ASET

Material Science

Module-II
By
Dr. Sumit Gupta
Assistant Professor
Deptt. of Mechanical Engg.
 ASET

Material Science (MATS201)

Topic: Mechanical Properties and Testing

Subtopic: M2L1
Elasticity, Plasticity and Stress-Strain diagram

Learning Objective :
To develop understanding about Mechanical properties (mentioned in
topic) of materials and Stress-Strain diagrams of ductile and brittle
materials.

Learning Outcomes :
On successful completion of this topic, the student will be able to apply
the concept of mechanical behavior of materials
 What are mechanical properties? ASET

• The mechanical behavior of a material reflects

its response or deformation to an applied load or
force.
Important mechanical properties are strength,
hardness, ductility, and stiffness etc.

The mechanical properties of materials are

ascertained by performing laboratory
experiments in replicating service conditions.
 Why study Mechanical Properties of ASET
materials ?
• Engineers are primarily concerned with the
development and design of machines, structures etc.
Materials, when in service, are subjected to force, loads
& Stresses.
Example
Airplane wings made from aluminum alloy, are prone
to lot type of stresses, may result in deformation and
fracture, ultimately accident.
In such situations it is necessary to know the
characteristics of aluminum alloy, and to design the
wings such that any resulting deformation will not be
excessive and fracture will not occur.
 Mechanical properties ASET

(Definition)
• Tensile strength – Measures the force required to
pull something such as rope,wire or a structural beam
to the point where it breaks
• Ductility – A measure of how much strain a material
can take before rupturing
• Malleability – The property of a material that can be
worked or hammered or shaped without breaking
• Brittleness –Breaking or shattering of a material when
subjected to stress (when force is applied to it)
• Resilience: The capacity of a material to absorb
energy when its elastically deformed and then upon
unloading to have this energy released.
 Mechanical properties ASET

• Elasticity – The property of a material that returns to its original shape

after stress (e.G. External forces) that made it deform or distort is
removed
• Plasticity - The deformation of a material undergoing non-reversible
changes of shape in response to applied forces
• Toughness – The ability of a material to absorb energy and plastically
deform without fracturing
• Hardness – The property of being rigid and resistant to pressure; not
easily scratched

• Machinability – The term machinability refers to the ease with which a

metal can be machined to an acceptable surface Materials with good
machinability require little power to cut, can be cut quickly, easily obtain
a good finish, and do not wear the tooling much.
 Simple Stresses and Strain ASET

Load
• It is defined as any external force acting upon a
machine part.
Stress
• When some external system of forces or loads act on a
body, the internal forces (equal and opposite) are set up at
various sections of the body, which resist the external
forces.
• This internal force per unit area at any section of the body
is known as unit stress or simply a stress. It is denoted by
a Greek letter sigma (σ). Mathematically,
Stress, σ = P/A
where P = Force or load acting on a body, and
A = Cross-sectional area of the body.
 ASET

Strain
• When a system of forces or loads act on a body, it
undergoes some deformation.
• This deformation per unit length is known as unit
strain or simply a strain. It is denoted by a Greek
letter epsilon (ε).
Mathematically,
Strain, ε = δl / l or δl = ε.l
where δl = Change in length of the body, and
l = Original length of the body.
Hooke’s Law ASET
 Elasticity & Plasticity ASET

The response of a material to applied forces depends on

the type & nature of the bond and the structural
arrangement of atoms, molecules or ions.

Basic types of deformation for load carrying materials

are:

Elastic deformation (recoverable)

Plastic deformation (non-recoverable)
Elastic Deformation ASET
Elastic deformation ASET
Plastic deformation ASET
Plastic deformation ASET
Plastic deformation ASET
 Ductile materials ASET

• A body is said to have yielded or to have undergone

plastic deformation if it does not regains its original
shape when a load is removed.
• The resulting deformation is called permanent set. If
permanent set is obtainable, the material is said to
exhibit ductility.
• Ductility measures the degree of plastic
deformation sustained before fracture.
• One way to specify ductility of a material is by the
percentage of elongation (%EL).
Lf - Lo
Percentage of elongation =  100
Lo

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 Ductile materials ASET

• For ductile material, the ultimate tensile and

compressive strength have approximately the same
absolute value.
• The steel is ductile material because it far exceeds the
5% elongation.
• Gold is relatively ductile at room temperature.

