It is universally believed that great discoveries are often made by accident but there is no denying the fact that these inventions directly or indirectly lead to delightful grand inventions in the future. The incident that unknowingly led to the uncovering of x-rays has certainly armored the physical world to attain galloping development in the field of non-destructive testing or NDT. This blog post brings to you the top three applications of industrial radiography so that you can consider the utility of the same for an array of purposes.

The Picture Perfect Story of Industrial Radiography

Industrial radiography is a method of physical testing that involves no destruction. This method of radiography uses ionizing radiation emitted from a radioactive source, under controlled conditions to detect or find out the internal structure of an object without posing any harm to its external morphology. Thus, it can be used to get a clear idea about the constituents or components of the object or the product that is being studied. As we know both the physical and the economic sectors pay immense attention to perfect analysis coupled with detailed studies to reach the ultimate developmental goals. It is quite evident that several commercial, as well as industrial products, need to be tested from time to time both internally and externally so that their performance could be ensured along with getting an assertion of their quality. This method of radiographic testing ensures quality and also keeps errors at bay.

The top three applications of industrial radiography are discussed as follows-

• Inspection of products- The process of industrial radiography or the non-destructive testing technique of obtaining the image of the internal structure of an object commonly employs gamma radiation sources, like iridium-192 and cobalt-60. The radiation emitted from any of these sources is used to inspect a wide variety of structures. For instance, the testing can be done to inspect welds on pressurized piping, pressure vessels, high capacity storage containers, or other pipelines and structural welds. Besides, some other materials like concrete, machine parts, plate metals, and even ceramics, etc. commonly belonging to the aerospace industry sector are also inspected using the industrial radiography technique.

• Inspection of welding- When the beam of gamma radiation from a source is directed to the middle of the section of the object that is put under examination, a two-dimensional image called the radiograph is obtained. It helps to understand the structure by pointing out the defects or imperfections in the interior design of the product. The radiograph thus obtained helps the experts and the operators to visualize the means to access both the faces of the weld. This in turn paves for a better understanding of the equipment and chooses the most suitable technique to mend the defects like delamination and planar cracks.

• Airport Security- The most common and tremendously useful application of industrial radiography is the screening of goods and passengers at airports across continents. The non-destructive testing technique makes it pretty simple and easy to scan freight, cargo, and all sorts of luggage without making the overall process haphazard. Thus it saves a lot of time, energy, and resources that are otherwise spent lavishly for security checks.

Hence, it is clear from the above that industrial radiography helps in multiple ways to locate, identify, and undertake a comprehensive study of the object without degrading its features. The non-destructive testing technique or NDT is successfully used in the inspection and analysis of welding, casting parts or composite pieces, food packages, luggage viewing, sorting and recycling, airbus maintenance, turbines and ballistics, and drug control, etc. In short, industrial radiography plays a pivotal role in ensuring the reliability and quality of the product.