FIFTH CANADIAN CONFERENCE ON NONDESTRUCTIVE ... - IAEA

LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE
R.S. Sh.an.pe.
Mat-tonal NVT Ce.ntn.0.
AERE Hawo.ll, England
ABSTRACT
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The recent rapid growth in scientific maturity of NDT is resulting in greater
confidence in finding defects, higher inspection reliability, better
understanding of the principles and limitations of the techniques
conventionally used and a more quantitative approach to the assessment of the
nature and sizes of defects through improved signal and data processing
routines.
In addition, the boundaries of nondestructive testing are reaching out to
encompass new objectives and also provide a wider horizon than just
inspection after manufacture, for which the majority of the conventionally
applied techniques and application philosophies were primarily designed.
The paper will show how the National NDT Centre at Harwell is operated to
provide a focus of activity in the UK for spearheading this progress towards
greater technological maturity. Examples taken from the current programmes
of work will be used to illustrate moves towards a quantitative science,
moves towards greater sensitivity and higher reliability and accuracy, moves
towards linking the technology more overtly to a better understanding of
fracture processes and moves towards better process control which,
paradoxically, should make NDT, as an inspection process at 'the end of the
line', edge towards redundancy!