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1 INTRODUCTION
Non-destructive testing (NDT) 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. The terms Non-destructive examination (NDE), Nondestructive inspection (NDI), and Nondestructive evaluation (NDE) are also commonly used to describe this technology. Because NDT does not permanently alter the article being inspected, it is a highly-valuable technique that can save both money and time in product evaluation, troubleshooting, and research. Non-destructive Testing is one part of the function of Quality Control and is Complementary to other long established methods. By definition non-destructive testing is the testing of materials, for surface or internal flaws or metallurgical condition, without interfering in any way with the integrity of the material or its suitability for service. The technique can be applied on a sampling basis for individual investigation or may be used for 100% checking of material in a production quality control system. Whilst being a high technology concept, evolution of the equipment has made it robust enough for application in any industrial environment at any stage of manufacture - from steel making to site inspection of components already in service. A certain degree of skill is required to apply the techniques properly in order to obtain the maximum amount of information concerning the product, with consequent feed back to the production facility. Non-destructive Testing is not just a method for rejecting substandard material; it is also an assurance that the supposedly good is good. The technique uses a variety of principles; there is no single method around which a black box may be built to satisfy all requirements in all circumstances. What follows is a brief description of the methods most commonly used in industry, together with details of typical applications, functions and advantages. The methods Covered are: 1) Radiography 2) Magnetic Particle Crack Detection 3) Dye Penetrate Testing 4) Ultrasonic Flaw Detection 5) Eddy Current and Electro-magnetic Testing
Definitions
The following definitions apply 1) Testing: Testing or examination of a material or component in accordance with this Classification Note, or a standard, or a specification or a procedure in order to detect, locate, measure and evaluate flaws. 2) Defect: One or more flaws whose aggregate size, shape, orientation, location or properties do not meet specified requirements and are rejectable. 3) Discontinuity: A lack of continuity or cohesion; an intentional or unintentional interruption in the physical structure or configuration of a material or component 4) Flaw: An imperfection or discontinuity that may be detectable by non-destructive testing and is not necessarily reject able. 5) Indication: Evidence of a discontinuity that requires interpretation to determine its significance 6) False indication: An indication that is interpreted to be caused by a discontinuity at a location where no discontinuity exists. 7) Non relevant indication: An indication that is caused by a condition or type of discontinuity that is not reject able. False indications are non-relevant 8) Imperfections: A departure of a quality characteristic from its intended condition. 9) Internal imperfections: Imperfections that are not open to a surface or not directly accessible. 10) Quality level: Fixed limits of imperfections corresponding to the expected quality in a specific object. The Limits are determined with regard to type of imperfection, their amount and their actual dimensions. 11) Acceptance level: Prescribed limits below which a component is accepted. 12) Planar discontinuity: Discontinuity having two measurable dimensions 13) Non-planar discontinuity: Discontinuity having three measurable dimensions.
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2 HISTORY OF NDT-INSTRUMENTATION
After World War II the emerging modern industry needed more and more testing equipment for the production of flawless components. Therefore, instruments for NDT were developed, produced in quantities and continuously improved. The first NDT-method coming into industrial application was the X-Ray Technique.
Figure 1(a) - Illustration Of Radiography [3] The part is placed between the radiation source and a piece of film. The part will stop some of the radiation. Thicker and denser area will stop more of the radiation Advantages of Radiography 1. Information is presented pictorially. 2. A permanent record is provided which may be viewed at a time and place 3. Distant from the test. 4. Useful for thin sections. 5. Sensitivity declared on each film. 6. Suitable for any material.
