Modeling of thin structures in eddy current testing with shell elements

Abstract

The modeling and design of eddy currents sensors for non-destructive testing applications, generally, requires numerical methods. Among these methods, the finite element method is one of the most used. Indeed, it presents a great capability to treat a large variety of configurations. However, in the study of eddy current testing problems, the existence of structures that have a geometrical dimension smaller than the others (thin air gaps, coatings...) will lead to difficulties related to the meshing process. The introduction of particular elements such as shell elements allows to simplify the modeling of these problems. In this paper, the shell elements are used in two different 2D axisymmetric formulations, the electric formulation a * and the magnetic formulation t - ϕ in order to simulate the behaviour of the electromagnetic fields. The results obtained with the two formulations are compared with analytical solutions.