[2:12 PM, 11/9/2024] MRUTHYUNJAYA GOUDA: DISTRUCTIVE AND NON

DISTRUCTIVE TESTING

[2:12 PM, 11/9/2024] META AI: DESTRUCTIVE TESTING (DT) AND NON-
DESTRUCTIVE TESTING (NDT) ARE TWO APPROACHES USED TO EVALUATE THE
PROPERTIES AND INTEGRITY OF MATERIALS, COMPONENTS, AND STRUCTURES.

DESTRUCTIVE TESTING (DT):

1. PURPOSE: TO DETERMINE THE MATERIAL'S OR COMPONENT'S STRENGTH,

TOUGHNESS, AND OTHER PROPERTIES BY CAUSING DAMAGE OR DESTRUCTION.

2. METHODS: TENSILE TESTING, COMPRESSION TESTING, IMPACT TESTING,

HARDNESS TESTING, AND BEND TESTING.

3. ADVANTAGES: PROVIDES DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT MATERIAL

PROPERTIES, CAN BE USED TO CALIBRATE NDT METHODS.

4. DISADVANTAGES: DESTROYS THE TEST SPECIMEN, TIME-CONSUMING, AND

EXPENSIVE.

NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING (NDT):

1. PURPOSE: TO EVALUATE THE MATERIAL'S OR COMPONENT'S PROPERTIES AND

INTEGRITY WITHOUT CAUSING DAMAGE.

2. METHODS: VISUAL INSPECTION, RADIOGRAPHY, ULTRASONIC TESTING,

MAGNETIC PARTICLE TESTING, LIQUID PENETRANT TESTING, AND ACOUSTIC
EMISSION TESTING.

3. ADVANTAGES: PRESERVES THE TEST SPECIMEN, FASTER AND MORE COST-

EFFECTIVE THAN DT, CAN BE USED FOR IN-SERVICE INSPECTIONS.

4. DISADVANTAGES: MAY NOT PROVIDE DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT

MATERIAL PROPERTIES, REQUIRES SKILLED TECHNICIANS AND SPECIALIZED
EQUIPMENT.
NDT METHODS:

1. VISUAL INSPECTION (VT): VISUAL EXAMINATION OF THE SURFACE AND

INTERNAL FEATURES.

2. RADIOGRAPHY (RT): USES X-RAYS OR GAMMA RAYS TO INSPECT INTERNAL

STRUCTURES.

3. ULTRASONIC TESTING (UT): USES HIGH-FREQUENCY SOUND WAVES TO

DETECT INTERNAL DEFECTS.

4. MAGNETIC PARTICLE TESTING (MT): DETECTS SURFACE AND NEAR-SURFACE

DEFECTS IN FERROMAGNETIC MATERIALS.

5. LIQUID PENETRANT TESTING (PT): DETECTS SURFACE DEFECTS BY USING A

COLORED LIQUID THAT SEEPS INTO CRACKS.

6. ACOUSTIC EMISSION TESTING (AET): DETECTS HIGH-FREQUENCY SOUNDS

EMITTED BY DEFECTS UNDER STRESS.

NDT APPLICATIONS:

1. AEROSPACE: INSPECT AIRCRAFT STRUCTURES, ENGINES, AND COMPONENTS.

2. OIL AND GAS: INSPECT PIPELINES, TANKS, AND EQUIPMENT.

3. POWER GENERATION: INSPECT TURBINES, GENERATORS, AND TRANSMISSION

LINES.

4. CONSTRUCTION: INSPECT BRIDGES, BUILDINGS, AND INFRASTRUCTURE.

5. MANUFACTURING: INSPECT MATERIALS, COMPONENTS, AND PRODUCTS

DURING PRODUCTION.

BY COMBINING DT AND NDT METHODS, INDUSTRIES CAN ENSURE THE QUALITY,

SAFETY, AND RELIABILITY OF THEIR PRODUCTS AND ASSETS.

WHAT IS A CRACK TEST?

CRACK TESTING IS DONE TO FIND IMPERFECTIONS THAT POSE A RISK TO THE
SAFETY AND PERFORMANCE OF YOUR VEHICLE. BY DOING THIS, WE CAN
DETERMINE WHETHER AN ENGINE PART CAN BE RECONDITIONED. THIS SAVES
US TIME ON TRYING TO FIX PARTS THAT ARE DESTINED TO FAIL AND BETTER
OFF BEING REPLACED.

WHAT SORT OF DEFECTS CAN BE FOUND IN COMPONENTS?

