TWI is often asked to carry out demanding and highly specialised non-destructive testing (NDT) inspections on behalf of its Member companies.
Our inspection services are provided by fully qualified Level 2 or 3 engineers, backed up by the support of our 50-strong team of NDT scientists and technicians based in Cambridge and Port Talbot in the UK.
Our engineers travel extensively and have carried out on-site NDT inspections as far afield as Alaska, Indonesia, Venezuela, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf of Mexico. Site teams can be mobilised rapidly and are fully accustomed to all types of site working conditions including offshore, Arctic and tropical.
The unrivalled breadth of our technical capability, and the support provided by engineering input from across our organisation, means our inspection services can respond efficiently and effectively to our Members’ needs.
Rigorous methodology
We work closely with our clients to tailor solutions, which usually take the form of a combination of the below activities:
- Establishing the morphology and location of potential failure mechanisms (in consultation with TWI welding engineers/metallurgists)
- Identifying the critical areas within a component
- Designing and manufacturing test coupons containing flaws of similar morphology to those identified and reflecting worst-case configurations for NDT
- Establishing outline NDT techniques based upon knowledge of flaw morphology and prior experience
- Finalising through trials and modelling the efficacy of the technique(s) and making modifications as required
- Establishing written NDT procedures
- Demonstrating NDT techniques during pre-inspection meetings
- Carrying out on-site inspections
- Recommending appropriate repair methodology to restore the integrity of the components in full compliance with code of construction
- Producing a report/technical justification outlining the technical basis and rationale for the qualification of the technique(s) and containing a detailed explanation of the written examination procedure, the underlying theory of the examination method and any laboratory experiments or field examinations that support the capabilities of the examination method
- Providing our customer with the training and certification necessary to enable their personnel to conduct subsequent inspections in accordance with the TWI procedure.
A multidisciplinary team
Examples of work we have carried out in the past include:
- Detection of a particular failure mechanism such as stress corrosion cracking
- Critical sizing of flaws in conjunction with an Engineering Critical Assessment
- Overcoming material problems for the evaluation of cracking in stainless steel clad pipes.
Our NDT team is supported by highly experienced engineers from diverse backgrounds. Our materials engineers confirm the morphology of potential flaws; structural integrity engineers determine exactly what size of flaws we need to detect in order to ensure continued safe use of the component; and asset integrity engineers tell us which areas of a structure we should concentrate upon.
And once we’ve developed our inspection procedures, our reliability engineers can provide us with statistical data on our inspection capabilities, which our clients can build into their evaluation processes.
Track record
For a couple of examples of our NDT inspection work, visit the following pages:
For more information, please email contactus@twi.co.uk.