Options
2001
Book Article
Titel
Transportation: NDT of structural parts
Abstract
Nondestructive testing (NDT) and evaluation has become very important in the transportation industries. NDT is indispensable, particularly when safety-relevant proof for the protection of the public and the environment is required. A number of national (DIN, ASME) and international harmonized (DIN EN, DIN EN ISO, DIN ISO) codes and technical rules govern the NDT concerning test objectives, applicable techniques, test applications, and test prerequisites. In addition, company-specific procedures and technical purchasing specifications complement regulatory requirements for in-house NDT. The increasing international trade of goods and associated stringent rules concerning the product liability requirements that habe been imposed by most of the leading industrial nations have resulted in increased efforts to enhance the quality of goods and products. Within the framework of manufacturing of semi-finished parts and products for the transportation industry, NDT is being used to control the manufacturing processes and to reduce the cost of quality through stringent quality assurance of flawless prodution (zero defect principle). A similar trend can be observed in the maintenance and service of products and components. The material-condition dependent NDT, which aims for detection of service-related damage, has been increasingly replaced by the diagnostic-dependent operation surveillance and monitoring of components using modern quantitative NDT methods has influenced their application and, in some areas, has led to design models for transportation systems based on probabilistic concepts (Cioclov and Kröning 1999). In this paper, NDT of structural parts in transportation, i.e., railroad, aviation and aerospace, automobiles,and pipelines is discussed.