The Power of Non-Destructive Testing: Leveraging X-Ray Inspections in Forensics

Think for a moment about crucial industrial machinery around your facility. What happens if one of these devices fails mid-operation? Maybe you lose a few hours of meeting production estimates, but more likely, you run the risk of serious safety concerns like spills, fires, and explosions.

What may seem like a perfectly intact component externally could actually be hiding many internal flaws. The problem is you cannot necessarily tear apart all the machines or components in your facility to judge what is happening deep inside. That is where the power of non-destructive testing (NDT) through X-ray technology becomes necessary.

Modern engineering requires precision, safety, and efficiency checks. While performing routine quality control inspections is extremely valuable, there are moments when using X-ray NDT for deeper analysis. Having a high-resolution image of internal defects or material inconsistencies is how you can overcome manufacturing anomalies or better understand the cause of a sudden fire.

What Is Non-Destructive Testing?

Testing everything around an operation often involves using materials or samples that could potentially harm component equipment. With non-destructive testing, you can use a different set of forensic techniques to determine the properties of a material, component, or system – all without causing additional unwanted damage.

There is no cutting or stress testing in NDT. Nothing gets altered, so the original structure is preserved. Think about industries like aerospace, energy, or civil infrastructure. Things wouldn’t go as planned if you had to destroy a piece of a spaceship each time before a launch.

There are many different types of NDT testing utilized across different industries. This could include:

• Ultrasonic testing
• Magnetic particle inspection
• Liquid penetrant testing
• Visual inspection
• Radiographic testing (X-ray and gamma-ray)

At Dreiym Engineering, we focus on radiographic testing, specifically X-ray technology. Our Nordson Dage Quadra 3 X-Ray allows us to examine parts up to 20 inches by 17.5 inches, and weigh up to 11 pounds. This device can better visualize internal structures in two or even three dimensions, identifying voids, corrosion, cracks, or hidden misalignment that could lead to serious damage and malfunctions.

X-Ray Inspection: How It Works

X-ray inspections are not as complicated as you may imagine. While they are different from getting a sprained ankle checked out or taking a photo of your teeth at the dentist, the same principles apply.

During an X-ray inspection, high-energy electromagnetic radiation is transmitted through various materials. X-rays pass through the various objects, creating a visual of denser objects because they absorb more radiation.

What comes onto the screen or is printed out for analysis is an image with variations in material thickness, density, and composition. When you compare that imagery to design specifications or drawings, you can determine if an oil pipe has soft tissue differentiation or if a metal is not aligned properly with other components.

Our X-ray system provides up to 0.1-micron resolution, ensuring real-time digital imaging with tilt and rotate capacities and non-contact analysis. These benefits mean we can preserve the use of your materials while still determining the source of an issue.

Advantages of X-Ray NDT in Engineering

Dreiym Engineering is an engineering firm. We are not a quality control specialist team focused on product development or something as abstract as deepwater retrieval. Our X-ray investigations tend to fall into the fire analysis or explosion report areas. However, we do receive calls for more exotic uses, which are excellent opportunities to demonstrate our team’s collective skills, knowledge, and expertise. Most of the time, we are hired for:

Non-Invasive Internal Inspections

Our X-ray forensic engineers help companies visualize key internal features of components and materials. This is crucial to operations when:

• The object in question is impossible to replace or extremely rare.
• The inspection needs to follow branded or company warranties for compliance.
• The component is in a sealed or pressurized system that cannot allow contact.
• The component is explosive or was involved in a fire risk situation.
• The object is part of a larger system that cannot be dismantled due to time and cost constraints.

A good example would be a failure analysis of the electrical switchgear. Internal arc damage is not visible externally, but an X-ray image could confirm arc paths or terminal fractures so teams can determine what should or should not be replaced.

Time and Cost Efficiency

X-ray inspections in forensics are a suitable method to reduce investigation instances and repair downtime. When an experienced team is running the operation, it can take minutes compared to hours of visual inspections and reassembling larger components.

The use of X-ray technology reduces inspection time compared to traditional teardown issues. That is crucial for high-volume production or infrastructure-related businesses that cannot necessarily stop services to clients when needed without causing significantly more damaging issues.

Early Detection of Defects

X-ray NDT is effective when you’re trying to determine defects proactively. Finding corrosive pitting in a pressurized pipe before it explodes or seeing if FOD (foreign object debris) is clogging up an electric assembly is valuable. Something as small as hairline fractures in a bus bar connection could lead to a slow electrical fault that would be missed otherwise.

Versatility Across Materials and Industries

Our X-ray inspections are not limited to fire forensic examinations or explosive potentiality. Clients come from a wide range of industries like oil and gas, aerospace, construction, and even insurance providers. Everyone wants to know if an item caused an issue due to some internal fracture or malfunction, but not necessarily at the risk of physically opening the component.

Documentation and Legal Use

A forensic X-ray image is also useful for documentation. It is a physical representation of something happening inside a machine or system that can be entered as evidence in court proceedings, insurance claims, and expert witness reports.

Dreiym Engineering has a long history of being called an expert witness. We help everyone, from government agencies to private businesses, uncover the root causes of many events, offering precise information like the use of X-ray NDT in litigated loss investigations where causality must be determined.

Real-World Applications of X-Ray NDT Forensics

Industrial Fire Investigation

Let’s say our team at Dreiym is called in to inspect a local warehouse fire in Texas. The insurance company wants to know if a forklift charging station was the ignition source or if there was some kind of human error. The reason for this inquiry is the current charred remains of the devices offer next to no visual information.

Our X-ray NDT system allows us to reveal a compromised solder joint in a power module. This suggests there was an overheating issue that can be traced, demonstrating the owner of the warehouse is not liable due to an internal defect.

Pipeline Integrity Assessment

Another application would be with a midstream oil company. They’ve requested our help for a 20-mile section of the pipeline because sensors detected pressure anomalies. The risk of the pipeline failing could lead to a massive leak that would cost millions in damages.

Using our X-ray scans, we can uncover if there is any corrosion pitting beneath weld caps. Once finished, the company will be provided with information about what should be repaired, reinforced, or replaced.

Conclusion

Non-destructive testing, especially with X-ray forensics, empowers our team at Dreiym Engineering. It gives us actionable insights into hidden flaws so we can better resolve disputes and prevent future failures – all without damaging the underlying structures, components, or materials. Whether you need to know if a microscopic crack in your circuitry caused a fire or determine if two pipes are properly aligned, our team can provide the imagery, analysis, and documentation for your peace of mind. Contact Dreiym Engineering today and get the NDT information needed to move forward with your production or quality control initiatives.