Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) for Marine Welds

This chapter centers on the inspection and evaluation of marine welds through non-destructive testing (NDT). It opens with the significance of NDT in ensuring safety, reliability, and regulatory compliance within shipyards and offshore installations. The chapter classifies surface and subsurface testing techniques, including ultrasonic testing (UT), radiographic testing (RT), magnetic particle testing (MT), dye penetrant testing (PT), and eddy current methods. Advanced and remote NDT methods, such as phased array ultrasonics, digital radiography (DR), and remotely operated vehicle (ROV)-assisted underwater inspection, are discussed in detail. The text also emphasizes the standards and qualification procedures defined by classification societies (American Bureau of Shipping [ABS], Det Norske Veritas [DNV], Lloyd’s Register [LR]) and international organizations (ISO, American Society of Mechanical Engineers [ASME], American Welding Society [AWS]). By integrating principles with application examples, the chapter highlights how NDT contributes to defect detection, structural health monitoring, and life cycle management of marine assets. It concludes with future trends such as artificial intelligence (AI)-based defect recognition, automated scanning systems, and digital twin integration, marking the evolution of NDT from manual inspection to intelligent predictive diagnostics.