Nondestructive testing (NDT) is any of a wide group of analysis techniques used in science and technology industry to evaluate the properties of a material, component or system without causing damage. The terms nondestructive examination (NDE), nondestructive inspection (NDI), and nondestructive evaluation (NDE) are also commonly used to describe this technology. Because NDT does not permanently alter the article being inspected, it is a highly valuable technique that can save both money and time in product evaluation, troubleshooting, and research. The six most frequently used NDT methods are eddy-current, magnetic-particle, liquid penetrant, radiographic, ultrasonic, and visual testing. NDT is commonly used in forensic engineering, mechanical engineering, petroleum engineering, electrical engineering, civil engineering, systems engineering, aeronautical engineering, medicine, and art. Innovations in the field of nondestructive testing have had a profound impact on medical imaging, including on echocardiography, medical ultrasonography, and digital radiography.
Smart materials, also called intelligent or responsive materials, are designed materials that have one or more properties that can be significantly changed in a controlled fashion by external stimuli, such as stress, moisture, electric or magnetic fields, light, temperature, pH, or chemical compounds. Smart materials are the basis of many applications, including sensors and actuators, or artificial muscles, particularly as electroactive polymers (EAPs).
David Hanson Jr. is an American roboticist who is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hanson Robotics, a Hong Kong-based robotics company founded in 2013.
An electroactive polymer (EAP) is a polymer that exhibits a change in size or shape when stimulated by an electric field. The most common applications of this type of material are in actuators and sensors. A typical characteristic property of an EAP is that they will undergo a large amount of deformation while sustaining large forces.
The armwrestling match of EAP robotic arm against human (AMERAH) is a challenge posed by Yoseph Bar-Cohen of the JPL in 1999. The initial challenge is to create a simple human-like robotic arm which, using electroactive polymers (EAP) as artificial muscles, can beat a human opponent in an arm wrestling match. The ultimate goal, however, is to create an arm using EAP as similar as possible to a human arm, which can beat any human in an arm wrestling competition. The competition aims to stimulate research in the field of electroactive polymers, as well as arouse interest both in the general public and among potential investors.
Ionic polymer–metal composites (IPMCs) are synthetic composite nanomaterials that display artificial muscle behavior under an applied voltage or electric field. IPMCs are composed of an ionic polymer like Nafion or Flemion whose surfaces are chemically plated or physically coated with conductors such as platinum or gold. Under an applied voltage, ion migration and redistribution due to the imposed voltage across a strip of IPMCs result in a bending deformation. Also, IPMCs can be ionic hydrogel which is being immersed in an electrolyte solution and connected to the electric field indirectly.
Dielectric elastomers (DEs) are smart material systems that produce large strains and are promising for Soft robotics, Artificial muscle, etc. They belong to the group of electroactive polymers (EAP). DE actuators (DEA) transform electric energy into mechanical work and vice versa. Thus, they can be used as both actuators, sensors, and energy-harvesting devices. They have high elastic energy density and fast response due to being lightweight, highly stretchable, and operating under the electrostatic principle. They have been investigated since the late 1990s. Many prototype applications exist. Every year, conferences are held in the US and Europe.
Thermographic inspection refers to the nondestructive testing (NDT) of parts, materials or systems through the imaging of the temperature fields, gradients and/or patterns ("thermograms") at the object's surface. It is distinguished from medical thermography by the subjects being examined: thermographic inspection generally examines inanimate objects, while medical thermography generally examines living organisms. Generally, thermographic inspection is performed using an infrared sensor.
Braille technology is assistive technology which allows blind or visually impaired people to read, write, or manipulate braille electronically. This technology allows users to do common tasks such as writing, browsing the Internet, typing in Braille and printing in text, engaging in chat, downloading files and music, using electronic mail, burning music, and reading documents. It also allows blind or visually impaired students to complete all assignments in school as the rest of their sighted classmates and allows them to take courses online. It enables professionals to do their jobs and teachers to lecture using hardware and software applications. The advances in Braille technology are meaningful because blind people can access more texts, books, and libraries, and it also facilitates the printing of Braille texts.
Shearography or Speckle pattern shearing interferometry is a measuring and testing method similar to holographic interferometry. It uses coherent light or coherent soundwaves to provide information about the quality of different materials in nondestructive testing, strain measurement, and vibration analysis. Shearography is extensively used in production and development in aerospace, wind rotor blades, automotive, and materials research areas. Advantages of shearography are the large area testing capabilities, non-contact properties, its relative insensitivity to environmental disturbances, and its good performance on honeycomb materials, which is a big challenge for traditional nondestructive testing methods.
Gordon Wallace, AO, FAA, FTSE, FRACI is a leading scientist in the field of electromaterials. His students and collaborators have pioneered the use of nanotechnology in conjunction with organic conductors to create new materials for energy conversion and storage as well as medical bionics. He has developed new approaches to fabrication that allow material properties discovered in the nano world to be translated into micro structures and macro scopic devices.
The American Society for Nondestructive Testing, Inc. or ASNT is a technical society for nondestructive testing (NDT) professionals. ASNT evolved from The American Industrial Radium and X-ray Society which was founded in 1941. Its headquarters is located in Columbus, Ohio, and there are 70 local sections in the United States and 14 local sections in other countries.
Terahertz nondestructive evaluation pertains to devices, and techniques of analysis occurring in the terahertz domain of electromagnetic radiation. These devices and techniques evaluate the properties of a material, component or system without causing damage.
Artificial muscles, also known as muscle-like actuators, are materials or devices that mimic natural muscle and can change their stiffness, reversibly contract, expand, or rotate within one component due to an external stimulus. The three basic actuation responses– contraction, expansion, and rotation can be combined within a single component to produce other types of motions. Conventional motors and pneumatic linear or rotary actuators do not qualify as artificial muscles, because there is more than one component involved in the actuation.
A tactile pixel or tixel is the smallest measuring/transmitting element of a tactile matrix. Is a part of haptic technologies.
A braille e-book is a refreshable braille display using electroactive polymers or heated wax rather than mechanical pins to raise braille dots on a display. Though not inherently expensive, due to the small scale of production they have not been shown to be economical.
The Hale Interchange is the major interchange between Interstate 41 (I-41), I-43, I-894, US Highway 41 (US 41), and US 45 in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, southwest suburb of Greenfield, though it takes it name from the nearby community of Hales Corners.
Siegfried Bauer was a German physicist and professor for soft-matter physics at Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria. In 2016, he was elected Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for contributions to the understanding and application of electroactive polymer dielectrics. In 2018, he was named Fellow of the Society of Photo-Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) "for achievements in plastic electronic devices and soft-matter physics".
Shouleh Nikzad is an Iranian-American electronic engineer and research scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She leads the Advanced Detector Arrays, Systems, and Nanoscience Group. Her research considers ultraviolet and low-energy particle detectors, nanostructure devices and novel spectrometers. Nikzad is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the National Academy of Inventors and SPIE.
Mohsen (MO) Shahinpoor is an Iranian American engineer, scientist, and academician. He is a professor and Director at the University of Maine College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering. He is also a professor in the Graduate School of Biomedical Science and Engineering at the University of Maine.
