UNIT-1

Welding in Aircraft Structural Components

Welding is joining two pieces of metal by Heating to temperature high enough to cause softening
or melting With or without application of pressure With or without use of filler metal Melting
point same as metals beginning joined or melting point below metals but about 800º F

Welding Equipment

Machines, apparatus, and jigs and fixtures required for the fabrication of welded articles from
semi finished stock. A welding position, or station, is a set of welding equipment for operations
that require some degree of participation by a welder. A welding line combines several welding
stations.

Welding stations may be used in arc welding, resistance welding, gas welding, electron-beam
welding, or other methods. The welding equipment includes the welding machine, power
supplies, and devices directly used to conduct the welding process, jigs and fixtures for the rapid
assembly of the parts to be welded, for holding the parts during welding, and for preventing or
reducing war page of the welded articles, auxiliary equipment used for transporting the parts
during welding and for mounting and transporting the welding apparatus, and various other tools
used by the welder. Various transport means and instruments for controlling weld quality are
also used in the welding process. The technical characteristics of welding equipment are
determined by the welding method chosen, the type of production, and the degree of
mechanization, that is, whether manual, semiautomatic, or automatic welding is performed.

A welding station is a section of a production area where a power supply, current-carrying

conductors, and necessary jigs, fixtures, and welder’s tools are located. In order to protect
personnel in the area from radiation, the welding station is enclosed by curtains or panels. Fixed
automated stations are widely used in modern manufacturing processes; such stations are located
in manufacturing shops. Mobile stations are used in the field for welding large objects in
construction and repair work.

A welding transformer is used to match the parameters of the welding circuit and the power
supply it also functions as a voltage regulator. In arc welding, the voltage is regulated
mechanically or electrically. In the former case, the distance between the primary and secondary
windings is altered. Electrical regulation is accomplished by changing the control currents in
supplementary windings, located on the upper and middle field frames of the transformer. In this
method, the secondary winding is divided into two sections, one of which is located in the upper
window of the transformer. Such a transformer is capable of producing various no-load voltages

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without a change in the turn ratio; this property is required for welding adjustments. Welding
transformers used in resistance welding have a minimum short-circuit resistance and a secondary
winding that usually consists of one or two turns. Changes in secondary voltage are achieved by
tapping sections of the turns of the primary winding.

A welding generator is a specially designed electric machine—either a DC machine or a machine

that operates at higher-than-standard frequencies. Single-position generators are used; they may
be general-purpose units, or they may feature drooping external characteristics, which result in a
stable welding arc. Welding generators may be of the crossed-field or split-pole type, or they
may have a bucking series winding. In a crossed-field welding generator, the short-circuited
winding of the armature creates a cross magnetic flux. The drooping characteristics are due to the
longitudinal bucking armature flux. In a generator with a bucking series winding, the external
characteristics result from the interaction of the magnetic fluxes of the bucking series winding
and the magnetizing parallel winding. Voltage fed to the magnetizing winding is taken from a
third brush or from an independent power supply.

Welding rectifiers convert alternating current from a power supply to direct current; such
converters may have drooping, fixed, or adjustable external characteristics. They consist of a
transformer, a set of semiconductor electric valves, an automatic control system, a reactor, and
switching equipment. The converter is regulated by transformers or electric control valves.

A gas generator is a device for producing fuel gases. It usually produces acetylene from calcium
carbide by the interaction of the latter with water.

An automatic arc-welding machine consists of a complex of mechanisms and devices used to

mechanize the welding process, including the feeding of electrode wires, the striking and
maintaining of the welding arc, the maintaining of given welding conditions, and the stopping of
the process after the weld is completed. In such installations, the welding heads may feature
independent feed speeds for the electrode wire; in this case, the arcing process uses a self-
regulating arc. The feed speed of the electrode wire may also be automatically adjusted in
correspondence with the arc voltage.

