EXPOSURE TECHNIQUES

AND OTHER RADIOGRAPHY

TECHNIQUES
DR. ABD NASSIR BIN IBRAHIIM
MANAGING DIRECTOR, MADANI NDT TRAINING CENTRE
PRESIDENT, MALAYSIA SOCIETY FOR NDT

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 RT Technique
• Choice to use x-ray or gamma ray depends on the
density as well as thickness of material
• For light material best using x-radiography and for
heavy material such as steel use gamma radiography
• Thickness of material (example for steel):
• up to 20 mm: X-ray radiography
• more than 20 mm and less than 50 mm, gamma radiography
using Ir-192
• more than 50 mm to 170 mm cobalt 60 is appropriate
• Greater than 70 mm, use betatron, accelerator and its alike

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 RT Technique

• Definition: Specific approach for the application of RT

• Factors affecting the choice of technique:
• Applicable code, standard and spec
• Configuration of the material (pipe, plate, tube etc)
• Availability of equipment
• Environment surrounding the material to be inspected
including accessability
• Time limit for the inspection
• Level of inspection sensitivity (critical exam.)
• Type of defect to be detected and evaluated

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 X-ray source or

Directional Technique collimated gamma

Source

• Utilize a source that emits radiation in

one direction
• Applicable to almost all types of
specimen such as plate, pipe, nodes
and nozzle
• X-ray machines for directional
techniques are widely available in the
market Specimen

• For gamma source the appication of

this technique requires the use of a File

collimator.
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 Directional exposure and
the use of collimator

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 Panoramic Techniques
• Utilize a source that emits radiation in all
directions (panoramically) Panoramic x-ray

• May use of X-ray machine or uncollimated

gamma source
• Used for radiography inspection of pipes with
large diameter where the source is placed at
the centre of pipe emitting radiation in all
directions
• May also be applied to radiograph a number of
specimens with exacty simiar cofiguration and
dimension
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Training & Consultancy Panoramic gamma-ray
 PANORAMIC EXPOSURE

File

Source of
radiation

Specimen

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Training & Consultancy
 Single wall single image techique

• Exposure technique Radiation source

where the radiation pass

through a single wall
thickness forming a single
radiographic imaged Specimen

• Two common examples of

this technique are for the Film

inspection of weded plate

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and welded pipe
Training & Consultancy
 Single wall single image techique

Film

Radiation source

Radiation source

(b)
(a)

Radiation source
(c)

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Training & Consultancy
 Double wall Single image techique
• Applicable for the inspection of
circumferential weld in pipes Source

• Source need to pass through two

walls of pipe before forming an
image
• Images of both walls appear in the S pecimen

radiograph but only that closest to

the film interpret
• Image of the wall closest the
source will not be interprete
• If the source is placed immediately Film

outside the wall of the pipe, the

image of the wall appears as the
background
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Training & Consultancy
 Double wall Double image techique
• Technique where radiation
has to pass through both
walls of pipes and image of
both parts of the weld are
interpreted
• Only applicable to small
diameter pipes (such as less
than 80 mm diameter)
• Source is shifted from the
plane of the weld to produce
an image in the form of
ellipse.

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Training & Consultancy
 RADIOGRAPHY
OF
WELDS
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Training & Consultancy
 Radiography of Seam Weld
• Technique film lies parallel
and adjacent to one surface
of the weld and the source of
radiation is on the other side
of the weld at some distance
from it
• Careful location is necessary
as it is often not possible to
see both sides of the welds
at a time.
• A few source-film
arrangements suitable for
radiography of seam welds in
specimens of different
shapes
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Training & Consultancy
 Effective Length of the test portion (L)
• Length that meet the requirement
for radiographic density and
sensitivity
• API 1104: given in table
L
• German Standard (DIN) t
• L<0.7sfd (1.06t) (critical)
• L<0.92 sfd (1.1t) (noncritical)
• ASME V:
• L=(Source to object distance/2)
• Assignment: If the sfd =70cm and the thickness of
the specimen is 20mm, what is the diagnostic L
length of the radiography according to ASME and
DIN (noncritical)??
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 Radiography of Circumferential Weld in
Pipes-Film inside source outside
• Can only be used when the pipe is large enough to make access to the weld
possible.

