Multi-channel transimpedance measurement of a planar electromagnetic sensor array

Abstract

Planar electromagnetic sensor arrays have advantages such as nice coherence, fast response speed and high sensitivity, which can be used for micro damage inspection of crucial parts in equipment, and the key point in improving the inspection performance is to achieve a precise measurement of multi-channel transimpedances (the inductive voltages divided by the exciting current of the sensor). The principle and characteristics of planar electromagnetic sensor arrays are introduced in this paper, and a digital lock-in impedance measurement algorithm was investigated, with which the interference and noise in inductive voltage signals can be restrained effectively and the amplitude and phase of the transimpedance can be obtained with good repeatability. An eight channel impedance measurement system was established based on a field programmable gate array and utilized to inspect the micro damage in metal materials, and the experimental data were analyzed. The experimental results show that the impedance measurement has excellent repeatability when the sensor array is placed in air, and the maximum measurement error of the complete transimpedance measurement system is lower than 10%. A micro crack with a size of 1 mm (length) × 0.1 mm (width) × 1 mm (depth) can be detected through the measurement of multi-channel transimpedance in the planar electromagnetic sensor array.