Classification of Industrial X-Ray Film

Abstract

A review of the efforts of a task group of American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Committee E-7 on Nondestructive Testing to classify industrial X-ray film will be presented. The introduction of new film and especially automatic X-ray film processors with their relatively high temperature chemistry have changed considerably the sensitometric curves of film relative to that produced at normal temperature with hand processing. The objective of the task group is to classify film in order to indicate potential film performance and differentiate between the films. The several methods of classification based on speed, speed and gradient, and mass of silver on a film will be discussed. The difficulties of specifying a system that may be too narrow or too broad will be discussed. The equating of film characteristics to the subjectively determined evaluation of radiographic film quality has not been accomplished satisfactorily. Systematic exposures of a standardized test plate have been made at several facilities and will be interpreted by several observers. The analysis of these data may help in equating film characteristics to radiographic film quality and, therefore, be the basis for a film classification system.