NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

INTRODUCTION

This course material has been compiled for
internal use at IIT Roorkee, INDIA
No part of this material is to be reproduced,
transmitted or uploaded without permission
Compiled by:
Dr. Vikram Dabhade
Dept. of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee,
Roorkee-247667, Uttrakhand, INDIA.
 What is Non-destructive Testing?
• Non-destructive testing (NDT) or Non-destructive
evaluation (NDe) 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.

• 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, trouble
shooting, and research.
 Why is Nondestructive Testing (NDT)
carried out?
• It is basically carried out to determine defects
in a material or components, defects such as
cracks, porosity, etc.
• Defects lead to degradation of properties of a
material leading to failure of a material in a shorter
time than its designed life.
• Defects developed during service life can damage
the component as well as the assembly and can
cause loss of lives.
 Other Uses of NDE Methods
• Dimensional Measurements
• Structure and Microstructure Characterization
• Estimation of Mechanical and Physical
Properties
• Material Sorting and Chemical Composition
Determination
 Where do defects come from in a
material or component?
• Defects developed during processing a material e.x. during
casting, welding, forging, rolling, extrusion, etc.

• Defects developed during secondary processing of a material

e.x. machining, welding, grinding, heat treatment, plating, etc.

• Defects developed during the use of the material (in-service)

e.x. corrosion pits, fatigue cracks, erosion / wear, etc.
Defects / flaws developed during
processing of a material
• Forging
• Casting
• Extrusion
• Rolling
• Welding
 Casting Rolling Welding

Casting defects Rolling defects Welding defects

 Defects / flaws developed during
Secondary Processing
• Machining
• Welding
• Grinding
• Heat treating
• Plating
• etc.
 Defects / flaws developed during
service (In-Service defects)
• Fatigue Cracks
• Corrosion
• Erosion/Wear
• Heat Damage
Common Non-destructive Testing
techniques
1. Visual Inspection (VI)
2. Liquid Penetrant Test (LPT)
3. Magnetic Particle Test (MPT)
4. Eddy Current Test (ECT)
5. Ultrasonic Test (UT)
6. Radiography Test (RT)
VISUAL INSPECTION
Most basic and common
inspection method.

Tools include borescopes,

magnifying glasses and
mirrors.

Portable video inspection

unit with zoom allows
inspection of large tanks
and vessels, railroad tank
cars, sewer lines.
Robotic crawlers permit
observation in hazardous or
tight areas, such as air ducts,
reactors, pipelines.
 LIQUID PENETRANT TEST

Liquid penetrant test (LPT) is a simple NDT method

for finding defects open to the surface of a solid or
non-porous material.
 MAGNETIC PARTICLE TEST

Fine iron particles coated with a dye pigment are

applied to the test specimen. These particles are
attracted to leakage fields and will cluster to form an
indication directly over the discontinuity. This
indication can be visually detected under proper
lighting conditions.
 EDDY CURRENT TEST
Eddy current testing is a near surface technique which
exploits the properties of eddy currents to determine
surface defects or near surface defects and variations
in material composition and properties
 ULTRASONIC TEST
• High frequency sound waves are introduced into a
material and they are reflected back from surfaces
or flaws.
• Reflected sound energy is displayed versus time, and
f

inspector can visualize a cross section of the

specimen showing the depth
of features that reflect sound.

crack
 RADIOGRAPHY TEST

The part is placed between the radiation source

and a piece of film. The part will stop some of the
radiation. Thicker and more dense area will stop
more of the radiation.

The film darkness (density)

will vary with the amount of
radiation reaching the film
X-ray film through the test object.

= less exposure

= more exposure
Top view of developed film
Applications of NDT
• Power plant inspection
• Wire rope inspection
• Storage tank inspection
• Aircraft inspection
• Pressure vessel inspection
• Rail inspection
• Bridge inspection
• Pipe line inspection
Power Plant Inspection
Periodically, power plants
are shutdown for inspection.
Inspectors feed eddy
current probes into heat
exchanger tubes to check
for corrosion damage.

Pipe with damage Probe

Signals produced by
various amounts of
corrosion thinning.
 Wire Rope Inspection
Electromagnetic devices and
visual inspections are used to
find broken wires and other
damage to the wire rope that
is used in chairlifts, cranes and
other lifting devices.
 Storage Tank Inspection
Robotic crawlers use
ultrasound to inspect
the walls of large
above ground tanks
for signs of thinning
due to corrosion.