THE DEFECTS CATALOG FROM CUSTOMERS IS DIVERSE. FOR INSTANCE,

DECISIVE INFLUENCING FACTORS ARE THE APPLICATION AREA OF THE
COMPONENT, THE MATERIAL THAT IS MADE OF, AND ITS DIMENSIONS. THE
MOST COMMON TYPES OF DEFECTS TO BE FOUND IN A SURFACE INSPECTION
ARE:

 CRACKS
 CAVITIES
 DENTS
 GRINDING BURN
 HARD SPOTS
 SOFT SPOTS
 MAGNETIC INCLUSIONS (REMANENCES)

CLASSICAL COMPONENT DEFECTS ARE CRACKS SPOTTED IN THE MATERIAL

SURFACE. EDDY CURRENT TESTING IS USUALLY USED HERE. THIS IS BECAUSE
EVEN THE SMALLEST CRACKS, WHICH INITIALLY DO NOT POSE A PROBLEM, CAN
BECOME ENLARGED AND WIDEN UNDER PERMANENT LOAD. IN THE WORST
SCENARIO, THIS CAN LEAD TO COMPONENT FAILURE. THINK OF A CRACK IN A
BRAKE DISC: THERE IS A CHANCE THAT AFTER A CERTAIN PERIOD OF
OPERATION THE BRAKE DISC SEVERELY TEARS WHILE DECELERATING. IN ROAD
TRAFFIC, SUCH A DEFECTIVE COMPONENT CAN QUICKLY LEAD TO LIFE-
THREATENING SITUATIONS.

HOW DO YOU INSPECT PARTS BY HOT OIL AND CHALK?

A PENETRANT OIL IS APPLIED TO THE SURFACE OF THE PARTS TO BE CHECKED
AND, AFTER REMOVING THE SURPLUS OIL, A LAYER OF CHALK IS APPLIED. OIL
ENTRAPPED IN DEFECTS IS ABSORBED BY THE CHALK, THE RESULTING STAINS
INDICATING THEIR POSITION.
FOR THIS REASON, CUSTOMERS EXPECT THAT EVEN THE SMALLEST DEFECTS
WITH A DEPTH OF ONLY A FEW MICROMETERS WILL BE FOUND AND RELIABLY
DISPLAYED DURING THE INSPECTION PROCESS. THE STATOGRAPH TESTING
INSTRUMENT FROM FOERSTER, FOR EXAMPLE, IS USUALLY EMPLOYED TO
VERIFY THIS. THE DEFECT SIZE WHICH CAN STILL BE RESOLVED WITH THE
STATOGRAPH DEPENDS ON THE COMPONENT AND ITS MATERIAL AS WELL AS
ON THE TEST FREQUENCY AND THE PROBE USED. WITH THE OPTIMUM DESIGN
EVEN CRACKS WITH A DEPTH OF ONLY 30 µM CAN BE FOUND.

. CRACK TESTING WITH VISUAL INSPECTION (VT)

DURING VISUAL INSPECTION PROCEDURES, SURFACE-RELATED QUALITY

FEATURES SUCH AS SHAPE DEVIATIONS, DEFECTS, OR THE SURFACE CONDITION
OF A COMPONENT ARE VIEWED AND EVALUATED WITH THE NAKED EYE OR
USING OPTICAL GADGETS(E.G. MAGNIFYING GLASSES, MICROSCOPES, OR
ENDOSCOPES). PRIOR TO ALL OTHER DESTRUCTIVE AND NON-DESTRUCTIVE
TESTING METHODS, VISUAL INSPECTION IS INITIALLY CARRIED OUT IN A
COMPREHENSIVE TEST AND IS USED FOR VARIOUS PRODUCT SHAPES
ACCORDING TO SPECIFIED TEST INSTRUCTIONS.
THE TEST PROCEDURE IS IMPLEMENTED AS DIRECT AND INDIRECT VISUAL
INSPECTION WITHIN THE SCOPE OF PRODUCTION MONITORING, INSPECTION,
AND DAMAGE INVESTIGATION OF COMPONENTS, SYSTEMS, OR OTHER TEST
OBJECTS. THE TEST RESULTS ARE STRONGLY DEPENDENT ON THE EXPERIENCE
AND SUBJECTIVE EVALUATION OF THE TESTER. THEREFORE, COMPARABILITY IS
HARD TO ACHIEVE.

