RADIOGRAPHY

This type of inspection uses high-frequency penetrating radiation in the form of X-rays to locate discontinuities in a material, verify the integrity of internal components, and determine the quality of welds. There are many advantages to radiography including inspection of a wide variety of material types with varying density, ability to inspect assembled components, minimum surface preparation required, sensitivity to changes in thickness corrosion, voids, cracks, and material density changes, the ability to detect both surface and subsurface defects and the ability to provide a permanent record of the inspection.

EDDY CURRENT

The overall inspection process consists of applying the Eddy Current Test (ET) Method to detect surface or subsurface cracks in the item inspected. The material tested includes ferromagnetic and non-ferromagnetic materials such as steel, aluminum, copper, and titanium, to name a few. It detects surface and subsurface flaws using state-of-the-art equipment and allows the inspection of aircraft components and structures for cracks, corrosion, and conductivity caused by fatigue, stress, and extreme heat. Our techniques include surface and subsurface inspections, rotating bolt hole inspections, and conductivity measurements.

PHASED ARRAY ULTRASONICS

Phased array ultrasonics uses the general principles of ultrasonic testing and computer software to apply several UT beams to an article and manipulating them to an LCD screen. Inspecting parts with variable-angle beams maximize detection regardless of the defect orientation while optimizing the signal-to-noise ratio.

Aircraft Phased Array Ultrasonics

INFRARED THERMOGRAPHY

This method is an advanced visual inspection that utilizes infrared technology (cameras) to view the heat profile of an object. The software used in the cameras is able to read temperatures and displays this parameter in a color format. IRT is used to find flaws such as delamination, voids, impact damage, cracks and water ingress in Thin Material, Honeycomb sections and composite material without removal of paint. It is also used in many non-aircraft applications such as building insulation inspection, electrical wiring, rotating machines and various heat sensitive equipment. Permanent records of inspections are stored electronically and can be review at any time to read temperature measurements.

MAGNETIC PARTICLE

Magnetic particle examination (MPI) is usable only on materials having ferromagnetic properties, principally low alloy steels, and heat-treatable stainless steels. It is a sensitive non-destructive method for detecting surface and near-surface cracks and discontinuities. MPI is used in two general types and forms: Visible/fluorescent and dry/wet particle. Fluorescent wet particles offer sensitivities up to 1000 times that of the visible dry methods. However, they both have their use in industry as one method looks for gross discontinuities while the other seeks out minute defects.

ULTRASONICS

Ultrasonic inspection (UT) utilizes sound waves at frequencies between 2.5 to 20 MHz. UT is used mainly for thickness testing and flaw detection in solid materials that can support sound waves – all metals, plastics, glass, and carbon fiber. finding internal and external flaws and can inspect many different parts/sections of the aircraft structure without disassembly.

LIQUID PENETRANT

Liquid penetrant (LPI) testing services are reliable for detecting surface-breaking flaws in just about any solid material with a non-porous surface. A dye is placed on the inspection surface and allowed to seep into crevices. The surface dye is then removed and creviced dye is drawn to the surface in a development process to identify discontinuities in the material. The two main types of LPI used are visible and fluorescent dyes, with the fluorescent version of the inspection having an increased sensitivity of as much as 1000 times that of the visible inspection. An advantage of this inspection method is that it is very portable and can be performed at remote locations. Permanent recording of results is possible with the aid of photography.