Non-Destructive Testing

What is Non-Destructive Testing?

The field of Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) (also refereed as Non-Destructive Evaluation /Examination (NDE) or Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI)), is the process of inspecting, testing, or evaluating materials, components or assemblies for discontinuities, or differences in characteristics without destroying or altering the test subject. This allows the part to remain in service or unchanged for legal purposes.

What is the purpose of Non-Destructive Testing?

The basic purpose of nondestructive testing is to assess the qualities of an object without destroying it. This can be used as part of Quality Control in the manufacturing process or the initial design work before going to market. NDT is also used in the evaluation of products that seem to have failed before a legal case is developed.

The underlying reason for preforming NDT in either proceeding is risk management. While non-destructive testing does not eliminate risk, it can significantly reduce or mitigate it.

Non-destructive and destructive testing serve intertwining purposes. In the design process destructive testing provides an exact estimate of what it takes to destroy an object. Knowing the limits set by destructive testing in a laboratory, can provide parameters for testing in the field or manufacturing site. Destructive testing can also work to find the Mode and Root Cause in failure analysis.