Civil Aviation Order 100.27 Instrument 2007

Civil Aviation Order 100.27 (as amended)

Non-destructive testing authority

made under regulation 33B and subregulation 42ZC (6) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988.

This compilation was prepared on 21 October 2011 taking into account amendments up to Civil Aviation Order 100.27 Amendment Instrument 2011 (No. 1).

Prepared by the Legislative Drafting Branch, Legal Services Division, Civil Aviation Safety Authority, Canberra.

Contents

Page

1 Requirements for issue 

2 Issue of authority 

3 Renewal of authority 

4 Authorisation to carry out maintenance 

 Appendix I 

 Note to Civil Aviation Order 100.27 

This Civil Aviation Order is to be read in conjunction with Civil Aviation Order 100.23.

1 Requirements for issue

 1.1 Vision

  An applicant will be required to demonstrate visual acuity such that his or her natural or corrected vision is adequate to carry out the various functions.

Note   As a guide, the ability to read the N.10 letters of a quarter-reduced Times Roman Type Test Chart, or equivalent, for near vision represents a reasonable minimum standard of visual acuity.

 1.2 An applicant for an authority will be required to:

(a) have gained practical experience in the relevant method; and

(b) pass a written and/or oral examination to a standard approved by the Director, on the appropriate syllabus in Appendix I to this Order; and

(c) perform practical tests which demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Director adequate proficiency in the performance of the relevant non-destructive testing method.

2 Issue of authority

 2.1 Application for the issue of an authority must be made on Form 378.

 2.2 Upon satisfying the requirements of subsection 1 of this Order, an authority will be issued, endorsed for the appropriate N.D.T. method and with such limitations as may be appropriate to the applicant’s training and experience.

3 Renewal of authority

 3.1 An authority may be renewed upon application on Form 359 without further examination, provided the holder produces acceptable evidence that he or she has maintained proficiency and familiarity with the method and continues to possess an adequate standard of visual acuity.

4 Authorisation to carry out maintenance

 4.1 For subregulation 42ZC (5) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988, the holder of a valid airworthiness authority (AA) to conduct non-destructive testing (NDT) of aircraft and aircraft components is authorised to carry out, on an aircraft component or an aircraft material that is covered by the AA, maintenance in the form of an inspection using an NDT method.

Note   For the exercise of the privilege under paragraph 4.1, the person authorised must meet the condition mentioned in paragraph 42ZC (5) (a) of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988, that is, he or she must be employed by, or working under an arrangement with, the holder of a certificate of approval that covers maintenance in the form of an inspection using an NDT method.

Appendix I

Syllabuses for authority

Non-destructive testing methods of inspection

1 Dye penetrant inspection

 1.1 Principles of penetrant inspection.

 1.2 Applicability — Types and characteristics of flaws; delectability of flaws; limitations on applicability to types of materials and types of flaws.

 1.3 Penetrant systems — Characteristics and basis of selection of types of penetrants, emulsifiers and developers; compatibility of penetrants.

 1.4 Techniques of inspection — Advantages and limitations of the various methods of preparation; selection of methods of application of penetrant, emulsifier and developer; dwell times, temperature effects; re-running parts; interpretation of indications.

 1.5 Equipment and control — Black lights and measurement of intensity; methods of control of contamination of penetrants, emulsifiers and developers; inspection area conditions.

2 Magnetic particle inspection

 2.1 Elementary theory of magnetism — Concepts of flux density, permeability, reluctance and the hysteresis loop.

 2.2 The basic principle of the method.

 2.3 Methods of magnetisation — Circular magnetisation by current flow, threading bar and induced current; longitudinal magnetisation by coil and magnetic flow.

 2.4 Methods of establishment of flux density for inspection — The significance of reverse fields in coil magnetisation; the characteristics of magnetisation by ac and dc.

 2.5 Technique — Continuous and residual methods; the selection and application of wet and dry magnetic particles.

 2.6 Materials control — Methods of preparation of, and the control of, concentration of wet bath indicators; measurement of black light intensity.

 2.7 The applicability and limitations of the method — Types of flaw and the interpretation of indications; factors governing sensitivity; characteristics and sources of non-relevant indications.

3 Radiographic inspection

 3.1 Elementary theory — Properties, characteristics and generation of X and gamma rays including the electromagnetic spectrum; monochromatic and bremsstrahlung radiation; propagation and inverse square law; absorption, scattering and the interaction with matter.

 3.2 Equipment — Principles of basic design and operation of X-ray generating equipment; the effects of voltage and amperage in the control of quality and intensity of radiation.

 3.3 The principles of the method — Factors controlling sensitivity, to the detection of cracking and corrosion including definition, contrast, and alignment of the beam.

 3.4 Basic technique — The relationship and interdependence of factors controlling definition and contrast including subject contrast, variation of absorption coefficient with quality of radiation, scatter, optimum film density, geometric unsharpness, focal spot size and geometric distribution in the beam, focus to object and focus to film distances.

 3.5 The nature of X-ray film — The properties and selection of films including characteristic curves, optimum density and film contrast amplification.