Cameras on
long
articulating
arms are used
to inspect
underground
storage tanks
for damage.
 Aircraft Inspection
• Nondestructive testing is
used extensively during the
manufacturing of aircraft.
• NDT is also used to find
cracks and corrosion
damage during operation of
the aircraft.
• A fatigue crack that started
at the site of a lightning
strike is shown below.
 Jet Engine Inspection
• Aircraft engines are overhauled
after being in service for a
period of time.
• They are completely
disassembled, cleaned,
inspected and then
reassembled.
• Fluorescent penetrant
inspection is used to check
many of the parts for cracking.
 Air Crash Investigation
A defect that went
undetected in an
engine disk was
responsible for the
crash of United
Flight 232.
 Pressure Vessel Inspection
The failure of a pressure
vessel can result in the rapid
release of a large amount of
energy. To protect against
this dangerous event, the
tanks are inspected using
radiography and ultrasonic
testing.
 Rail Inspection
Special cars are used to
inspect thousands of miles of
rail to find cracks that could
lead to a derailment.
 Bridge Inspection

• Corrosion, cracking
and other damage can
all affect a bridge’s
performance.
• Bridges get a visual
inspection about every
2 years.
• Some bridges are fitted
with acoustic emission
sensors that “listen” for
sounds of cracks
growing.
 Pipeline Inspection

NDT is used to inspect

pipelines to prevent leaks that
could damage the
environment. Visual
inspection, radiography and
electromagnetic testing are
some of the NDT methods
used.
Types of Defects Determined by NDT
NDT is concerned with finding defects. So, a knowledge of
the types of defects is essential, both to determine the
best NDT technique to use and to help to determine the
type of defect and to assess how significant the defect is.

Defects are mainly formed during:

(a) Processing – forging defects, welding defects, rolling
defects, casting defects, etc.
(b) Service – fatigue cracking, stress corrosion cracking,
erosion / wear, creep, etc.
1. Defects in Wrought Products
Wrought products are materials or components that have been
produced by mechanical working processes such as forging, rolling
or extrusion. The other basic method of producing shapes is casting,
where molten metal is poured into a mould of the required shape
and it solidifies to take the shape of the mould.

Defects in wrought products include the following:

• Laps
• Seams
• Pipe/lamination
• Inclusions
• Hydrogen flakes
• Forging bursts
 Laps
• These are surface defects found in rolled or forged products
• Laps are longitudinally discontinuities caused by the formation
of ribs or extensions of metal and the subsequent folding over
of these protrusions..
• Laps are basically oriented folds on the surface of the product
due to rolling over of projections on the surface. In cross-section
laps tend to ‘hook’ under the surface.
• They generally contain oxide or scale and may be partially
welded at the tip as shown below.
• Because of their method of formation, laps tend to be very long
although they are usually quite shallow, say less than 1 mm in
depth
The preferred NDT to detect laps in steel is magnetic particle
testing. Eddy current testing is the best method for non-ferrous
metals. Penetrant testing is generally not suitable as laps usually
contain scale or oxide
 Seams
• Seams are longitudinal grooves or lines in the surface of hot
rolled products due to the elongation of defects such as gas
holes, or inclusions on the ingot surface.
• With continuous casting of rolled steel products (where the
product is fully-killed), seams are much less common. However,
ingots which are semi-killed are prone to produce seam defects.
• Seams are generally quite shallow, up to about 0.75 mm deep,
and tight-lipped, but like laps they can be very long. Sometimes
numerous seams exist in a bar surface.
• Seams differ from laps in that, in cross-section, they tend to
extend into the metal at right angles to the surface. Like laps they
generally contain oxide or inclusions
As for laps the preferred NDT technique for seams in steel is
magnetic particle testing and for non-ferrous metals eddy current
testing is the preferred method. For internal seams ultrasonic or
radiography test may be employed.
 Pipe / Lamination
• These two defects are grouped together since they have the
same origin. Piping is a cavity formed during solidification of an
ingot due to the fact that when molten metal solidifies there is a
reduction in volume called shrinkage
• Piping may be open at the ingot top when it is called a primary
pipe. It may also be within the ingot when it is called a secondary
pipe.
• Ingot pipe can persist in material right through a rolling
sequence from the ingot stage to fine wire or thin sheet to
produce a pipe or lamination defect. In some cases secondary
pipe can weld up and so disappear during rolling operations.
• The difference between pipe and lamination is that pipe occurs
in sections such as rounds, hexagons and squares and lamination
occurs in flat products such as plate or sheet.
• Pipe and lamination defects are a by-product of ingot steel
production. Modern steelmaking practice uses continuous
casting technology where these defects are much less common