2. CRACK TESTING WITH DYE PENETRANT TESTING (PT)

THE DYE PENETRATION TEST IS ANOTHER NON-DESTRUCTIVE TEST METHOD

FOR MATERIAL SURFACES. THE BASIS OF THIS PROCESS IS THE CAPILLARY
ACTION. THE PENETRATION PROCESS IS USED AS VISUAL EVIDENCE OF SURFACE
DEFECTS SUCH AS CRACKS OR PORES.
THE PROCESS IS MAINLY USED FOR METALS. IF SUITABLE, THE DYE
PENETRATION TEST CAN ALSO SHOW DEFECTS IN PLASTICS AND CERAMICS. AS
WITH THE VISUAL INSPECTION, THE COLOR PENETRATION INSPECTION IS A
SUBJECTIVE METHOD THAT DEPENDS ON THE EXPERIENCE OF THE INSPECTOR.

3. CRACK TESTING WITH EDDY CURRENT INSTRUMENTS (ET)

FOR THE SURFACE INSPECTION OF CONDUCTIVE WORKPIECES, THE EDDY

CURRENT METHOD (ENGLISH: "EDDY CURRENT TESTING", SHORT ECT) HAS
ESTABLISHED ITSELF AS THE DOMINANT TECHNOLOGY. EDDY CURRENT TEST
SYSTEMS CONSIST OF A TEST INSTRUMENT WITH A CORRESPONDING PROBE
AND, IF NECESSARY, ADDITIONAL SOFTWARE MODULES. THE TEST PROBE
CONTAINS A FIELD COIL (PRIMARY COIL) AND A DIFFERENTIAL COIL
(SECONDARY COIL). THE TEST PROBE IS CONNECTED TO THE TEST INSTRUMENT,
FOR EXAMPLE, A STATOGRAPH CM FOR CRACK TESTING.
THE FIELD COIL IS OPERATED WITH AN ALTERNATING FIELD AND INDUCES A
SECONDARY FIELD IN THE DIFFERENTIAL COIL, WHICH CHANGES THE SIGNAL
AMPLITUDE AND PHASE WHEN SURFACE CHANGES OCCUR. THIS SIGNAL
VARIATION IS RECORDED BY THE TEST INSTRUMENT WITH A VERY HIGH DATA
RATE. THIS INFORMATION IS LATER REPORTED TO THE PRODUCTION PLANT. AS
A RESULT, A BAD PART CAN BE RECOGNIZED AND SORTED OUT.

DEPENDING ON THE FAULT PATTERN AND MATERIAL OF THE TEST OBJECT, THE
CORRECT CONFIGURATION FOR THE TEST INSTRUMENT AND THE TEST PROBE
MUST BE SELECTED. THERE ARE VARIOUS WAYS TO ADJUST THE PARAMETERS
FOR THE TEST SO THAT THEY REACT AS OPTIMALLY AS POSSIBLE TO SPECIFIC
ERROR PATTERNS. AT THE SAME TIME, THIS FAVORS THAT IRRELEVANT ERRORS
CAN BE FOUND MORE POORLY. DOWNSTREAM SOFTWARE PROGRAMS CAN
ALSO ASSIST IN EVALUATING THE TEST DATA. THE SAME DATA IS EVALUATED
WITH DIFFERENT FILTER METHODS AND THUS OPTIMIZED FOR MULTIPLE ERROR
PATTERNS.
STATOVISION IS AN EXAMPLE OF SUCH DOWNSTREAM SOFTWARE CAPABLE OF
IMPROVING SIGNAL QUALITY. FOLLOWING THE RAW DATA ACQUISITION, THE
SOFTWARE USES DIGITAL FILTER METHODS. THIS IS ESPECIALLY NECESSARY IF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SIZE OF THE ERROR TO BE FOUND ARE VERY
HIGH. TYPICAL ERROR DEPTHS THAT ARE EXPECTED TO BE DETECTED WITH THE
EDDY CURRENT METHOD RANGE FROM 30 ΜM TO 1 MM.

THE PREREQUISITES FOR EDDY CURRENT TESTING FOR SURFACE DEFECTS ARE,
ON THE ONE HAND, GENERALLY CONDUCTIVE COMPONENTS, ON THE OTHER,
ROTATIONAL SYMMETRY OF THE TEST OBJECTS. THE ROTATIONAL SYMMETRY
IS NECESSARY TO PERFORM THE TEST AS EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE. THE
COMPONENT IS ROTATED FOR TESTING AND THE PROBE SCANS ITS SURFACE IN
PARALLEL. IF THERE IS NO SYMMETRY, ANOTHER TEST METHOD MAY HAVE TO
BE USED.