2. Possible health hazard. 3. Need to direct the beam accurately for two-dimensional defects. 4. Film processing and viewing facilities are necessary, as is an exposure compound. 5. Not suitable for automation, unless the system incorporates fluoroscopy with 6. an image intensifier or other electronic aids 7. Not suitable for surface defects. 8. No indication of depth of a defect below the surface
Figure 1(b)-Magnetic Particle Inspection [3] The principle is to generate magnetic flux in the article to be examined, with the flux lines running along the surface at right angles to the suspected defect. Where the flux lines approach a discontinuity they will stay out in to the air at the mouth of the crack. The crack edge becomes magnetic attractive poles North and South. These have the power to attract finely divided particles of magnetic material such as iron fillings. Usually these particles are of an oxide of iron in the size range 20 to 30 microns, and are suspended in a liquid which provides mobility for the particles on the surface of the test piece, assisting their migration to the crack edges. However, in some instances they can be applied in a dry powder form. The particles can be red or black oxide, or they can be coated with a substance, which fluoresces brilliantly under ultra-violet illumination (black light). The object is to present as great a contrast as possible between the crack indication and the material background. The technique not only detects those defects which are not normally visible to the unaided eye, but also renders easily visible those defects which would otherwise require close scrutiny of the surface. There are many methods of generating magnetic flux in the test piece, the simplest one being the application of a permanent magnet to the surface, but this method cannot be controlled accurately because of indifferent surface contact and deterioration in magnetic strength. Modern equipments generate the magnetic field electrically either directly or indirectly.
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Figure 1(c)- An Illustration of Magnetic Particle Inspection [1] Advantages of Magnetic Particle Crack Detection
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Disadvantages of Magnetic Particle Crack Detection 1. Restricted to ferromagnetic materials. 2. Restricted to surface or near surface flaws. 3. Not fail safe in that lack of indication could mean no defects or process not carried out properly.
Advantages of Dye Penetrate Testing 1. Simplicity of operation. 2. Best method for surface breaking cracks in non-ferrous metals. 3. Suitable for automatic testing, with reservation concerning viewing. (See automatic defect recognition in Magnetic Particle Inspection)
Disadvantages of Dye Penetrate Testing 1. Restricted to surface breaking defects only. 2. Decreased sensitivity. 3. Uses a considerable amount of consumables.
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Advantages of Ultrasonic Flaw Detection 1. Thickness and lengths up to 30 ft can be tested. 2. Position, size and type of defect can be determined. 3. Instant test results. 4. Portable. 5. Extremely sensitive if required. 6. Capable of being fully automated.
Disadvantages of Ultrasonic Flaw Detection 1. Access to only one side necessary. 2. No consumables. 3. Disadvantages of Ultrasonic Flaw Detection 4. No permanent record available unless one of the more sophisticated test results and data collection systems is used. 5. The operator can decide whether the test piece is defective or not whilst the test is in progress. 6. Indications require interpretation (except for digital wall thickness gauges).
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8. Very thin sections can prove difficult. 3.5 Eddy Current and Electro-Magnetic Methods
The main applications of the eddy current technique are for the detection of surface or subsurface flaws, conductivity measurement and coating thickness measurement. The technique is sensitive to the material conductivity, permeability and dimensions of a product. Eddy currents can be produced in any electrically conducting material that is subjected to an alternating magnetic field (typically 10Hz to 10MHz). The alternating magnetic field is normally generated by passing an alternating current through a coil. The coil can have many shapes and can between 10 and 500 turns of wire. The most simple coil comprises a ferrite rod with several turns of wire wound at one end and which is positioned close to the surface of the product to be tested. When a crack, for example, occurs in the product surface the eddy currents must travel farther around the crack and this is detected by the impedance change
Coils can also be used in pairs, generally called a driven pair, and this arrangement can be used with the coils connected differentially. In this way lift off (distance of the Probe from the surface) signals can be enhanced.
Figure 1(g)-Coil with double winding [1], [3] Coils can also be used in a transformer type configuration where one coil winding is a Primary and one (or two) coil windings are used for the secondarys.
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The detected eddy current signals contain amplitude and phase information and which can be displayed on CRT type displays non digital displays. Signals can be displayed as the actual, i.e. absolute signal, or with appropriate electronics, only a signal change is displayed. The best results are obtained where only one product parameter is changes, e.g. the presence of a crack. In practice changes in eddy current signals are caused by differences in composition, hardness, texture, shape, conductivity, permeability and geometry. In some cases the effects of the crack can be hidden by changes in other parameters and unnecessary rejection can occur. However, the coils can be selected for configuration, size and test frequency in order to enhance detection of cracks, conductivity, metal loss etc. as required. The depth to which the eddy currents penetrate a material can be changed by adjusting the test frequency the higher the frequency, the lower the penetration; however, the lower the frequency, the lower sensitivity to small defects. Larger coils are less sensitive to surface roughness and vice versa. The latest electronic units are able to operate a wide range of coil configurations in absolute or differential modes and at a wide range of frequencies. For surface testing for cracks in single or complex shaped components, coils with a single ferrite cored winding are normally used. The probe is placed on the component and balanced by use of the electronic unit controls. As the probe is scanned across the surface of the component the cracks can be detected. See Figure (1) Where surfaces are to be scanned automatically the single coil windings are suitable only if the lift off distance is accurately maintained. Generally differential coil configurations are used with higher speed scanning systems where lift off effects, vibration
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Advantages of Eddy Current Testing 1. Suitable for the determination of a wide range of conditions of conducting material, such as defect detection, composition, hardness, conductivity, permeability etc. in a wide variety of engineering metals. 2. Information can be provided in simple terms: often go/no go. Phase display electronic units can be used to obtain much greater product information. 3. Extremely compact and portable units are available. 4. No consumables (except probes which can sometimes be repaired). 5. Flexibility in selection of probes and test frequencies to suit different applications. 6. Suitable for total automation.
