Industrial Testing Is Inescapable

Industrial testing and maintenance are inescapable. This is essentially to keep the cost of repairs at an affordable level. Imagine the repair costs in large industries such as Pulp & Paper, Refining & Petrochemical, Automotive or Aerospace and Nuclear or Power Generation Industries. Such testing is non destructive in nature so that the wheels of the industry can keep rolling without any hindrance. The services for such non-destructive testing (NDT) are Eddy Current, Dye Penetrant Testing, Radiography and Visual Testing besides Magnetic Testing and Ultrasonic Testing. Magnetic Testing methods are generally used for the examination of faults in welds of pipelines and cracks in blades for turbines among others. This form of testing utilizes the magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL), the Portable Yoke or the Alternating Current Field Measurement (ACFM) techniques. The ACFM is effective equally in ferrous and non-ferrous samples as well as their alloys. The ACFM can analyze samples through their coatings, as no direct contact is necessary. On the other hand, the MFL is a tool suited to steel structures only and involves the creation of a powerful magnetic field in the steel structure. The flux lines are next studied so as to detect likely pitted areas and those that may have cracks. There is an advanced version of this equipment called the Inline Inspection Tool or the MFL-ILI in which the tool travels inside the pipeline and cleans and collects the information. Other magnetic testing methods use multiple sensors to increase the resolution and hence the accuracy of the results. Ultrasonic testing methods used in the industry relate to measuring of the thickness of the samples besides more importantly corrosion monitoring and the assessment of the oxide that may have built up. Some of the services in use are the Electromagnetic Acoustic Transmission or EMAT, the Phased Array or PA and the Time of Flight Diffraction or TOFD. The TOFD is used to evaluate cracks in welds accurately. It uses a set of probes that are mounted on a buggy that travels along the weld inspecting and records the data while it's on the move. This technique is totally automated.

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