Properties of ductile materials:

• Easily drawn into wire.
• Easily molded or shaped.
• Easily stretched without breaking in material strength.
• Increase on increasing the temperature.
 Stress-Strain Diagram ASET

• One of the most common mechanical stress–strain tests

is performed in tension.
• The output of such a tensile test is recorded (usually on
a computer) as load or force versus elongation.
Stress-Strain diagram for Ductile ASET

Material

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 Stress-Strain diagram for Ductile ASET

Material
• Elastic deformation (From O-A)
• When load is applied on specimen in tensile test,
deformation from O to A is elastic.
• Stress is linearly proportional to strain in this region.

• Plastic deformation (From A-B-C-D-E)

• When specimen is loaded beyond point A, the
deformation is permanent (Plastic).
• From point B-C specimen get strained without any
increase in Stress (load) (Known as Yielding).
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 Stress-Strain diagram for Ductile ASET
Material
• From point B-C
• Point B is known as upper Yielding point & Point C is
lower Yielding point.
• Yield point phenomenon is understood to occur when
stress drops down drastically because the locked in
dislocations are set free.

• From point C-D

• Specimen require more stress to strain it. (Value of stress
is higher than B point).
• This phenomena of increase of yielding strength is known
as Strain hardening.
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 Stress-Strain diagram for Ductile ASET

Material
• Strain hardening is an increase in the strength and
hardness of the metal due to a mechanical deformation
in the microstructure of the metal. When a metal is
plastically deformed, dislocations move and additional
dislocations are generated.
• From D-E, necking phenomena happens, finally leads to failure
at point E. (During necking large amounts of strain localize disproportionately in a small
region of the material. The resulting prominent decrease in local cross-sectional area provides
the basis for the name "neck".)

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 Brittle materials ASET

• Brittle material is one which is having very low percentage

of elongation.
• Brittle materials break suddenly under stress at a point
just beyond its elastic limit.
• A Brittle material exhibits little or no yielding before failure.
• Brittle material will have a much lower elongation and
area reduction than ductile ones. The tensile strength of
Brittle material is usually much less than the compressive
strength.
• The brittle material can be deformed in a ductile only
under the conditions of high pressure.
• Grey cast iron is a best example for brittle material

23
 Brittle materials ASET

• If the percentage of elongation is at or below 5%,

assume brittle behavior.

• If the ultimate compressive strength is greater than the

ultimate tensile strength assume brittle behavior

• If no yield strength is occurred suspect brittle behavior

24
Stress-Strain diagram for Brittle Materials
ASET
 ASET

Material Science (MATS201)

Topic: Mechanical Properties and Testing

Subtopic: M2L2
Toughness, Hardness property of material

Learning Objective :
To develop understanding about Mechanical properties (mentioned in
topic) of materials and Stress-Strain diagrams of ductile and brittle
materials.

Learning Outcomes :
On successful completion of this topic, the student will be able to apply
the concept of mechanical behavior of materials
 Ductility ASET

• It is a measure of the degree of plastic deformation (under

tension) that has been sustained at fracture.
• If ductile, a material may be stretched into a wire.
• Ductility is the property of material to under go plastic
deformation under tensile stress. A material that experiences very
little or no plastic deformation upon fracture is termed brittle.

• Gold, Copper, Aluminium, and Steel have high ductility

 Malleability ASET

• Malleability is the property of any substance to deform

under pressure (compressive stress).
• Due to this properties material can be flatten in sheets
by applying pressure by hammering or with the help of
rollers.
• Example are: Metals like Gold, Iron, Aluminum, silver
and lead.
• Many metals with high malleability also have high
ductility.
• Some do not; for example lead has low ductility but
high malleability.
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 Stiffness ASET

• Stiffness is the extent to which an object resists

deformation in response to an applied force.

• Stiffness is a property of a structure or component of a

structure, and hence it is dependent upon various
physical dimensions that describe that component.

