A New Chapter in NDT Innovation: Why CNDE is Evolving

FFrom today, the Centre for Non-Destructive Evaluation of IIT Madras has a new identity. It is not a change of style. It reflects what the centre has become in 25 years: one place to take an inspection problem, from first question to field solution.

A pipe rests on its support in a refinery. Corrosion begins where the two touch. It is the one place you cannot see, and you cannot reach it without lifting a line that is in service.

To deal with that, an operator needs four things.

A method that can find it. Researchers at CNDE developed and patented a guided wave ultrasonic technique, known as HOMC, that detects and sizes corrosion at the support without lifting the pipe.

Proof that it works on their pipe. The method was validated on real components in CNDE's laboratories, not only on test pieces.

Equipment and a crew. A CNDE spin-off, Dhvani Inspection Technologies, now takes the technique to pipe supports and storage tanks that cannot be taken offline.

People who can read the result. CNDE's guided wave training programme teaches the method to working inspection engineers.

Most organisations offer one of these four. A university offers research. A test house offers inspection with existing methods. A manufacturer offers an instrument. A training body offers a certificate. Inspection problems stall in the gaps between them.

CNDE began in 2001 as the first of those: a research lab. Over 25 years it grew to cover all four. That is the change in our new identity marks: Solve. Prove. Deploy. Train.

The same path, three more times

Fractures inside a rail. They give no warning at the surface. CNDE built an autonomous track inspection robot that looks for internal fractures, track buckling and surface defects in one pass. On the Southern Railway network, this work identified more than 2,000 critical fracture points in a single year, and each was rectified.

Temperature where sensors fail. Inside furnaces and reformers, conventional sensors do not survive. CNDE's ultrasonic waveguide sensors measure from −100°C to +1,500°C. Through the venture XYMA Analytics, they now serve more than 15 multinational companies.

Structures under water. Dams, jetties and ship hulls are hard for divers to inspect reliably. Planys Technologies, which grew out of CNDE research, has logged more than 20,000 hours of underwater inspection with its own robotic vehicles.

Each began as a problem someone brought to the centre. None ended as a paper.

What each step gives you

Solve. Consultancy and sponsored research, for problems that standard inspection services cannot resolve. You can ask us to select a method, review an existing procedure independently, or carry out original research through IIT Madras. More than 20 faculty across disciplines contribute.

Prove. A feasibility study with a fixed timeline that combines experiment and computer modelling. It ends with a plain assessment: what works, what does not, what the path forward is, and where the risk sits. It is carried out in a world-class facility, covering phased array ultrasonics, digital X-ray, micro and nano CT, thermography and terahertz imaging.

Deploy. 14 ventures have grown from CNDE research. Together they employ more than 1,400 people and work in over 12 countries, on pipelines, refineries, railways, underwater structures and aerospace components.

Train. Advanced programmes for engineers who already know the field, taught by the researchers who build the technology. They run at IIT Madras or at your site, and are aligned with ASNT SNT-TC-1A, ISO 9712 and the relevant ASTM standards.

When the problem is bigger than one company

Some inspection problems are shared across a whole sector, and are too large for one company to fund. In November 2024, CNDE established the National Consortium for Non-Destructive Evaluation (NCNDE).

Member organisations sit on the board that sets research priorities. They share the cost of the work and see results before public release. Membership also includes dedicated feasibility study time, laboratory hours and priority scheduling. The consortium began with 10 founding members from energy and inspection technology, and is open to organisations worldwide.

Why the identity changed

The previous identity described a university research group. The work above is more than that, and has been for some time.

The new mark is built from what the centre works with: a sound wave, an inspection probe, and the layered cross-section that inspection exists to reveal. The science, the standard it is held to, and the foundation at IIT Madras are unchanged.

We are not becoming something new. We are finally looking like what we already are.

See the new CNDE

The new website is organised around the same four steps. Explore it at [cnde.in].

To reach the team: office@cnde.in · 044 2257 5688