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There is growing concern among regulatory bodies (i.e HSE, CAA etc) and the insurance industry (e.g. SAFED Association.) that a number of NDT techniques are far less reliable than previously thought.
There is also strong evidence that significant defects that could lead to the catastrophic failure of safety critical engineering components in the aviation, rail and oil & gas industries are not being detected by current NDT techniques and certified NDT technicians.
It has been established by the DTI that an NDT Validation Centre is required to offer independent service to industry and development work to meet the needs of specific NDT applications. The need for this Centre, covering potentially all NDT techniques has been met by a 5000sqft, TWI-owned facility located at Port Talbot, South Wales.
Key Objectives:
- To offer independent validation of NDT techniques for a range of sectors
- Offer increased confidence of NDT inspection to regulatory bodies and insurance companies
- Improve the competitiveness of service companies by offering new NDT techniques not currently available to them or too expensive for them to develop and evaluate themselves
- Provide guidelines on the effective use of a range of NDT techniques to industry clients
- Using TWI's extensive membership network, provide connectivity between sectors and in the region
- Provide access to state-of-the-art NDT facilities for experimental trials
- Provide training and examination of NDT operators to industry
The Port Talbot facility will be fully equipped with a wide range of standard and advanced NDT equipment, including: phased array ultrasonics; long range guided wave ultrasonics; digital radiography; computed X-ray tomography; automated NDT; laser shearography; and infra-red thermography.
You can download the full centre brochure in PDF format via the link at the bottom of this page.
Typically, the work undertaken by the centre will involve inspecting and testing structures and components, analysing defects and comparing what is found by the test with the defects actually present. This will allow engineers to predict component lifetimes and potential for life extension, and ensure that vehicles, products and structures remain safe for use during their lifetime.
The centre will study NDT in all materials, but a key activity will be development and validation of inspection techniques for composite materials in conjunction with NCN, through its Composite Validation Group. For more information about how your company can access the NDT Validation Centre, contact NCN Helpdesk.
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