NDEVC FACILITIES
NDEVC Laboratory
The NDEVC laboratory serves as the nucleus of the NDEVC and is located in the FHWA's Turner Fairbank Highway Research
Center (TFHRC) in McLean, Virginia. The NDEVC is a 439 m2 newly renovated laboratory and office space that
provides a location for preliminary test and evaluation of NDE technologies.
This state-of-the-art lab includes an 11.8 m by 3.6 m structural loading floor (Photo 1) used to construct mock-ups of field
conditions and produce component specimens. The laboratory also acts as a staging area for research
conducted at the test bridges. The laboratory space is equipped with storage areas and test set-up areas (Photo 2).
An x-ray computed tomography and digital radiography imaging system (pictured at right) has been added to the NDEVC Research
facility. The advanced computed tomography imaging system ACTIS 600/420 was built by Bio-Imaging Research, Inc. according to
specifications provided by researchers at the NDEVC. The system consists of dual-focus 420-kV and microfocus 160-kV continuous
x-ray sources. It includes two digital detectors, with a 512-channel linear array detector for tomographic imaging and a tri-field image
intensifier with a digital camera for both real-time radiography and microtomography. The system can benefit many industrial and scientific
applications, including materials research, non-destructive testing, core sample characterization, weld inspection, failure analysis,
and reverse engineering. It is suitable for x-ray inspection of metallic and non-metallic items over a wide range of densities. The system
produces cross-sectional computed tomography (CT) images, in-motion real-time radiography (RTR) images, and digitized radiographed
(DR) images. In addition to density mapping, CT provides complete 3D morphology of parts with highly accurate dimensioning
capability. The CT data sets can be converted to line drawings and exported as splines for solid modeling and comparison to
Computer-Aided Design (CAD) drawings. Computed tomography also provides superior flaw detection capability of extremely small
cracks, porosities, and voids that are normally not visible with film radiography inspection. The system can provide spatial resolution
of up to 20 lines per millimeter or 25-microns. In addition, sample sizes up to a weight of 200-kg and a length of 100-cm can be
accomodated. The system has been used by researchers at the NDEVC to conduct projects such as determination of air void
parameters, crack propagation, and internal structure characterization of portland cement concrete and asphalt concrete structures.
An area for controlled storage (Photo 5) of the collection of component specimens has been established in the laboratory.
Strict control of this storage environment will allow the collection of defect specimens to be developed with confidence that the
defects will remain relatively unchanged over time.
As part of the renovation, a 134 m2 mezzanine level office space (Photo 6) for the NDEVC staff has been created. This area
will provide office space for on-site staff, visiting professionals, and graduate students. An extensive library on the mezzanine level
containing books, articles, and other publications related to NDE provides an excellent resource for future NDE investigations.
