Inspection Techniques

Lecture delivered by :
Jawed Ahsan
Pak Arab Fertilizer (Pvt.) Ltd.

Contents

Materials
Heat Treatment
Welding
Pressure Vessel/Heat Exchanger Check
list
Storage tank Inspection Check List
RT Procedure
PT Procedure

 Metal Properties
There is no simple definition of metal; however,
any chemical element having metallic
properties is classed as a metal. Metallic
properties are defined as good thermal and
electrical conductivity, and the capability of
being permanently shaped or deformed at room
temperature. Chemical elements lacking these
properties are classed as nonmetals. A few
elements, known as metalloids, sometimes
behave like a metal and at other times like a
nonmetal. Some examples of metalloids are as
follows: carbon, phosphorus, silicon, and sulfur.

An alloy is defined as a substance having

metallic properties that is composed of two
or more elements. The elements used as
alloying substances are usually metals or
metalloids. The properties of an alloy differ
from the properties of the pure metals or
metalloids that make up the alloy and this
difference is what creates the usefulness
of alloys.

 Mechanical Properties
Strength, hardness, toughness, elasticity,
plasticity, brittleness, and ductility and
malleability are mechanical properties used as
measurements of how metals behave under a
load. These properties are described in terms of
the types of force or stress that the metal must
withstand and how these are resisted.
Common types of stress are compression,
tension, shear, torsion, impact, or a combination
of these stresses, such as fatigue. Compression
stresses develop within a material when forces
compress or crush the material. A column that
supports an overhead beam is in compression,
and the internal stresses that develop within the
column are compression

 Strength is the property that enables a metal to

resist deformation under load. The ultimate
strength is the maximum strain a material can
withstand. Tensile strength is a measurement of
the resistance to being pulled apart when
placed in a tension load.
Hardness
Hardness is the property of a material to resist
permanent indentation. Because there are
several meth-ods of measuring hardness, the
hardness of a material is always specified in
terms of the particular test that was used to
measure this property. Rockwell, Vickers, or
Brinell are some of the methods of testing.

 Toughness
Toughness is the property that enables a
material to withstand shock and to be
deformed without rupturing.
Toughness may be considered as a
combination of strength and plasticity.

 Elasticity
When a material has a load applied to it, the
load causes the material to deform. Elasticity is
the ability of a material to return to its original
shape after the load is removed. Theoretically,
the elastic limit of a material is the limit to which
a material can be loaded and still recover its
original shape after the load is removed.
Plasticity
Plasticity is the ability of a material to deform
permanently without breaking or rupturing. This
prop-erty is the opposite of strength.

 Brittleness
Brittleness is the opposite of the property of
plasticity.
A brittle metal is one that breaks or shatters
before it deforms. White cast iron and glass are
good examples of brittle material.
Ductility and Malleability
Ductility is the property that enables a material to
stretch, bend, or twist without cracking or
breaking. This property makes it possible for a
material to be drawn out into a thin wire. In
comparison, malleability is the property that
enables a material to deform by compressive
forces without developing defects. A malleable
material is one that can be stamped, hammered,
forged, pressed, or rolled into thin sheets.

 CORROSION RESISTANCE
Corrosion resistance, although not a
mechanical property, is important in the
discussion of metals. Corrosion resistance is
the property of a metal that gives it the ability
to withstand attacks from atmospheric,
chemical, or electrochemical conditions.
Corrosion, sometimes called oxidation, is
illustrated by the rusting of iron.

 Metal Types
The metals that steelworkers work with are
divided into two general classifications: ferrous
and nonferrous .
FERROUS METALS
Ferrous metals include all forms of iron and steel
alloys. A few examples include wrought iron,
cast iron, carbon steels, alloy steels, and tool
steels. Ferrous metals are iron-base alloys with
small percentages of carbon and other elements
added to achieve desirable properties. Normally,
ferrous metals are magnetic and nonferrous
metals are nonmagnetic.

