Certification & Qualification
17%of exam
Application of NDT Methods
40%of exam
Materials & Processes
15%of exam
Codes, Standards & Procedures
15%of exam
NDT Training
15%of exam
Quick Facts
- Credential
- NDT Level III
- Structure
- Basic + method exam
- Basic Exam
- 135 questions
- Basic Time
- 4 hours
- Pass
- 70-80% range
- Method Exam
- 90 or 135 Q
- Standards
- SNT-TC-1A, CP-189, CP-105
- Delivery
- Pearson VUE CBT
- Valid
- 5 years
Level Duties
I performs | II interprets | III approves
I: setup + recordII: interpret + reportIII: approve + train
SNT-TC-1A vs CP-189
SNT-TC-1A
- Recommended practice
- Employer certifies
- Guideline language
CP-189
- ANSI standard
- Mandatory language
- Contractually invoked
Guideline vs standard
Standard Picker
- Employer certifies personnel→SNT-TC-1A(Recommended practice)
- Mandatory contract standard→CP-189(ANSI accredited)
- Training topic outline→CP-105(Method topics)
- ASNT central certification→ACCP(Third-party)
- ISO 9712 program→CP-106(International)
- Aerospace personnel→NAS-410(Aviation)
Certification Levels
- Trainee
- Supervised, not certified
- Level I
- Performs setup, records data
- Level II
- Interprets, evaluates, reports
- Level III
- Approves procedures, trains staff
- Employer
- Certifies under SNT-TC-1A
- ASNT
- Central Level III cert
Employer vs Central Cert
Employer
- Employer is authority
- Written practice
- In-house exams
Central (ACCP/9712)
- Body certifies
- Standard exams
- Portable credential
In-house vs third-party
ASNT Documents
- SNT-TC-1A
- Recommended practice guideline
- CP-189
- ANSI accredited standard
- CP-105
- Training topical outlines
- CP-106
- ISO 9712 program
- ISO 9712
- Central certification standard
- ACCP
- ASNT central certification
- NAS-410
- Aerospace NDT personnel
Level II vs Level III
Level II
- Performs to procedure
- Interprets results
- Sets up equipment
Level III
- Approves procedure
- Trains and examines
- Selects method
Execute vs authorize
Level III Duties
- Procedures
- Write and approve
- Techniques
- Select method + technique
- Exams
- Develop and administer
- Training
- Train and evaluate staff
- Codes
- Interpret specs, acceptance
11 CP-105 Methods
Six common: VT PT MT ET UT RT
Plus LT: leakPlus AE: acoustic emissionPlus IR: thermalPlus NR: neutronPlus VA: vibration
RT vs UT
RT
- Volumetric flaws
- Permanent image
- Two-side access
UT
- Planar flaws
- Depth and sizing
- One-side access
Image vs echo
Method Picker
- Surface crack, any metal→PT(Capillary action)
- Surface crack, ferromagnetic→MT(Faster than PT)
- Subsurface planar flaw→UT(Angle beam)
- Internal volumetric flaw→RT(Permanent image)
- Thin conductive tubing→ET(No couplant)
- Steel floor thinning→MFL(Fast scan)
- Active crack growth→AE(Under load)
- Sealed system leak→LT(Tracer gas)
- Naked-eye surface check→VT(First line)
NDT Methods (CP-105)
- VT
- Visual testing
- PT
- Liquid penetrant
- MT
- Magnetic particle
- ET
- Eddy current
- UT
- Ultrasonic testing
- RT
- Radiographic testing
- LT
- Leak testing
- AE
- Acoustic emission
- IR
- Infrared/thermal
- NR
- Neutron radiography
- VA
- Vibration analysis
Surface-Reach Methods
VT PT surface | MT ET near
VT: visible surfacePT: surface-breakingMT: surface + nearET: surface + nearUT RT: deeper
MT vs PT
MT
- Ferromagnetic only
- Near-surface too
- Flux leakage
PT
- Any nonporous
- Surface-breaking only
- Capillary action
Magnetic vs capillary
Surface vs Volumetric
- VT
- Surface, visible only
- PT
- Surface-breaking flaws
- MT
- Surface and near-surface
- ET
- Surface and near-surface
- UT
- Subsurface, sizing
- RT
- Volumetric, internal
UT Essentials
- Frequency
- 1-10 MHz range
- Couplant