Mobile, self-propelled automatic welders may be used to replace complex stationary

installations. Automatic welding machines and independent, suspended welding heads for
electric welding with one or several electrodes are also used. The electrodes may be connected to
a common power supply or to separate, independent supplies. Equipment for welding with non-
consumable carbon or tungsten electrodes is also used.

Semiautomatic welders used in arc welding feature a mechanized feed for the electrode wire and
manual transport of the torch along the edges being welded. Semiautomatic machines for
welding with non-consumable electrodes have a mechanized feed for the filler-metal wire. This

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wire may be extended through a flexible guide hose, or it may be fed from a reel by a mechanism
built into the torch. Semiautomatic welding machines are used in gas-shielded welding,
unshielded-arc welding, and submerged arc welding. The wire feed mechanism and the torch are
held in the welder’s hand and are connected by a flexible hose. The hose functions as a guide
channel that feeds the electrode wire, the welding current, the flux, and the shielding gas to the
arc zone. In electric welding, the welding torch is the mechanism that feeds electric current to the
electrode and the gas to the arc zone; in gas welding, the torch is used to adjust the welding
flame.

An automatic welder used in electroslag welding differs in its design from automatic welders
used in arc welding, since the former is used to weld edges in a vertical position. Some automatic
welders move on rails; others run directly over the edges of the parts being welded. In addition to
the self-propelled mechanism for vertical motion, the welder is also equipped with two slides,
designed to maintain the weld puddle and form the weld, and a mechanism for vibrating the
electrodes along the surface of the melt weld puddle.

Auxiliary equipment: Welding installations consist of components designed to locate the work
piece in the position most convenient for welding, to turn the work piece around during welding
or during service operations in the weld zone, and to mount and transport the welding apparatus.
Roller-conveyor, spindle, chain, pivot-type, and lever tilters are used to locate parts in a
convenient welding position. Rotators with vertical, inclined, or horizontal axes of rotation are
used to rotate the article being welded. Work pieces are fastened and turned using a disk chuck
or a guide (for center rotators) or rollers (for roller-type rotators). Roller-type rotator stands are
frequently used in welding cylindrical articles; the drive rollers of such rotators are usually
rubber-coated. Shop and welding manipulators are used to turn work pieces around their axes in
those cases where the spatial position of the axis is changed during welding. Overhead platforms,
rail tracks, and special fixtures that grip the work piece are used to mount and transport
automatic and semiautomatic welders, to suspend the apparatus above moving work pieces, and
to transport the apparatus along a weld seam or from weld to weld.

Welder’s tools: Welder’s tools include electrode holders for welding with manual electrodes,
welding torches, cleaning tools, such as hammers for slag removal, pneumatic hammers, wire
brushes, and grinding machines, tools for fitting the parts to be joined, tools for moving and
turning hot work pieces, tools for aligning welding equipment, jigs, and fixtures, and measuring
instruments, such as gauges and micrometers. Data on equipment for special welding methods,
such as resistance, ultrasonic, and diffusion welding, are given in the articles dealing with these
methods.

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 Welding - Personal Protective Equipment

Body Part Equipment Illustration Reason

Eyes and Welding Protects from:

face helmet, hand
shield, or  radiation
goggles  hot slag, sparks
 intense light
 irritation and
chemical burns

Wear fire resistant head

coverings under the
helmet where appropriate

Lungs Respirators Protects against:

(breathing)
 fumes and oxides

Exposed Fire/Flame Protects against:

skin (other resistant
than feet, clothing and  heat, fires
hands, and aprons  burns
head)
Notes: pants should not
have cuffs, shirts should
have flaps over pockets
or be taped closed

Ears - Ear muffs, Protects against: noise

hearing ear plugs Use fire resistant ear
plugs where sparks or
splatter may enter the ear.

Feet and Boots, Protects against:

hands gloves
 electric shock
 heat
 burns
 fires

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Ensuring Weld Quality:

To ensure quality welds, it is important to have a quality weld inspection program in place. In
order to do so, a company must understand how to evaluate weld characteristics, determine weld
quality, and have a welding inspector capable of performing a number of different testing
methods.

