Non-destructive testing—current capabilities and future directions

Abstract

The non-destructive testing (NDT) industry is reviewed, the major techniques being described and current development directions and challenges identi ed. Visual inspection is probably the most widely used NDT technique but it does not generally involve the purchase of dedicated NDT instrumentation so it does not appear in market estimates. The NDT market is dominated by the 'big ve' techniques: radiography, ultrasonics, eddy current, magnetic particle and penetrant testing. There is considerable research and development effort in other areas, particularly for niche markets. Nondestructive testing is a mature industry, the global market size for equipment being around $1 billion. However, the cost to users greatly exceeds this since much inspection is highly labour intensive, and extensive preparation for inspection is often required, particularly in-service. There is therefore a continuing drive to increase the speed of inspection, to reduce the preparation required and, if possible, to inspect without the need to shut down operation. With some notable exceptions, it is possible to nd most types of defect. However, it is frequently not cost effective to do the inspection, so driving down overall inspection costs is a major research and development aim. The other signi cant research and development areas are in improving inspection reliability and in nding solutions in cases where there is currently no available inspection technique.

Time-resolved full-field imaging of ultrasonic Lamb waves using deflectometry

“…Therefore, this technology is not suitable to provide a full spatial description of the structural response. Scanning using one or more ultrasonic transducers moved over a surface is also possible [4,5] but lacks the speed and flexibility of full-field approaches.…”

Practical constraints on real time Bayesian filtering for NDE applications

“…Such industries are a source of particular challenges, often presenting inspection sites located in inaccessible locations or where environmental conditions are hazardous for human operators working at height, exposed to radioactivity, proximity to high temperature and/or pressure process plant. The financial impact of NDE inspections is also significant, arising from both the intrinsic inspection costs and the associated cost of taking plant offline to conduct inspections [2]. Consequently in-situ automated inspection where feasible, is highly attractive, and potentially allows inspection of operational plant.…”

Modelling and Assessment of Repairs Conducted on Composite Materials

“…A detailed review of various non-destructive techniques that are applied in the detection of flaws in both orthotropic and isotropic materials including the pros and cons of each method is given by Cawley [6]. NDT is especially significant in the inspection of components of different materials, damage types and orientation.…”