Visual Inspection

Visual Testing
Mohammed Hliyil Hafiz, PhD, P.E.,
Metallurgical &Production Department,
Technology University,
Baghdad -Iraq.

1-INTRODUCTION
Visual inspection is by far the most common nondestructive testing (NDT)
technique [1]. When attempting to determine the soundness of any part or specimen
for its intended application, visual inspection is normally the first step in the
examination process. Generally, almost any specimen can be visually examined to
determine the accuracy of its fabrication.
For example, visual inspection can be used to determine whether the part was
fabricated to the correct size, whether the part is complete, or whether all of the parts
have been appropriately incorporated into the device. [2]
While direct visual inspection is the most common nondestructive testing
technique (Figure 1), many other NDT methods require visual intervention to interpret
images obtained while carrying out the examination. For instance, penetrant
inspection using visible red or fluorescent dye relies on the inspector’s ability to
visually identify surface indications.

Figure 1. Visual Inspection of a Torpedo Tube aboard a Navy Attack Submarine

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 Magnetic particle inspection falls into the same category of visible and fluorescent
inspection techniques, and radiography relies on the interpreter’s visual judgment of
the radiographic image, which is either on film or on a video monitor. The remainder
of this article provides a summary of the visual testing method, which at the minimum
requires visual contact with the portion of the specimen that is being inspected.
In arriving at a definition of visual inspection, it has been noted in the literature
that experience in visual inspection and discussion with experienced visual inspectors
revealed that this NDT method includes more than use of the eye, but also includes
other sensory and cognitive processes used by inspectors [3]. Thus, there is now an
expanded definition of visual inspection in the literature:
“Visual inspection is the process of examination and evaluation of systems and
components by use of human sensory systems aided only by mechanical
enhancements to sensory input as magnifiers, dental picks, stethoscopes, and the like.
The inspection process may be done using such behaviors as looking, listening,
feeling, smelling, shaking, and twisting. It included a cognitive component wherein
observations are correlated with knowledge of structure and with descriptions and
diagrams from service literature.” [3]

{The human eye is one of mankind’s most

fascinating tools and is capable of assessing
many visual characteristics and identifying
various types of discontinuities.}

2-PHYSICAL PRINCIPLES
The human eye is one of mankind’s most fascinating tools. It has greater
precision and accuracy than many of the most sophisticated cameras. It has unique
focusing capabilities and has the ability to work in conjunction with the human brain
so that it can be trained to find specific details or characteristics in a part or test piece.
It has the ability to differentiate and distinguish between colors and hues as well. The
human eye is capable of assessing many visual characteristics and identifying various
types of discontinuities*. The eye can perform accurate inspections to detect size,
shape, color, depth, brightness, contrast, and texture. Visual testing is essentially used
to detect any visible discontinuities, and in many cases, visual testing may locate
portions of a specimen that should be inspected further by other NDT techniques.
Many inspection factors have been standardized so that categorizing them as
major and minor characteristics has become common [4]. Surface finish verification
of machined parts has even been developed, and classification can be performed by
visual comparison to manufactured finish standards. In the fabrication industry, weld
size, contour, length, and inspection for surface discontinuities are routinely specified
Many companies have mandated the need for qualified and certified visual weld
inspection. This is the case particularly in the power industry, which requires
documentation of training and qualification of the inspector. Forgings and castings are

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normally inspected for surface indications such as laps, seams, and other various
surface conditions.