Both pipe and laminations defects are centrally located and, in the
case of lamination the defect is planar and parallel to the flat
faces. The preferred NDT method for pipe and lamination is
ultrasonic testing. In smaller sections pipe may also be detected
by radiography
 Inclusions
• These are non-metallic material such as:
(a) Products of steelmaking reactions, for example, sulphides,
oxides, silicates, slag, etc.
(b) Refractory material dispersed through the metal.
• Inclusions are always present to some degree in steel but are of
concern in gross form or at excessive levels. Inclusions tend to
be orientated in the direction of metal working as shown below.
The preferred NDT method for detecting gross inclusions is
ultrasonic testing. For smaller sections radiography may be used
 Hydrogen flakes
• Hydrogen flakes are also called snowflakes because when
viewed on a fracture surface they tend to glisten like snowflakes.
• Hydrogen flakes form in the central portion of steel bars as a
series of very fine, circular shaped cracks of longitudinal
orientation. In severe cases the individual flakes may measure up
to 50 mm in diameter
• Flakes are usually confined to higher carbon and alloy steel
grades in larger sections such as blooms, slabs and billets. They
are rare in the lower carbon steels such as mild steel.
• They are caused by situations where hydrogen dissolved in steel
during the steelmaking process has not had sufficient
opportunity to diffuse out of the metal to the atmosphere.
• They can be avoided by minimizing moisture entering
steelmaking furnaces and also slower cooling of susceptible
grades after hot rolling.

The best NDT technique to detect hydrogen flakes is ultrasonic

testing. Magnetic particle testing can be used on cross-sections of
the product
 Forging bursts

• When the work metal is weak, possibly from pipe, porosity,

segregation, or inclusion, the tensile stress may be sufficiently
high to tear the material apart internally.
• Similarly, if the metal contains low melting phases resulting
from segregation, these phases may cause bursts during hot
working of the ingot or billet.
• May also occur due to excessive working in forging or forging
steels with higher sulphur contents (hot shortness).
• Bursts are often large and seldom heal during subsequent
working. They may take the form of an open cavity or a tight
faced crack and may be longitudinally or transversely orientated.
The best method of detection is ultrasonics, or radiography in
smaller sections
2. Defects in Cast Products
In casting, molten metal is poured into a mould of the required
shape and it solidifies to take the shape of the mould.

Defects in cast products include the following:

• Porosity
• Gas holes
• Air locks
• Shrinkage cavities
• Hot tears
• Inclusions
Porosity
• Porosity is small smooth-faced cavities, generally smaller than
1.5 mm diameter.
• Porosity is usually caused by the release of gas from the molten
metal as it cools. Gases such as hydrogen may be dissolved in the
liquid metal. As the metal cools, the dissolved gas separates out
to form bubbles, which are trapped in the solidifying metal.

The preferred NDT method for detecting porosity is radiography.

Ultrasonic testing may also detect porosity
 Gas holes

• The main distinction between gas holes and porosity is the size.
• Gas holes are smooth-faced cavities greater than 1.5 mm
diameter.
• Typical causes are:
(a) Evolution of gas from molten metal during solidification.
(b) Gas trapped as the molten metal enters the mould.
(c) Reactions between the metal and the mould, also known as
blowholes.
• Again the best method to detect gas holes is radiography.
Ultrasonic testing can also be used
Air locks
Air locks are cavities formed by air trapped in the mould during
pouring of the casting. Air locks tend to form just below and
parallel to the top surface during casting. They have a smooth
surface and can be quite large.

Once again the best method to detect gas holes is radiography.

