The health of any industry can be ascertained by routine inspection and testing. The industry could be Nuclear, Power, Paper or Petrochemical. Every industry has to be maintained periodically in order to prevent costly breakdowns that could spell financial disaster. Nondestructive testing or NDT is the predominant method of conducting such maintenance work or inspection. NDT prevents the degradation of the article under inspection and is carried out by various types of equipment such as Eddy Current, Magnetic, Radiographic and Ultrasonic Testing.
With the help of this testing you can not only evaluate flaws, cracks and areas under corrosion but can also measure sample thickness. This form of NDT is routinely used in the examination of welded areas in vessels, plates and piping. Therefore, in the aerospace industry use is made of services such as the Automated Ultrasonic Testing or AUT and the Electromagnetic Acoustic Transmission or EMAT besides Shear Wave and Time of Flight Diffraction or TOFD.
The EMAT generates an ultrasonic wave within the sample. The reflected wave creates a small electrical pulse that is analyzed by software to form a picture of the sample’s internal structure. The EMAT can detect flaws and cracks and calculate their dimensions. It can also be used for calculating the sample thickness.
The TOFD utilizes probes that are placed on a buggy that runs along the weld to be examined. The software makes accurate assessment of the dimensions of the crack. The accuracy of ultrasonic testing makes it a handy tool for engineers engaged in NDT.
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