3-INSPECTION REQUIREMENTS
Requirements for visual inspection typically pertain to the vision of the
inspector; the amount of light falling on the specimen, which can be measured with a
light meter; and whether the area being inspected is in anyway obstructed from
view.In many cases, each of these requirements is detailed in regulatory code or other
inspection criteria [2].
Mechanical and/or optical aids may be necessary to perform visual testing.
Because visual inspection is so frequently used, several companies now manufacture
gages to assist visual inspection examinations. Mechanical aids include: measuring
rules and tapes, calipers and micrometers, squares and angle measuring devices,
thread, pitch and thickness gages, level gages, and plumb lines. Welding fabrication
uses fillet gages to determine the width of the weld fillet, undercut gages, angle gages,
skew fillet weld gages, pit gages, contour gages, and a host of other specialty items to
ensure product quality.
At times direct observation is impossible and remote viewing is necessary which
requires the use of optical aids. Optical aids for visual testing range from simple
mirrors or magnifying glasses to sophisticated devices, such as closed circuit
television and coupled fiber optic scopes. The following list includes most optical aids
currently in use [2]:
• Mirrors (especially small, angled mirrors).
• Magnifying glasses, eye loupes, multilens magnifiers, measuring magnifiers.
• Microscopes (optical and electron).
• Optical flats (for surface flatness measurement).
• Borescopes and fiber optic borescopes.
• Optical comparators.
• Photographic records
•Closed circuit television (CCTV) systems (alone and coupled to
borescopes/microscopes).
• Machine vision systems.
• Positioning and transport systems (often used with CCTV systems).
• Image enhancement (computer analysis and enhancement).

Before any mechanical or optical aids are used, the specimen should be well
illuminated and have a clean surface. After the eyeball examination, mechanical aids
help to improve the precision of an inspector’s vision. As specifications and
tolerances become closer, calipers and micrometers become necessary. The variety of
gages available help to determine thread sizes, gap thicknesses, angles between parts,
hole depths, and weld features.
As it becomes necessary to see smaller and smaller discontinuities, the human
eyes require optical aids that enable inspectors to see these tiny discontinuities.
However, the increased magnification limits the area that can be seen at one time, and
also increases the amount of time it will take to look at the entire specimen. Mirrors
let the inspector see around corners or past obstructions. Combined with lenses and
placed in rigid tubes, borescopes enable the inspector to see inside specimens such as
jet engines, nuclear piping and fuel bundles, and complex machinery. When the rigid
borescope cannot reach the desired area, flexible bundles of optical fibers often are
able to access the area.

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 Figure 2 shows visual inspection using a fiber optic borescope. Some of the
flexible borescopes have devices that permit the observation end of the scope to be
moved around by a control at the eyepiece end.
Some are also connected to CCTV systems so that a large picture may be
examined and the inspection recorded on videotape or digitally. When the video
systems are combined with computers, the images can be improved which may allow
details not observable in the original to be seen.

Figure 2. An Inspector at Tinker Air Force Base Gets a Magnified View of an Engine’s High-
Pressure Turbine Area with a New Digital Fiber-Optic Borescope.

4-PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Visual inspection is applicable to most surfaces, but is most effective where the
surfaces have been cleaned prior to examination, for example, any scale or loose paint
should be removed by wire brushing, etc. Vision testing of an inspector often requires
eye examinations with standard vision acuity cards such as Jaeger, Snellen, and color
charts.
Vision testing of inspectors has been in use for about 40 years. Although many
changes in NDT methods have taken place over the years and new technologies have
been developed, vision testing has changed little over time. Also little has been done
to standardize vision tests used in the industrial sector. For those seeking certification
in the area of visual testing, (Visual and Optical Testing) provides a useful reference
[5].

5-SELECTED EXAMPLES
Two major studies of visual inspection that have been carried out in recent
years provide a great deal of insight into the reliability of visual inspection. Since
visual inspection is the predominant NDT technique used for bridge inspection, the
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Nondestructive Evaluation Validation
Center (NDEVC) conducted a comprehensive study to examine the reliability of the
visual inspection method for highway bridges [6]. Performance trials were conducted

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using 49 state bridge inspectors to provide overall measures of the accuracy and
reliability of routine and in-depth inspections. One of the objectives was to study the
influence of several key factors in order to provide a qualitative measure of their
influence on the reliability of routine and in-depth inspections. Figures 3 and 4 show
routine and in-depth inspections at a Safety Testing and Research (STAR) facility.

Figure 3. Part of a Routine Bridge Visual Inspection. Figure 4. Part of an In-Depth Bridge Visual
Inspection Using a Man-Lift .

