A brand-new ASTM International standard, requiring PCRT inspection before and after a process, can now be specified on component design drawings and maintenance manuals. ASTM E3213-19 will help manufacturers in the aerospace, power generation, and automotive industries further improve quality and safety, by evaluating component resonances before and after a manufacturing or repair process, thereby quantifying material state changes to determine if that process was done correctly or consistently. The same approach can be taken to evaluate components after a service cycle, to determine if parts are aging or changing in an expected manner. Comparing a part to itself allows for more sensitive inspection by avoiding population variability.
The new standard, ASTM E3213-19 “Standard Practice for Part-to-Itself Examination Using Process Compensated Resonance Testing (PCRT) Via Swept Sine Input for Metallic and Non-Metallic Parts”, was developed and established through ASTM’s standards consensus principles by Nondestructive Testing Committee E07. The standard was published on June 28, 2019 and can be found on ASTM’s website (https://www.astm.org/Standards/E3213.htm). ASTM International member Eric Biedermann, Engineering Manager at Vibrant Corporation, said “I’m grateful to the members of the E07.06 Subcommittee on Ultrasonics and the E07 Committee on Nondestructive Testing for their help in reviewing and publishing this standard.”
According to Biedermann, “The standard can be used both for parts undergoing critical operations, either in manufacturing or repair, or to measure the change parts have experienced while in service. This can help determine whether parts are still serviceable or must be scrapped.”
The new standard provides opportunities and advantages for Vibrant customers. Vibrant Corporation, a leader in PCRT inspection and analytics, uses PCRT to test safety critical parts from airplanes, cars, and industrial gas turbines by vibrating the part and listening to how it ‘rings.’ Testing for defects before and after a manufacturing or a repair process, assures critical post-processing operations have the intended effect on all parts and assures repair operations return parts to the as-new state. With the new standard, process control is also improved. PCRT users can obtain real-time feedback to measure changes and determine if that process was done correctly. For example, Vibrant and its customers are now using PCRT ‘Part to Itself’ to test 3D Printed or Additively Manufactured (AM) parts at various points in the production process. By monitoring the AM manufacturing processes and evaluating post processing impacts to parts, PCRT plays a key role in qualifying AM designs and processes, particularly for safety critical parts.