Ensuring structural integrity is fundamentally important in several industries, including: civil and residential construction, aerospace, naval and automotive manufacturing and consumer manufacturing. Non-destructive testing is an analytic method that identifies flaws and defects in structures without causing damage to the structure itself. It is therefore an extremely useful method for identifying when structural components of a site need to be replaced to ensure its overall structural integrity remains intact. Techniques such as liquid penetrant testing, radiographic testing and ultrasonic testing are so useful because they are relatively cheap. They are cheap because of their ability to test internal components from an external perspective. In other words, these methods can ‘see’ inside an object without needing to alter the object to perform inspection.
The Significance of Structural Integrity
When important structural components wear down and decay it causes huge risk to employees and non-employees who are in proximity to a site. As well as causing physical damage to work and civilian environments, structural failures can cause massive downtime which is expensive for organisations responsible for maintaining productivity. Like when the Opal Towers in Mascot, Sydney, caught on fire due to use of improper building materials, lack of structural integrity can cause huge expensve, inconvenience and danger to human life.
What is Non-Destructive Testing?
As mentioned above, non-destructive testing is an evaluative method used to determine when internal structures are weakened and require replacement. Ultrasonic waves, radiographic waves or use of specialised dyes can be broadcast onto an object to find structural inefficiencies within it or on its surface. Non-destructive testing equipment requires training and certification to use and this makes NDT specialists extremely valuable. Yet, compared to alternative analysis, such as disassembling an object to check for flaws, NDT is very affordable.
Applications of Non-Destructive Testing
Non-destructive testing is primarily used in civil and manufacturing industries to check for flaws and defects. NDT is commonly used to inspect welds, identify corrosion, check pipelines for cracks and assess the condition of civil structures like bridges and tunnels. If welds are weakening, corrosion has started or cracks are forming in these structures, single or multiple components can be replaced with new variants to ensure structural stability and safety for all users.
Collaboration and Compliance
Collaboration between NDT specialists, engineers and industry regulators is so important to maintaining safety compliance at civil and manufacturing sites. Industry regulation dictates that sites in construction, civil and manufacturing sites undergo regular evaluation to ensure structural integrity is sustained at all times. Industry regulators pupport regular maintenance schedules which engineers conform to via employment of NDT specialists who have the skills required to evaluate civil and manufacturing sites. Without frequent NDT analysis, the danger of structural damage or collapse is everpresent.
Buy Non-Destructive Testing Equipment
NDT Australia can supply your civil or manufacturing site with a vast range of non-destructive testing equipment no matter where you are in Australia. Contact us via our contact form or on (02) 9524 0558 to make an enquiry about any of the NDT equipment we have listed on our website. We are available from 7:30am to 4:00pm Monday to Friday.