Ensuring that welders follow specific procedures is a crucial step in the overall welding quality
system.

There are a number of reasons to inspect a weld, the most fundamental of which is to determine
whether its quality is good enough for its intended application. To evaluate the quality of a weld,
it is necessary to have a form of measurement to compare its characteristics and a qualified
individual to perform the evaluation. It is not practical to evaluate quality without some form of
specified acceptance criteria. It's also not practical for a person who is not well-versed in the
necessary procedures to perform this task.

Evaluation of weld characteristics includes the size of the weld and the presence of
discontinuities. The size of a weld can be extremely important, as it often correlates directly to
strength and associated performance. Undersized welds may not withstand stresses applied
during service, and oversized welds can produce stress concentrations or contribute to the
potential for distortion of a welded component.

Uncovering weld discontinuities also is important because imperfections within or adjacent the
weld, depending on their size or location, may prevent the weld from meeting its intended
function. When discontinuities are an unacceptable size or in an unacceptable location, they are
called welding defects, and they can cause premature weld failure by reducing strength or
producing stress concentrations within the welded component.

Determining Weld Quality

Weld quality acceptance criteria can originate from a number of sources. The welding fabrication
drawing or blueprint provides weld sizes and other welding dimensional requirements such as

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length and location. These dimensional requirements are established through design calculations
or are taken from proven designs that meet the performance requirements of the welded
connection.

The number of acceptable and unacceptable weld discontinuities for welding inspection usually
is obtained from welding codes and standards. Welding codes and standards have been
developed for many types of welding fabrication applications. It is important to choose a welding
standard intended for use within the particular industry or application in which you are involved.

Weld Inspector Responsibilities

Welding inspection requires knowledge of weld drawings, symbols, joint design, procedures,
code and standard requirements, and inspection and testing techniques. For this reason, many
welding codes and standards require that the welding inspector be formally qualified, or have the
necessary knowledge and experience to conduct the inspection.

Jigs and Fixtures:

Some machining operations are so simple which are done quite easily, such as turning, the job is
held in position in the chuck and turning operation is done easily. No other device is required to
hold the job or to guide the tool on the machine in such an operation. But some operations are
such type in which the tool is required to be guided by means of another device and also some
jobs are of such forms which are required to be held in position on the machine by means of
another device.

The device which guides the tool is called jig and the device which holds the job in position is
called fixture.

Jigs and fixtures are special purpose tool which are used to facilitate production (machining,
assembling and inspection operations, when work piece is based on the concept of
interchangeability according to which every part will be produced within an established
tolerance. Jigs and fixtures provide on means of manufacturing interchangeable parts since they
establish a relation with predetermined to tolerance between the work and cutting tool. They
eliminate the necessity of a special set up for each individual park. So’ A jig is may be de-fined
as a device which hold and position the work; locate or guides the outing tool relative to the
work piece and usually not fixed to the m/c table. It is usually lightly in construction.

A fixture is a work holding device and position the work; but doesn’t guide ‘locate or position
the cutting tool’ the setting of the tool is done by machine adjustment and a setting blocker using
slip gauges. A fixture is hold or clamped to the machine table. It is usually heavy in construction.

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Jigs are used on drilling, reaming, tapping and couter boring operations, while fixtures are used
in connection with turning, milling , grinding , shaping , planning and boring operations.

The use of jig and fixture makes possible more rapid and more accurate manufacturing at a
reduction of cost.

Uses of Jigs and Fixtures:

Jigs and fixtures are used to reduce the cost of production as there use elimination being out
work and setting up of tools.

1. To increase the production.

2. To assure the high accuracy of the parts.
3. To provide for interchangeability.
4. To enables heavy and complex shaped parts to be machined by holding rigidly to a
machine.
5. To control quality control expenses.
6. Less skilled labor.
7. Saving labor.
8. There use partially automates the machine tool.
9. Improve the safety at work, thereby lowering the rate of accidents.

