10 Van Reenen Street                                 P.O. Box 9448

Verwoerdpark                                         Verwoerdpark

1453                                                                       1453

Tel & Fax (011) 902 4225 or 086 538 1467   

Cell. 082 346 1833   

E-mail: seagulleng@absamail.co.za   

VAT Reg. No.: 4100186115                

This website has been designed and maintained by www.responsiblebreeders.co.za

Contact jan.louis1@gmail.com for an affordable website

All text and pictures of this website is the sole property of the owner, designer and affiliated programs they may  not be copied without written permission

All our technicians currently are qualified to ASNT Level 2

We specialize in;

Boilers (Expert commodity)

Fabrication testing

Pipelines

Locomotive industries

Raw materials

Nondestructive testing

Nondestructive testin or Non-destructive testing (NTD) ( also known as as nondestructive examination (NDE) ; Nondestructive inspection (NDI) ; Nondestructive evaluation (NDE)) is very wide group of analisis techniques.  It is often used to evaluate the properties of a component, system and material without causing damage. 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, troubleshooting, and research.

NDT methods includes remote visual inspectio (RVI), ultrasonic, magnetic-particle, radiographic etc. NDT is a commonly-used tool in mechanical engineering, forensic engineering, system engineering, electrical engineering etc.

Methods

NDT methods may rely upon use of electromagnetic radiation, sound, and inherent properties of materials to examine samples. This includes some kinds of microscopy to examine external surfaces in detail, although sample preparation techniques for metallography and electron microscopy are generally destructive as the surfaces must be made smooth through polishing or the sample must be electron transparent in thickness.

Contrast between a defect and the bulk of the sample may be enhanced for visual examination by the unaided eye by using liquids to penetrate fatigue cracks. One method involves using dyes or non-fluorescing, in fluids for non-magnetic materials, usually metals.

Applications

Weld verification

1. Section of material with a surface-breaking crack that is not visible to the naked eye.
2. Penetrant is applied to the surface.
3. Excess penetrant is removed.
4. Developer is applied, rendering the crack visible.

Structural mechanics

In NDT, the structure undergoes a dynamic input, such as the tap of a hammer or a controlled impulse. Key properties, such as displacement or acceleration at different points of the structure, are measured as the corresponding output. This output is recorded and compared to the corresponding output given by the transfer function and the known input. Differences may indicate an inappropriate model (which may alert engineers to unpredicted instabilities or performance outside of tolerances), failed components, or an inadequate control system.

History of NDT

 1854 Hartford, Connecticut: a boiler at the Fales and Gray Car works explodes, killing 21 people and seriously injuring 50. Within a decade, the State of Connecticut passes a law requiring annual inspection (in this case visual) of boilers.

 1880 - 1920 The "Oil and Whiting" method of crack detection is used in the railroad industry to find cracks in heavy steel parts. (A part is soaked in thinned oil, then painted with a white coating that dries to a powder. Oil seeping out from cracks turns the white powder brown, allowing the cracks to be detected.) This was the precursor to modern liquid penetrant tests.

 1920 Dr. H. H. Lester begins development of industrial radiography for metals.

 1924 — Lester uses radiography to examine castings to be installed in a Boston Edison Company steam pressure power plant.

 1926 The first electromagnetic eddy current instrument is available to measure material thicknesses.

 1927 - 1928 Magnetic induction system to detect flaws in railroad track developed by Dr. Elmer Sperry and H.C. Drake.

 1929 Magnetic particle methods and equipment pioneered (A.V. DeForest and F.B. Doane.)

 1935 - 1940 Liquid penetrant tests developed (Betz, Doane, and DeForest)

 1950 The Schmidt Hammer (also known as "Swiss Hammer") is invented. The instrument uses the world’s first patented non-destructive testing method for concrete.

 1950 J. Kaiser introduces acoustic emission as an NDT method.

(Source: Hellier, 2001) Note the number of advancements made during the WWII era, a time when industrial quality control was growing in importance.

Applications of NDT

NDT is used in a variety of settings that covers a wide range of industrial activity, with new NDT methods and applications, being continuously developed.

o It is aplicable in the Automotive industry (like engine parts and the frame); Aviation industry/ Aerospace; Poweplants ( Propellers, reciprocating engines, gas turbine engines); construcion (structures, bridges, cover meter); maintenance, repair and operations, the minig industry, manufaturing and many more