Making the Grade

This article highlights methods that are under study to bring non-destructive evaluation into wider use. Non-destructive evaluation is the subject of a good deal of research, which may soon make it easier than ever to integrate testing into assembly lines, and so may take the technology to new corners of industry. Increased sensitivity, higher computing power, and better imaging are improving the quality of information and ease of use. R. Bruce Thompson, Director of the Center for Non-destructive Evaluation at Iowa State University, Ames, points out that advances in sensing technology have improved understanding of how energy behaves in the microstructure of a material. One of the developments at Iowa State is a set of modelling tools to help determine if an investigative technique will be adequate. The US Department of Energy has a goal of using of lightweight materials in automobiles as an energy-conservation measure. Overall, manufacturers are acknowledging the value of selected non-destructive evaluation techniques, and researchers are getting better at adapting non-destructive evaluation techniques to the plant floor through portability, fine resolutions, and smart software.