Jigs

The most-common jigs are drill and boring jigs. These tools are fundamentally the same. The
difference lies in the size, type, and placement of the drill bushings. Boring jigs usually have
larger bushings. These bushings may also have internal oil grooves to keep the boring bar
lubricated. Often, boring jigs use more than one bushing to support the boring bar throughout the
machining cycle.

In the shop, drill jigs are the most-widely used form of jig. Drill jigs are used for drilling,
tapping, reaming, chamfering, counter boring, countersinking, and similar operations.

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Occasionally, drill jigs are used to perform assembly work also. In these situations, the bushings
guide pins, dowels, or other assembly elements.

Jigs are further identified by their basic construction. The two common forms of jigs are open
and closed. Open jigs carry out operations on only one, or sometimes two, sides of a work piece.
Closed jigs, on the other hand, operate on two or more sides. The most-common open jigs are
template jigs, plate jigs, table jigs, sandwich jigs, and angle plate jigs. Typical examples of
closed jigs include box jigs, channel jigs, and leaf jigs. Other forms of jigs rely more on the
application of the tool than on their construction for their identity. These include indexing jigs,
trunnion jigs, and multi-station jigs.

Specialized industry applications have led to the development of specialized drill jigs. For
example, the need to drill precisely located rivet holes in aircraft fuselages and wings led to the
design of large jigs, with bushings and liners installed, contoured to the surface of the aircraft. A
portable air-feed drill with a bushing attached to its nose is inserted through the liner in the jig
and drilling is accomplished in each location.

Fixtures

Fixtures have a much-wider scope of application than jigs. These workholders are designed for
applications where the cutting tools cannot be guided as easily as a drill. With fixtures, an edge
finder, center finder, or gage blocks position the cutter. Examples of the more-common fixtures
include milling fixtures, lathe fixtures, sawing fixtures, and grinding fixtures. Moreover, a fixture
can be used in almost any operation that requires a precise relationship in the position of a tool to
a workpiece.

Fixtures are most often identified by the machine tool where they are used. Examples include
mill fixtures or lathe fixtures. But the function of the fixture can also identify a fixture type. So
can the basic construction of the tool. Thus, although a tool can be called simply a mill fixture, it
could also be further defined as a straddle-milling, plate-type mill fixture. Moreover, a lathe

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fixture could also be defined as a radius-turning, angle-plate lathe fixture. The tool designer
usually decides the specific identification of these tools.

Welder Performance and Welding Procedure Qualification: Specific procedures must be

followed to qualify welders and welding procedures. The qualification process is an integral part
of the overall welding quality system, and the welding inspector often is required to coordinate
and verify these types of qualification tests.

These qualifications typically involve producing welded samples representative of the welds that
will be used in production welding. These welded samples usually are required to be tested after
completion. Radiographic, micro etching, guided bends, transverse tension, and nick-break
fracture are some of the tests that are used. The test results must meet or exceed the minimum
requirements as stipulated in the welding code or standard before the procedure can be qualified.

Soldering and brazing:

Soldering and brazing provide permanent joint to bond metal pieces. Soldering and
brazing process lie somewhere in between fusion welding and solid state welding. These
processes have some advantages over welding process. These can join the metal having
poor weldability, dissimilar metals, very less amount of heating is needed. The major
disadvantage is joint made by soldering and brazing has low strength as compared to
welded joint.

In case of brazing joining of metal pieces is done with the help of filler metal. Filler
metal is melted and distributed by capillary action between the faying surfaces of the
metallic parts being joined. In this case only filler metal melts. There is no melting of
workpiece metal. The filler metal (brazing metal) should have the melting point more
than 450oC. Its melting point should be lesser than the melting point of workpiece metal.
The metallurgical bonding between work and filler metal and geometric constrictions
imposed on the joint by the workpiece metal make the joint stronger than the filler metal
out of which the joint has been formed.

