A Novel Fabrication Technique for Prescribed Interior Cracks in a Metal

One of the major concerns in nondestructive evaluation (NDE) is the detection and characterization of cracks in structural materials. In the development of NDE methodologies, laboratory samples containing known flaws are very useful for the experimental verification of models and algorithms. Simulated flaws made to specific design serve to check the correctness of various aspects of an NDE technique under development. In addition, model flaws are also used in the calibration of nondestructive testing equipments. A familiar example is the ubiquitous flat bottom hole test blocks.