• Stiffness is an extensive property of the solid body that

is dependent on the material, its shape and boundary
conditions.
 Toughness ASET

• Toughness is a measure of the ability of a material to

absorb energy up to fracture.
• It is also defined as a material's resistance to fracture
when stressed.

• Strength is the ability of material to withstand an applied load

without failure or plastic deformation.
 ASET

Material Science (MATS201)

Topic: Mechanical Properties and Testing

Subtopic: M2L23
Hardness & Hardness Testing

Learning Objective :
To develop understanding about Mechanical properties (mentioned in
topic) of materials and Stress-Strain diagrams of ductile and brittle
materials.

Learning Outcomes :
On successful completion of this topic, the student will be able to apply
the concept of mechanical behavior of materials
 Hardness ASET

• Hardness is a measure of a material’s

resistance to localized plastic deformation (a
small dent or scratch).
• Quantitative hardness techniques have been
developed where a small indenter is forced into
the surface of a material.
• The depth or size of the indentation is
measured, and corresponds to a hardness
number.
• The softer the material, the larger and deeper
the indentation (and lower hardness number).
32
 Hardness ASET

• Resistance to permanently indenting the surface.

• Large hardness means:
--resistance to plastic deformation or cracking in
compression.
--better wear properties.

33
Hardness Testers ASET

34
 ASET

35
 Hardness Measurement Methods ASET

• There are several methods of hardness testing,

depending either on the direct thrust of some form of
penetrator into the metal surface, or on the ploughing of
the surface as a styles is drawn across it under a
controlled load, or on the measurement of elastic
rebound of an impacting hammer which possessing
known energy.

• Measurements of hardness are the easiest to make and

are widely used for industrial design and in research.
• As compared to other mechanical tests, where the bulk of
the material is involved in testing, all hardness tests are
made on the surface or close to it.
 Hardness Measurement Methods
ASET

The following are the hardness test methods

• Rockwell hardness test
• Brinell hardness
• Vickers
• Knoop hardness
• shore

37
 Hardness Measurement Methods
ASET

• Brinell, Rockwell and Vickers hardness tests are used to

determine hardness of metallic materials to check quality
level of products, for uniformity of sample of metals, for
uniformity of results of heat treatment.
• The relative micro hardness of a material is determined
by the knoop indentation test. Its used particularly for
very brittle materials or thin sheets, where only a small
indentation may be made for testing purposes.
• The shore scleroscope measures hardness in terms of
the elasticity of the material.
• Brinell hardness number is the hardness index
calculated by pressing a hardened steel ball (indenter)
into test specimen under standardized load.

38
 Hardness Measurement Methods
ASET

• The rockwell hardness is another index which widely

used by engineers.
• This index number is measured by the depth of
penetration by a small indenter.
• By selecting different loads and shapes of indenter,
different Rockwell scales have been developed.
• The value of Brinell hardness number is related to tensile
strength.

39
 Hardness Measurement Methods
ASET

• The mechanism of indentation in all indentation tests is that when the

indenter is pressed into the surface under a static load, a large amount
of plastic deformation takes place.
• The materials thus deformed flows out in all directions.
• As a result of plastic flow, sometimes the material in contact with the
indenter produces a ridge around the impression.
• Large amount of plastic deformation are accompanied by large
amount of transient creep which vary with the material and time of
testing.
• Transient creep takes place rapidly at first and more slowly as it
approaches its maximum.
• For harder materials, the time required for reaching maximum
deformation is short (few seconds) and for soft materials the time
required to produce the derived indentation is unreasonably long up to
a few minutes.
• Hardness of materials is of importance for dies and punches, limit
gauges, cutting tools bearing surfaces etc.
 ASET

Material Science (MATS201)

Topic: Mechanical Properties and Testing

Subtopic: M2L4
Strength & Strength testing

Learning Objective :
To develop understanding about Mechanical properties (mentioned in
topic) of materials and Stress-Strain diagrams of ductile and brittle
materials.

