Introduction to the Different Facets of Industrial Testing
Introduction to the Different Facets of Industrial Testing
Industrial Testing is mainly about Non Destructive Testing or NDT that is one of the forms of materials testing. This is because it's not easy to shut down an industry even though it may be for a short period. This is true for all industries whether it's Aerospace or Power Generation and Pulp and Paper or Refining and Petrochemical, Nuclear, Pharmaceutical, Automotive or Pipeline. The wheels of the industry have to keep running continuously and any stoppage can entail huge losses. NDT consists of various techniques that might be visual or Radiographic and Ultrasonic or by Eddy Current and by Magnetic Testing.
Magnetic Testing could use different services depending on the type of industry. Thus the Pipeline Industry often uses the Magnetic Flux Leakage (Induction) or MFL and the Portable Yoke. In the MFL method used in the case of steel pipelines a strong magnetic field is created around the pipeline under inspection. The missing lines of flux are analyzed to indicate defective areas where metal might have been corroded. Multiple sensors are used in the advanced version in order to improve the resolution. Very accurate indications are possible in magnetic testing methods that involve the use of a more sophisticated form of MFL that deploys a "PIG". This smart tool matches the pipe diameter and collects real time data that pinpoints the defective areas while traveling inside the pipe and cleaning it. It's possible to hook this system to the GPS in order to further improve on the accuracy in the location of defects in pipelines.
Industrial Testing quite often has to rely on materials testing services. The range of such services is vast and encompasses both the destructive and non-destructive forms. It includes metallography and chemical analysis. Some of the destructive testing methods could include tensile testing at temperatures as high as 1000 c or using the notched bar form of impact testing carried out at temperatures as low as 196c. Hardness values in different standards and the examination of grain structures are routine materials testing options while optical vacuum emission spectrometry and gas chromatography could be the more sophisticated techniques.