Soldering is very much similar to brazing and its principle is same as that of brazing. The major
difference lies with the filler metal, the filler metal used in case of soldering should have the
melting temperature lower than 450oC. The surfaces to be soldered must be pre-cleaned so that
these are faces of oxides, oils, etc. An appropriate flux must be applied to the faying surfaces and
then surfaces are heated. Filler metal called solder is added to the joint, which distributes
between the closely fitted surfaces. Strength of soldered joint is much lesser than welded joint
and less than a brazed joint.

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Inspection of damage in sheet metal:

The satisfactory performance of an aircraft requires continuous maintenance of aircraft structural integrity. It is
important that metal structural repairs be made according to the best available techniques because improper
repair techniques can pose an immediate or potential danger. The reliability of an aircraft depends on the
quality of the design, as well as the workmanship used in making the repairs. The design of an aircraft metal
structural repair is complicated by the requirement that an aircraft be as light as possible. If weight were not a
critical factor, repairs could be made with a large margin of safety. In actual practice, repairs must be strong
enough to carry all of the loads with the required factor of safety, but they must not have too much extra
strength. For example, a joint that is too weak cannot be tolerated, but a joint that is too strong can create stress
risers that may cause cracks in other locations.
Aircraft Fabric Covering, sheet metal aircraft construction dominates modern aviation.
Generally, sheet metal made of aluminum alloys is used in airframe sections that serve as both
the structure and outer aircraft covering, with the metal parts joined with rivets or other types of
fasteners. Sheet metal is used extensively in many types of aircraft from airliners to single engine
airplanes, but it may also appear as part of a composite airplane, such as in an instrument panel.
Sheet metal is obtained by rolling metal into flat sheets of various thicknesses ranging from thin
(leaf) to plate (pieces thicker than 6 mm or 0.25 inch). The thickness of sheet metal, called
gauge, ranges from 8 to 30 with the higher gauge denoting thinner metal. Sheet metal can be cut
and bent into a variety of shapes.
Damage to metal aircraft structures is often caused by corrosion, erosion, normal stress, and
accidents and mishaps. Sometimes aircraft structure modifications require extensive structural
rework. For example, the installation of winglets on aircraft not only replaces a wing tip with a
winglet, but also requires extensive reinforcing of the wing structure to carry additional stresses.
Non-destructive Testing:
Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) is a term that is often used interchangeably with NDT.
However, technically, NDE is used to describe measurements that are more quantitative in
nature. For example, a NDE method would not only locate a defect, but it would also be used to
measure something about that defect such as its size, shape, and orientation. NDE may be used to
determine material properties such as fracture toughness, formability, and other physical
characteristics.

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What are Some Uses of NDE Methods?
• Flaw Detection and Evaluation
• Leak Detection
• Location Determination
• Dimensional Measurements
• Structure and Microstructure Characterization
• Estimation of Mechanical and Physical Properties
• Stress (Strain) and Dynamic Response Measurements
• Material Sorting and Chemical Composition Determination
Why Nondestructive?
• Test piece too precious to be destroyed
• Test piece to be reuse after inspection
• Test piece is in service
• For quality control purpose
• Something you simply cannot do harm to, e.g. fetus in mother’s uterus
When are NDE Methods Used?

 There are NDE applications at almost any stage in the production or life cycle of a
component,
 To assist in product development
 To screen or sort incoming materials
 To monitor, improve or control manufacturing processes
 To verify proper processing such as heat treating
 To verify proper assembly
 To inspect for in-service damage

Major types of NDT

• Detection of surface flaws
 Visual
 Magnetic Particle Inspection
 Fluorescent Dye Penetrant Inspection
• Detection of internal flaws

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  Radiography
 Ultrasonic Testing
 Eddy current Testing

Visual Inspection: This is often the easiest, least expensive, and most effective method of
welding inspection for many applications if performed correctly. The welding inspector must be
capable of identifying all of the different welding discontinuities during visual inspection. He
also must be able to evaluate, in terms of the relevant welding code or standard, the significance
of identified discontinuities to determine whether to accept or reject them during testing and
production.