Learning Outcomes :
On successful completion of this topic, the student will be able to apply
the concept of mechanical behavior of materials
 Strength ASET

• A measure of the material’s ability to resist

deformation and to maintain its shape.
• It is quantified in terms of yield stress or ultimate
tensile strength.
• High carbon steels and metal alloys have higher
strength than pure metals.
• Inbuilt property of the material.
• Ceramics also exhibit high strengths.
 Tensile Strength ASET

• This is the maximum conventional stress that can be

sustained by the material.
• It is the ultimate strength in tension and corresponds to
the maximum load in a tension test.
• It is measured by the highest point on the conventional
stress-strain curve. In engineering tension tests this
strength provides the basic design information on the
materials.
• The tensile strength of a material is the maximum
amount of tensile stress that it can be subjected to
before failure.
Tensile Test ASET

44
 Important Mechanical Properties ASET
from a Tensile Test

• Young's Modulus: This is the slope of the linear portion of

the stress-strain curve, it is usually specific to each
material; a constant, known value.
• Yield Strength: This is the value of stress at the yield
point, calculated by plotting young's modulus at a specified
percent of offset (usually offset = 0.2%).
• Ultimate Tensile Strength: This is the highest value of
stress on the stress-strain curve.
• Percent Elongation: This is the change in gauge length
divided by the original gauge length.
 Terminology ASET

 Load - The force applied to a material

during testing.
 Strain gage or Extensometer - A device
used for measuring change in length
(strain).
 Engineering stress - The applied load,
or force, divided by the original cross-
sectional area of the material.
 Engineering strain - The amount that a
material deforms per unit length in a
tensile test.
 Impact Strength ASET

• The fracture toughness of a material is indicative of its

resistance to brittle fracture when a crack is present.

• Fracture toughness is relatively large for ductile materials

(and small for brittle ones), and is a function of
microstructure, strain rate, and temperature.

• The fracture behavior of materials may be determined using

Charpy and Izod impact testing techniques.
Impact Tests ASET
 ASET

Material Science (MATS201)

Topic: Mechanical Properties and Testing

Subtopic: M2L5
Fracture, fatigue and Creep property of materials

Learning Objective :
To develop understanding about Mechanical properties (mentioned in
topic) of materials and Stress-Strain diagrams of ductile and brittle
materials.

Learning Outcomes :
On successful completion of this topic, the student will be able to apply
the concept of mechanical behavior of materials
 Fracture ASET

Fracture is the separation of a specimen into two or more

parts by an applied stress.

Fracture takes place in two stages:

i) initial formation of crack and
ii) spreading of crack.

Depend upon the type of materials, the applied load, state

of stress and temperature metals have different types of
fracture.
Types of fracture
 Brittle Fracture
 Ductile Fracture
 Fatigue Fracture
 Creep Fracture
 Fracture ASET

• Fracture is usually undesirable in engineering

applications.
• Flaws such as surface cracks lower the stress for brittle
fracture whereas line defects are responsible for
initiating ductile fractures.
• Different types of fracture

51
 Brittle Fracture ASET

• Brittle fracture is the failure of a material with minimum

of plastic deformation. If the broken pieces of a brittle
fracture are fitted together, the original shape &
dimensions of the specimen are restored.
• Brittle fracture is defined as fracture which occurs at or
below the elastic limit of a material.

The brittle fracture increases with

• Increasing strain rate
• Decreasing temperature
• Stress concentration conditions produced by a notch.
 Ductile Fracture ASET

• Ductile fracture is defined as the fracture which takes place by a

slow propagation of crack with considerable amount of plastic
deformation.
There are three successive events involved in a ductile fracture.
• The specimen begins necking and minute cavities form in the
necked region. This is the region in which the plastic
deformation is concentrated. It indicates that the formation of
cavities is closely linked to plastic deformation.
• It has been observed that during the formation of neck small
micro cracks are formed at the centre of the specimen due to
the combination of dislocations.
• Finally these cracks grow out ward to the surface of the
specimen in a direction 45° to the tensile axis resulting in a cup-
end-cone-type fracture .

