Combining eddy-current and magnetic methods for the defectoscopy of ferromagnetic materials

Abstract

In this paper, we present the results of a theoretical study of the combined eddy current–magnetic method of defectoscopy of objects made of ferromagnetic metals. The main part of the method is a simultaneous subjection of the inspected object to the static magnetic and alternating electromagnetic fields. The subjection of the object to the latter creates eddy current in the inspected object, whereas changes in the former caused by the defect lead to the change in magnetic permeability in the vicinity of the defect, including on its surface. The areas where the changes in magnetic permeability occur are, in turn, detected using the eddy current method. We then show that the way the static magnetic field is applied to the object and the frequency of the eddy currents induced by the application of the alternating electromagnetic fields to the object affects the properties of the signals detected while inspecting surface and subsurface defects using the eddy current method. Using this combined eddy current–magnetic method allows us to detect subsurface defects that lie deeper in the inspected object compared to the depths of the defects detectable by the magnetic method alone. At the same time, we obtain more precise information about the size and shape of the defect due to processing eddy current signals, which have not just a frequency, but also a phase; we note that this might require eddy currents of different frequencies. Thus, using the combined method, we can obtain more detailed information about deeper hidden defects, compared to using either magnetic or eddy current method on its own. The main contribution of this paper is not to show the advantages of the combined method, which were already recognised, but to provide a theoretical foundation of the method, which is poorly understood. Such an increased understanding should lead to further improvements in the method.