Keighley Laboratories offers a non-destructive testing (NDT) service for clients in a range of industries, covering both laboratory and site inspection.
Applications can be found in the aerospace, automotive, petrochemical, nuclear, defence, mechanical engineering, construction, civil engineering and allied industries.
The company recently added to its NDT resources with a digital flaw detector for more demanding ultrasonic testing, a magnetic permeability meter for critical aerospace and nuclear energy applications, and a hand-held ferrite content meter for testing weld seams and piping materials in the oil, gas and petrochemical industries.
The Keighley Labs NDT facility covers the two most common methods of surface-crack and flaw detection: liquid penetrant testing and magnetic particle testing, and ultrasonic flaw detection, as well as providing radiographic testing services on a sub-contracted basis.
Senior NDT engineer Roger Wheatley is qualified to PCN Level 3 and able to develop NDT procedures, write instructions, audit techniques, and train and examine Level 1 and 2 candidates.
For the detection of surface breaking flaws on ferrous and non-ferrous materials, such as casting and forging defects, weld cracks, leaks in new components and fatigue cracking on in-service components, Keighley Labs provides liquid penetrant testing with colour-contrast or fluorescent techniques, working to national and international standards, including BS EN 571:1997.
LP testing can be undertaken at the firm's laboratory or at the customer site.
Magnetic particle inspection is conducted on ferro-magnetic materials by inducing a magnetic field into the test piece and is ideal for detecting cracks, porosity, seams and other surface breaking, as well as sub-surface discontinuities down to 2mm.
Imperfections are revealed using fluorescent or non-fluorescent media; and on-site testing is carried out using permanent magnets or portable electro-magnetic yokes where a suitable power source is available.
Suitable for welds, castings, forgings and machined parts, including engine, suspension and braking components, testing is carried out by Keighley Labs to BS EN ISO 9934-1 and BAE RO5-6103 standards.
For identifying imperfections within a test piece or any changes in material properties, ultrasonic flaw detection reveals volumetric discontinuation, utilising sound waves introduced into the component from an ultrasonic source.
Undertaken by digital and analogue machines, ultrasonic detection is able to penetrate up to 10m in steel and can detect laminations, lack of fusion and any corrosion, as well as carrying out thickness and depth checks.
This technique is suitable for welds, wrought-iron products and castings in magnetic and non-magnetic materials, including glass, ceramics and plastics, again with tests carried out either in-house or on-site.
To upgrade its ultrasonic testing facilities further, Keighley Laboratories has invested around GBP8,000 in a Sonatest Masterscan digital flow detector, which incorporates the latest developments in amplifier and pulsar technology to deliver higher levels of near-surface resolution and penetrating power.
The NDT department has also added a digital magnetic permeability meter for measurement of ferro-magnetic inclusions in feebly magnetic materials against relevant specifications, and a hand-held ferrite content meter for analysing the ferrite content in austenitic and duplex steel.
Both are suitable for off-site or in-house applications and give Keighley Labs further methods of material inspection.
