Time-of-Flight Diffraction (TOFD) — Definition & NDT Use

From the inspector's bench, Time-of-Flight Diffraction is run as a defined sequence: equipment verification on a known reference, scan setup against the procedure, scanning the part, and writing the indications into the report. Crack sizing is the high-stakes call: amplitude alone is not enough, so techniques such as TOFD, tip-diffraction, or 6dB drop are stacked to bound the height and length used in the engineering critical assessment. Procedure writing, inspector qualification, and the reference block establish the chain that lets a remote engineer trust an indication called a kilometre away from the office.

Time-of-Flight Diffraction is selected when the failure mode the engineer cares about — surface crack, internal void, wall loss, lack of fusion — lines up with what the technique is physically capable of detecting. On welded fabrication it is most often paired with VT and one volumetric method (RT or UT) so surface and internal defects are both addressed. Whenever a crack is suspected the inspection plan upgrades from screening to characterisation — TOFD, MT, or tip-diffraction sizing — because the engineering critical assessment needs height and length, not just a yes/no.

The most expensive mistake with Time-of-Flight Diffraction is treating it as a yes/no test rather than a characterisation — an indication called without a sizing strategy forces a repair where a fitness-for-service review might have left the part in service.