Nondestructive Testing. New Developments and Growth Opportunities

SUMMARY

NDT has been in existence for several decades. The industry gained importance after the second world war, mainly technological advancement, theefforts by defense establishments stimulated swift development in instrumentation. NDT was then mainly used for detecting defects. Safe life were thecode words buzzing around the industry, it was mainly intended to check macroscopic defects on structures during its life, in the event of suchdefects being noticed, that particular component would be removed from service. To meet this growing demand, researchers were developing a variety ofsophisticated techniques using ultrasonics, eddy currents, x-rays, dye penetrants, magnetic particles and other forms of interrogating energy emerged.This report deals with the technological development and growth opportunities.

D246 Technical Insights report separates the good news from the mundane by providing the following:

• A detailed overview of technological advances in development laboratories
• Identification of key companies and developers and estimates of timelines for commercializing technology
• Definitions of key markets and applications
• Techniques and application
• Reporting on technology drivers as well as obstacles in the way of commercial success
• A detailed list of key contacts in the field, including names, titles, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and URLs.

"In the past industries such as defense and nuclear played an important role in Nondestructive testing (NDT). Currently, there is a growingneed across industries that demands such testing techniques and NDT is an extremely important technique for manufacturers," says TechnicalInsight Analyst Anand. "A series of advancements related to computers, electronics, material science, and other interdisciplinary fields mademajor impact on all or many of the NDT (nondestructive testing) methods."

Accepting the reality that no single method can provide all the necessary NDT information, efforts are being made to integrate several methods. Thecomplimenting capabilities offer greater detectability and the overlapping ones enhance the reliability. Data fusion techniques are being developed toenable effective data-acquisition and processing as well as provide a sound interpretation of the test parameters in relation to the materialintegrity. Instruments are now commercially available that can be used to perform ultrasonic and eddy current tests using a core hardware andinterchangeable transducers and modules.

The search for smarter methods that can rapidly and inexpensively detect very small flaws in complex materials and structures at very highprobability and repeatability will continue to be a challenge for NDT. Efforts will be made to further reduce the complexity associated withinspection procedures, where redundant tasks will be performed by computers leaving the role of the human operator to critical decision making. Whileit is difficult to predict when, global standards will eventually be accepted worldwide and will cover all the NDT standards, inspection proceduresand personnel training/qualifications.

Developers of NDT products are highly dependent on the end-user industries that purchase NDT equipment. Experts believe that in the event of aneconomic recession, NDT is one of the first items cut as it is seen as an extra cost in many applications. While the defense sector has gradually cutthe purchase of NDT equipment, other sectors such as civilian aerospace, automotive, and plant maintenance have increased their purchases of NDTequipment and services. It is likely that chemical and petrochemical industries will show greater demand for NDT equipment.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Overview

1. Progress of NDT

2. Scope and Methodology

2. What is NDT?

1. Definition

2. NDT Techniques

2. Techniques and Applications in Use

1. Holographic Inspection

1. Use of Digital Holography

2. Holographic TV Interferometer

3. Double-Pulse TV Holography

2. Ultrasonic Testing

1. Evaluating Bonded Lap Joints

2. Cyclic Loading To Discover Cracks

3. Testing Seamless Steel

4. Applying Artificial Intelligence

5. Measurement of Graphite Nodularity in Cast Iron

6. Testing Concrete Structures with the Impact-Echo Technique

7. Time-of-Flight Detection

8. Automated Ultrasonic Inspection

9. Inspection of Welds

10. Testing of Axles and Wheels in Trains

3. Eddy Current Inspection

1. Eddy Current Testing

2. Better Remote Flaw Characterization System for Engines

4. Robotic Evaluation

1. Robotic Inspection

2. Robots for Detecting Tough Locations

5. Radiographic Detection

1. Trends in Radiology

2. Casting Flaws Detection

3. Figuring Pipe Wall Thickness

6. Microwave Testing

1. Using Variable Frequency Microwaves for Testing

2. Detecting Fatigue Cracks on Metal Surface

3. Scanning Using Microwaves

3. Other Application Methods

1. Other Methods. Chemical; Infrared; 3D Tomography

1. Chemical NDT

2. Infrared Thermography

3. Testing of Foamed Metals Using 3D Tomography

2. Other Methods. Detecting Flaws on Pipeline Welds; The LLW Technique; Laser Ultrasonic

1. Detecting Flaws on Pipeline Girth Welds

2. The LLW Technique for Testing

3. Generation Mechanisms in Laser Ultrasonic NDE

4. Market Trends and Advancements

1. Market Forecast

1. Overview: An Increasingly Global Market

2. Market Trends

2. Recent Development

1. X-Ray Testing Gets Popular

2. X-Ray Testing System For Light Alloy Wheels

3. Detecting Component Fatigue

4. NDT and Aircraft Maintenance

5. NDT and Photonics

5. Companies Developing Technologies

1. Agfa-Gevaert Group

1. Flaw Detection System with Digital Signal Processing

2. X-Rays To Detect Thickness of Pipes

2. Additional Developments

1. Pulsed Thermography

2. Microwave Technology

3. Comparative Vacuum Monitoring

4. Automated Thermal Nondestructive Testing System

6. Dedicated Research

1. CNDE at Iowa State University

1. Introduction

2. The Tap Technique

3. Eddy Current on Case-Hardened Steel

4. Important Projects

2. Government Sponsored Research

1. Laser Ultrasonic Sensor

2. Expert Systems in Nondestructive Testing

3. Smart Layer

7. Future Trends and Challenges

1. Current and Emerging Trends

1. Current Trends

2. Emerging Trends

2. Challenges and Future Trends

1. Challenges and Issues

2. Looking Ahead

8. Profiles of Major Companies; Contact Information; and Patents

1. Profiles of Leading Companies

1. Profiles of Companies

2. Contacts

2. Patents

1. 2002 Patents

2. 2001 Patents

9. Technical Insights' Science and Technology 2002 Awards

1. Technology Innovation

1. Introduction

2. Award Winner

2. Technology Leadership

1. Introduction

2. Award Winner