The current dynamic process in computing, microelectronic s, smart sensors and automation provide NDT system engineers with challenging opportunities for improved NDT solutions. We focus on the quantification of inspection results with r espect to flaw type, flaw location and flaw size, at high inspection speeds. We strive to conquer tradi tional inspection limitations, such as the ultrasonic inspection of non-accessible component areas, and we may be able to assess the variations of material conditions caused by fatigue or by radiation-induced embrittlement, to name a few. For nuclear engineering, risk based NDT has become an i mportant procedure to optimize the contribution of NDT to nuclear safety concepts. We pres ent first results of a 3-Dimensional Ultrasonic Tomography technique with high-resolution discontinuity images comprising all arbitrary scan angles at standard inspection speeds, which will help to evaluate findings in pressurized components and will help to avoid repairs that may even cause further degradation in the component’s quality. Quantitative NDT (QNDT) may become part of a general probabilistic approach to assess the failure risk, and will also help ga in to understand the value of NDT in quantitative figures. Based on integrated computing tools, we present a manually performed ultrasonic inspection with 3-dimensional tomography images, comparable to conventional manipulator-controlled inspections. The ultrasonic signals are analyzed to dete rmine transducer positions and their changes at the accuracy required to apply synthetic apert ure focusing techniques (Acoustic Mouse). To analyze neutron embrittlement, we discuss initial id eas to measure this type of material degradation with scanning techniques. We evaluate the embrittlem ent through the cladding by analyzing the magnetostrictive properties of the material .

As a means of transport, the railway is gaining in impor tance, and this has inspired a large number of innovations. International rail traffic, fo r example, and logistics solutions need to be improved, but technical safety must also be guaranteed, espec ially for high-speed trains. Reliability and availability of high-speed trains depends s ignificantly on the quality of wheels, wheel sets and wheel set axles. There are, indeed, alre ady a large number of national and international rules and regulations, for example on the inspection of wheels, wheel sets and tracks, which take this into account. European and - not le ast - Fraunhofer research together with industrial partners have assumed a leading role in thi s process, resulting in international demand for inspection systems developed in Europe. Having said that, the systems do need to be adapted to suit national specifications.

The assurance of technical safety and quality of ma terials, parts and components during production and operation, along with monitoring and control of structural health processes and other scenarios, has become essential for modern high-tech industry. As a result, the market demands for NDE equipment and services are growing in respect to specific applications and fit-for-purpose equipment. Furthermore, NDT has become important for national policies directed towards the development of a national engineering infrastructure and to meet government directives. The development of industries and the use of techniques, which may cause severe dama ge in case of failure, are also subject to international cooperation and agreements. As a result, within the international framework, each nation has to assume responsibility for safe, secure and controlled technologies. These aspects prompted the establishment of NDE centers in countries with high-tech industry and installations, such as nuclear power plants. NDE centers have the mi ssion to support authorities and industry, offering education and training to NDE engineers and technicians, developing and certifying specialized solutions for NDE problems, providing technical and scientific information and services and, finally, monitor worldwide NDE activities to consequently spread the culture for safety and quality. In 2006 we have launched the CAND project in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. CAND is the Brazilian C enter for Nondestructive Evaluation, a non-governmental non-profit organization. CAND has strong links to industry and to universities and focuses on awareness of, and response to, the needs for advanced NDT. Moreover, the CAND advisory board is able to organize international cooperation and is capable of