 CAST IRON. Cast iron is any iron

containing greater than 2% carbon alloy.
Cast iron has a high-com-pressive
strength and good wear resistance;
however, it lacks ductility, malleability, and
impact strength. Alloying it with nickel,
chromium, molybdenum, silicon, or
vanadium improves toughness, tensile
strength, and.hardness. A malleable cast
iron is produced through a easily as the
low-carbon steels. They are used for
crane prolonged annealing process.
hooks, axles, shafts, setscrews, and so
on.

 Carbon steel is a term applied to a broad range

of steel that falls between the commercially pure
ingot iron and the cast irons. This range of
carbon steel may be classified into four groups:
Low-Carbon Steel . . . . . . . . 0.05% to 0.30%
carbon
Medium-Carbon Steel . . . . . . 0.30% to 0.45%
carbon
High-Carbon Steel . . . . . . . . 0.45% to 0.75%
carbon
Very High-Carbon Steel . . . . . 0.75% to 1.70%
carbon

 STAINLESS STEEL. This type of steel is clas-sified

by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) into two
general series named the 200-300 series and 400
series. Each series includes several types of steel with
different characteristics.
The 200-300 series of stainless steel is known as
AUSTENITIC. This type of steel is very tough and
ductile in the as-welded condition; therefore, it is ideal
for welding and requires no annealing under normal
atmospheric conditions. The most well-known types of
steel in this series are the 304 & 316. They are
commonly called 18-8 because they are composed of
18% chromium and 8% nickel. The chromium nickel
steels are the most widely used and are normally
nonmagnetic.

 ALLOY STEELS. Steels that derive their properties

primarily from the presence of some alloying element
other than carbon are called ALLOYS or ALLOY
STEELS. Note, however, that alloy steels always
contain traces of other elements. Among the more
common alloying elements are nickel, chromium,
vanadium, Mangnese, and tungsten. One or more of
these elements may be added to the steel during the
manufacturing process to produce the desired
characteristics.
Alloy steels may be produced in structural sections,
sheets, plates, and bars for use in the as-rolled
condition. Better physical properties are obtained with
these steels than are possible with hot-rolled carbon
steels.

 NONFERROUS METALS
Nonferrous metals contain either no iron or only
insignificant amounts used as an alloy. Some of
the more common nonferrous metals
steelworkers work with are as follows: copper,
brass, bronze, copper-nick.
Monel
Monel is an alloy in which nickel is the major
element. It contains from 64% to 68% nickel,
about 30% copper, and small percentages of
iron, manganese, and cobalt. Monel is harder
and stronger than either nickel or copper and
has high ductility. It resembles stainless steel in
appearance and has many of its qualities.

 Inconel
Inconel is composed of 78.5% nickel, 14%
chromium, 6.5% iron, and 1% of other
elements. It offers good resistance to
corrosion and retains its strength at highoperating temperatures.

Heat Treatment
The process of heat treating is the method by
which metals are heated and cooled in a series
of specific operations that never allow the metal
to reach the molten state. The purpose of heat
treating is to make a metal more useful by
changing or restoring its mechanical properties.
Through heat treating, we can make a metal
harder, stronger, and more resistant to impact.
Also, heat treating can make a metal softer and
more ductile. The one disadvantage is that no
heat-treating procedure can produce all of these
characteristics in one operation. Some
properties are improved at the expense of
others; for example, hardening a metal may
make it brittle.

 Heat-Treating Theory
The various types of heat-treating processes
are similar because they all involve the heating
and cooling of metals; they differ in the heating
temperatures and the cooling rates used and
the final results. The usual methods of heattreating ferrous metals (metals with iron) are
annealing, normalizing, hardening, and
tempering. Most nonferrous metals can be
annealed, but never tempered, normalized, or
case-hardened.

