Vane Partners NDT team have considerable expertise in NDT, equipment and component testing to support a network of industries; including construction, oil and gas, marine and structural steel sectors. Our highly qualified and experienced personnel ensure that we work to the highest attainable standards.
Our NDT services include
- Ultrasonic inspection is a non-destructive test method that uses sound waves to detect cracks, weld grooves, fractures and defects in parts and materials. Electronic transducers transmit high-frequency sound waves to a material, these sound waves bounce back crystal-clear images, which reveal key characteristics about a materials properties.
- Magnetic particle inspection(MPI) is a non-destructive testing (NDT) method used to check for surface and sub-surface discontinuities and defects. This method is used to test welds, castings, and forgings for defects; however, it can only be used on ferromagnetic metals, such as iron, nickel or cobalt and some of their alloys.
- Liquid penetrant inspection is a widely applied inspection method used to locate surface-breaking defects in all non-porous materials (metals, plastics, or ceramics). The penetrant may be applied to all non-ferrous materials and ferrous materials, although for ferrous components magnetic-particle inspection is often used instead for its subsurface detection capability.
- Eddy current techniques are commonly used for the non-destructive (NDT) examination to detect surface and near surface defects of a large variety of metallic structures, including heat exchanger tubes, aircraft fuselage, and aircraft structural components.
- Visual inspection is a surface inspection technique that is typically the first step of the examination process. Visual inspection can be used to inspect a variety of product forms including castings, forgings, machined components and weldments.
- Radiographic Testing (RT); this kind of NDT uses either x-rays or gamma rays to examine the internal structure of manufactured components identifying any flaws or defects.
In Radiography Testing the test-part is placed between the radiation source and film (or detector). The material density and thickness differences of the test-part will attenuate (i.e. reduce) the penetrating radiation through interaction processes involving scattering and/or absorption. The differences in absorption are then recorded on film(s) or through an electronic means. In industrial radiography there are several imaging methods available, techniques to display the final image, i.e. Film Radiography, Real Time Radiography (RTR), Computed Tomography (CT), Digital Radiography (DR), and Computed Radiography (CR).
There are two different radioactive sources available for industrial use; X-ray and Gamma-ray. These radiation sources use higher energy level, i.e. shorter wavelength, versions of the electromagnetic waves. Because of the radioactivity involved in radiography testing, it is of paramount importance to ensure that the Local Rules is strictly adhered during operation.
Computed Tomography (CT) is one of the lab based advanced NDT methods that TWI offers to industry. CT is a radiographic based technique that provides both cross-sectional and 3D volume images of the object under inspection. These images allow the internal structure of the test object to be inspected without the inherent superimposition associated with 2D radiography. This feature allows detailed analysis of the internal structure of a wide range of components.