MMS15 Technique Selection Tool  

INTRODUCTION		
		
The MMS15 project www.mms15.com  is part of the DTI Measurement in Materials Systems programme (MMS) and is developing 
an Interactive Knowledge Base (IKB) on NDE of composites. A feature of the IKB is a technique selection tool (TS), formerly referred to as recommend a technique ( (RAT). This allows the user to answer a number of questions to define their inspection problem and suggests NDE methods that could be worth considering.	A demonstration version of this with initial scores can be seen on the Development IKB accessed via directly at www.ndt.aeat.co.uk/noticeboards/mms15iag/ikb  or via the link at www.mms15.com , entering the userID mms15user and password iagmms when prompted"		
NDE methods in the IKB are split into  Common, Specialised and Developmental.  In the MMS15 Project detailed scoring and auditing is only being done for the Common techniques. The IKB multiplies the scores together for the questions that have been answered to give an overall ranking. The user can also see a table of the individual scores for each techniques with comments.  A separate listing is given for SPECIALISED and DEVELOPMENTAL techniques as there is less experience of their application
		
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GUIDANCE FOR SCORING NDE METHODS
		
Give your Name and contact details. You should also include a simple overall comment about your experience with the method and whether you are a user, supplier, or have experience from research, development or trials.	We are very interested in user experience.

Score any techniques you have experience with.  If you have equipment or use a variant of the  NDE Method  that gives improved or different performance, please feel free to score separately.
		
For each answer put a simple integer score between 0 (rules out) to 10 (no effect) to indicate how in your view the answer would limit the suitability or effectiveness of the technique.  		

Score	
0:  Inapplicable/ruled out	
10:  Fully applicable	
0<F<10: Reduced applicability
	
A simple comment to indicate the basis for the score is also useful: e.g 'Radiography poor for cracking' , 'difficult in this thickness' etc.  We are looking for your instinctive feel on how a factor could affect the technique. However as an indication the following indicative may give some guidance:	Score	0	Rules out technique;  2 to 3	Significantly Limits;  5  Limits  (say effectiveness reduced by ~ 50% );  7 to 9	 Slightly limits; 10	No effect, the answer given does not limit the applicability of the NDE method.

If you are uncertain put a question mark against the score e.g.  6? and amplify in the comment.The default if you have no experience on how a factor may affect the suitability of the NDE method is 10 clarified with a comment. You should also include a simple overall comment about your experience with the method.	

For Specialised and Developmental methods less is known. Simply scoring "0" for showstoppers and giving brief comments is sufficient in the context of the MMS15 project.  We are happy howver to accept full scoring for these methods if you have releavnt experience..


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SCORING FORM       NDE Techniques for Inspection of Composite Components
			
Name:		
Affiliation:	
Technique:			
Email:			
Tel:
Web Address:

A list of the NDE methods and more guidance on scoring can be found at the bottom of this form.

For each Answer score with an integer value from 0 (rules out) to 10 (No effect) depending on how you think that answer would affect the suitability of the NDE method.  Clarify with a short comment.   Put a question mark against the score (e.g. 3?) if you are uncertain and clarify with a comment.
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NDE Technique:	
Ranked By:
Date:		
Experience:			
Comment	:

		
Question Text	         Answer	                Score	                               Comment
Q1 What is the purpose of the inspection?	
	Defect Detection  	10                  	Add comment here
	Defect sizing in plane  (with picture)  	10	
	Defect sizing out of plane    (through thickness dimensions)	10	
	Thickness measurement  	10	
Q2 When and where is the inspection to be carried out?
	At manufacture 	10	
	In service facility 	10	
	In field location	10	
Q3 What is the composite material to be inspected?
	GRP or Aramid Monolithic	10	
	CFRP Monolithic	10	
	GRP or Aramid Sandwich	10	
	CFRP Sandwich	10
	
