Chapter 7

Testing and Evaluation of lndications

Terms Discontinuity Categories

The terms used during the testing of parts There are four broad categories for
are sometimes misused and misleading. More discontinuities:
than one inspector has found himself or herself l. inherent discontinuities,
in a difficult position when explaining that the 2. primary processing discontinuities,
defect found was only a nonrelevant indication. 3. secondary processing discontinuities,
This misuse of terms clouds the reliability of the 4. in service discontinuities.
test and can cause the customer to question the
test results. It is therefore important to
lnherent Discontinuities
understand that when a test is conducted there
Inherent discontinuities occur as the base
is a progression of terms to identify the results.
metal is taken from a molten state to a solid
When a magnetic particle test is conducted,
state. Discontinuities formed during this process
indications may be seen. These indications must include blow holes, cold shuts, hot tears,
be interpreted as either relevant or nonrelevant.
inclusions, pipe, porosity and segregation.
The basic difference between a relevant or
nonrelevant indication is whether the indication
is a discontinuity (relevant) or an indication Primary Processing Discontinuities
formed by the way the test was performed or Primary processing discontinuities occur
the normal configuration of the part, such as a during the forming or fabrication stage of
safety wire hole in the head of a bolt making a part. Forming and fabrication
(nonrelevant). operations include: rolling, forging, drawing,
If the interpretation of the indication results extruding and welding in the case of fabrication.
in it now being classified as a relevant Discontinuities that can be formed during these
discontinuity, then further evaluation must be operations include seams, laminations, laps,
conducted. This further evaluation determines if bursts and cooling cracks.
the discontinuity is a defect. The primary Seams are formed either during the rolling
difference between a discontinuity and a defect is or drawing process. Figure 7.1 shows how a
the acceptability of the ítem. A discontinuity seam is formed during a rolling operation. Seam
whose size, shape, orientation or location make indications can appear as very fine cracks, but
it detrimental to the useful service of the test normally as edges that can be intermittent in
object or which exceeds the accept/reject criteria length.
of an applicable specification is considered a Laminations are separations caused by the
defect. However, there are other factors to rolling of a base metal that had inherent
consider. There can be a situation where a crack discontinuities such as inclusions or blowholes.
in a part may eventually be detrimental, but is Lamination indications are often found on the
within acceptable limits. In such cases, the test edge of the material after it has been cut and are
interval may be reduced to closely monitor the parallel to the direction of rolling.
crack for growth. Laps are areas where the metal has been
In addition to understanding the terms used rolled or forged in a misaligned die thereby
during the testing process, Level II personnel squeezing out material that is rolled or forged
should understand the basic categories of over. Figure 7.2 shows how a lap is formed. Lap
discontinuities and when and how they are indications are normally very fine and not
formed in metals. jagged.

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ASNT Level 11 Study Guide: Magnetic Particle Testing Method

Bursts are either internal or external and are properly controlled. The uneven cooling causes
formed when a metal is worked at the improper internal pressures that are released by the
temperature or at too high arate of speed or cracking of the material. Cooling crack
material feed. Burst indications can occur in indications are normally forked and do not
different directions and can be very deep. necessarily follow any pattern or direction in the
Cooling cracks, as a primary processing part.
discontinuity, may form during a rolling
operation when cooling of the material is not Forging Discontinuities
Forging operations can develop
discontinuities unique to the forging operation.
Figure 7.1: Formation of a seam: (a) underfill Such discontinuities include forging bursts,
results when there is not enough metal to fill forging laps and flash line tears.
the rolls; and (b) a seam in the finished bar Forging bursts are the rupture of the material
occurs when underfill is squeezed tight on a caused by working the material atan improper
subsequent rolling pass temperature or at too high arate of speed or
(a) material feed. These ruptures can be internal or
external. The external bursts can be easily
detected by magnetic particle testing. The
indications can be very jagged and vary in
length and width. Internal bursts are not
normally detected by magnetic particle testing.
Forging laps are caused by the misalignment
(b) of the dies as the material is worked, blanks that
are too large for the dies or improper placement
of the blanks in the dies. (See Figure 7.2.)
Forging lap indications are usually smooth and
straight or slightly curved.
Flash line tears are formed when a small
amount of material from the die is squeezed
Reprinted from Nondestructive Testing Handbook, second edition:
between the dies and forms what is known as
Volume 6, Magnetic Particle Testing, pg 81. flash. After the forging operation the flash is
trimmed from the forging. If the trimming
operation is not done properly a tear or crack
Figure 7.2: Formation of a lap: (a) an overfill will form.
produces excess metal squeezed out of the
rolls causing a fin; and (b) a lap results when Casting Discontinuities
the projection is folded over and torced back Casting operations involve the pouring of
into the bar's surface during a subsequent molten metal into molds to form objects. These
pass operations can result in cold shuts, hot tears or
(a) shrinkage cracks, among others, being formed
in the final product.
Cold shuts are formed when molten metal
splashes inside the mold and solidifies on the
mold wall before the remaining molten metal is
poured. Cold shuts vary in size based on the
size or shape of the mold, the amount of molten
material being poured, or the temperature
(b)
conditions of the molten material or the mold.