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Training & Consultancy
 Radiography of Circumferential Weld in
Pipes-Film outside, source inside
• If source at the centre complete
weld can be examined in a single
shot
• Safe a lot of time thereby saving
a considerable amount of time.
• Source may only be at the centre
of the radius is bigger than
SFDmin
• If SFDmin >radius off centring it
may allow this technique to be
used, but a number of shots
would be required for complete
examination of the weld.
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Training & Consultancy
 Radiography of Circumferential Weld in
Pipes-Film outside, source outside
• This technique may be applied in two
ways
• Double wall single image where the
source to film distance is kept short
so as to diffuse the image of the
upper part of the weld and give a
radiograph of the part closest to the
film.
• The second is the double wall double
image method where the sfd is kept
long giving an elliptical image of the
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weld
Training & Consultancy
 Radiography of Seam Weld
• Technique film lies parallel
and adjacent to one surface
of the weld and the source of
radiation is on the other side
of the weld at some distance
from it
• Careful location is necessary
as it is often not possible to
see both sides of the welds
at a time.
• A few source-film
arrangements suitable for
radiography of seam welds in
specimens of different
shapes
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Training & Consultancy
 Diagnostic length of weld

• Rules used to find the

maximum permissible
diagnostic (the length of the
weld that can be covered in a
single exposure
• For critical examination
• L = 1.06 T
Where L and T are the oblique
and the normal thickness
respectively as seen by the
radiation (Figure 7.25).
• For general purpose
examination
• L = 1.1 T
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 Radiation 2 Radiation 1

Angle 150- 70
200

Radiography of fillet Radiography of

weld nozzle weld

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 Radiography of Nozzle Weld
• The source of radiation is
placed such that the beam
axis makes an angle of about
7 with the vertical wall of
the nozzle

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Training & Consultancy
 RADIOGRAPHY OF T-WELD
X-ray X-ray

T1 30o

X-ray
TA T1

T2

TA

TA=1.1x(T1+T2)
T2
the penetrated thickness of the
weld is somewhat small and
therefore X-rays as a rule are TA=1.4x(T1+T2)
radiated from the 30 direction. X-rays as a rule are radiated from the
45 direction.
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 RADIOGRAPHY OF T-WELD
• In a Tee weld the largest
penetrated thickness in the
test portion is about two
times the smallest penetrated
thickness, thus difficult to
keep the whole test portion
within a high density range of
a radiograph
• Use thickness compensating
wedge to reduce this
thickness difference
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 SOURCE SOURCE

DEFECT
SPECIMEN

DEFECT

CORRECT INCORRECT
•INTRODUCE
SOURCE SOURCE SCATTERING
•DEFECT DISTANCE
IS TOO FAR

SPECIMEN

SPECIMEN

MADANI CORRECT
Training & Consultancy INCORRECT
 B
CORRECT A
C

•INTRODUCE
FILM FOR POSITION D
SCATTERING
INCORRECT
•DEFECT DISTANCE
IS TOO FAR
FILM FOR POSITION A, B AND C

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 Radiograph 2 Radiation Direction 1

Radiation
direction 2

Defect

Radiograph 1
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 -2 exposures taken each about half S1 S
S2
the total exposure required
-Between these exposure shift
source by S
-After processing see the image
shift
D

S Dd D
  1 d
I d d
D /( S  I ) DI
d  I

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I SI
Training & Consultancy
 S1 S2 Y3
Y2

Y1
0
X1 X2 X3

L2

Y3
Y2 h L1

Y1

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X3 X2 X3
Training & Consultancy
 Assignment
 You are requested to perform
100% radiograph of a

50 cm

40 cm
30 cm

20 cm
100
circumferential weld of a
steel pipe having an internal
diameter of 18” and
thickness of 0.75” using

EXPOSURE (CURIE-HOUR)
10
75Ci Ir-192 source. Please
calculate the total exposure
time required to completely
radiograph the pipe by using
1
arrangements showed in the
previous slide (i.e. 1. source
at the centre and 2.sfd=10”
(use ASME V as a reference)
0.1
0 50 100 150 200
THICKNESS (MM) FE

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 50 cm

40 cm
30 cm

20 cm
Assignment
100

EXPOSURE (CURIE-HOUR)
10

• You are requested to perform

100% radiograph of a
circumferential weld of a steel 1

pipe having an internal

diameter of 36” and
thickness of 0.75” using 75Ci
Ir-192 source. Please 0.1
0 50 100 150 200

calculate the total exposure THICKNESS (MM) FE

time required to completely 38mm

radiograph the pipe by using
double wall single image Sfd=od=95.25cm
technique.

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Training & Consultancy
 50 cm

40 cm
30 cm

20 cm
Assignment 100

EXPOSURE (CURIE-HOUR)
10

 You are requested to

perform 100% radiograph
of a circumferential weld
of a steel pipe having an 1

internal diameter of 2.5”

and thickness of 0.25”
using 75Ci Ir-192 source. 0.1
0 50 100 150 200
Please calculate the total THICKNESS (MM) FE

exposure time required to

completely radiograph
the pipe by using double
wall double image
technique.
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Training & Consultancy