NDT Conference 96 - Report Hier Deutsch

Conf_Rolf by Rolf Diederichs


This is a report about the NDT annual Conference 1996, 13. - 15. May in Lindau, focusing on the UT-Highlights and displaying all 33 abstracts of the UT contributions. Some of these are already completed and are available in full text. Currently, only some of these are available in English; we plan to add more translations soon. Please watch our future updates on this page. The full text will be an announcement on the front page. For abstracts see below or for future updates our Abstract department.

Schnitger Mr. Schnitger (Picture), President of the DGZfP, opened the conference with 530 participants. This number was similar to former events, but because this time it was a joint German-Austrian-Swiss conference, we had expected more. This figure includes just 24 Austrians and 16 Swiss, so there was only a small noticeable decline for the Germans. The proceedings followed the on-line program schedule, with the exception of three cancellations.



We focused on the technical contents of the 34 UT-Contributions, which consisted of speeches (20 Min. +10 Min. Discussion), and poster sessions.

The booth area, with postered walls, was shared by 30 members. We presented "NDT & Internet in multimedia"(new in englisch). A 25 minute movie showed some examples of NDT on the Internet and featured the contents of our journal. Because of the auto-repeat function, I was able to concentrate on talks and the conference schedule. We were able to 'really' meet approximately 50 of our virtual readers. Many of them plan to have Internet access soon. Unfortunately, our Newsgroup-Questionnaire-program was not used since people were too busy with the conference schedule; but as mentioned, their greatest interest was in the World Wide Web.

Here are our impressions of some outstanding issues:

  • The standardization wave

    Standardization-weary conferees discussed moves towards standardization and the establishment of a regulation agency, using terms such as "job finder" and "hitch-hiker." Volker Deutsch reported his company's study that purchase departments are tolerant of suppliers not using ISO 9000. In any case, the product ruling was relevant, and wrongly signed CE standards are now judged with 100.000 DM.

    A 1-1/2 hour dispute took place on the following standardization draft:

    Characterization and Verification of
    Testing equipment - Ultrasonic.
    streit Moderator: H.-D. Tietz, Zwickau
    Board: L. von Bernus, IzfP Saarbrücken; A. Hecht, BASF Ludwigshafen; B. Larsen, FORCE Institut Esbjerg (DK); M. Platte, Karl Deutsch Wuppertal; U. Schlengermann, Krautkrämer Hürth; H. Schneider, Mannesmann Duisburg; P. Tscheliesnig, TÜV Wien (A); H. Wüstenberg, BAM Berlin.

    Here are some parts of the dispute:


    Mr. Schneider: "I am concerned that this standard will also include automated testing, even as regards software."

    Mr. Schlengermann (head of the committee) reassures: "The document is valid only for standard manual testing equipment."

    Mr. Wüstenberg: "The document shows items that are not relevant for manual testing alone; for instance, gate outputs, as used in light automation. I personally have a positive outlook on this draft since some of the conclusions have been guiding principles for us for some time now."

    A question from the audience: "Where is the definition of the equipment? e.g. a self-made coupling shoe could be excluded, but even this part is very important. The manufacturer should be allowed to sign the agreement to conform. Furthermore, the rules should not stop innovation, neither should they give undue advantage to one manufacturer."

    Mr. Hecht: "A document thickness of 1-1/2 mm of our current guidelines is sufficient. The planned 1-1/2 cm document is not necessary.

    Mr. Schlengermann: "It is a European idea to release this standard. Let me point out, manufacturer-customer relations are the central issue, so confirmation through the manufacturer is relevant, certainly no third party is needed."

    Mr. Platte: "It is welcome to find standards for some definitions, principles shown by the bandwidth -3dB or -20dB. The authority gives the manufacturer freedom to comply; an example is shown with the CE-Standard and the included EMV measurement. This is also shown by the EC machine guidelines - we should not do more than is necessary!"

    Mr. Larsen: "I wish to have a simple measurement method, that the users could do themselves. It's not as common to throw away equipment, because a new calibration is in the same price range as a new device. For example, the UV-Light standard that is used for magnetic-powder testing could be replaced by simple visual inspection." An audience call: "Then we'd get a standard for the visual inspection!"