o
Cold shuts often look very similar to a forging
lap.
Hot tears are caused by uneven cooling
between different sections of the casting. They
"'-..._LAP usually occur at the junction of thick and thin
Reprinted from Nondestructive Testing Handbook, second edition: sections of a casting. Hot tear indications look
Volume 6, Magnetic Particle Testing, pg 83. very much like cracks.

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 Chapter 7: Testing and Evaluation of lndications

Shrinkage cracks occur as the molten material Grinding cracks are caused by the
cools. As the material cools, it gets smaller or overheating of a localized area by excess
contracts, causing stress factors within the grinding. Grinding cracks usually appear as
casting. These stresses are sometimes relieved very fine localized cracks with no discernible
by the formation of shrinkage cracks. pattern. They ha ve also been described as
having the appearance of lightning in the sky, or
Welding lndications as a series of parallel indications, or when
Welding indications occur during the severe, as a lattice network. Grinding cracks are
primary process stage and usually consist of not normally deep, however, they are very
lack of penetration or lack of fusion in the weld. serious because they do form stress risers in the
Both of these indications are usually subsurface. product.
The lack of penetration indication will normally
be fuzzy and appear to progress down the In Service Discontinuities
center of the weld bead. The lack of fusion In service discontinuities are formed while
indication will be fuzzy and normally be to the product or part is in use. There are basically
either side of the center of the weld bead. two types of in service discontinuities: fatigue
In addition to these two welding cracks and corrosion cracking.
indications, welding operations can also cause Cracking can be caused by the overloading
cracks, crater cracks, porosity, inclusions, or cyclic loading of a part. The crack indication
overlap and undercut, among others. (fatigue cracks) has a very distinctive jagged
appearance under magnetic particle testing.
Secondary Processing Discontinuities Corrosion is the basic process by which a
Secondary processing discontinuities are material returns to its natural form. Magnetic
formed during the manufacture or fabrication of particle testing is not normally used to detect
products. These secondary processing corrosion, however, in sorne cases where a metal
operations involve taking products that have is exposed to a corrosive environment and stress
been forged, casted, extruded, or made by loads, stress corrosion cracking will form and
another primary processing method and can be found by magnetic particle testing.
performing finishing operations such as
machining, heat treat and grinding. References
During machining operations metal surfaces A. Chapter 3
can be torn or burned. The tearing of the metal B. Section 1, Part 2 and Section 4, Parts 1
surface results from a tool bit dragging the through 4
metal surface instead of cutting it. A dull tool bit C. Chapter 7, Section 703 and 706 through 732
usually causes this tearing of the surface,
although an improperly shaped tool bit can
cause metal tears also. The burning of the metal Surface and Subsurface
surface can be caused by performing the Magnetic particle testing is effective at
machining operation at the improper speed or detecting surface discontinuities and is also
by a dull bit. Machining tears are normally very capable of detecting near surface discontinuities.
smooth and parallel to the direction of However, several factors such as the type and
machining. shape of the material, the type of discontinuity,
While heat treat cracks can be formed the type of current and the type of particles
during the heating of the product, they often must be considered when testing for subsurface
form during the cooling down operation. One discontinuities.
type of crack is the quench crack that is formed As a general rule, surface indications appear
when the heated part is cooled too rapidly by as very sharp and distinct formations of
quenching it in a cooling medium. Other cracks particles caused by the flux leakage from the
can be formed when a heat treated part of break in the material's surface. Subsurface
varying thicknesses is allowed to cool in an indications appear as fuzzy formations of
uncontrolled manner. Heat treat cracks are partides.
normally jagged and do not follow any defined
pattern. References
A. Chapter 20, Sections 4 through 9
B. Section 1, Part 4
C. Chapter 6, Section 601

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