Image Credit @Falcon Inspection & Service
WHAT IS NDE 4.0
Technological advancement in the history of mankind has been divided into Ages, to better understand the correlation of the growth of mankind, to the social and political history and availability of resources. The discovery of tools was the genesis of technological growth, occurring around 200000 BC. The use and discovery of metallurgy did not ensue until 3600 BC. This industrial revolution marked the use of gold, bronze, iron, alloys, chemistry, and steel. This revolution could be considered an Industrial revolution of materials, or the first Industrial Revolution.
The growth of technology has undergone exponential growth since then, with the energy-providing system shifting from human and animal-based effort to the use of naturally available resources like coal, steam, etc. This Second Industrial Revolution caught on like wildfire and led to the worldwide use of technology like steam engines, trains, steamboats, etc. This revolution was considered a revolution of energy production and helped connect the world with better transport and resource exchange, hence paving the path for greater access to labour, technology, and resources.
Progression of the Industrial Revolutions (Image credit: Meyendorf, Norbert, et al. "NDE 4.0—NDE for the 21st century—the internet of things and cyber-physical systems will revolutionize NDE" (2017))
As the demand for more resources, facilities, and luxuries increased, the load on manufacturing units and production capabilities escalated. This led to the upgradation of the manufacturing unit to produce multiple units of the same material using different methodologies and changed labour management drastically.
The introduction of the Ford Model T automobile revolutionized the world of manufacturing as the concept of mass production was introduced to the world, in the form of the first automotive assembly line. The third Industrial Revolution of mass production was significant in creating many products and facilities at progressively lower rates and in shorter periods. This third Industrial Revolution was called the revolution of mass production.
The twentieth and twenty-first centuries marked the growth of computers. This fourth industrial revolution is being connotated as Industry 4.0 and signifies the amalgamation of existing technologies with more advanced systems like artificial intelligence, big data processing, blockchain, Internet of Things, Digital Twins, Digital thread, Semantic Interoperability, Industry 4.0 Data processing, and the cloud.
NDE 4.0 embodies the concept of Industry 4.0, as it adopts automation to process some of the most vital, often precarious, cumbersome, and human resource-depleting requirements, to make it completely streamlined and digital. The use of sensors, robots, drones, and the cloud reduces the need for constant human involvement in quality, safety, and structural integrity inspections and enables more efficient work systems, devoid of any waste or redundancies.
The revolutions of NDE, concurrent with the Industrial Revolutions, through the ages (Image credit: NDE 4.0—A Design Thinking Perspective Johannes Vrana (1), Ripu Daman Singh (2))
CHALLENGES AND POSSIBILITIES
Non-Destructive Evaluation 4.0 encompasses all the salient features of Industry 4.0 and is used to analyze the entire process flow of a product from its conception as a raw material, to the machining processes, inspection processes, categorization, and induction into the markets, along with examination during its operation under load.
NDE 4.0 includes the creation of three-dimensional volumes, handling of large data sets and files, big data management, in-operational analysis of structures to ensure lack of defects and deformities, remote access to knowledge to tackle obstructions in process, planning of non-destructive evaluation based on modelling and meticulous evaluation of parts as they are produced.