    Mr. Hecht points out his doubt about the general usefulness of UT technique: "When something is done with UT, results become available, and the results present enough questions to proceed with the research. A nice playing field for UT is established!! I am missing some other NDT methods, also we should not just focus on the equipment, NDT in general has to be watched, as well as the selection of the test methods."

    Mr. Schlengermann: "The testing in general, and the followup, is already addressed by available standards, like ultrasonic weld testing through transmission."

    Mr. Platte :"The manufacturers that are not subject to this bureaucracy are surely in the position to produce quality, they can verify this by their own procedures. We don't always need standards, authority and certifications, it will only increase the uselessness of certification and lower its credibility. Also manufacturers, according to ISO 9003, are just in final testing, delivering good equipment. Product innovation should not be replaced by certification." An audience call: "The accredited certification shouldn't pull the bureaucracy into it, especially when the EC is not demanding this at all."

    Mr. Schnitger said from the audience: "The accredited certification could also bring advantages for the German manufacturer, especially useful in the global market. I know one of the first NDT distributors who has already requested this. It should not proceed in the same manner as happened with the ISO 9000, the way that was done, the inflation of certifications made it more worthless. We must ask ourselves why we spent so much money for it, and consider the low prestige ISO 9000 has today. The manufacturers should sit together and decide about how to proceed."

    Mr. Tietz concludes: 45Kbyte
    "Although the paper does not demand an accredited certification institution, we cannot refuse this standard. Since we are living in a McDonald's society, the hamburger should be tested in the same way from Denmark to Sicily, since everything is requested everywhere and at all times, at the same level of quality, and this is also demanded for our NDT equipment. The DGZfP should use their influence to keep things in perspective, and to say "no" to those who wish to add more bureaucracy to business. I am reminded of the term "hitch-hiker" that has already been used several times in that context."

  • NDT for material characterization

    The use of material characterization with NDT methods was highlighted by Meyendorf's main speech. A working group was newly established and the first seminar to be held 29 Nov. 1996 in Jena was announced. The ultrasonic method is used for things such as attenuation or speed measurements. With all this, we should consider an economical study although some good techniques cannot be applied. The measurement of sound velocity on casting iron was used in the automotive industry 15 years ago; unfortunately it is not commonly used anymore.

  • Composite Transducers

    Dr. Splitt's speech about "Transducers with Piezo Composite - a milestone for Ultrasonic testing"[5] found great interest. We asked some questions during the discussion period:
    Editor:"The great advantages lead to the conclusion, to use only composite transducers from now on , is this right?"
    Mr. Splitt: "So generally it cannot be seen. Standard Piezoceramik still has some other advantages, like resolution near the surface, and if a narrow band pulse is needed".
    Editor: "Under what frequencies do you produce these transducers?"
    Mr. Splitt: "Currently up to 15 MHz".
    Editor: "Is that transducer due to higher manufacturing costs, and how much does it share with the total transducer market?"
    Herr Splitt: "The piezo needs more production steps, but the next stages are easier, because the same price range is available. At the moment about 1/3 of our customers are using these transducers.

  • Virtual Testing - Ultrasound-Simulation- Ray tracing

    There were 3 contributions to the UT-Simulation. The result of a EU program called Brite was introduced [7,8 ]. Powerful workstations such as RS6000 or UNIX, are needed for this 3-dimensional method. In contrast to this, [28 ] by Mr. Bernhard introduced a simpler 2D-method, and displayed it on a notebook, as reported in an article of our April issue.

  • Abstracts of Ultrasonic- Speeches and - Posters.