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Disadvantages of Eddy Current Testing 1. The wide range of parameters which affect the eddy current responses means that the signal from a desired material characteristic, e.g. a crack, can be masked by an unwanted parameter, e.g. hardness change. Careful selection of probe and electronics will be needed in some applications. 2. Generally tests restricted to surface breaking conditions and slightly subsurface flaws.
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Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) Techniques Table (1) Non-Destructive Testing Methods & Applications
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Figure 2. Circuit containing only resistive elements [1], [5] The two effects can be shown in a simple transformer connected to a DC supply as shown in Figure 2.The meter needle will deflect one way when current is applied, then back the other way when it is removed. A voltage is only induced when the magnetic field is changing.
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Figure 3. Simple transformer. [1], [5] The induced voltage is proportional to the rate of change of current: di/dt A property of the coil called inductance (L) is defined, such that: Induced voltage= L di/dt If an AC current flows through an inductor, the voltage across the inductor will be at maximum when the rate of change of current is greatest. For a sinusoidal waveform, this is at the point where the actual current is zero. See Figure 3.[7],[13] Thus the voltage applied to an inductor reaches its maximum value a quarter-cycle before the current does - the voltage is said to lead the current by 90 degrees.The value of the voltage and current can be calculated from the formula: V = I.XL where XL is the inductive reactance, defined by the formula: XL = 2f L where f is the frequency in Hz. As we saw above, for series DC circuits calculation of total resistance is simply a matter of adding the individual resistance values.
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Figure 4. Sinusoidal waveforms of voltage and current in an inductive circuit. . [1], [5] For an AC circuit it is not so simple, but the same basic principles apply: the current through both elements must be the same, and at any instant the total voltage across the circuit is the sum of the values across the elements (see Figure 4). However, the maximum voltage across the resistance coincides with zero voltage across the inductor and vice versa - see Figure 5.
Figure 5. Sinusoidal waveforms of voltage and current in an AC circuit containing resistive and inductive elements. . [1], [5]
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Figure 6. Vector diagram. [1], [5] The impedance of the circuit is therefore given by the formula: Z=XL2+R2 Total resistance in AC circuits Impedance. The phase angle between voltage and current is given by: sin XL/
4.3 Theory:
Simple coil above a metal surface: When an AC current flows in a coil in close proximity to a conducting surface (see Figure 7) the magnetic field of the coil will induce circulating (eddy) currents in that surface. The magnitude and phase of the eddy currents will affect the loading on the coil and thus its impedance. As an example, assume that there is a deep crack in the surface immediately underneath the coil (see Figure 8). This will interrupt or reduce the eddy current flow, thus decreasing the loading on the coil and increasing its effective impedance. This is the basis of eddy current testing. By monitoring the voltage across the coil (Figure 9) in such an arrangement we can detect changes in the material of interest.
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Figure 8. Eddy currents are affected by the presence of a crack. [1], [5]
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Figure 10. Cracks must interrupt the surface eddy current flow to be detected. [1], [5] Note that cracks must interrupt the surface eddy current flow to be detected. Cracks lying parallel to the current path will not cause any significant interruption and may not be detected (see Figure 10).
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Where: is resistivity in m .cm ( = 172.41/ material conductivity) f is frequency in Hz r is the relative permeability of the material, for Non-Ferrous = 1 from this it can be seen that depth of penetration: 1) Decreases with an increase in frequency 2) Decreases with an increase in conductivity 3) Decreases with an increase in permeability this can be very significant penetration into ferrous materials at practical frequencies is very small.