53
 Ductile Fracture ASET

various stages in ductile fracture

54
 Ductile vs Brittle Failure
ASET

Fracture Very Moderately

Brittle
behavior: Ductile Ductile

%AR or %EL Large Moderate Small

•Ductile fracture is Ductile: Brittle:
usually more Warning No
desirable thanbefore fracture warnin
brittle fracture. g
55
 Moderately Ductile Failure ASET

• Evolution to failure:

void Coalescence Crack

necking fracture
nucleationof cavities propagation

• Resulting 50
50mm
mm
fracture
surfaces
(steel)
100 mm
particles From V.J. Colangelo and F.A. Heiser, Analysis of Fracture surface of tire cord wire loaded in
Metallurgical Failures (2nd ed.), Fig. 11.28, p. 294, tension. Courtesy of F. Roehrig, CC
serve as void John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1987. (Orig. source: P. Technologies, Dublin, OH. Used with permission.
Thornton, J. Mater. Sci., Vol. 6, 1971, pp. 347-56.)
nucleation
sites. 56 56
 Fatigue ASET

• Fatigue is caused by repeated application of stress to

the metal. It is the failure of a material by fracture when
subjected to a cyclic stress.

• Fatigue is distinguished by three main features.

i) Loss of strength
ii) Loss of ductility
iii) Increased uncertainty in strength and service life

57
 Fatigue ASET

1. Fatigue is an important form of behavior in all materials

including metals, plastics, rubber and concrete.
2. All rotating machine parts are subjected to alternating stresses.
3. Example: aircraft wings are subjected to repeated loads, oil and
gas pipes are often subjected to static loads but the dynamic
effect of temperature variation will cause fatigue.
4. There are many other situations where fatigue failure will be
very harmful.
5. Because of the difficulty of recognizing fatigue conditions,
fatigue failure comprises a large percentage of the failures
occurring in engineering.
6. To avoid stress concentrations, rough surfaces and tensile
residual stresses, fatigue specimens must be carefully prepared.
 Creep ASET

• The creep is defined as the property of a material by

virtue of which it deforms continuously under a steady
load.
• Creep is the slow plastic deformation of materials under
the application of a constant load even for stressed
below the yield strength of the material.
• Usually creep occurs at high temperatures.
• Creep is an important property for designing I.C.
engines, jet engines, boilers and turbines. Iron, nickel,
copper and their alloys exhibited this property at
elevated temperature.
• But zinc, tin, lead and their alloys shows creep at room
temperature.
• In metals creep is a plastic deformation caused by slip
occurring along crystallographic directions in the
individual crystals together with some deformation of the
grain boundary materials.
 Creep Test ASET

• The specimen to be tested is placed in an

electric furnace, where it is heated to a
specified temperature and is constantly
subjected to a load.
• The strains are measured with strain
gauges.
• The plot of time with strain is made.
 Creep ASET

Sample deformation at a constant stress (s) vs. time

s
s,e

0 t

Primary Creep: slope (creep rate)

decreases with time.
Secondary Creep: steady-state
i.e., constant slope.
Tertiary Creep: slope (creep rate)
increases with time, i.e.
acceleration of rate.
61
 Creep ASET

The creep curve usually consists of three stages of creep.

Primary Stage:
 In this stage the creep rate decreases with time, the effect of work
hardening is more than that of recovery processes. Here resistance
of the material increases with its own deformation. The primary stage
is of great interest to the designer since it forms an early part of the
total extension reached in a given time and may affect clearness
provided between components of a machine.

62
 Creep ASET

Secondary Stage:
In this stage, the creep rate is a minimum and is constant with
time. The work hardening and recovery processes are exactly
balanced. It is the important property of the curve which is used
to estimate the service life of the alloy.
Tertiary Stage:
 In this stage, the creep rate increases with time until fracture
occurs. Tertiary creep can occur due to necking of the specimen
and other processes that ultimately result in failure.
 The “Creep Limit” is the stress at which a material can be formed
by a definite magnitude during a given time at a given
temperature. The calculation of creep limit includes the
temperature, the deformation and the time in which this
deformation appears.

63
 Factors affecting Creep ASET

Heat Treatment
• Creep resistance of steel is affected by heat treatment.
• At temperatures of 300°C or higher maximum creep resistance
is usually produced. But the drawing decreases the creep
resistance.

Grain size
• The major factor in creep is grain size.
• Normally large grained materials exhibit better creep
resistance than fine grained one based on the temperature.
• At temperatures below the lowest temperature of
recrystallization, a fine grained structure possesses the greater
resistance whereas at temperature above this point a large
grained structure possesses the greater resistance and we
must select it for high temperature applications.