 Stages of Heat Treatment

Heat treating is accomplished in three
major stages:
Stage lHeating the metal slowly to
ensure a uniform temperature
Stage 2Soaking (holding) the metal at a
given temperature for a given time and
cooling the metal to room temperature
Stage 3Cooling the metal to room
temperature

 WELDING
SMAW
Shielded metal arc welding is performed by
striking an arc between a coated-metal electrode
and the base metal. Once the arc has been
established, the molten metal from the tip of the
electrode flows together with the molten metal
from the edges of the base metal to forma sound
joint. This process is known as fusion. The
coating from the electrode forms a covering over
the weld deposit, shielding it from contamination;
therefore the process is called shielded metal
arc welding. The main advantages of shielded
metal arc welding are that high-quality welds are
made rapidly at a low cost.

 WELD JOINTS
The weld joint is where two or more metal
parts are joined by welding. The five basic
types of weld joints are the butt, corner,
tee, lap, and edge

Drawing

WELDING SYMBOLS

WELDING MACHINES

WELDING ELECTRODES

PRESSURE VESSEL/HEAT EXCHANGER

CHECKLIST

1. Thickness Gauging or UT Scanning

2. NDT if required
3. Visual Inspection
4.Corrosion Rate Determination
5. Corrosion & Minimum Thk Evaluation
6. Remaining Life Determination
7. Repair Procedure Development if required
8. Re rating
9. Hydro testing

STORAGE TANK INSPECTION

CHECKLIST

1. Actual thickness determination

2. Bottom Plate thickness determination
3. Bottom Leak detection
4. Inspection of Tank Roof
5. tank Foundation Inspection
6.Cathodic Protection Survey
7. Repair of defects and Inspection
8. Peaking, bending & Plumb ness inspection

RT Procedure
SURFACE PREPARATION

THE WELD RIPPLES OR WELD SURFACE

IRREGULARITIES ON BOTH THE INSIDE AND
OUTSIDE SHALL BE REMOVED BY ANY SUITABLE
METHOD TO SUCH A DEGREE THAT THE
RESULTING RADIOGRAPHIC IMAGE DUE TO
IRREGULARITIES CAN NOT MASK OR BE
CONFUSED WITH THE IMAGE OF ANY
DISCONTINUITY.
SELECTION OF SOURCE & FILM
APPROPRIATE SOURCE AND FILM SHALL BE
SELECTED ACCORDING TO THE TYPE AND
THICKNESS OF THE MATERIAL

IDENTIFICATION MARKING
THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION SHALL
APPEAR ON THE RADIOGRAPH AS
RADIOGRAPHIC IMAGES ALONG SIDE
THE WELD AND AT A DISTANCE 5MM
FROM THE EDGE OF THE WELD SEAM.
DRAWING NUMBER
POSITION NUMBER
COMPANY NAME
WELDER NUMBER
JOINT NUMBER
DATE ON WHICH THE RADIOGRAPH IS
TAKEN
DIAMETER OR THICKNESS OF SPECIMEN

 IMAGE QUALITY INDICATORS (IQI)

APPROPRIATE WIRE TYPE IMAGE QUALITY

INDICATOR SHALL BE SELECTED AS PER
THICKNESS OF TEST SPECIMEN. THE MATERIAL OF
IQI TO BE USED SHALL BE THE SAME AS THAT OF
THE TEST SPECIMEN.
FILM PLACING

THE FILM SHALL BE PLACED AS CLOSE AS

POSSIBLE TO THE TEST SPECIMEN AND ITS PLANE
SHALL BE AS PERPENDICULAR AS POSSIBLE TO
THE AXIS OF THE BEAM.
MINIMIZING THE EFFECTS OF SCATTERED
RADIATION
FILMS WITH LEAD SCREEN SHALL BE USED TO
MINIMIZE THE EFFECT OF SCATTERED RADIATION.

