7.3 ASME Section V Articles 1, 6 & 7: General Requirements, PT & MT

ASME Section V Articles 1, 6, and 7: General Requirements, PT, and MT

For September 2026-May 2027, Section V scope is Articles 1, 2, 6, 7, and Article 23 SE-797. This section covers Article 1, Liquid Penetrant Examination (PT), and yoke/prod Magnetic Particle Examination (MT). Articles 9 and 10 are not listed and are not objectives for this cycle.

1. Article 1 framework

Article 1 supplies the framework every included method uses. Another code, standard, specification, or written requirement invokes Section V. The referencing document determines examination extent and acceptance; Section V supplies procedure, responsibility, calibration, performance, and record rules.

• Examination is a method that reveals indications; inspection is the broader verification of compliance.
• The owner/user remains responsible even when a subcontractor performs examination.
• Delegating work does not delegate owner/user code responsibility.
• Calibration and verification must be traceable and follow article/procedure frequency.
• Records identify the item and location, procedure, equipment, examiner, results, and disposition.

Article 1 does not make every indication rejectable. The referencing API 510, Section VIII, or repair requirement supplies acceptance.

2. Liquid Penetrant Examination - Article 6

PT detects discontinuities open to a clean surface in nonporous material. It works on carbon steel, stainless steel, nickel alloys, aluminum, and other nonporous materials. It cannot reveal a tight internal flaw that does not reach the surface.

1. Preclean and dry so oil, scale, paint, or water does not block openings.
2. Apply visible or fluorescent penetrant for the qualified dwell.
3. Remove excess with the method matched to its family without flushing flaws.
4. Dry when required and apply developer.
5. Allow development, examine under required lighting, interpret, and record.
6. Post-clean when required.

Work outside the standard temperature range requires procedure demonstration at the proposed temperature with the applicable comparator. Extra dwell alone is not qualification. Control contaminants on nickel alloys, stainless steels, and titanium.

3. Magnetic Particle Examination - Article 7

MT detects surface and near-surface discontinuities by magnetizing ferromagnetic material and applying particles. Flux leakage attracts them. Austenitic stainless steel, aluminum, and most nickel-base alloys cannot be assumed suitable.

The BOK limits study to yoke and prod techniques. A yoke establishes a field between poles without passing current through the component. Prods pass current through the work and require control of contacts, spacing, arcing, and heating. Use continuous magnetization: apply particles while the field is active. Verify yoke lifting power at required frequency. Examine in two approximately perpendicular directions because detection is strongest when a flaw is roughly perpendicular to flux.

Surface preparation must allow particle mobility and interpretation. Coating, scale, spatter, or roughness can mask or create indications. Visible particles need adequate white light; fluorescent particles need controlled ambient and qualified UV-A light. Demagnetize when residual magnetism could affect welding, machining, instruments, or service.

4. Selection and records

A complete report links indications to component/location and identifies procedure, method/materials, equipment/checks, surface and conditions, examiner, date, results, and disposition. Reexamine repaired areas as required.

Exam traps

• Method rules and acceptance criteria are different questions.
• PT cannot find a subsurface flaw; MT cannot test nonferromagnetic steel.
• One yoke orientation can miss a flaw parallel to the field.
• Cleaning is part of examination quality.

5. Indications, evaluation, and procedure qualification

An indication is evidence produced by the examination method; it is not automatically a discontinuity, defect, or rejectable condition. The examiner distinguishes relevant indications from nonrelevant geometry and false indications caused by surface condition or technique, then applies the acceptance criteria supplied by the referencing document. Written procedures identify essential method controls, and required demonstrations show the procedure can produce the intended result. If consumables, temperature, surface condition, field strength, lighting, or another essential control falls outside the qualified range, stop and resolve the deviation rather than rationalizing the result afterward. This chain - qualified procedure, controlled examination, recorded indication, referencing-code evaluation - is the exam-safe workflow.