What is this standard about?
This international standard was developed to satisfy the need for a uniform and repeatable way of inspecting welds for surface imperfections using magnetic particle testing. It was revised to keep up with changing approaches and materials.
Who is this standard for?
- Inspection companies in a number of sectors, including oil and gas, marine, general engineering and construction
- Certification bodies
- Authorised training and qualification bodies responsible for ensuring that training and examinations are in accordance with this industry mandated standard
Why should you use this standard?
It specifies techniques for detection of surface imperfections in welds in ferromagnetic materials, including the heat affected zones, by means of magnetic particle testing.
The techniques are suitable for most welding processes and joint configurations. Variations in the basic techniques that will provide a higher or lower test sensitivity are described in Annex A.
NOTE: This document does not specify acceptance levels of the indications. Further information on acceptance levels for indications may be found in BS EN ISO 23278 or in product or application standards.
What’s changed since the last update?
This standard replaces BS EN ISO 17638:2009 which is withdrawn.
It was revised to ensure that inspection results remain consistent and repeatable when applied to new processes, revised standard practices, newly developed equipment and changes to materials and constituent components.