 3.6 Screens — The principles, selection and use of metal and fluorescent screens.

 3.7 The principles of film processing — The preparation, use and maintenance of film developing and fixing processes.

 3.8 Exposure control — The preparation and use of exposure curves; the factors governing the selection of exposure including tube voltage, milliamperage, film to focus distance and exposure time; the principles and use of filters; methods of minimising scattered radiation.

 3.9 Viewers and optimum viewing conditions.

 3.10 Interpretation — Types of flaw and their interpretation; the significance of Image Quality Indicators; the characteristics and terminology of flaws arising from casting, welding, heat treatment, fatigue and stress corrosion cracking; the recognition of image quality degradation or spurious images caused by faulty film processing or handling.

 3.11 The advantages and limitations of the method.

 3.12 Aircraft structures — General knowledge of aircraft structures; methods of manufacture; interpretation of engineering drawings.

 3.13 Radiation hazards and safety.

 3.14 Test results — Methods of recording, reporting, identification and filing of radiographs.

4 Ultrasonic inspection

 4.1 Basic properties and nature of sound — The acoustic spectrum; frequency wave length and velocity relationship; propagation; acoustic impedance; reflection; impedance mismatch; refraction; Snell’s law; intensity; the decibel; attenuation by absorption and diffraction; types of sound waves and their characteristics, longitudinal, transverse, surface, plate and standing; factors affecting wave velocity; mode conversion at boundaries; acoustic coupling.

 4.2 Generation of ultrasonic waves — The piezoelectric effect; electro-acoustic transducers including transducer thickness and resonant frequency and sound beam geometry; near zone and far zone characteristics; band width; pulsed beams (relative efficiencies of crystal types as transmitters and receivers — quartz, barium titanate, lithium sulphate, lead zirconatc).

 4.3 Probe design — The ringing of a crystal; damping and the need for a short pulse length; types of probes and their construction including transceiver, combined, separate, focussed; the dead zone.

 4.4 The basis of the methods — The pulse echo and through transmission systems; resonance testing; immersion and contact scanning; the relationship between travel time of a reflected pulse and the position of the reflecting boundary; arithmetic of scanning and identification of echoes.

 4.5 Instruments and equipment — The basic operation of the circuit of the pulse echo system; the cathode ray tube; pulse generation and pulse repetition frequency; amplifier gain and suppression; time base range and delay; the significance of time base and receiver amplifier linearity; scale expansion; supplementary equipment including thickness gauge, flaw alarm, swept gain control, automatic gain control, interface trigger, A, B and C scan presentations, rectified and unrectified trace.

 4.6 Techniques — Surface preparation; the use of viscous couplants on rough surfaces; the necessity to remove uneven or poorly adhering paint and surface adherents such as heat treatment scale; the choice of transducer size and frequency as a function of the requirements of access; critical defect size, near zone length and beam divergence; the choice of shear wave refracted angle as a function of the geometry of the part under examination; the choice of overall test sensitivity and the use of standard reflectors and/or reference signals to confirm correct sensitivity; the IIW block; flat bottomed holes; the use of suppression and its effect on reflector area to signal height relationship; the use of defective parts or models containing artificial defects as test comparators; the estimation of flaw size using comparative signal amplitude and surface plotting techniques; factors governing amplitude of signals from flaws; the reporting and recording of test results.

Note   The factors covered in this Order should be illustrated by reference to actual techniques, at least 1 of which should be demonstrated on an aircraft.

 4.7 Aircraft and materials — The characteristics and terminology of flaws arising from casting, welding, heat treatment, fatigue, stress corrosion cracking; a general knowledge of aircraft structures; methods of manufacture; interpretation of engineering drawings.

5 Eddy current inspection

 5.1 The basis of the methods — Range of applications including sorting methods based on electrical conductivity measurement and flaw detection methods.

 5.2 Basic theory of magnetism and electricity — Resistance; resistivity; conductance; conductivity; Faraday’s Law; Lenz’s Law; mutual induction; self induction; inductance; capacitance; permeability; reactance; impedance; frequency; resonance; eddy currents; concepts; definitions and units of measurement.

 5.3 Impedance analysis — Basic concept of how variables influence and control the impedance of an ac coil.

 5.4 Instrument operation fundamentals — Wheatstone bridge; variable frequency oscillator; probe design and construction principles; shape and size of coil; area scanned.

 5.5 Techniques — Probe characteristics and selection; probe field size to flaw size relationship; factors affecting sensitivity including probe to test piece distance, angularity, edge effect, contact pressure, conductive and non-conductive coating thicknesses, alloy composition variations, lift-off adjustment, signal/noise ratio and depth or skin effect; design fundamentals of eddy current flaw standards; flaw delectability limitations; assessment of mechanical properties by the measurement of electrical conductivity; metallurgical factors affecting mechanical properties and electrical conductivity of heat treated aluminium alloys including alloy composition, size and distribution of precipitates; variables affecting electrical conductivity measurements including thickness, curvature, thickness of conducting and non-conducting coatings and temperature; precautions necessary for the assessment of heat affected aluminium alloys, e.g. fire damage, conductivity standards.

Note to Civil Aviation Order 100.27

The Civil Aviation Order (in force under the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988) as shown in this document comprises Civil Aviation Order 100.27 made as indicated in the Table below.

Table of Orders