A welding inspector with good eyesight can be trained relatively quickly by a competent
instructor and can prove to be a major asset to the welding quality system (good vision is
obviously essential for visual inspection).

Surface Crack Detection: A welding inspector sometimes is required to conduct weld testing
by surface crack detection methods. He also may have to evaluate the test results of these testing
methods. The inspector should understand testing methods, such as liquid penetrant and
magnetic particle inspection. Additionally, he must know how the tests are used and what they
will find.

Magnetic particle inspection (MPI) is a nondestructive testing method used for defect
detection. MPI is fast and relatively easy to apply, and part surface preparation is not as critical
as it is for some other NDT methods. These characteristics make MPI one of the most widely
utilized nondestructive testing methods.

MPI uses magnetic fields and small magnetic particles (i.e.iron filings) to detect flaws in
components. The only requirement from an inspectability standpoint is that the component being
inspected must be made of a ferromagnetic material such as iron, nickel, cobalt, or some of their
alloys. Ferromagnetic materials are materials that can be magnetized to a level that will allow the
inspection to be effective.

In theory, magnetic particle inspection (MPI) is a relatively simple concept. It can be considered
as a combination of two nondestructive testing methods:
magnetic flux leakage testing and visual testing.
Consider the case of a bar magnet. It has a magnetic
field in and around the magnet. Any place that a
magnetic line of force exits or enters the magnet is
called a pole. A pole where a magnetic line of force
exits the magnet is called a north pole and a pole where
a line of force enters the magnet is called a south pole.

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When a bar magnet is broken in the center of its length, two complete bar magnets with magnetic
poles on each end of each piece will result. If the magnet is just cracked but not broken
completely in two, a north and south pole will form at each edge of the crack. The magnetic field
exits the north pole and reenters at the south pole. The
magnetic field spreads out when it encounters the small
air gap created by the crack because the air cannot
support as much magnetic field per unit volume as the
magnet can. When the field spreads out, it appears to
leak out of the material and, thus is called a flux leakage
field.

If iron particles are sprinkled on a cracked magnet, the particles will be attracted to and cluster
not only at the poles at the ends of the magnet, but also at the poles at the edges of the crack.
This cluster of particles is much easier to see than the actual crack and this is the basis for
magnetic particle inspection.

The first step in a magnetic particle inspection is to magnetize the component that is to be
inspected. If any defects on or near the surface are present, the defects will create a leakage field.
After the component has been magnetized, iron particles, either in a dry or wet suspended form,
are applied to the surface of the magnetized part. The particles will be attracted and cluster at the
flux leakage fields, thus forming a visible indication that the inspector can detect.

The method is used to inspect a variety of product forms including castings, forgings, and
weldments. Many different industries use magnetic particle inspection for determining a
component's fitness-for-use. Some examples of industries that use magnetic particle inspection
are the structural steel, automotive, petrochemical, power generation, and aerospace industries.
Underwater inspection is another area where magnetic particle inspection may be used to test
items such as offshore structures and underwater pipelines.

Fluorescent Dye Penetrant Inspection:

The penetrant materials used today are much more sophisticated than the kerosene and whiting
first used by railroad inspectors near the turn of the 20th century. Today's penetrants are

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carefully formulated to produce the level of sensitivity desired by the inspector. To perform
well, a penetrant must possess a number of important characteristics. A penetrant must:

 spread easily over the surface of the material being inspected to provide complete and
even coverage.
 be drawn into surface breaking defects by capillary action.
 remain in the defect but remove easily from the surface of the part.
 remain fluid so it can be drawn back to the surface of the part through the drying and
developing steps.
 be highly visible or fluoresce brightly to produce easy to see indications.
 not be harmful to the material being tested or the
inspector.

