Non Destructive Testing (NDT) and Destructive Testing

Non Destructive Testing and Destructive testing have found much use in various industries like manufacturing, construction, automotive, aviation, railways as well as many engineering disciplines to check the conditions of various materials, components or systems. In this article we will discuss some of the Non Destructive and Destructive Testing methods and their applications.

Starting with welds, which form an important part of manufacturing industry, it is necessary to have regular weld inspection to detect flaws which may include cracking, porosity, incomplete penetration, inclusions or lack of sidewall fusion. Ultrasonic Testing is an effective NDT method for weld inspection in which high frequency sound waves are passed through the testing material through transducers to detect defects. Commonly used for thickness testing, it is widely applied to inspect pipelines. Ultrasonic Testing is also used to find surface and sub-surface flaws in metals, plastics or woods.

To perform welding procedures, certified welding Inspectors are required who can develop welding codes and welding procedure qualification for different industries. Welder qualification Testing is undertaken for certification of welders and their performance qualification.

Leaks at the bottom of tank and large vessels employed in industrial plants poses another big problem for which the NDT method of Vacuum Box Testing is applied which locates leaks and imperfections. Vacuum Box Testing is generally used to detect flaws in piping systems, pressure systems, storage tanks and ship hull inspection. 

Supplementing all NDT methods is Visual Testing which involves visual inspection of materials and components by naked eye or some optical aid. It is a highly cost effective method to detect surface flaws, cracks, cut, etc. If required, one can capture the flaw and store it in computer with the help of Digital Imaging which accelerates the inspection process.

Apart from these NDT methods, Destructive Testing methods can also be used to find defects which include Tensile Testing, Hardness Test, Salt Spray Testing, Bend Testing and Charpy Impact Testing. Destructive methods are easy to carry out and are economical as compared to NDT methods but suffer from the drawback that the material to be tested gets destroyed while testing.

Both NDT and destructive testing methods efficient ways of gathering valuable information about the working conditions of different types of materials used in industries. ABC Testing Incorporated offers to provide Non Destructive and Destructive Testing to cater to industrial requirements in Massachusetts, New England.

Ultrasonic Testing, Visual Testing, ship hull inspection at Massachusetts, New England Digital Imaging, Vacuum box Testing and Visual Testing Massachusetts