Nondestructive testing (NDT) and examination can refer to several different tasks and procedures for testing materials without damaging them. According to ASTM E1316-23: Standard Terminology for Nondestructive Examinations, this encompasses:
“acoustic emission, electromagnetic testing, gamma- and X-radiology, leak testing, liquid penetrant testing, magnetic particle testing, neutron radiology and gauging, ultrasonic testing, and other technical methods.”
About ASTM E1316-22
The ASTM E1316-23 standard defines the terminology used in the standards developed by the E07 Committee on Nondestructive Testing. The vocabulary covered in this document is relevant to the different NDT techniques, including ideas associated with their procedures and equipment, as well as common terms for nondestructive testing and interpreting whether indications are false, nonrelevant, or relevant.
With the publication of ASTM E1316-23, the E07 committee acknowledges that the terms examination, testing, and inspection are commonly synonymic in nondestructive testing, and it encourages the use of the term examination and its derivatives when describing the application of nondestructive test methods. However, E07 encourages using the term test when referring to the body of knowledge of a
nondestructive testing method or an NDT method itself. For example, as given in the standard, “radiologic Testing (RT) is often used to examine material to detect internal discontinuities.” There are also some other appropriate exceptions for the interchangeability of the word test and its derivatives, and they are addressed in the standard.
The ASTM E1316-23 document is divided into the following sections by testing method:
- A: Common NDT Terms
- B: Acoustic Emission (AE) Terms
- C: Electromagnetic Testing (ET) Terms
- D: Gamma- and X-Radiologic Testing (RT) Terms
- E: Leak Testing (LT) Terms
- F: Liquid Penetrant Testing (PT) Terms
- G: Magnetic Particle Testing (MT) Terms
- H: Neutron Radiologic Testing (NRT) Terms
- I: Ultrasonic Testing (UT) Terms
- J: Infrared Testing (IRT) Terms
- K: Holographic Testing (HT) Terms
- L: Visual Testing (VT) Terms
How Nondestructive Testing is Conducted
For more information on nondestructive testing, please refer to the following video on ultrasonic testing (skip ahead to see examples):
ASTM E1316-23: Standard Terminology for Nondestructive Examinations is available on the ANSI Webstore.
