Langley Research Center is actively using state-of-the-art Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) modeling and simulation tools to accelerate the adoption of advanced materials and ensure the safety of aging infrastructure.

The Office of Safety and Mission Assurance’s Multi-Layered Pressure Vessel Risk Mitigation Project (MLPVRMP) made significant advancements in detecting weld flaws in Multi-Layered Pressure Vessels (MLVP) through the use of advanced techniques in Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE). The unique design and fabrication of MLPVs made inspection of inner weld areas joining shell to shell layers impossible, until now. This breakthrough presents the agency with the ability to thoroughly examine and baseline in-service MLPVs for critical weld flaws, thereby supporting selective MLPV replacement based on verified risk. 

Computed Tomography (CT) is a powerful radiographic method that provides a versatile inspection technique whenever the primary goal is to quantify volumetric features in three dimensions, but it doesn’t come without its challenges. Measuring its system performance is more complicated than doing so for traditional Radiographic Testing systems.

NASA and industry are working together to meet the safety, schedule and efficiency demands for current and future space flights, including those to and from the International Space Station.

Imagine if capturing an X-ray was as fast and simple as taking a digital photo. Now imagine being able to capture high-speed radiography videos with the same relative ease. 

These days 3-D printing is a fairly well-known concept, but in the design and Quality Assurance worlds, 3-D printing — aka Additive Manufacturing (AM) — is still in its infancy. There aren’t many policies guiding AM efforts at NASA, other government organizations or in industry, but the AM community is working hard to change that.

In late June, Dr. Ed Generazio, Office of Safety and Mission Assurance Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) program manager, received a NASA Distinguished Service Medal for his exemplary work in NDE for the agency.

NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance’s Nondestructive Evaluation program is leading a variety of agency initiatives to ensure the successful qualification of Additive Manufacturing products for deployment on future NASA missions.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office granted NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) program a patent for its Electric Field Quantitative Measurement System and Method. The patent covers both the Electric Field Imaging sensor and the methods developed by Edward Generazio, NDE program manager.

NASA’s Office of Safety and Mission Assurance Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) program recently published a Technical Manual, NASA DOEPOD [Design of Experiments for Probability of Detection] NDE Capabilities Data Book.