Case Studies in Nondestructive Testing and Evaluation最新文献

X-ray computed tomography displays a highly valuable nondestructive testing tool in various fields. A major disadvantage of this method comprises its high operating costs. Therefore, the reduction of the scanning times would be highly beneficial. Here, we demonstrate exemplarily for the testing of pearls the possibility to decrease the scanning times. The great diversity of pearls on the market, often of unclear origin, especially used for jewelry, demands non-destructive test methods for the fast and reliable classification and validation. We discuss the use of a nano-focus X-ray computed tomography (nf-XCT) system for fast three-dimensional characterization to distinguish between natural and cultured pearls. We test the approach not on individual pearls but for a more demanding task namely for a pearl necklace, that is multiple pearls on a strand. We show that with just one scan the 3D image data of the individual pearls within the whole necklace, which is composed of about 200 pearls can be scanned and reconstructed in only about 24 minutes. That is, we illustrate that nf-XCT as a inspection method is highly competitive to conventional radiography or radioscopy. The presented work also reveals possibilities for other fields like microelectronics etc.

In this paper, we present the results of a failure analysis done on new heat exchanger tubes, which shows loss of thickness during a EC inspection to stablish a prior loss of thickness base line aiming guarantee fitness for service during its working life. The root cause analysis indicates that there is intergranular corrosion due a differential concentration caused by seawater evaporation inside the tubes during the ship transit from the port of origin in China to the destination port in Brazil.

The intergranular corrosion depth showed by root cause failure analysis is smaller than that showed by EC inspection. We attribute the EC inspection results deviation to a tube magnetisation due to mechanical stress and to a secondary phase due to an incomplete solubilisation after tube conforming and welding.

Traditionally, these tubes are visually inspected and deemed acceptable but our conclusions reveal that eddy current testing is capable of detecting some corrosion anomalies which makes the tubes unfit for service.

Speed is an important parameter of an inspection system. Inline computed tomography systems exist but are generally expensive. Moreover, their throughput is limited by the speed of the reconstruction algorithm. In this work, we propose a Neural Network-based Hilbert transform Filtered Backprojection (NN-hFBP) method to reconstruct objects in an inline scanning environment in a fast and accurate way. Experiments based on apple X-ray scans show that the NN-hFBP method allows to reconstruct images with a substantially better tradeoff between image quality and reconstruction time.

This study evaluates the necessity of considering Transmitter–Receiver (T–R) offset distance for predicting pavement layer thicknesses from two-way travel time data captured by a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) antenna. For the purpose of this study, GPR testing was conducted at an instrumented pavement section at Milepost (MP) 141 on Interstate I-40 near Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. The GPR system used for this study consists of 2.0 GHz air-launched, 900 MHz ground-coupled, and 400 MHz ground-coupled antennas. The entire instrumented test section was tested with different antenna configurations. The two-way travel time is used for calculating layer thicknesses using two approaches: one considering the T–R offset, which is a non-conventional approach and the other without considering the T–R offset, which is a conventional approach. Statistical analysis namely, t-test is performed on the predicted layer thicknesses from these two approaches. The analysis indicates that these two approaches are significantly different. The predicted thicknesses by these two approaches are compared to each other. It is observed that the approach considering the T–R offset predicts the layer thicknesses with better accuracy compared to the conventional approach. Therefore, it is recommended to use the T–R offset in predicting pavement layer thickness from GPR data.

In this study, X-ray phase contrast imaging with a grating interferometer is applied on pearls for the first time in order to distinguish natural pearls from cultured pearls. Traditionally, this separation is mainly based on X-ray radiography. In order to visualize the internal structure of pearls we used a custom-made grating interferometer setup and performed measurements on three different pearl products, a natural pearl, a beaded cultured pearl and a beadless cultured pearl. To enhance the visibility of the internal pearl structures, we applied a high-pass filter in order to better conclude on the applicability of this technique to the separation of natural and cultured pearls. The study shows that it is possible to visualize internal pearl structures using distinctly shorter exposure times compared to traditional X-ray radiography and that X-ray phase contrast imaging is a promising complementary method for pearl analysis.