4. CRACK TESTING WITH THERMOGRAPHIC EQUIPMENT (TT)

EDDY CURRENT TESTING IS ALWAYS AN ADVANTAGEOUS METHOD WHEN IT

COMES TO CONDUCTIVE AND ROTATIONALLY SYMMETRICAL MATERIALS. IN
ADDITION, THESE COMPONENTS MUST HAVE SURFACES THAT ARE AS SMOOTH
AS POSSIBLE IN ORDER TO BE SCANNED WITH A PROBE. IF THESE CONDITIONS
ARE NOT MET, COMPLEMENTARY TEST METHODS ARE USED. CRACK DETECTION
BY MEANS OF THERMOGRAPHY IS STEADILY INCREASING IN INDUSTRIAL
APPLICATIONS. THERMOGRAPHIC CRACK TESTING IS USUALLY CARRIED OUT BY
EMPLOYING THE PULSE THERMOGRAPHIC METHOD OR THE LOCK-IN
THERMOGRAPHIC METHOD. HERE, THE COMPONENT IS HEATED LOCALLY IN
SHORT PULSES WITH AN ENERGY SOURCE (FOR EXAMPLE, BY INDUCTION,
OPTICALLY VIA LAMPS OR LASER). THE SURFACE IS RECORDED WITH A
THERMOGRAPHIC CAMERA. CRACKS AND OTHER LOCAL DIFFERENCES ON THE
SURFACE REACT DIFFERENTLY TO THE HEAT APPLIED. A CRACK STORES LESS
HEAT AND STANDS OUT CLEARLY FROM ITS SURROUNDINGS IN THE
THERMOGRAPHIC IMAGE.

THE DIFFERENT HEAT SOURCES ALSO SHOW DIFFERENT EFFECTS. IF, FOR
EXAMPLE, A CONDUCTIVE COMPONENT IS EXCITED WITH AN INDUCTOR, MORE
HEAT IS GENERATED AT THE TIPS OF A CRACK THAN AT OTHER POINTS ON THE
TEST PART. THE EDDY CURRENTS HAVE CONDENSED HERE AND THE HEAT
INPUT IS HIGHER. THE IMAGES RECORDED WITH THE THERMOGRAPHIC CAMERA
FLOW AS INPUT INTO A DATA PROCESSING SOFTWARE. SPECIAL PROCESSING
ALGORITHMS ARE USED FOR IMAGE EVALUATION. SEVERAL IMAGES TAKEN IN
SUCCESSION SHOW, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE HEAT FLOW OVER TIME AND
PROVIDE FURTHER INFORMATION. THE MAIN ADVANTAGE OF THE
THERMOGRAPHIC METHOD FOR CRACK DETECTION IS THAT THE COMPONENTS
CAN HAVE A HIGH DEGREE OF FREEDOM IN THEIR SIZE AND GEOMETRY. IN
ADDITION, THE TECHNIQUE CAN BE APPLIED TO NON-CONDUCTIVE
COMPONENTS. IN THESE CASES, AN OPTICAL METHOD IS USUALLY NECESSARY
FOR ENERGY INPUT.

FURTHERMORE, THE METHOD IS RELATIVELY STABLE AGAINST

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES. HOWEVER, THE TESTED SURFACE SHOULD BE
FREE OF CONTAMINATION WHENEVER POSSIBLE. CHANGED SURFACE
PROPERTIES CAN LEAD TO DIFFERENT HEAT FLOWS, WHICH MAY APPEAR AS
PSEUDO FAULTS IN THE EVALUATION. AUTOMATED PROCESSES WITH
COMPONENT HANDLING CAN BE ACHIEVED RELATIVELY EASILY TODAY. GOOD
THERMOGRAPHIC CAMERAS ARE ALSO NOW AVAILABLE, THUS, THIS PROCESS IS
SLOWLY ESTABLISHING ITSELF IN PRODUCTION LINES. THE TECHNOLOGY HAS
THE POTENTIAL TO REPLACE MAGNETIC PARTICLE INSPECTION, WHICH IS STILL
VERY DOMINANT TODAY.

