This review focuses on the Ultrasonic Testing Highlights of the DGZfP
Conference in
Dresden, listing all 43
abstracts
of the Ultrasonic Testing and related sessions, some of which are available
in English as abstracts; we plan to add more translations and
full texts within the next months. Watch the UTonline
front page for announcements.
1996 DGZfP Convention in Dresden a Success
The organizers of the annual convention held from 5-7 May 1997 in Dresden, the DGZfP, PTBN and SIMP, the two Polish NDT institutions and the Czech Institution for NDT were pleased with the outcome of the event. Over 600 participants, 60 presentations and just under 80 poster contributions are a respectable result. Around 90 participants were from abroad, namely from Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Turkey, the Ukraine and Belarus.
Prof. Dr. Hans-Joachim Meyer, Minister for Arts and Science of the Free State of Saxony, who was present on behalf of the Minister-President of Saxony and convention patron Prof. Biedenkopf, stated in his opening speech that no one who restricts himself to defending the past will be successful in the future. There is no point, he claims, in succumbing to the idea that reunification is responsible for the current problems in the Federal Republic.
The Federal Republic of Germany would still be faced with the same problems and challenges today. They have simply been accentuated by what must be accomplished in the unification process.
The next annual DGZfP convention will be held in Bamberg from
7-9 September 1998.
What will the Visual Testers and Radiographers do for three whole
days?As reporting editor, I, Rolf Diederichs, visited the conference and here is my personal impression. I had already learned from other conferences that these events are packed with information, and no matter how enthusiastic you are, you can only absorb so much!
This conference program was particularly full, especially for the ultrasonics attendees. By scheduling sessions on directly related ultrasonic themes like instant material characterization or applications of services at the same time as the ultrasonic testing main session visitors can miss some key presentations! There are also committee meetings, and if those are scheduled inconveniently, it can really cut down on the time available. On the other hand I fully understand the other problem that the organizers face - what will the Visual Testers and Radiographers do for three whole days?
One outstanding issue I found - As it was last year, computer aided NDT with applications of ultrasonic modeling software was a popular topic. The increased computing power of the PC makes its application to the practical scene possible, and this was reflected in the increased number of presentations on the subject. The special sessions like NDT for material characterization and NDT in civil engineering emphasized the great (and increasing) demand for this technology.