The purpose of the presented work was to undertake experimental trials to demonstrate the potential capabilities of a novel in-situ robotic ultrasonic scanning technique for measuring and monitoring loss of the cladding wall thickness in fuel pins of Advanced Gas-cooled Reactors using non-radioactive samples. AGR fuel pins are stainless steel cylindrical ribbed pipes of inner diameter of the rod being about 15 mm and wall thickness of about 300 μm. Spent AGR fuel pins are stored in a water pond and thus may be prone to corrosion and stress-corrosion cracking under adverse conditions. An ultrasonic immersion transducer with central frequency of 25 MHz was used to measure wall thickness of the AGR fuel cladding. The novelty of the approach consists in the usage of a frequency domain technique to measure the wall thickness combined with cylindrical ultrasonic scanning of the samples performed using an industrial robotic manipulator. The frequency domain approach could detect wall thicknesses in the range 96 μm to 700 μm with a resolution of about 10 μm. In addition to the frequency domain measurements, using conventional time domain techniques, it was possible to detect very short (2.5 mm long) and shallow (100 μm in depth) crack-like defects in the fuel cladding.

Railway wheelsets consist of three main components; the wheel, axle and axle bearing. Faults can develop on any of the aforementioned components, but the most common are related to wheel and axle bearing damages. The continuous increase in train operating speeds means that failure of an axle bearing can lead to very serious derailments, potentially causing human casualties, severe disruption in the operation of the network, damage to the tracks, unnecessary costs, and loss of confidence in rail transport by the general public. The rail industry has focused on the improvement of maintenance and online condition monitoring of rolling stock to reduce the probability of failure as much as possible. This paper discusses the results of onboard acoustic emission measurements carried out on freight wagons with artificially damaged axle bearings in Long Marston, UK. Acoustic emission signal envelope analysis has been applied as a means of effective tool to detect and evaluate the damage in the bearings considered in this study. From the results obtained it is safe to conclude that acoustic emission signal envelope analysis has the capability of detecting and evaluating faulty axle bearings along with their characteristic defect frequencies in the real-world conditions.

Internal defects such as voids and porosity directly influence mechanical properties, durability, service life and other characteristics of industrial parts. There are several non-destructive and destructive methods for defects detection and evaluation. Recently, X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) has emerged as an effective tool for geometrical characterization of internal defects. 3D information about internal voids/porosity extracted from CT datasets can be utilized in many applications, such as production processes optimization and quality control. However, there are still challenges in using CT as a traceable method for internal voids dimensional measurements. In order to enhance the accuracy and reliability of CT porosity measurements, a metrological validation method is required.

This study presents the application of a new reference object for accuracy evaluation of CT porosity measurements and discusses results obtained by using it. The reference object is made of aluminium and is composed of a cylindrical body and four cylindrical inserts with micro-milled hemispherical features of calibrated sizes resembling artificial flaws. The accuracy of porosity measurements is evaluated according to various characteristics (diameters and depths measurements errors) and repeatability of measurements. Design of experiments technique is used to investigate the influence of CT parameters settings on porosity measurement accuracy.

The possibility of measuring multi-material components, while assessing inner and outer features simultaneously makes X-ray computed tomography (CT) the latest evolution in the field of coordinate measurement systems (CMSs).

However, the difficulty in selecting suitable scanning parameters and suitable surface determination settings, limits a better acceptance of CT as a CMS. Moreover, standard CT users are subject to the algorithms and boundary conditions implied by the use of commercial analysis software.

In this context, this paper is concerned with the experimental evaluation of the influence of surface determination process on multi-material measurements, using functions available in the commercial CT data analysis software Volume Graphics VGStudio Max 2.2.6.

Calibrated step gauges made of different materials, i.e. PEEK, PPS, and Al were used as reference standards. The step gauges were assembled in such a way as to have different multi-material X-ray absorption ratios. Comparative measurements of mono-material assemblies were performed as well. Different segmentation processes were considered (e.g. ISO-50%, local threshold, region growing, etc.), patch-based bidirectional length analyses were carried out to perform in-material measurements on the assemblies.

This work discusses the different approaches based on real CT scans, and aims to provide advice on the segmentation process for multi-material measurements.

This paper describes the development of different novel antenna concepts for improving the spatial resolution of microwave based non-destructive testing (NDT) at 24 GHz. In a great number of applications the antenna of the sensor can be brought very close to the device under test. In these cases, the near field characteristics of the antennas are crucial for a high resolution. However, common sensor heads offer either a high image resolution or a high penetration depth. In order to combine both of the characteristics different antenna concepts have been developed. The objectives were to obtain a high return loss combined with a sufficient high dynamic range and a near field focusing of electromagnetic waves in order to yield a high resolution. Altogether, three antennas have been set up. Each antenna has been calculated analytically, followed by a FEM simulation, near field measurements and an experimental verification.