- Transmits sound in
- Straight beam
- Laminations, thickness
- Angle beam
- Weld fusion flaws
- A-scan
- Amplitude vs depth
- Dead zone
- Shallow flaws hidden
RT Essentials
- X-ray
- Powered, tunable source
- Gamma
- Ir-192, Co-60, Se-75
- IQI
- Checks image sensitivity
- Density
- Film darkness level
- Best for
- Volumetric flaws
- Blind to
- Tight parallel cracks
MT & PT Essentials
- MT needs
- Ferromagnetic material only
- Field angle
- Perpendicular to crack
- Two directions
- Catch all orientations
- Demag
- Remove residual field
- PT steps
- Clean, penetrant, developer
- Pre-clean
- Most decisive step
ET, AE & LT Notes
- ET
- Conductive materials only
- Skin effect
- Higher frequency, shallower
- No couplant
- Works through air
- AE
- Detects active growth
- LT bubble
- Gross leaks only
- LT tracer
- Helium, tiny leaks
Discontinuity Origins
Inherent | Processing | Service
Inherent: from ingotProcessing: from makingService: from use
Volumetric vs Planar
Volumetric
- 3D voids
- Porosity, slag
- RT preferred
Planar
- Flat 2D
- Cracks, LOF
- UT preferred
Volume vs plane
Discontinuity Origin Picker
- From ingot solidification→Inherent(Pipe, inclusions)
- From welding or casting→Processing(Manufacturing flaw)
- From fatigue or corrosion→Service(In-use flaw)
- Rolled plate separation→Lamination(Straight-beam UT)
- Weld fusion-face flaw→Lack of fusion(Angle-beam UT)
- Forged metal fold→Lap(Surface method)
Discontinuity Origins
- Inherent
- From ingot solidification
- Processing
- From manufacturing steps
- Service
- From use, fatigue
- Volumetric
- 3D voids, porosity
- Planar
- 2D cracks, laminar
- Linear vs rounded
- Shape classification
Casting Defects
Porosity | Shrinkage | Cold shut | Inclusions
Gas: porositySolidify: shrinkagePoor fusion: cold shutForeign: inclusions
Discontinuity by Process
- Casting
- Porosity, shrinkage, cold shut
- Welding
- Lack of fusion, slag
- Welding
- Undercut, porosity, cracks
- Forging
- Laps, bursts, flakes
- Rolling
- Laminations, seams, stringers
- Service
- Fatigue, corrosion, creep
Procedure vs Technique Sheet
Procedure
- Approved framework
- Essential variables
- Governs method
Technique sheet
- Job-specific setup
- Instantiates procedure
- Cannot override
Framework vs instance
Codes & Procedures
- Procedure
- Approved method + variables
- Technique sheet
- Job-specific instructions
- Essential variable
- Change needs requalification
- Acceptance criteria
- Pass or reject
- Document hierarchy
- Contract over code
- ASME/AWS/API
- Common referencing codes
Training & Exams
- JTA
- Job task analysis
- Blueprint
- Content area weighting
- General exam
- Basic method principles
- Specific exam
- Equipment and procedures
- Practical exam
- Hands-on demonstration
- Vision test
- Near and color
Common Traps
Recommend vs require
SNT-TC-1A recommends ≠ CP-189 requires
MT material limit
MT needs ferromagnetic ≠ PT any nonporous
RT vs UT flaws
RT finds volumetric ≠ UT finds planar
Surface vs subsurface
PT MT surface only ≠ UT RT go deeper
Who certifies
Employer certifies I/II ≠ ASNT certifies Level III
Couplant need
UT needs couplant ≠ ET needs none
Crack orientation
RT misses parallel cracks ≠ UT catches perpendicular
Last Minute
- 1.Basic exam has 135 questions
- 2.Basic exam lasts 4 hours
- 3.Passing score near 70 percent
- 4.SNT-TC-1A recommends; CP-189 requires
- 5.CP-105 lists 11 methods
- 6.MT needs ferromagnetic material
- 7.PT finds surface-breaking flaws
- 8.RT best for volumetric flaws
- 9.UT best for planar flaws
- 10.Level III approves procedures
- 11.Demagnetize part after MT
- 12.No official weight chart
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