Wed, 30 April, 2025
TWI Members are invited to join as sponsors of our new joint industry project (JIP) dedicated to the increased use of ultrasonic testing (UT) as a replacement for radiographic testing (RT) techniques.
The project, ‘UT in lieu of RT: Guidance and Validation for Through Cap Inspection of Welds with Intact Caps,’ should open up significant benefits by facilitating the switch from RT to UT, improving safety and reducing costs. In addition, this work should open up greater use of the ‘design for manufacture and inspection’ approach that will simplify processes and reduce the cost of inspecting complex geometries.
Benefits
Radiographic inspection involves working with ionising radiation that requires exclusion zones to be set up in order to protect employees. This, in itself, often means that other work needs to be halted and additional staff used to maintain the exclusion zone. Meanwhile, ultrasonic inspection methods such as phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT), full matrix capture (FMC), and adaptive total focusing method (ATFM) have been further advanced at TWI in order to reduce the need for RT.
However, limitations with UT inspection solutions for complex joint configurations means that this process has not overtaken RT as a testing solution. Complex joint configurations require the removal of weld caps in order to allow for full coverage of the weld volume by UT.
About the JIP
This project will investigate ATFM for inspecting complex configurations without removing the weld caps. This will involve the use of through weld inspection using a membrane wedge and scanning from the parent material, with ATFM being used for image processing.
Inspection trials will be performed on a range of samples with different geometries and artificial flaw types. Some of these flaw types will be tested as items of interest to specific project sponsors while others will be taken from genuine components donated by the sponsors.
These trials will lead to the creation of a best practice guide covering ‘Design for Manufacture and Inspection’ for complex geometries and the entire life cycle of components. This guide will cover welding processes, joint configurations, the weld cap profile and how the cap impacts the ability to perform through weld scanning.
Project sponsors will be able to guide and tailor the outcomes of the project towards their specific needs, while splitting the overall cost of the work and gaining exclusive access to the outcomes.
You can find out more about this project, here:
https://www.twi-global.com/what-we-do/research-and-technology/research-programmes/joint-industry-projects/ut-in-lieu-of-rt-guidance-and-validation-of-through-cap-inspection-of-welds-with-intact-caps