Interaction between QNDE and Fracture Mechanics

: Cioclov, D.; Schmitz, V.

Abstract
Within the interaction between ultrasonic non-destructive testing procedures and the fracture mechanics, possibilites and limitations of involved key factors are discussed. The expression "quantitative" means that tomographic algorithms are used for the reconstruction of defects in a material, that they are implemented into a 3D-CAD environment and that ray tracing algorithms or mathematic numerical modeling tools aare used as an interpretation help. The paper emphasizes the role of statistical scatter of key NDT and Fracture Mechanics parameters together with the random variation of loading when a reliability or risk analysis is undertaken. An example of failure simulation of a large water storage tank is given whre 10 000 simulations based on a Weibull distribution of crack size and fracture toughness have been performed in order to reconstruct a real case of a failure.