TOFD & PAUT as combined Inspection

 Restrictions on the use of industrial radiography has increased in recent times due to health hazards, hence the need for alternative weld inspection methods and techniques such as Time of Flight Diffraction (TOFD) and Phased Array Ultrasonic Testing (PAUT) have become indispensable. NDE has become more relevant in recent times due to its ability to assess the flaws accurately. Along with sizing of flaw, characterization of flaw is also very important. Hence, the combination of TOFD and phased array techniques have become a need. When PAUT and TOFD techniques are judiciously performed together, the quality of testing increases when compared with radiography, i.e. the integrity of weld joints inspected with TOFD or PAUT is higher than those inspected using radiography. At times the combined inspection cost for PAUT + TOFD may seem higher than conventional radiography testing but since these advanced ultrasonic methods do not involve any radiation hazards and other jobs can be carried out in the vicinity of such testing, leading to a direct saving associated beside time saved in production/fabrication. The speeds of PAUT + TOFD inspection in one scan shortens the overall inspection time and eliminates the time-loss associated with RT. Similar to radiography, the records with raw data can be preserved forever. Our TOFD & PAUT combined inspection is confirming to the code section ASME BPVC Section-V Article 4 Ultrasonic Examination Methods for Welds.