ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Technical Introduction Course for

Engineers and Technologists
NDE Nondestructive Evaluation
EnergySolutions Government Group
Richland, WA
What we will cover……… ENERGYSOLUTIONS

• NDE processes
• Process advantages and limitations
• Code requirements

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NDE Processes ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Common NDE Processes

• Visual Inspection (VT)
• Magnetic Particle Testing (MT)
• Penetrant Testing (PT)
• Radiographic Testing (RT)
• Ultrasonic Testing (UT)

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Visual Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Visual Testing aka VT

• Inexpensive equipment if any equipment is needed
• Very low cost for equipment and time
• 1st inspection performed
• Only sees indications exposed to the surface of the metal
VT is normally just a visual inspection of the weldment. Occasionally this may
be aided with other equipment. Some equipment used may be, magnification,
measuring equipment (to size the welds), lights, mirrors, or fiber optics with
cameras to get to inaccessible welds.

Equipment used:
• Magnifying glass, or eye lop to gain resolution
• Numerous gages to measure the size and dimensional
characteristics of the weld
• Lights, for general illumination, to make shadows to aid in the
review
• Mirrors and fiber optics to see the ID of a pipe to verify melt thru
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Magnetic Particle Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Magnetic Particle Testing (MT) Mag inspection

• Medium cost
• Medium time spent
• Second line of inspection
• Only find surface and slightly subsurface indications

May be used only on magnetic materials.

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Magnetic Particle Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Magnetic Particle Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Magnetic Particle Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Magnetic Particle Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Penetrant Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Penetrant Testing (PT)

• Medium cost
• Medium time spent
• Second line of inspection
• Only find surface indications

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Penetrant Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Penetrant Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Penetrant Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Penetrant Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Radiographic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Radiographic Testing (RT) aka Xray

• High cost
• High time spent
• Third line of inspection
• Will find subsurface indications parallel to the radiographic beam

Radiographic inspection is looking at the thickness of the material. It is looking

for density variations in the material, such as voids (porosity), cracks or
tungsten inclusions. These indications are best seen when they are relatively
parallel with the beam. This process is good at seeing lack of fusion to a side
wall of a weld groove but not very good at seeing a lamination of a plate.

A radiographic source is on one side of the part and film is placed on the other
side. The RT source can be man made (such as X-ray) or a natural gamma
ray source (such as Cobalt-60)

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Radiographic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Radiographic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Radiographic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Radiographic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Radiographic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Slag lines
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Radiographic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Lack of penetration

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Radiographic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Incomplete fill
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Radiographic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Root concavity
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Radiographic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Excessive penetration
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Radiographic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Undercutting

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Ultrasonic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Ultrasonic Testing(UT)

• High cost
• High time spent
• Third line of inspection
• Will find subsurface indications perpendicular to the ultrasonic beam

Ultrasonic inspection is looking at the complete thickness of the part.

Ultrasonic testing is sending a high frequency sound wave into a part, the
sound reflects back to the transmitter. When the sound hits an anomaly it
bounces back and an image of the full thickness can be generated.

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Ultrasonic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Ultrasonic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Ultrasonic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Ultrasonic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Ultrasonic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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Ultrasonic Testing ENERGYSOLUTIONS

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 Advantages/Disadvantages VT ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Advantage
• Very inexpensive
• Very little training and experience required
• Very little equipment needed & the equipment that is needed is
inexpensive
• Can be done remotely with cameras and mirrors
• Instant results
• Very portable

Disadvantage
• Only a surface inspection
• Only will show what is visible
• Scratches can be misinterpreted

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 Advantages/Disadvantages MT ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Advantage
• Will see smaller indications than VT
• Will see surface and slightly subsurface indications
• Can see very small cracks not visible to the naked eye
• Instant results
• Can be portable
• Moderate skill level

Disadvantage
• Will only work on magnetic or paramagnetic materials
• Surface needs to be accessible
• Part needs to be smooth, needs surface prep
• Part needs to be demagnitized after
• Only sees indications perpendicular to the magnetic field

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 Advantages/Disadvantages PT ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Advantage
• Will see smaller indications than VT
• Will work on any nonporous material
• Can see very small cracks, pores, etc.
• Minimal skill level to perform
• Approximately 30 minutes to perform test

Disadvantage
• Does not work on porous materials
• Can adversely effect the quality of a weld repair in the area
previously PT inspected
• Takes a little more time to do than MT
• Surface finishes need to be removed
• Part needs to be very clean

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 Advantages/Disadvantages RT ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Advantage
• Volumetric inspection
• Has permanent record (film)
• Gamma RT is very portable and can inspect hidden areas
• Minimal part preparation

Disadvantage
• Only sees indications parallel with the radiation beam
• Takes considerable training & experience to be certified
• Expensive equipment
• Need to control radiation field (can be dangerous)
• Results are usually slow
• X-Ray is not portable
• High skill to perform and interpret
• Sensitive to flow orientation

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Advantages/Disadvantages UT ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Advantage
• Volumetric inspection
• Can be used to verify thickness very fast
• Not dangerous
• Results are usually faster than RT
• Very portable

Disadvantage
• Only sees indications perpendicular with the ultrasonic wave
• High skill to perform and interpret
• Surface needs to be smooth
• Sensitive to flow orientation

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References ENERGYSOLUTIONS

Principles of Penetrants from Magnaflux Corp., C.E. Betz, 1969

Principles of Magnetic Particle Testing from Magnaflux Corp., C.E.

Betz, 1967

Nondestructive Testing Handbook, Volume I&II from ASNT, edited

by Robert C. McMaster, 1959

Structural Welding Code-Steel, AWS-D1.1 from AWS, 1998

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ENERGYSOLUTIONS