A round-robin project in Japan for the evaluation of nondestructive responses of natural flaws

Abstract

This paper introduces the current status of a round-robin project aiming at gathering non-destructive data of natural flaws. The project, which was launched in 2009, prepared specimens containing artificial stress corrosion cracks and thermal fatigue cracks, and served the specimens to a round-robin test to gather non-destructive data. A total of 12 universities and research institutes have participated to the round-robin test. Some of the specimens are already destroyed to confirm the true profiles of the cracks, whereas others remain undestroyed. All the data are presented at a dedicated webpage, together with the results of the destructive tests, so that they are freely available for anybody.

Keywords: thermal fatigue crack, stress corrosion cracking, electromagnetic nondestructive testing, ultrasonic testing, numerical modeling