64
 Factors affecting Creep ASET

Strain Hardening
 Strain hardening of steel increases its creep resistance.
Alloying additions
 At temperatures, below the lowest temperatures of recrystallization the
creep resistance of steel may be improved by the ferrite forming elements
like nickel, cobalt and manganese or by the carbide forming elements like
chromium molybdenum, tungsten and vanadium.

65
 ASET

Material Science (MATS201)

Topic: Non Destructive Testing (NDT)

Subtopic: M2L6
Introduction of NDT, Penetrant testing

Learning Objective :
To develop understanding about Mechanical properties (mentioned in
topic) of materials and Stress-Strain diagrams of ductile and brittle
materials.

Learning Outcomes :
On successful completion of this topic, the student will be able to apply
the concept of mechanical behavior of materials
 Definition of NDT ASET

The use of noninvasive

techniques to determine
the integrity of a material,
component or structure
or
quantitatively measure
some characteristic of
an object.

i.e. Inspect or measure without doing harm.

 Methods of NDT ASET

Visual
 What are Some Uses
of NDT Methods? ASET

• 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
 When are NDE Methods ASET

Used?
– 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
 Six Most Common NDT ASET

Methods
• Visual
• Liquid Penetrant
• Magnetic
• Ultrasonic
• Eddy Current
• X-ray
 Visual Inspection ASET

Most basic and common

inspection method.

Tools include fiberscopes,

borescopes, magnifying
glasses and mirrors.

Portable video inspection

unit with zoom allows
inspection of large tanks
and vessels, railroad tank
cars, sewer lines.
Robotic crawlers permit
observation in hazardous or
tight areas, such as air ducts,
reactors, pipelines.
 Liquid Penetrant
Inspection ASET
• A liquid with high surface wetting characteristics is
applied to the surface of the part and allowed time to
seep into surface breaking defects.
• The excess liquid is removed from the surface of
the part.
• A developer (powder) is applied to pull the
trapped penetrant out the defect and spread it on
the surface where it can be seen.
• Visual inspection is the final step in the process.
The penetrant used is often loaded with a
fluorescent dye and the inspection is done under
UV light to increase test sensitivity.
 ASET

Material Science (MATS201)

Topic: Non Destructive Testing (NDT)

Subtopic: M2L7
NDT Methods, Magnetic particle testing, Eddy current testing

Learning Objective :
To develop understanding about Mechanical properties (mentioned in
topic) of materials and Stress-Strain diagrams of ductile and brittle
materials.

Learning Outcomes :
On successful completion of this topic, the student will be able to apply
the concept of mechanical behavior of materials
 Magnetic Particle Inspection ASET

The part is magnetized. Finely milled iron particles coated with a dye
pigment are then applied to the specimen. These particles are attracted
to magnetic flux leakage fields and will cluster to form an indication
directly over the discontinuity. This indication can be visually detected
under proper lighting conditions.
Magnetic Particle Crack ASET
Indications
 Radiography ASET
The radiation used in radiography testing
is a higher energy (shorter wavelength)
High Electrical Potential
version of the electromagnetic waves that
we
see as visible light. The radiation can Electrons
come from an X-ray generator or a + -
radioactive source.
X-ray Generator
or Radioactive
Source Creates
Radiation

Radiation
Penetrate
the Sample

Exposure Recording Device

 Film Radiography ASET

The part is placed between the radiation

source and a piece of film. The part will
stop some of the radiation. Thicker and
more dense area will stop more of the
radiation.
The film darkness
(density) will vary with
the amount of radiation
X-ray film reaching the film through
the test object.
= less exposure
= more exposure
Top view of developed film
Radiographic Images ASET
 ASET

Material Science (MATS201)

Topic: Non Destructive Testing (NDT)

Subtopic: M2L8
NDT Methods, Magnetic particle testing, Eddy current testing

Learning Objective :
To develop understanding about Mechanical properties (mentioned in
topic) of materials and Stress-Strain diagrams of ductile and brittle
materials.