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Figure 12. The effect of frequency on standard depth of penetration. . [1], [5] It is also common to talk about the effective depth of penetration usually defined as three times the standard depth, where eddy current density has fallen to around 5% of its surface value. This is the depth at which there is considered to be no influence on the eddy current field.
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Figure 13. Impedance plane diagram. . [1], [5] Note that, while the general form of the impedance plane remains the same, the details are unique for a particular probe and frequency.The display of a typical CRT eddy current instrument represents a window into the impedance plane, which can be rotated and zoomed to suit the needs of the application.For example, in the impedance plane diagram in Figure 13 a rotated detail of the probe on aluminium area would appear as Figure 14.[6]
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Figure 14. Typical eddy current instrument and its display. [1], [5] This shows the display when moving over a series of simulated cracks of varying depths. Note that in the example shown, both the amplitude and the phase of response from the different-sized cracks varies.
Figure 15. Magnetic Field produced in a coil. . [1], [5] Eddy Current Generation: If a coil is brought in close proximity with a conductive material the alternating magnetic field (primary field) will pass through the material. As discussed above eddy currents will be induced in to the material. The eddy currents generated will normally have circular paths at right angles to the primary field. The flow of the eddy currents in terms of magnitude, phase and distribution depend on several factors.[1]
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Figure 16. Eddy Currents flowing in a material. [1], [5] These electrical Eddy Currents will induce a secondary magnetic field to flow inopposition to the original primary field.
Figure 17. Secondary Field produced by the Primary Magnetic Field. [1], [5]
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Figure 19. General Crack Detection image on instrument shown in picture above.
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Figure 21. Coating Thickness Detection image on instrument shown in picture above.
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Defect detection:
Surface crack detection: This is normally carried out with pencil probes or pancake type probes on ferrous or nonferrous metals. Frequencies from 100 kHz to a few MHz are commonly used. Depending on surface condition it is usually possible to find cracks 0.1 mm or less in depth. Shielded probes, with their focused field, add the ability to test very close to edges or dissimilar materials such as ferrous fasteners in an aluminium structure. Differential probes are sometimes used, particularly in automated applications, but care must be taken to ensure that the orientation of flaws is correct for detection. Sub-surface crack/corrosion detection: This is primarily used in airframe inspection. By using a low frequency and a suitable probe, eddy currents can penetrate aluminium or similar structures to a depth of 10 mm or so, allowing the detection of second and third layer cracking, which is invisible from the surface, or thinning of any of the different layers making up the structure. Test frequencies are generally in the range
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Material sorting:
Non-ferrous metal sorting: This is conductivity testing, and for dedicated applications a conductivity meter may be a better choice. From the impedance plane diagram one can observe that the indication from a conductivity change is essentially the same as from a crack, and both meter and impedance plane type crack detectors can be successfully used to sort similar metals using a suitable absolute probe. It should be remembered that: 1) Widely different metals may be a similar conductivity; 2) The allowable values for similar alloys may overlap; 3) An alloy of one material can, in vastly different states of heat treatment, have the same electrical conductivity; and 4) There is no direct relationship between conductivity and hardness. However, once these caveats are understood then conductivity measurement can be used as part of a quality control system. Suitable test frequencies used are in the range 10 kHz to 2 MHz, although account should be taken of the material thickness to ensure the depth of penetration is less than one third of the material thickness. Ferrous metal sorting: Ferrous material may be sorted using eddy current impedance plane equipment. Unfortunately it is not possible to produce quantitative values due to the reading obtained being related to electrical conductivity, magnetic permeability and the depth of the change in material properties. Frequencies to use are 100 Hz to 10 kHz. The use of two or more frequencies gives additional information about the depth of the material properties such as in induction hardening.
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Tube inspection:
Tubes may be inspected from the outer diameter (OD), usually at the time of manufacture and from the inner diameter (ID), usually for in-service inspection, particularly for heat exchanger inspection. ID heat exchanger tube testing: Heat exchangers used for petrochemical or power generation applications may have many thousands of tubes, each up to 20 m long. Using a differential Internal Diameter (ID or bobbin) probe, these tubes can be tested at high speed (up to 1 m/s with computerised data analysis) and
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