Ultrasonic testing again can also be used.
Shrinkage Cavities

• Shrinkage cavities form during solidification as a result of the

reduction in volume when metal changes from the liquid to the
solid state
• Shrinkage cavities occur in situations where molten metal is not
available to compensate for the volume decrease during
solidification
• Shrinkage flaws typically occur where there is a localized
variation in section thickness but may occur in parallel sections
where penetration of the liquid feed metal is difficult
• Shrinkage defects vary in form from open cavities (piping) to
branched interconnected fine cavities. The defects tend to have a
rough surface profile
Once again the best method to detect gas holes is radiography.
Ultrasonic testing again can also be used.
Hot tears

• These are jagged crack type defects resulting from stresses

imposed on the cast metal when it is just below the solidification
temperature and so is in a weak condition.
• The stresses usually arise when the casting is restrained during
contraction by the mould, or by an already solid thinner section.
• The defect occurs mainly at or near a change of section and may
or may not extend to the surface
The best NDT method for detecting hot tears, if they are at the
surface, is magnetic particle testing for ferromagnetic materials
or liquid penetrants for other metals. If the defects are sub-
surface radiography or ultrasonic testing should be used
Inclusions

• These are foreign non-metallic materials such as sand or slag

trapped within the cast metal.
• This is the same type of defect as inclusions in wrought
products as discussed earlier.

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mmmmmm

The preferred NDT methods are radiography and ultrasonic

testing.
3. Welding defects
Welding defects include the following:

• Porosity
• Trapped slag
• Lack of fusion
• Lack of penetration
• Hot cracking
• Heat affected zone (HAZ) cracks
Porosity

• Cavity type discontinuities formed by gas entrapment during

solidification. They are generally spherical, but sometimes
tubular.
• The defects are caused by:
(a) Excessive gas content generated by chemical reactions in the
weld.
(b) Gases or other hydrocarbon contamination.
(c) Damp flux.
The preferred NDT techniques are radiography, ultrasonic testing
and, if the porosity is at the surface, liquid penetrant.
Trapped Slag

• This occurs when non-metallic material gets entrapped in weld

metal or between weld metal and base metal.
• A number of welding processes deliberately form a flux or slag
covering over the molten weld pool as it solidifies. This isolates
the weld metal from the atmosphere and helps purify the weld
metal.
• Some of this slag can be trapped in the weld metal due to
insufficient slag removal between runs. Depending on the
circumstances of formation the slag is generally in an isolated or
linear pattern
Preferred NDT technique for detecting trapped slag is
radiography or ultrasonic testing
Lack of fusion

• This refers to incomplete fusion between the weld metal and the
parent metal or weld metal with previously deposited weld metal.
• Three distinct types of fusion defect occur depending on the
location of the defect within the weld zone:
(a) Lack of side wall fusion.
(b) Lack of inter-run fusion, that is, between weld runs.
(c) Lack of root fusion.
• Causes include such factors as:
(a) Poor welding technique.
(b) Incorrect electrode size.
(c) Inadequate weld preparation.
• Lack of fusion defects are generally planar and crack-like in nature.
The best NDT method is ultrasonic testing. Radiography may be
used for lack of side wall and root fusion.
Lack of penetration

• This is where the weld metal has failed to penetrate into the
root of a joint as opposed to lack of root fusion where weld metal
has penetrated into the root area but has failed to fuse to one
side.
• The causes of lack of penetration are the same as for lack of
fusion defects.

• The preferred NDT technique for detecting lack of penetration is

radiography or ultrasonic testing.
Hot cracking

• This is also called solidification cracking because it occurs when

the weld metal has just solidified and so is in a weakened
condition.
• Most weld metal cracks are of this type, for example, centreline
cracking, as shown below, and crater cracks. Hot cracks result due
to:
(a) Hot shortness (racking caused by low-melting constituents
segregated at grain boundaries)
(b) Localized planer shrinkage
(c) Stresses exceeding the strength of the material
• Hot cracks result because of the incapacity of the molten and
semi solid material to absorb without tearing the thermal
shrinkage strains due to weld solidification and cooling.
Preferred NDT techniques for detecting hot cracking is magnetic
particle testing or liquid penetrant testing.
Heat affect zone (HAZ) cracks

• These are also called underbead cracks or toe cracks. The heat
affect zone, HAZ, of a weld is that part of the parent metal
adjacent to the weld fusion line where the metal has been
heated to a sufficiently high temperature by the weld to alter its
grain structure.
• Underbead cracks occur in the weld HAZ and lie parallel to the
fusion line while toe cracks commence at the weld toe and angle
across the HAZ as shown below.
• HAZ cracks form at temperatures around room temperature and
may form shortly after welding or take hours or even days to
form.
• The cracks occur under the combined action of:
(a) Hydrogen in the HAZ – hydrogen can originate, for example,
from using damp electrodes.
(b) Weld restraint – that is, stress.
(c) A hard HAZ – this relates to parent metal chemistry and
cooling rate after welding.
• The tendency to cracking is influenced by:
(a) The type of steel used (it is favored by higher carbon and
alloy steels).
(b) Material thickness.
(c) Type of joints.
(d) Type of welding process.
The best NDT technique for underbead cracks is ultrasonic testing
while magnetic particle testing is best for toe cracks.
4. Other types of defects:
Other types of defects include the following:
• Fatigue cracks
• Quench cracks
• Stress corrosion cracking
• Grinding cracks
Fatigue Cracks