 PLACEMENT OF IDENTIFICATION MARKERS

THOSE IDENTIFICATION MARKERS WHICH HAVE

TO APPEAR AS RADIOGRAPHIC IMAGES SHALL BE
PLACED ON THE TEST SPECIMEN AT A DISTANCE
OF AT LEAST 5MM ON EACH SIDE FROM THE EDGE
OF THE WELDMENT.
PLACEMENT OF IQI

WIRE TYPE IQI SHALL BE PLACED ACROSS THE

WELD AND AT THE END OF THE LENGTH OF THE
WELD TO BE RADIOGRAPHED IN SUCH A WAY THAT
THE THINNEST WIRE IN THE IQI IS FURTHEST
FROM THE BEAM AXIS AND THE IDENTIFICATION
MARKS OF THE IQI DO NOT MASK ANY PORTION OF
THE IMAGE OF THE WELD TO BE INTERPRETED.
THE IQI SHALL ALWAYS BE PLACED ON THE
SOURCE SIDE (EXCEPT IN DOUBLE WALL SINGLE
IMAGE TECHNIQUE IN PIPES PROVIDED NO
ACCESS IS POSSIBLE TO THE INSIDE OF THE PIPE).

 EXPOSURE DETERMINATION

WITH THE HELP OF EXPOSURE CHART

THE CORRECT EXPOSURE SHALL BE
DETERMINED.
PROCESSING

FILMS SHALL BE PROCESSED IN

ACCORDANCE WITH THE
RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE FILM
MANUFACTURER PARTICULAR ATTENTION
SHALL BE PAID TO TEMPERATURE AND
DEVELOPING TIME. THE RADIOGRAPHS
SHALL BE FREE FROM ARTIFACTS, DUE TO
PROCESSING OR OTHER CAUSES.

 VIEWING

THE RADIOGRAPHS SHALL BE EXAMINED IN A

DARKENED ROOM ON AN ILLUMINATED DIFFUSING
SCREEN AND THE ILLUMINATED AREA SHALL BE
MARKED TO THE MINIMUM REQUIRED FOR
VIEWING THE RADIOGRAPHIC IMAGE. THE
BRIGHTNESS OF THE VIEWING SCREEN SHALL
PREFERABLY BE ADJUSTED SO AS TO ALLOW
SATISFACTORY READING OF THE RADIOGRAPHS.
INTERPRETATION OF RADIOGRAPHS

FINALLY THE RADIOGRAPHIC FILMS SHALL BE

INTERPRETED BY QUALIFIED INSPECTOR. THE
INTERPRETER SHOULD HAVE GOOD EYE-SIGHT
WITH OR WITHOUT GLASSES.

PT Procedure
THE TEMPERATURE RANGE FOR
PENETRANT TESTING SHALL BE FROM 16C
TO 52C.
THE PERSON WHO CARRIES OUT
PENETRANT TESTING SHALL BE QUALIFIED.
THE EXAMINER SHALL HAVE ANNUAL
VISION TEST, WITH CORRECTION IF
NEEDED, ALSO HE SHALL BE CAPABLE OF
DISTINGUISHING CONTRAST BETWEEN
COLORS.

 SURFACE TO BE TESTED BY LIQUID

PENETRANT SHALL BE CLEANED WITH
SOLVENTS TO REMOVE, GREASE, OIL
DIRT ETC. SURFACE CAN BE
BRUSHED OR GRINDED BUT SAND
BLASTING IS PROHIBITED.
SURFACE TO BE EXAMINED SHALL BE
THOROUGHLY DRY AFTER CLEANING.

 PENETRANT CAN BE APPLIED BY

SPRAYING OR BRUSHING.
PENETRATION TIME FOR PENETRANT
SHALL BE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
RECOMMENDATIONS OF
MANUFACTURER.
EXCESS PENETRANT SHALL BE
REMOVED BY WIPING WITH CLOTH OR
ABSORBENT PAPER USING SOLVENT,
AFTER THE ELAPSING OF
PENETRATION TIME.

 AFTER COMPLETE REMOVAL OF

EXCESS PENETRANT SURFACE SHALL
BE DRIED BEFORE APPLICATION OF
DEVELOPER.
THE DEVELOPER SHALL BE APPLIED
AFTER WELL AGITATING, THE NOZZLE
SHALL BE KEPT AT A DISTANCE, MORE
THAN 300MM-FORM SURFACE.
FINAL INTERPRETATION SHALL BE
MADE WITH IN 7 TO 30 MINUTES
AFTER APPLICATION OF DEVELOPER