West Penn Testing Group, a provider of material testing services, is the first U.S. test laboratory to offer automated DGS ultrasonic testing (UT) for large energy disks.

According to Albert Fletcher, general manager of West Penn Testing, "Leading industrial-gas-turbine manufacturers now use waveform-capture DGS ultrasonic testing for critical components made in the U.S. They rely on waveform-capture UT for two primary reasons. First, waveform-capture technology records massive amounts of data. If, for any reason customers later need to review the test, they can rerun the complete test and see it as if it were being performed in real time locally. Second, because waveform capture is so information-rich, customers can conduct a broad range of analyses to extract different types of technical information. Customers benefit from the highest level of comprehensiveness and accuracy with these tests."

Fletcher adds, "With waveform-capture ultrasonic testing, West Penn helps customers achieve a greater degree of oversight of the testing process, moving beyond tests that do little more than accept or reject parts. For example, waveform capture confirms that tests were set up properly and performed correctly. These features increase assurance regarding the thoroughness and reliability of the test."

Commenting on the uniqueness of this test, Mark Pompe, director of technology and Level III of West Penn's ultrasonic unit, "There were no off-the-shelf products that would enable this type of testing, so we developed these tests working with customers."