Ya. That was my point too. IMO, its been called simply NDT up to very recent time. At least I haven't seen NDE before last year or so. Wonder where NDE came from? Somebody wanted to distinguish "eyeballing" examination from an actual test I suppose.
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"The problem isn't working out the equation,
its finding the answer to the real question." BigInch
Does one examine an X-ray, or examine the pipe by taking an X-ray. Is a "test" only a test when something is broken in the process, or can test mean any "evaluation". Is it an examination, or an evaluation that is really the object of the exercise. Perhaps NDE really means Non Destructive "Evaluation"???
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"The problem isn't working out the equation,
its finding the answer to the real question." BigInch
I just had a random look in ASME VIII, and in UG-90 there is mention of "provision of records of nondestructive testing examinations performed....". Maybe we should therefore abbreviate it to NDTE to avoid confusion in some peoples minds? (Or NTE following this ASME example.)
Good idea. Now that you mention it, NDTE was at one time pretty common as well. 3 letters is easier than 4 on the iPod perhaps. In any case, all of them mean pretty much the same practically speaking. Just goes to show how good we can be at splitting hairs sometimes.
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"The problem isn't working out the equation,
its finding the answer to the real question." BigInch