Most frequently applied ultrasonic inspection techniques measure the reflectivity of geometric scatterers that are caused by impurities, flaws and defects in the material. Based on the echo sounder principles, the reflector has to be insonified by directed sound pulses. This requires a large number of transducers with different incident angles and sound field patterns, which are more and more replaced by phased array sensors. Phased array inspection systems can control the insonification direction and the focus of the applied sound field, but they do not alter the principles of multi-angle and multifocus inspection; the resulting scanning speed limitation is obvious. In addition, flaw imaging only displays the position and amplitude height of the reflection and does not provide an image of the actual shape of the reflector. Thus, the evaluation of state-ofthe-art ultrasonic imaging is based on the extension and maximum amplitude of the identified reflector applied to specified reference reflectors. A more quantitative assessment of the findings requires human or future artificial expert knowledge. We have developed a new concept for real-time quantitative ultrasonic imaging at high speed scanning. The “Sampling Phased Array” ultrasonic system and the use of distributed apertures based on “SynFoc” algorithms permit imaging of reflectors independent from the insonification direction. Only one insonification is required to image the cross section (Sector Scan or B-Scan) with an arbitrary number of virtual incidence angles at repetition rates of up to 6 kHz. Due to the virtual coverage of all incidence angles and the simultaneous focusing of each image pixel using the synthetic aperture algorithms (SynFoc), the real-time 3-D result presentations approach today’s demands for quantitative defect imaging. We have planned to integrate the interaction of the sound field with structured geometric scatterers, including mode conversion phenomena, for example. We are

Usually, materials are inspected by nondestructive methods to detect and evaluate defects that may cause failure under the designed operation conditions. However, the structure may also fail due to uncertainties of material properties like strength or hardness, and may also suffer from unexpected degradation during operation. A reliable NDE technique for detecting the inception of failure during early stages of embrittlement is presently not available. For the characterization of material degradation phenomena, nondestructive methods that are sensitive to the microstructure of the material are required and useful. However, they must be applied in the field. The difference between Microscopy and NDE poses a challenge when dealing with the scanning of macroscopic objects. The presented results were tested under laboratory conditions only and have to be certified through comprehensive field trials. Appropriate techniques for the assessment of material degradation should be able to detect and identify micromagnetic properties of ferritic steel, for example; magnetization phenomena are affected by microstructure and stress states. Other techniques with similar potential are Eddy Current, Ultrasonic and Thermal testing methods. We present results of a research project funded within the German Nuclear Safety Program. Using different micromagnetic methods we were able to analyze the neutron induced embrittlement of a 20 MnMoNi 55 steel material. Magnetic Barkhausen noise data, the upper harmonics analysis of magnetization, and eddy current data allowed a nondestructive prediction of Vickers hardness and the shift of the ductile-to-brittle transition temperature (DBTT) that characterizes embrittlement. As a second example, we present results that allow the assessment of the precipitation induced embrittlement in WB 36 (15 NiCuMoNb 5) steel material. Both examples demonstrate the complexity of the problem and the viability of the NDT approach.

Everybody knows: technical components are designed to reliably guarantee a certain lifetime and the design rules have to consider every possible influence by mechanical static and/or cyclic loading as well as aging processes like plastic deformation, fatigue, corrosion, thermal influences and their synergies. As far as the Transrapid is concerned it is also clear that practical experiences with aging of components and infrastructure are not yet available with relevant statistical data coming out of a maintenance strategy supported by non-destructive testing (NDT). The paper reports NDT- and monitoring-techniques, sensors available and under development, experiences and lectures learned in comparable applications.

Micro residual stresses (MRS) of the 2 and 3 order play an important role in the lifetime analysis of thermally-cycled materials. The coherent residual stresses (MRS of 3 order) appear when the lattice parameter of the second phase particles (coherently embedded in the matrix) and the lattice parameter of the matrix are different from each other. Such differences in case of the Fe-Cu alloys between the lattice parameters of coherent Cu precipitates and the lattice parameters of the αFe matrix lead to distortion of the lattice around the Cu particles causing coherent tensile MRS of 3 order. Thermally induced MRS of the 2 order appear when individual material phases exhibit different thermal expansion coefficients. Such differences in temperature-related expansion coefficients of copper precipitates and the α-Fe matrix promote the development of thermally induced compressive MRS of the 2 order. The main objective of the presented research project is to develop an integral, economical and fast micro-magnetic non-destructive method for quantitative characterisation of MRS of the 2 and 3 order in Fe-Cu and Fe-Cu-Ni alloys. For this purpose Fe-Cu and Fe-Cu-Ni alloy samples with different Cu and Ni contents were prepared.