Among the findings is that vision testing of inspectors is almost nonexistent,

with only two state respondents indicating that their inspectors had their vision tested.
From the routine inspections it was found that the inspections were completed with
significant variability in the results.
This variability was most prominent in the assignment of condition ratings, but
was also present in examination documentation. From the in-depth inspection tasks it
was observed that in-depth inspections were unlikely to correctly identify many types
of specific discontinuities for which this inspection is frequently prescribed. As an
example, only 3.9 percent of weld inspections correctly identified the presence of
crack indications. As a result of this study, it was recommended that the accuracy and
reliability of both routine and in-depth inspections could be improved through
increased training of inspectors in the types of discontinuities that should be identified
and the methods that would frequently allow identification to be possible. Also,
additional research is needed to determine whether ensuring minimum vision
standards through vision testing programs (with corrective lenses, if necessary) would
benefit bridge inspection. Additional details are fully documented in the two-volume
final report [6].
In the second comprehensive study of visual inspection, experiments were
performed at the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) Aging Aircraft
Nondestructive Inspection Validation Center (AANC) to provide a benchmark
measure of the capability for visual inspection performed under conditions that are
realistically similar to those usually found in major airline maintenance facilities [3].
More than 80 percent of inspections on large transport category aircraft are visual
inspections.
Small transport and general aviation aircraft rely on visual inspection techniques
even more heavily than do large transport aircraft. Visual inspection, then, is the first
line of defense for safety-related failures on aircraft and provides the least expensive
and quickest method for assessing the condition of an aircraft and its parts [3].
Therefore, accurate and proficient visual inspection is crucial to the continued safe
operation of the air fleet and it is important that its reliability should be high and well-

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characterized. The experiments at the AANC were conducted on a Boeing 737 aircraft
test bed, as well as on a sample library of well-characterized flaws in aircraft
components or simulated components.
Figure 5 shows visual inspection inside an aircraft. Results showed substantial
inspector-to inspector variation.

Figure 5. Visual Inspection Experiment inside a Boeing 737.

For example, on a specific task of looking for cracks from beneath rivet heads,
the 90 percent probability of detection (percentage of cracks expected to be detected)
crack length for 11 inspectors ranged from 0.16 to 0.36 inch, with the 90 percent
probability of detection crack length for a twelfth inspector being 0.91 inch. Also
noted was a high variability from one inspection task to another as performed by the
same inspector. Results of these experiments have paved the way for other
organizations to better understand the intricacies of visual inspection in developing
laboratory and field visual inspection protocol.

6-CONCLUSIONS
Despite advances in other NDT technologies, visual inspection will likely
remain the first inspection method used in many field applications. As new
mechanical and optical aids become available, the reliability of visual inspection will
increase to more acceptable levels.
It is expected that additional visual inspection standards will be developed to
provide guidance in applying visual inspection for nondestructive testing. Visual
inspection will continue to be an important NDE inspection approach that will often
identify areas of structures or components where more advanced NDE methods need
to be applied.

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7-Visual Inspection Summary

8-REFERENCES
[1]Nondestructive Testing Handbook, Volume 8: Visual and Optical Testing,
Technical Editors M.W. Allgaier and S. Ness, American Society for Nondestructive
Testing, Columbus, OH, 1993.
[2] F.A. Iddings, Visual Inspection, Materials Evaluation, Vol. 62,No. 5, May 2004,
pp. 500-501.
[3] F.W. Spencer, Visual Inspection Research Project Report on Benchmark
Inspections, U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Aviation Administration,
Washington, DC, 1996.
[4] S. Kleven and L. Hyvarinen, Vision Testing Requirements for Industry,Materials
Evaluation, Vol. 57, No. 8, August 1999, pp. 797-803.
[5] ASNT Level III Study Guide and Supplement on Visual and Optical Testing,
American Society for Nondestructive Testing, Columbus, OH, 2005.
[6] Reliability of Visual Inspection for Highway Bridges, Publication Nos. FHWA-
RD-01-020 and FHWA-RD-01-021, June 2001.

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