Non-Destructive Testing and Evaluation (NDT&E) is one of the most critical aspects within the field of aerospace structural design. A wide range of NDT procedures ensure that not a single manufactured component reaches service without first passing a series of stringent tests. In fact, today, NDT is trusted as a guarantee for safety in the aerospace arena, making new research in the field a matter of strategic and essential attention.

Although aerospace industries are constrained to the use of certified NDT procedures, there is a large volume of new R&D that is ready to be applied to the various technologies. The widespread use of modern materials, as well as new manufacturing processes in the industry, has also given rise to many new questions regarding their reliability and methods; both from a research as well as a manufacturing point of view. The continuous discussion on carbon fibre-reinforced composites versus high performance metals substitution is just one of the many ground breaking debates underway.

Rising to the need for a critical dialogue on new developments in the field, the Symposium for NDT in Aerospace was established in 2008, with DGZfP and Fraunhofer IIS hosting the first congress in Fürth. The symposium series aims to propagate the twin agendas of communicating the latest R&D results to industrial users and providing scientists and industrial researchers with a common platform to discuss advancements and improvements in the subject.

After further successful events in Hamburg (2010), Montreal (2011), and Augsburg (2012), the 5th Symposium for NDT in Aerospace will be held in Singapore in November 2013.

The main topics at this event will be the physics of NDT, sensors and material interaction, the system design of complete inspection machines and the data evaluation by automated image processing. Special focus will be given to improvements in inspection speed and the transfer of laboratory NDT towards production and manufacturing process-integrated testing for inline inspection.

The presentations will have a strong relation to current and future applications for material characterisation and component inspection for laboratory and production environment. Presentation will encompass new results of already industrial established NDT systems as well as new and challenging NDT ideas which are still under research and development.