    Watch for future English and Fulltext updates in our Abstract department
    1. Der Einfluß von Richtlinien, Normen und Gesetzen auf die ZfP-Technik
    2. Zerstörungsfreie Materialcharakterisierung, ein Aufgabenfeld mit großen Entwicklungspotentialen
    3. Tiefenbestimmung von Laufflächenfehlern an Eisenbahnrädern unter Nutzung linear polarisierter Transversalwellen - Verfahrens-Optimierung und -Erprobung
    4. Quantitative zerstörungsfreie Bestimmung der Haftfestigkeit von adhäsiven Verbindungen => Volltext!!! Dr.-Ing. Silvia Faßbender "Berthold Award"
    5. Prüfköpfe mit Composite-Schwingern - ein Meilenstein für die Ultraschallprüfung => Volltext!!!
    6. Erfahrungen mit einem neuen Prüfkopf- und Gerätesystem bei der Schraubenbolzenprüfung
    7. ULIAS: Computergestützte quantitative Ultraschallprüfung
    8. Simulation der Impulsechoprüfung für austenitische Schweißnähte mit dem EFIT-Code und Verifizierung durch Experimente
    9. Bildgebende Ultraschallprüftechnik an Verbundwerkstoffen im Labor und vor Ort - von ebenen Platten bis zu komplexen Bauteilen
    10. Ultraschallprüfung thermoplastischer Verbundwerkstoffe bei tiefen Temperaturen
    11. Überprüfung hochbeanspruchter Kehlnaht-bereiche an Speisewasser- und Frischdampfleitungen im Sicherheitsgebäude - Durchdringungsbereich
    12. Hochstrom-Supraleiterkabel: Einsatz der Ultraschallprüfung bei Entwicklung und Produktion
    13. Testing of fibre reinforced light metalsFull text !!!
    14. Prüfung faserverstärkter LeichtmetalleVolltext !!!
    15. Ultraschall-Prüfköpfe für 650 Grad C Dauertemperatur
    16. Ultraschalluntersuchung von Verbundguß Verfahrens- und Werkstoffentwicklung und -optimierung =>Volltext!!! Mr. Pohl (Picture) "Poster Award"
    17. Erhöhte Abbildungsgenauigkeit bei der Ultraschallprüfung von Beton durch SAFT mit nichtlinearen Zeitskalen
    18. Universelles digitales Prüfgerät für die ZfP mit Ultraschall und Impulswirbelstrom
    19. Über Probleme der Ortung mit Ultraschall in austenitischem Schweißgut - Das "scheinbare" Schielen des Prüfkopfs
    20. Sichere und kostengünstige Prüfung von austenitischen Lüfterschaufeln mit dem Ultraschallverfahren (UT)
    21. Prüfung von Wärmetauscherrohren mit hoher Genauigkeit mittels Ultraschall (B-Bild)
    22. Schmiedeteile, von der Ultraschall-Handprüfung zur mechanisierten Prüfung
    23. Dickenmessung mit Ultraschall - neue DGZfP-Richtlinie US 1
    24. Prüfung von Kernbehälterschrauben im eingebauten Zustand
    25. Prüfkonzept zur Schweißnahtprüfung mittels Ultraschall am Kernbehälter von Druckwasserreaktoren
    26. Erste betriebliche Erfahrungen mit einer neuen, modularen und flexibel einsetzbaren Ultraschall-Systemelektronik
    27. Quantitative Bestimmung von Prüfkopf- und Schallfelddaten mit zwei Methoden
    28. Miniaturisierung und Erhöhung des Frequenzbereiches von EMUS-Winkelprüfköpfen durch Einsatz von Hochfrequenzübertragern 2nd. Award
    29. Gerät zur Linearabtastung mit Strahlergruppen (Real-Time-Scanner-Gerät)
    30. Untersuchungen zum Einsatz optischer Wandler zur berührungslosen Schallabnahme
    31. Ein Simulationssystem zur Optimierung von Ankoppelschuhen und Einschallwinkeln in der Ultraschalltechnik => Volltext!!!
      A simulation program for optimizing of so called coupling shoe, and the incidence angle for ultrasonic techniques <= Full text!!!
    32. Winkelspiegel- und Rißspitzenecho in Abhängigkeit von der Reflektororientierung: Ein Vergleich von Messung und Modellrechnung in TD-Bilddarstellung
    33. Ultraschallmethoden zur Rißanalyse
    34. Nachweis kleinster Einschlüsse mittels Ultraschall
    35. Hochaufgelöste Oberflächeninspektion mit Rayleighwellen
    36. Demonstration der Ultraschallwellenausbreitung und der Wechselwirkung des Ultraschalls mit Defekten
    Delivery service for this and other NDT literature: : At the German NDT Society-Berlin Email: 100335,3315@compuserve.com is a great literature service, some material available in English. A further literature search service is offered jointly with BAM-Berlin and the FIZ-Frankfurt. Also a monthly biographical NDT Literature service in print or on disk is available too.

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    Rolf Diederichs 01. June 1996, info@ndt.net