Q4 What is the core material?
	Foam	10	
	Balsa	10	
	Honeycomb	10	

Q5 What is the geometry of the area to be inspected?
	Flat	10	
	Curved 	10	
	Sub-structure (no direct access)	10	
	Complex	10	

Q6 What type(s) of defect are to be detected/sized?	
	Delamination small (<10 mm)	10	
	Delamination (>10 mm)	10	
	Crack 	10	
	Disbond 	10	
	Void 	10	
	Impact (BVI)	10	
	Porosity 	10	
	Inclusion 	10	
	Erosion 	10	
	Core splice 	10	
	Core disbond	10	
	Core crushing	10	
	Matrix Cracking 	10	
	Fibre breakage 	10	
	Kissing Bond 	10	
	Environment ingress	10	
	Fibre Wrinkling/Waviness	10	
	Fibre and ply misalignment 	10	
	Incorrect cure	10	
	Excess resin	10	
	Excess fibre 	10	

Q7  What is the distance through the component to the defect (usually defect depth)?
	Near surface (<5mm)	10	
	5 to 20mm	10	
	>20mm	10	

Q8  What is the through wall position of the defect in the component? (Sandwich)
	Top (or accessible) skin	10	
	Top bondline	10	
	Core	10	
	Bottom bondline	10	
	backskin	10	

Q9  What is the skin thickness of the component  (Sandwich)?
	<2 mm	10	
	2-5 mm	10	
	>5 mm	10	

Q10 What is the thickness of the component?	<10mm	10	
	10-50mm	10	
	>50mm	10	

Q11  Is the component coated?	
	Paint or similar non metallic material 	10	
	Gelcoat	10	
	Thermal barrier	10	

Q12  What is the surface condition?	
	Very rough (several mm undulations)  	10	
	Rough surface (c. 1mm)  Knock out UT	10	
	Fairly smooth (<1 mm)   	10	
	Very smooth  <0.1 mm	10	

Q13  Is access to the defect by NDE technique restricted?
	Access on one side only	10	
	Access on both sides	10	
	Restricted access  	10	

Q14 Procedures   Must procedures and standards be available?
	Procedures and Standards	10	
	Procedures only	10	
	Neither (not necessary)	10	

Q15 Which is more important Cost of Inspection or Speed of Inspection?
	High Speed	10	
	Low Cost	10	
	High Quality	10	

Q16  How skilled can you afford the operator to be?	
	Specialised training/Degree level  	10	
	ASNT/PCN Level 2 or equivalent  	10	
	Level 1	10	

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LIST OF COMMON NDE METHODS

Acoustic Emission (AE) 
Acoustic Impact (AI) 
Coin and Tap testing (CO)
Laser Shearography (LS)
Mechanical Impedance (MI) 
Membrane Resonance (MR) 
Thermography (TT) 
Ultrasonic Amplitude C-Scan (UC) 
Ultrasonic B- Scan 0 PE (UB) 
Ultrasonic Depth Scan (UD) 
Ultrasonic Thickness A-Scan (UA) 
Visual (V) 
X-Radiography (XR) 

SPECIALISED
Acoustography (AC)
Acousto Ultrasonics (AU) 
Angle Probe Ultrasonics (AP) 
Dielectric (DI) 
Eddy Current Methods (ET) 
Lamb and Guided Waves (LW) 
Laser Ultrasound (LU) 
Microwave (MW) 
Polar Ultrasonic Scan (PU) 
TOFD (TO) 
Ultrasonic Backscattering (UK) 
Ultrasonic Spectroscopy (US) 
UT C-Scan Image Processing (UI) 
Velocimetric (VE) 
Velocity Measurement (Vm) 
X-Ray Tomography (XT) 

DEVELOPMENTAL
CHIME Head Wave (CH) 
Gamma Radiography (GR) 
Lock-In Thermography (LT) 
Optical Holography (OH) 
Vibro Thermography (VT) 
X-Ray Backscatter (XB) 
X-Ray Refractometry (XR)