• Fatigue cracks represent a major area of application in

maintenance NDT. Fatigue occurs under the repeated application
of a stress which is insufficient to cause failure when applied
statically. It accounts for 80% to 90% of the fractures of mechanical
components.
• The fatigue process involves a slowly progressing crack over an
extended time period and fatigue cracks almost always start at the
surface. This makes them ideally suited to detection by NDT
techniques. The great bulk of fatigue cracks start at points of stress
concentration such as sharp corners, thread roots, keyways, oil
holes and so on.
The preferred NDT techniques are magnetic particle testing for
steel components and liquid penetrant testing for non-ferrous
metals. Ultrasonic testing may be used for in situ inspection of
assemblies.
Stress Corrosion Cracking
• Like fatigue cracking, stress corrosion cracking is a service-
generated defect. Stress corrosion is the corrosion of a metal
accelerated by stress. The deterioration under these conditions is
much more harmful than the separate effects of stress and
corrosion. For a given metal, stress corrosion only occurs in certain
environments peculiar to that metal.
• Some classic combinations are:
Brass in mercury or ammonia compounds – ‘season cracking’.
Steel in sodium hydroxide – ‘caustic embrittlement’.
Austenitic stainless steel in chlorides.
• Stress corrosion cracking commonly takes the form of a multitude
of branched inter-granular cracks with little or no corrosive attack
to the surface as shown below. It is not normally visually
detectable.
The best NDT technique for detecting stress corrosion cracks in
ferromagnetic metals is magnetic particle testing. For other metals
liquid penetrant testing is used.
 Grinding Cracks
• These are fine surface cracks resulting from the grinding of steel
and they tend to occur on fine ground, high hardness surfaces
when using incorrect grinding technique, for example, using a
glazed wheel or inadequate coolant, causing local heating of the
surface.
• Grinding cracks usually occur as a series of shallow cracks, less
than 1 mm in depth, lying at right
angles to the grinding direction as
shown below.

The preferred NDT method for detecting grinding cracks is

magnetic particle testing
Quench Cracks
• These cracks develop in the later stages of the quenching
operation of a ‘quench and temper’ heat treatment on steel.
• Quenching involves heating the steel to about 850°C and cooling
rapidly in a water or oil bath. Quench cracks result where the
residual surface stresses produced in the quenching exceed the
tensile strength of the steel.
• Quench cracks characteristically run from the surface in a straight
line towards the centre as shown below. They tend to occur at
points of stress concentration such as section changes, sharp
corners, etc.
• Contributory factors to formation include:
(i) Too severe a quenching medium for the steel-section
combination.
(ii) Delay between quenching and tempering.
(iii) Large cross section of the component
 Advantages and Limitations of Non-
destructive Testing
Advantages
• Can be carried out directly on production items without regard to
part cost or quantity available, and no scrap losses are in curried
except for bad parts
• Can be carried out on 100% of production or on representative
samples
• Can be used when variability is wide and unpredictable
• Different tests can be applied to the same item simultaneously or
sequentially
• The same test can be repeated on the same item
• May be preformed on parts in service
• Cumulative effect of service usage can be measured directly
• May reveal failure mechanism
• Little or no specimen preparation is required
• Equipment is often portable for use in field
• Labour cost are usually low, especially for repetitive testing
of similar parts
 Limitations
• Results often must be interpreted by a skilled, experienced
technician
• In absence of proven correlation, different observers may
disagree on meaning and significance of test results
• Properties are measured indirectly and often only qualitative or
comparative measurements can be made
• Some nondestructive tests require large capital investments
 Recommended study material

ASM Handbook Volume 17: Nondestructive

Evaluation and Quality Control

Practical Non-destructive Testing

Baldev Raj, T. Jayakumar, M. Thavasimuthu

NDT resource centre

www.nde-ed.org