Ensuring safety and reliability through non-destructive testing and condition monitoring Identifying damage and irregularities to avoid failures in safety-critical components and large structures

Evaluate materials in the lab and out in the field
Lab-based non-destructive testing (NDT) can provide in-depth knowledge of the behaviour of a material or component, helping to highlight variations in processes or product quality. NDT is complemented by condition monitoring, which allows potential defects in large structures – such as railway tunnels – to be identified at the earliest opportunity, enabling corrective action before a problem progresses. The Advanced Engineering Materials (AEM) group at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) offers both lab-based NDT – to identify potential defects in the internal structure of materials – and on-site condition monitoring services to determine the health and integrity of structures, helping to extend the lifetime of critical components and infrastructure in even the harshest environments.