For bridge or NPP inspections, the application of different NDT-methods is indispensable to ensure the integrity of concrete components. Therefore, different NDT-methods have been commercialized and are now applied for the structural assessment on site to serve as valuable tools in the process of ensuring safety and durability. In this presentation, equipment developments serving to increase the performance will be introduced. Furthermore, new approaches adapted on the specifics of inspecting concrete such as applying procedures or using modeling and simulation will be presented. Additionally, an overview of the German standard DIN 4871 “Non-destructive testing - Qualification of NDT personnel in Civil Engineering (NDT-CE)” will be given. All these developments take into account the growing importance of NDT-CE methods for concrete inspections and represent relevant measures to ensure the reliability and to reduce the measurement uncertainty of the information gained from NDT.

Visually detecting irregularities on components is a complex process, influenced by physical, technical, and human factors. Current standards mainly focus on illuminance, demanding highest accuracy for it, without providing scientific justification. This research investigates the influence of illuminance and human characteristics (e.g., age, experience) on the detection rate of crack-like indications on forged parts. Therefore, illuminance was varied in three steps (200 lx, 350 lx, 500 lx). human characteristics were recorded by using questionnaires. No significant influence of illuminance on the detection rate could be proven. However, some correlations between human characteristics (age, specific experience with the component) and the detection rate were found and hint to a more complex interplay of several human factors.

At the 4th workshop in 2009 the authors presented case studies of using model assisted approaches to enhance probability of detection estimation (MAPOD). Since that time, simulation tools have greatly matured and new methods of data analysis have been introduced into the NDE community. in this presentation we will show case studies of MAPOD including spatial variability, automated defect analysis, and machine learning methods. Critical aspects include validation, uncertainty quantification, and the fusion of data from simulation, experiments, and other sources for efficient and accurate MAPOD.

SHM systems using elastic guided waves are an attractive solution for the monitoring of structures. The development of a robust methodology to demonstrate the performances of such systems in terms of probability of detection motivates efforts of the scientific community. In this communication we present a Model Assisted POD study of the detection of growing cracks in laboratory samples using powerful simulation capabilities and applying recent statistical methods proposed in the litterature. The MAPOD estimation is validated by comparison with experimental trials.

This conference presentation was prepared for SPIE Smart Structures + Nondestructive Evaluation, 2023.

X-ray computed tomography (XCT) is a promising non-destructive evaluation technique for various advanced manufacturing industries including additive manufacturing (AM). In an AM part, different types of flaws such as lack-of-fusion pores, gas pores, keyhole pores, near-surface pores, and trapped powders can occur. An automated/assisted flaw detection algorithms are expected to be implemented for an automated analysis and inspection. Evaluation and qualification of the algorithm’s flaw capability is a critical aspect of NDT qualification. NIST is developing a computational framework to generate data sets for evaluation of detection algorithms based on realistic XCT simulation. In this presentation, we will describe our workflow to generate complex pore shapes and distribute them in realistic AM parts. Example application and evaluation results will be discussed using various evaluation metrics. Such data sets are expected to help evaluate reliability of detection algorithms.