TOFD Inspection (TOFD) Services in Netherlands 2026 — Atlantis NDT

How Time-of-Flight Diffraction (TOFD) works

TOFD places a transmitter and receiver either side of a weld and measures the arrival time of sound diffracted from the tips of a discontinuity, rather than the amplitude reflected from its face. Because sizing depends on diffraction timing rather than reflection amplitude, TOFD is largely insensitive to flaw orientation — the weakness that limits conventional pulse-echo on planar defects that are not favourably aligned to the beam.

What it detects

• Planar defects regardless of orientation — lack of fusion, lack of penetration, and cracks that pulse-echo can miss entirely
• Through-wall height with accuracy typically far better than amplitude-based sizing, which is what fitness-for-service assessment actually needs
• Flaw growth between inspections, because the same scan geometry reproduces closely
• Embedded defects across the full weld volume in a single pass along the weld

What it will not do

TOFD has a near-surface dead zone from the lateral wave and a back-wall zone that both require complementary coverage — normally pulse-echo or phased array. It also produces a grey-scale image that demands a trained interpreter; TOFD data reviewed by someone without specific TOFD qualification is a common source of both missed and over-called indications.

When Time-of-Flight Diffraction (TOFD) is the right choice

Choose TOFD where through-wall sizing drives a fitness-for-service or acceptance decision, where radiography is impractical for access or radiation-safety reasons, or where weld volume must be covered quickly on long seams.

Codes and acceptance criteria

Examinations are performed to written procedures qualified against ASME Section V Article 4 Mandatory Appendix III, ASME Code Case 2235 for ultrasonic examination in lieu of radiography, ISO 10863, ISO 15626 for acceptance, and API 1104 Annex A for pipeline girth welds. Acceptance criteria come from the construction or in-service code governing the item — ASME Section VIII for pressure vessels, ASME B31.3 for process piping, API 510, API 570 and API 653 in service, AWS D1.1 for structural steel — and the applicable edition is recorded against the examination so the disposition can be reconstructed later.

Netherlands context

The Netherlands hosts Europe's largest refining and petrochemical cluster at Rotterdam/Europoort, plus Shell Pernis (the largest refinery in Europe at 410,000 bpd), BP Rotterdam, ExxonMobil Botlek and Pernis aromatics, and the Chemelot complex at Geleen (Sabic, OCI Nitrogen). The Dutch State Supervision of the Mines (SodM) oversees decommissioning of the Groningen gas field, while ILT (Inspectie Leefomgeving en Transport) and the ANVS (Authority for Nuclear Safety and Radiation Protection) administer Seveso III, PED 2014/68/EU, and nuclear-related inspection. The energy transition — including the Porthos and Aramis CCS projects in the North Sea and the offshore wind expansion (Hollandse Kust) — drives sustained digital twin adoption.

How the examination is controlled

Agree personnel qualification, equipment checks, procedure revision and review responsibilities for the examination. Retain those records with the results and coverage limitations.

What you receive

• A report in your required format, with indications located against the component and, where relevant, against a persistent corrosion monitoring location so trends stay continuous between campaigns
• Raw data files in the instrument-native format plus an open export, so the dataset outlives any single supplier relationship
• The procedure revision, technician certification state and instrument calibration status applicable at the time of examination
• Where a finding affects continued service, a clear statement of the code clause that governs the acceptance decision

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