Remove all penetrant inspection materials as soon as possible after the final inspection has been made. Use water or solvents, as appropriate. Since some of the liquid penetrant materials are flammable, do not use them near open flames, and do not apply them to any surface that is at a temperature higher than 100°F. In addition to being flammable, many solvents are poisonous in the vapor form and highly imitating to the skin in the liquid form.

Radiographic Inspection

Radiographic inspection is a method of inspecting weldments by the use of rays that penetrate through the welds. X rays or gamma rays are the two types of waves used for this process. The rays pass through the weld and onto a sensitized film that is in direct contact with the back of the weld. When the film is developed, gas pockets, slag inclusions, cracks, or poor penetration will be visible on the film.

Because of the danger of these rays, only qualified personnel are authorized to perform these tests. As Seabees, you will rarely come in contact with these procedures.

Ultrasonic Inspection

Ultrasonic inspection of testing uses high-frequency vibrations or waves to locate and measure defects in welds. It can be used in both ferrous and nonferrous materials. This is an extremely sensitive system and can locate very fine surface and subsurface cracks as well as other types of defects. All types of joints can be tested.

This process uses high-frequency impulses to check the soundness of the weld. In a good weld, the signal travels through the weld to the other side and is then reflected back and shown on a calibrated screen. Irregularities, such as gas pockets or slag inclusions, cause the signal to reflect back sooner and will be displayed on the screen as a change in depth. When you use this system, most all types of materials can be checked for defects. Another advantage of this system is that only one side of the weld needs to be exposed for testing.

Eddy Current Testing

Eddy current is another type of testing that uses electromagnetic energy to detect faults in weld deposits and is effective for both ferrous and nonferrous materials. As a Seabee, you will rarely use this type of testing in the field. Eddy current testing operates on the principle that whenever a coil carrying a high-frequency alternating current is placed next to a metal, an electrical current is produced in the metal by induction. This induced current is called an eddy current.

The test piece is exposed to electromagnetic energy by being placed in or near high-frequency ac current coils. The differences in the weld cause changes in the impedance of the coil, and this is indicated on electronic instruments. When there are defects, they show up as a change in impedance, and the size of the defect is shown by the amount of this change.

DESTRUCTIVE TESTING

In destructive testing, sample portions of the welded structures are required. These samples are subjected to loads until they actually fail. The failed pieces are then studied and compared to known standards to determine the quality of the weld. The most common types of destructive testing are known as free bend, guided bend, nick-break, impact, fillet welded joint, etching, and tensile testing. The primary disadvantage of destructive testing is that an actual section of a weldment must be destroyed to evaluate the weld. This type of testing is usually used in the certification process of the welder.

Some of the testing requires elaborate equipment that is not available for use in the field. Three tests that may be performed in the field without elaborate equipment are the free-bend test, the guided-bend test, and the nick-break test.

Free-Bend Test

The FREE-BEND TEST is designed to measure the ductility of the weld deposit and the heat-affected area adjacent to the weld. Also it is used to determine the percentage of elongation of the weld metal. Ductility, you should recall, is that property of a metal that allows it to be drawn out or hammered thin.

The first step in preparing a welded specimen for the free-bend test is to machine the welded reinforcement crown flush with the surface of the test plate. When the weld area of a test plate is machined, as is the case of the guided-bend as well as in the free-bend test, perform the machining operation in the opposite direction that the weld was deposited.

The next step in the free-bend testis to scribe two lines on the face of the filler deposit. Locate these lines