All penetrant materials do not perform the same and are not
designed to perform the same. Penetrant manufactures have
developed different formulations to address a variety of
inspection applications. Some applications call for the
detection of the smallest defects possible and have smooth
surfaces where the penetrant is easy to remove. In other
applications, the rejectable defect size may be larger and a
penetrant formulated to find larger flaws can be used. The
penetrants that are used to detect the smallest defect will
also produce the largest amount of irrelevant indications.

Penetrant materials are classified in the various industry and government specifications by their
physical characteristics and their performance. Aerospace Material Specification (AMS) 2644,
Inspection Material, Penetrant, is now the primary specification used in the USA to control
penetrant materials. Historically, Military Standard 25135, Inspection Materials, Penetrants, has
been the primary document for specifying penetrants but this document is slowly being phased
out and replaced by AMS 2644. Other specifications such as ASTM 1417, Standard Practice for
Liquid Penetrant Examinations, may also contain information on the classification of penetrant
materials but they are generally referred back to MIL-I-
25135 or AMS 2644.

Penetrant materials come in two basic types. These

types are listed below:

 Type 1 - Fluorescent Penetrants

 Type 2 - Visible Penetrants

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Fluorescent penetrants contain a dye or several dyes that fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet
radiation. Visible penetrants contain a red dye that provides high contrast against the white
developer background. Fluorescent penetrant systems are more sensitive than visible penetrant
systems because the eye is drawn to the glow of the fluorescing indication. However, visible
penetrants do not require a darkened area and an ultraviolet light in order to make an inspection.
Visible penetrants are also less vulnerable to contamination from things such as cleaning fluid
that can significantly reduce the strength of a fluorescent indication.

Radiographic and Ultrasonic Weld Inspection:

Radiographic and ultrasonic weld inspection are the two most common methods of non-
destructive testing (NDT) used to detect discontinuities within the internal structure of welds.
The obvious advantage of both these methods of testing is their ability to help establish the
weld’s internal integrity without destroying the welded component. We shall briefly examine
these two methods of non-destructive testing (NDT). We shall consider how they are used and
what types of welding discontinuities they can be expected to find. We shall examine their
advantages over other inspection methods and their limitations.

Radiographic Testing (RT) – This method of weld testing makes use of X-rays, produced by an
X-ray tube, or gamma rays, produced by a radioactive isotope. The basic principle of
radiographic inspection of welds is the same as that for medical radiography. Penetrating
radiation is passed through a solid object, in this case a weld rather that part of the human body,
onto a photographic film, resulting in an image of the object's internal structure being deposited
on the film. The amount of energy absorbed by the object depends on its thickness and density.
Energy not absorbed by the object will cause exposure of the radiographic film. These areas will
be dark when the film is developed. Areas of the film exposed to less energy remain lighter.
Therefore, areas of the object where the thickness has been changed by discontinuities, such as
porosity or cracks, will appear as dark outlines on the film. Inclusions of low density, such as
slag, will appear as dark areas on the film while inclusions of high density, such as tungsten, will
appear as light areas.

Radiographic testing can provide a permanent film record of weld quality that is relatively easy
to interpret by trained personnel. This testing method is usually suited to having access to both
sides of the welded joint (with the exception of double wall signal image techniques used on
some pipe work). Although this is a slow and expensive method of nondestructive testing, it is a
positive method for detecting porosity, inclusions, cracks, and voids in the interior of welds. It is
essential that qualified personnel conduct radiographic interpretation since false interpretation of
radiographs can be expensive and interfere seriously with productivity. There are obvious safety
considerations when conducting radiographic testing. X-ray and gamma radiation is invisible to
the naked eye and can have serious heath and safety implications. Only suitably trained and
qualified personnel should practice this type of testing.