5. CRACK TESTING WITH MAGNETIC PARTICLE TESTING EQUIPMENT (MT)

PROBABLY THE OLDEST METHOD FOR FINDING CRACKS IN MATERIALS IS

MAGNETIC PARTICLE TESTING. ACCORDING TO THIS METHOD, FERROMAGNETIC
COMPONENTS ARE MAGNETIZED AND SPRAYED WITH MAGNETIC POWDER.
DEFECTS IN THE TEST PART REACT DIFFERENTLY TO THE MAGNETIZATION. AT
THIS POINT, THE MAGNETIC FIELD APPEARS MORE STRONGLY ON THE SURFACE.
ACCORDINGLY, THE MAGNETIC POWDER CAN ADHERE BETTER. BY ADDING
FLUORESCENT MATERIAL TO THE MAGNETIC POWDER, THE IMPERFECTIONS
"SHINE" DIFFERENTLY UNDER CERTAIN LIGHTING CONDITIONS. THE MAJOR
DISADVANTAGE OF THIS PROCEDURE IS THAT THE GOOD OR BAD SORTING OF
THE TEST PART TAKES PLACE ON THE BASIS OF THE SUBJECTIVE ASSESSMENT
OF THE TEST ENGINEER. THE EXPERIENCE OF THE INSPECTOR ALONE
DETERMINES WHETHER A CRACK IS ASSESSED AS LARGE OR SMALL, OR
WHETHER THE EXTENT OF AN ERROR IS OF A MAGNITUDE THAT CAN BE
ASSESSED AS BAD. IN ADDITION, CLEANING THE COMPONENTS AFTER THE TEST
REQUIRES GREAT EFFORT, SINCE THE MAGNETIC POWDER STICKS TO THE TEST
PARTS. AUTOMATING THE SYSTEMS FOR MAGNETIC PARTICLE TESTING CAN BE
QUITE COMPLEX. THE TEST PROCEDURE IS THEREFORE ONLY USEFUL IF THE
NUMBER OF TEST ITEMS IS NOT TOO LARGE.
6. CRACK TESTING WITH ULTRASONIC INSTRUMENTS (UT)

EDDY CURRENT TESTING IS THE PREFERRED METHOD FOR SURFACE-OPEN

CRACKS IN CONDUCTIVE COMPONENTS. HOWEVER, THE METHOD REACHES ITS
LIMITS IN THE CASE OF CRACKS OR MATERIAL ANOMALIES THAT ARE LOCATED
INSIDE A TEST SPECIMEN. THIS IS BECAUSE THE PENETRATION DEPTH OF THIS
METHOD DEPENDS ON THE FREQUENCY USED. IF THIS IS IN THE KHZ RANGE, THE
PENETRATION DEPTH IS REDUCED RELATIVELY QUICKLY TO ONLY A FEW
MILLIMETERS. THEREFORE, ANOTHER ESTABLISHED TEST METHOD IS CRACK
TESTING WITH ULTRASONIC DEVICES. THE ULTRASONIC METHOD IS SUITABLE
FOR TESTING COMPONENTS DOWN TO THEIR DEPTH. WITH THIS METHOD, ANY
KIND OF MATERIAL CAN BE COMPLETELY "X-RAYED". FOR THIS PURPOSE, A
MEASURING HEAD WITH AN ULTRASONIC TRANSMITTER AND RECEIVER IS
PLACED ON THE TEST PART. THE ULTRASOUND GENERATED IN THE MEASURING
HEAD IS TRANSPORTED INTO THE TEST PART THROUGH A COUPLING MEDIUM,
USUALLY A TYPE OF WATER. GOOD COUPLING IS IMPORTANT FOR EFFECTIVE
TESTING.

THE ULTRASOUND PENETRATES THE TEST PIECE AND ECHOES OF THE

ULTRASONIC WAVES ARE CREATED BY REFLECTIONS ON THE BACK WALL.
DEFECTS, SUCH AS CRACKS OR INCLUSIONS, LEAD TO ADDITIONAL REFLECTION
OF THE ULTRASOUND. THESE ARE RECORDED IN THE SEARCH UNIT. THE TYPE
AND SIZE OF THE REFLECTIONS ALLOW CONCLUSIONS TO BE DRAWN AS TO
WHERE THE ANOMALY FOUND IS LOCATED IN THE SPECIMEN. THE PRODUCTION
OF ULTRASONIC SEARCH UNITS IS VERY COMPLEX. IN ADDITION, CLOSED
SYSTEMS ARE REQUIRED DUE TO THE COUPLING MEDIUM. FURTHERMORE, THE
COUPLING MEDIUM MUST BE AS FREE AS POSSIBLE FROM IMPURITIES AND
BUBBLE FORMATION, AS THESE DISTURB THE ULTRASONIC SOUND PATH AND
ACT AS A MATERIAL DEFECT.

WHICH CRACK - WHICH PROCESS?

CAPTIONS

 A = BEST SUITABLE
 B = KIND OF OK TO USE
 C = NOT SO GOOD
 D = NOT AT ALL SUITABLE

CONCLUSION

ALL THE NON-DESTRUCTIVE METHODS FOR CRACK TESTING SHOWN HERE ARE
JUSTIFIED. THE APPROPRIATE TEST METHOD IS DEFINED BASED ON THE TYPE OF
ERROR AND THE MATERIAL USED. IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE TO USE A COMBINATION
OF DIFFERENT TEST METHODS, WHICH MAY BE INTEGRATED TOGETHER IN ONE
TEST LINE.