RADIOGRAPHIC TESTING
BY:
SAURABH KUMAR
C3, IPE
2101100450026
IERT
RADIOGRAPHIC TESTING
• Radiography is used in a very wide range of applications including medicine,
engineering, forensics, security, etc.
• In NDT, radiography is one of the most important and widely used methods.
• Radiographic testing (RT) offers a number of advantages over other NDT methods,
however, one of its major disadvantages is the health risk associated with the
radiation.
• In general, RT is method of inspecting materials for hidden flaws by using the ability
of short wavelength electromagnetic radiation (high energy photons) to penetrate
various materials.
BASIC PRINCIPLE
• In radiographic testing, the part to be inspected is placed between the radiation source and a piece of
radiation sensitive film.
• The radiation source can either be an X ray machine or a radioactive source (Ir-192, Co-60, or in rare cases
Cs-137). The part will stop some of the radiation where thicker and more dense areas will stop more of the
radiation.
• The radiation that passes through the part will expose the film and forms a shadowgraph of the part.
• The film darkness (density) will vary with the amount of radiation reaching the film through the test object
where darker areas indicate more exposure (higher radiation intensity) and liter areas indicate less exposure
(higher radiation intensity).
• This variation in the image darkness can be used to determine thickness or composition of material and would
also reveal the presence of any flaws or discontinuities inside the material.
ADVANTAGES
• Both surface and internal discontinuities can be detected.
• Significant variations in composition can be detected.
• It has a very few material limitations.
• Can be used for inspecting hidden areas (direct access to surface is not required)
• Very minimal or no part preparation is required.
• Permanent test record is obtained.
• Good portability especially for gamma-ray sources.
DISADVANTAGES
• Hazardous to operators and other nearby personnel.
• High degree of skill and experience is required for exposure and interpretation.
• The equipment is relatively expensive (especially for sources). x-ray
• The process is generally slow.
• Highly directional (sensitive to flaw orientation).
• Depth of discontinuity is not indicated.
• It requires a two-sided access to the component.
TYPES OF RADIOGRAPHY
• Film Or Paper Radiography
• Computed Radiography
• Real Time Radiography
• Neutron Radiography
• Stereo Radiography
• X-ray Radiation
• Gamma Ray Radiation
PROPERTIES OF RADIATION
• They are not detected by human senses (cannot be seen, heard, felt, etc.).
• They travel in straight lines at the speed of light.
• Their paths cannot be changed by electrical or magnetic fields.
• They can be diffracted, refracted to a small degree at interfaces between two different
materials, and in some cases be reflected.
• They pass through matter until they have a chance to encounter with an atomic particle.
• Their degree of penetration depends on their energy and the matter they are traveling
through.
• They have enough energy to ionize matter and can damage or destroy living cells.
X-RADIATION
• X-rays are just like any other kind of electromagnetic radiation.
• They can be produced in packets of energy called photons, just like light.
• There are two different atomic processes that can produce X- ray photons.
One is called Bremsstrahlung (a German term meaning "braking radiation")
and the other is called K-shell emission.
• They can both occur in the heavy atoms of tungsten which is often the material
chosen for the target or anode of the X-ray tube.
PRINCIPLE
• X-rays are passed through the specimen under inspection and it is
differentially absorbed by the specimen.
• The transmitted x-rays are received by the photographic film and the film is
developed.
• The dark and light shadows reveal the defects present in the specimen and
hence the defects are defected.
GAMMA RADIATION
Gamma radiation is one of the three types of natural radioactivity. Gamma rays are
electromagnetic radiation just like X-rays. The other two types of natural radioactivity are alpha and
beta radiation, which are in the form of particles. Gamma rays are the most energetic form of
electromagnetic radiation.
Gamma radiation is the product of radioactive atoms. Depending upon the ratio of neutrons to
protons within its nucleus, an isotope of a particular element may be stable or unstable.
When the binding energy is not strong enough to hold the nucleus of an atom together, the atom is
said to be unstable. Atoms with unstable nuclei are constantly changing as a result of the imbalance
of energy within the nucleus. Over time, the nuclei of unstable isotopes spontaneously disintegrate, or
transform, in a process known as "radioactive decay" and such material is called "radioactive
material".
BRAGG’S LAW
• According to this law, the intensity of reflected waves at a certain angle will
be maximum when the path difference between two reflected waves from 2
different planes is an integral multiple of wavelength.
DEFECTS INSPECTED IN RADIOGRAPHIC CASTING
• Sand inclusions
• Blow holes
• Shrinkage
• Cracks
• Inclusions
MERITS
• No need of washing and developing films.
• Low cost.
• Image viewed immediately on screen.
• Time consumption is less.
DEMERITS
• Poor resolution
• Low image contrast
• Electronic image intensifier required for increasing the contrast
APPLICATIONS
• Pipe work
• Pressure vessels and boilers
• Structural steel works
• Ship building
NOTE: Testing can be carried out upto 200 mm
