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When
we think of people who keep us safe, certain professions come
quickly to mind - doctors, nurses, police,
mountain rescue, lifeboat and fire rescue services. It is less
obvious to include an engineer as part of that group.
Many life saving professionals deal directly with the public
and are easily recognised by their distinct uniforms. Engineers
on the other hand, deal more with
the integrity of a product, not people and so the relationship between the engineer
and saving lives is less obvious.
Virtually all aspects of our daily life depend upon us using
products which have been inspected by Non-Destructive Testing
engineers and, so long as they do not fail, you would not even
notice - cars, buses, bicyces, trains, trams, aeroplanes, bridges,
buildings, theme park rides, towers, ships, submarines, space
ships, pylons, wind turbines, power stations, oil rigs, pipelines
- you name it, it is likely that a Non-Destructive Testing engineer
has tested it.
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The
methods used by these engineers are based on applied physics
and through their application Non-Destructive Testing becomes
'The Science of Safety'. We use magnetism, dyes, ultrasound,
radiation, acoustics, lasers, thermography, visual tests, electromagnetism
and imaging. We have to be familiar with the physics associated
with each method. We need to be knowledgeable about the product,
be it metal, composite, weld, cast or wrought. It is important
for us to know the likely flaws and where the stresses will be
placed which could lead to failure.
In terms of safety we may hold many lives in our hands with each
product that we test.
It is now time to elevate our profession to where the NDT engineer
is right alongside the other life savers and to be proud of our
role in the manufactured world.
Lavender International is creating a new
generation of engineers who are as enthused with the nature of Non-Destructive
Testing as we are. Let us, as NDT engineers stand alongside the
other life saving professions and be proud of our role within
the Science of Safety.
Methods of Applied Physics
• Eddy Current
• Magnetic
• Penetrant
• Radiogrpahy |
• Ultrasonic
• Visual
• Time of Flight Diff.
• Phased Array |
Some Industry Sectors
using Applied Physics
• Aerospace
• Defence
• Gas
• Leisure |
• Oil
• Nuclear Power
• Pressure Vessels
• Transport |
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