Nondestructive Evaluation Technology for Material & Component Characterization

For more than 30 years, Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has aided industry and government in developing and implementing innovative nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technologies. With a proven reputation for solving problems on time and within budget, SwRI designs, develops, and fields specialized inspection systems.

Using sophisticated instrumentation, design, and analysis techniques and well-equipped laboratories, SwRI engineers and scientists offer a wide range of NDE capabilities, including:

• Development of inspection techniques and procedures
  
• Modeling of probe fabrication parameters and field interaction with material
  
• Design and fabrication of specialized inspection hardware
  
• Evaluation of equipment capabilities through laboratory and field inspections
  
• Development of automated data acquisition and analysis hardware
  
• Training of client personnel in the use and application of inspection technology

Computer processing lends visual depth to a crack pinpointed in a metal specimen by an SwRI-developed eddy current inspection technique. Easing recognition of important features of inspection data through computer-aided visualization increases the reliability of nondestructive evaluation.

Institute staff members support a comprehensive range of NDE techniques, including:

• Ultrasonics
  
• Electromagnetics
  
• Magnetostrictive sensor technology
  
• Radiography
  
• Infrared thermography
  
• Shearography

Ultrasonic Inspection

As a world leader in the development and field application of ultrasonic inspection technology, SwRI offers:

• Transducer design, fabrication, and certification
  
• Schlieren imaging
  
• Noncontact magnetostrictive transducers
  
• Dry coupled ultrasonics

SwRI engineers automated a labor-intensive method of identifying and tracking locations on piping and fittings undergoing periodic ultrasonic testing.

Experienced engineers and scientists use bulk (longitudinal and shear) waves, surface waves, Lamb wave, and guided wave technologies and applications to determine material characteristics. SwRI is now evaluating laser-based ultrasonic technology.

Electromagnetics

The Institute has developed extensive expertise in eddy current and other electromagnetic NDE technology, including continuous and pulsed eddy current, remote field eddy current, and nonlinear harmonics. SwRI specializes in solving NDE problems involving high temperatures, limited access conditions, severe geometry effects, and multiplexed probe arrays.

The SwRI-developed eddy current inspection system uses a three-axis scanner to inspect the small blades of the space shuttle's auxiliary power units.

Magnetostrictive Sensor Technology

Magnetostrictive sensors (MsS) are used to generate elastic waves in materials without mechanical coupling. SwRI has developed novel techniques to evaluate a wide range of materials including:

• Insulated/noninsulated piping
  
• Tubing
  
• Steel rods and plates
  
• Cables

Magnetostrictive sensor technology provides engineers with a rapid, cost-effective means of inspecting the structural integrity of steel pipes as well as developing a method to control vibration, noise, and dynamic impact response.

This SwRI-developed technology received an R&D 100 award from R&D Magazine, designating it as one of the world's most significant technical accomplishments of 1998.

Radiography

Using X-ray and isotopic sources with film and filmless imaging techniques, SwRI inspectors and engineers characterize materials and components. The Institute also has expertise in computer tomography and imaging technologies. Using these sophisticated techniques, inspectors provide services including:

• Detection and quantification of corrosion under insulation in piping
  
• Identification and location of marcels in thick composite structure
  
• Detection and quantification of structural defects

Infrared Thermography

Experienced NDE scientists use a wide range of infrared sensors and thermographic equipment to locate debonding in adhesively bonded components and to detect volumetric and laminar defects in metals and composites. Thermography can be used to inspect large areas quickly, while infrared sensors detect heat and other nonvisible radiation.

Shearography

SwRI has extensive experience in the application and development of shearography systems. This process, which allows rapid inspection of large areas, is used to detect delamination in honeycomb structures. The Institute has developed sophisticated shearography systems to inspect components and systems such as:

• Aircraft wings and fuselage structures
  
• Helicopter rotor blades
  
• Automotive components and assemblies

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