ASME Section V Article 2 — Radiographic Examination

Radiographic examination (RT) requirements for pressure-retaining welds, castings, and base material under ASME BPVC — covers source, IQI, density, geometric unsharpness.

Scope

Article 2 of ASME Section V covers radiographic examination (RT) — including X-ray and gamma-ray methods, conventional film, computed radiography (CR), and digital radiography (DR) — applied to weldments, base material, and components governed by a referencing Code Section. It establishes the technique, source-to-film distance (SFD), image quality indicator (IQI) selection and placement, film density, geometric unsharpness, and acceptance criteria for RT records. Article 2 is the most-referenced article in Section V because every Section VIII Division 1, Section I, and B31 piping weld that is volumetrically examined defaults to RT unless the user elects UT under Article 4. Article 2 contains Mandatory Appendices for in-motion radiography, real-time radioscopy, digital image acquisition (CR/DR), and radiography of materials less than ¼ in thick. The article is supported by SE-94 (radiographic standards for steel castings), SE-142 (controlling quality of radiographic images), SE-747 (wire IQIs), SE-1025 (hole-type IQIs), and SE-1742 (radiologic interpretation of welds).

NDT methods it governs

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  • {"label":"ASTM E165 Radiographic Standards","href":"/blog/astm-e165-radiographic-examination-standards"}
  • {"label":"ASME Section V Overview","href":"/blog/asme-section-v-ndt-requirements-guide"}

Certifications that reference it

  • {"label":"ASNT Certification (RT Levels I, II, III)","href":"/asnt-certification"}
  • {"label":"API 510 Certification","href":"/api-510-certification"}
  • {"label":"API 570 Certification","href":"/api-570-certification"}

Issuing body

ASME

Revision history

  • 2025 —
  • 2023 —
  • 2021 —
  • 2019 —

Related standards

asme-section-v-article-1 · asme-section-v-article-4 · astm-e94 · astm-e165 · iso-17636 · asme-b31-3

Applying this in an inspection programme

Code compliance is only demonstrable if the evidence behind it is: the procedure revision in force, the inspector's certification state and the instrument's calibration status at the time of test. Atlantis NDT provides ASNT Level III consulting for procedure and written-practice work against this code, training toward the certifications that reference it, and inspection management software that keeps that evidence recoverable years later. Request a consultation.

How a standard like this is applied in an inspection programme

A standard is only half of the requirement. It defines how an examination is performed and, in some cases, how results are classified — but the acceptance criteria that decide whether a component stays in service normally come from the construction or in-service code governing the item, not from the examination standard itself. Confusing the two is one of the more common findings in a procedure review: a procedure that correctly cites the examination standard but applies acceptance criteria from the wrong code or the wrong edition.

What has to be in place for compliance to be demonstrable

  • A written procedure qualified against this standard for the specific materials, thickness ranges and geometries in scope — not a generic procedure covering everything
  • Personnel certified for the method and level under ASNT SNT-TC-1A, ANSI/ASNT CP-189, NAS 410 or ISO 9712, current on the date the examination was performed
  • Equipment, probes and reference standards in calibration on that date, with traceability to a national standard under ISO 17025
  • The applicable edition of the standard recorded against the examination, so historical work stays assessed under the edition then in force
  • Technique sheets under the same revision control as the procedure above them — the most frequently uncontrolled document in an otherwise compliant quality system

Edition changes

When a new edition is issued, new work moves to it from a defined effective date that you set and record; work already performed stays assessed under the edition in force at the time. Retrospectively applying a new edition to historical dispositions invalidates the original acceptance decision and creates a substantially larger problem than the one being solved.

Where this usually goes wrong

Not in the technical content, but in reconstruction. An auditor picks an issued report and asks which procedure revision applied, who performed the work and whether they were qualified on that date, and whether the instrument and reference blocks were in calibration. Programmes that hold only current state can answer none of those. Binding the document revision, the qualification state and the calibration state to each inspection record as it is created turns that from an investigation into a lookup.

Related: all standards · NDT glossary · ASNT Level III consulting · NDT training and certification · inspection management software. Ask a Level III about applying ASME Section V Article 2.