Learning Outcomes :
On successful completion of this topic, the student will be able to apply
the concept of mechanical behavior of materials
 Eddy Current Testing ASET

Coil's
Coil magnetic field

Eddy current's
magnetic field
Eddy
currents

Conductive
material
 Eddy Current Testing ASET

Eddy current testing is particularly well suited for detection

surface crack but can also be used to make electrical conductivity
and coating thickness measurement. Here a small surface probe
is scanned over the part surface in an attempt to detect a crack.
 Ultrasonic Inspection (Pulse-
Echo) ASET

High frequency sound waves are introduced into a material

and they are reflected back from surfaces or flaws.
Reflected sound energy is displayed versus time, and
inspector can visualize a cross section of the specimen
f
showing the depth of features that reflect sound.

initial
pulse

back surface
echo
crack
echo

crack
0 2 4 6 8 10 plate

Oscilloscope, or
flaw detector
 Ultrasonic Imaging ASET
High resolution images can be produced by plotting signal
strength or time-of-flight using a computer-controlled
scanning system.

Gray scale image produced using Gray scale image produced using the
the sound reflected from the front sound reflected from the back surface
surface of the coin of the coin (inspected from “heads”
 Common Application of NDT ASET

• Inspection of Raw Products

• Inspection Following Secondary
Processing
• In-Services Damage Inspection
 Inspection of Raw ASET

Products
• Forgings,
• Castings,
• Extrusions,
• etc.
 Inspection Following ASET

Secondary Processing
• Machining
• Welding
• Grinding
• Heat treating
• Plating
• etc.
 Inspection For In-Service ASET

Damage

• Cracking
• Corrosion
• Erosion/Wear
• Heat Damage
• etc.
Power Plant Inspection ASET

Periodically, power plants are

shutdown for inspection.
Inspectors feed eddy current
probes into heat exchanger tubes
to check for corrosion damage.

Pipe with damage Prob

e
Signals produced
by various
amounts of
corrosion thinning.
 Wire Rope Inspection ASET

Electromagnetic devices and

visual inspections are used to
find broken wires and other
damage to the wire rope that
is used in chairlifts, cranes and
other lifting devices.
 Storage Tank Inspection ASET

Robotic crawlers use

ultrasound to inspect
the walls of large
above ground tanks
for signs of thinning
due to corrosion.

Cameras on
long
articulating
arms are used
to inspect
underground
storage tanks
for damage.
 Aircraft Inspection ASET
• Nondestructive testing is used
extensively during the
manufacturing of aircraft.
• NDT is also used to find cracks
and corrosion damage during
operation of the aircraft.
• A fatigue crack that started at the
site of a lightning strike is shown
below.
 Jet Engine Inspection ASET

• Aircraft engines are overhauled after

being in service for a period of time.
• They are completely disassembled,
cleaned, inspected and then
reassembled.
• Fluorescent penetrant inspection is
used to check many of the parts for
cracking.
 Pressure Vessel Inspection
ASET
The failure of a pressure vessel
can result in the rapid release of a
large amount of energy. To protect
against this dangerous event, the
tanks are inspected using
radiography and ultrasonic testing.
 Rail Inspection
ASET

Special cars are used to

inspect thousands of miles of
rail to find cracks that could
lead to a derailment.
 Bridge Inspection ASET

• The US has 578,000

highway bridges.
• Corrosion, cracking and
other damage can all affect
a bridge’s performance.
• The collapse of the Silver
Bridge in 1967 resulted in
loss of 47 lives.
• Bridges get a visual
inspection about every 2
years.
• Some bridges are fitted with
acoustic emission sensors
that “listen” for sounds of
cracks growing.
 Pipeline Inspection ASET
NDT is used to inspect pipelines to
prevent leaks that could damage the
environment. Visual inspection,
radiography and electromagnetic
testing are some of the NDT
methods used.

Remote visual inspection

using a robotic crawler.

Magnetic flux leakage inspection.

This device, known as a pig, is
placed in the pipeline and collects
data on the condition of the pipe as
it is pushed along by whatever is
being transported. Radiography of weld joints.
 Special Measurements ASET

Boeing employees in Philadelphia were given the privilege of

evaluating the Liberty Bell for damage using NDT techniques. Eddy
current methods were used to measure the electrical conductivity of
the Bell's bronze casing at a various points to evaluate its
uniformity.