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Ultrasonic Testing (UT) – This method of testing makes use of mechanical vibrations similar to
sound waves but of higher frequency. A beam of ultrasonic energy is directed into the object to
be tested. This beam travels through the object with insignificant loss, except when it is
intercepted and reflected by a discontinuity. The ultrasonic contact pulse reflection technique is
used. This system uses a transducer that changes electrical energy into mechanical energy. The
transducer is excited by a high-frequency voltage, which causes a crystal to vibrate
mechanically. The crystal probe becomes the source of ultrasonic mechanical vibration. These
vibrations are transmitted into the test piece through a coupling fluid, usually a film of oil, called
a couplant. When the pulse of ultrasonic waves strikes a discontinuity in the test piece, it is
reflected back to its point of origin. Thus the energy returns to the transducer. The transducer
now serves as a receiver for the reflected energy. The initial signal or main bang, the returned
echoes from the discontinuities, and the echo of the rear surface of the test piece are all displayed
by a trace on the screen of a cathode-ray oscilloscope. The detection, location, and evaluation of
discontinuities become possible because the velocity of sound through a given material is nearly
constant, making distance measurement possible, and the relative amplitude of a reflected pulse
is more or less proportional to the size of the reflector.

One of the most useful characteristics of ultrasonic testing is its ability to determine the exact
position of a discontinuity in a weld. This testing method requires a high level of operator
training and competence and is dependant on the establishment and application of suitable
testing procedures. This testing method can be used on ferrous and nonferrous materials, is often
suited for testing thicker sections accessible from one side only, and can often detect finer lines
or plainer defects which may not be as readily detected by radiographic testing.

Eddy current inspection is one of several NDT methods that use the principal of
electromagnetism” as the basis for conducting examinations. Several other methods such as
Remote Field Testing (RFT), Flux Leakage and Barkhausen Noise also use this principle.

Eddy currents are created through a process called electromagnetic induction. When alternating
current is applied to the conductor, such as copper wire, a magnetic field develops in and around
the conductor. This magnetic field expands as the alternating current rises to maximum and
collapses as the current is reduced to zero. If another electrical conductor is brought into the
close proximity to this changing magnetic field, current will be induced in this second conductor.
Eddy currents are induced electrical currents that flow in a circular path. They get their name
from “ eddies” that are formed when a liquid or gas flows in a circular path around obstacles
when conditions are right.

Alternating current is allowed to flow in the coil at a frequency chosen by the technician for the
type of test involved. A dynamic expanding and collapsing magnetic field forms in and around
the coil as the alternating current flows through the coil. When an electrically conductive

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material is placed in the coil's dynamic magnetic field, electromagnetic induction will occur and
eddy currents will be induced in the material. Eddy currents flowing in the material will generate
their own "secondary" magnetic field which will oppose the coil's "primary" magnetic field. This
entire electromagnetic induction process to produce eddy currents may occur from several
hundred to several million times each second depending upon inspection frequency.

When a flaw is introduced to the conductive material, the eddy currents are disrupted.

One of the major advantages of eddy current as an NDT tool is the variety of inspections and
measurements that can be performed. In the proper circumstances, eddy currents can be used for:

 Crack detection
 Material thickness measurements
 Coating thickness measurements
 Conductivity measurements for:
o Material identification
o Heat damage detection
o Case depth determination
o Heat treatment monitoring

Some of the advantages of eddy current inspection include:

 Sensitive to small cracks and other defects

 Detects surface and near surface defects
 Inspection gives immediate results
 Equipment is very portable
 Method can be used for much more than flaw detection
 Minimum part preparation is required
 Test probe does not need to contact the part
 Inspects complex shapes and sizes of conductive materials

Some of the limitations of eddy current inspection include:

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  Only conductive materials can be inspected
 Surface must be accessible to the probe
 Skill and training required is more extensive than other techniques
 Surface finish and and roughness may interfere
 Reference standards needed for setup
 Depth of penetration is limited
 Flaws such as delaminations that lie parallel to the probe coil winding and probe scan
direction are undetectable

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