ieudew oonpuy Aaynsjaw09syp ay wory awesraUed saptrax0 qerun 20d0y¢A9p ATIY sueaaaed samued Dow ATSSY sorareinauosste <4 sn ataeeys 30.8073 e394 10 UoTIMUDAY wopadiosge qeyaueze) 340 Asqnurauoserp © 4 sousy ary of2euten Je wozasoieyp 1eset wora2e Aarrtie2 6a Axjnaqiuoosyp 02 suessoued pinbrt Tvoyadiosqe ony toe uoysta STOP TET aa) stwosesata aw reeset ers) Gs) reps (aay aweneueg Gan) vein 28fluoresce under black (ultraviolet) light can be added to the penetrant to aid the detectability and visibility of the developed indications. The essential feature of PT is that the discontinuity must be "open," which means a clean, undisturbed surface. The PT method is independent of the type and composition of the metal alloy so it can be used for the examination of austenitic stainless steels and nonferrous alloys where the magnetic particle test is not applicable. 5.2.3 Magnetic Particle Test (MT) This method depends on the fact that discontinuities in or near the surface perturb magnetic flux lines induced into a ferromagnetic material. The magnetic field can be induced into the part by various means. For a component such as a pressure vessel where access is generally limited to one surface at a time, the "prod” technique is widely used. The essentials of this technique and its application for examining a weld seam are illustrated in figure 8. The magnetic field is produced in the region around and between the prods (contact probes) by an electric current (either AC or DC) flowing between the prods The ferromagnetic material requirement basically limits the applicability of MT to carbon and low alloy steels. The perturbations of the magnetic lines are revealed by applying fine particles of a ferromagnetic material to the surface. The particles can be either a dry powder or a wet suspension in a liquid. The particles can also be treated to fluoresce under black light. These options lead to variations such as the "wet fluorescent magnetic particle test" (WFNT). MT has some capability for detecting subsurface defects. However, there is no easy way to determine the limiting depth of sensitivity since it is highly dependent on magnetizing current, material, and geometry and size of the defect. A very crude approximation would be a depth no more than 1.5 to 3 mm (1/6 to 1/8 in). The sketches in figure 9 illustrate the appearance of NT indications associated with cracks and discontinuities that might occur in and near welds A very important precaution in performing MT is that corners and surface irregularities also perturb the magnetic field. Therefore, examining for defects in corners and near or in welds must be performed with extra care Another precaution is that MT is most sensitive to discontinuities which are oriented transverse to the magnetic flux lines and this characteristic needs to be taken into account in determining the procedure for inducing the magnetic field. 29Lines of magnetic force Pree Elec eurent 0 4 Cracks parallel to lines. Cracks at 90° tones ff foren WILL show ‘of force will NOT show Prod technique for magnetic particle inspection of welds (From: Welding Handbook, Vol. 5, 7th ed., Am. Weld. Soc.) Examining a welded tank by magnetic particle method (From: Principles of Magnetic Particle Testing, MAGNAFLUX, 1985) Figure 8. Principles and application of magnetic particle testing 30Surface crack in a weld Wa Indication wi—}))) HB))) ae Diffused indications along weld — base 2S. ‘metal junction typical of subsurface Weld—— flaws in oF near fusion line. Scattered small indications in areas next to welds probably due to service induced conditions, arn 8S wi—-))))))))))))I)))) ‘ SPC al ~~ S intications Figure 9. Tllustrations of magnetic particle test indications due to various causes 315.2.4 Radiography (RT) The basic principle of radiographic examination of metallic objects is the same as in any other form of radiography such as medical radiography. Holes, voids, and discontinuities decrease the attenuation of the x-ray and produce greater exposure on the film (darker areas on the negative film). Because RT depends on density differences, eracks with tightly closed surfaces are much more difficult to detect than open voids. Also, defects located in an area of a abrupt dimensional change are difficult to detect due to the superimposed density difference. RI is effective in showing defect dimensions on a plane normal to the beam direction but determination of the depth dimension and location requires specialized techniques. Sets of reference radiographs for various materials and product forms showing typical kinds of defects are available from ASTH. They include E 186, E280 and E 446 for steol castings and E 390 for cteel fucion wolde Since ionizing radiation is involved, field application of RT requires careful implementation to prevent health hazards 5.2.5 Ultrasonic Testing (UT) The fundamental principles of ultrasonic testing of metallic materials are similar to radar and related methods of using electromagnetic and acoustic waves for detection of foreign objects. The distinctive aspect of UT for the inspection of metallic parts is that the waves are mechanical, so the test equipment requires three basic components: * Electronic system for generating electrical signal * Transducer system to convert the electrical signal into mechanical vibrations and vice versa and to inject the vibrations into and extract them from the material. * Electronic system for amplifying, processing and displaying the return signal. For volumetric examination, two kinds of waves can be induced in metallic materials; longitudinal waves and shear waves as illustrated in figure 10. Ultrasonic testing can be done in several different modes but the pulse-echo technique illustrated in figure 11 is probably the most widely used for examination of structural equipment because of its convenience and flexibility. In this mode, very short signal pulses are induced into the material and waves reflected back from discontinuities are detected during the "receive" mode. The transmitting and detection can be done with one transducer or with two Separate transducers (the tandem technique). Figure 12 shows the essentials of UT examination of a weld and adjacent region by the angle beam, single transducer technique 32as 7 Pes Nee Longtuinal Shear t += Patidle Motion Wave Direction Figure 10 Longitudinal and shear waves utilized in ultrasonic examination. Flaw Reflection. Initial Pulse i CRT Display Back Reflection —— Figure 11 Principles of pulse-echo ultrasonic technique 33Figure 12. Basic features of angle beam ultrasonic examination of a burt weld 34.