This document discusses various applications of eddy current inspection methods. It summarizes that eddy current applications can be used for material sorting of ferrous and non-ferrous metals based on conductivity, coating thickness assessment, wall thickness assessment, tube inspection from both the outer and inner diameters, heat exchanger tube testing, ferrous weld inspection, and dynamic hole inspection. The document provides guidance on selecting appropriate test frequencies and probe types for different applications and materials.
This document discusses various applications of eddy current inspection methods. It summarizes that eddy current applications can be used for material sorting of ferrous and non-ferrous metals based on conductivity, coating thickness assessment, wall thickness assessment, tube inspection from both the outer and inner diameters, heat exchanger tube testing, ferrous weld inspection, and dynamic hole inspection. The document provides guidance on selecting appropriate test frequencies and probe types for different applications and materials.
This document discusses various applications of eddy current inspection methods. It summarizes that eddy current applications can be used for material sorting of ferrous and non-ferrous metals based on conductivity, coating thickness assessment, wall thickness assessment, tube inspection from both the outer and inner diameters, heat exchanger tube testing, ferrous weld inspection, and dynamic hole inspection. The document provides guidance on selecting appropriate test frequencies and probe types for different applications and materials.
This document discusses various applications of eddy current inspection methods. It summarizes that eddy current applications can be used for material sorting of ferrous and non-ferrous metals based on conductivity, coating thickness assessment, wall thickness assessment, tube inspection from both the outer and inner diameters, heat exchanger tube testing, ferrous weld inspection, and dynamic hole inspection. The document provides guidance on selecting appropriate test frequencies and probe types for different applications and materials.
Part 4. Applications, practical testing and advanced concepts
J Hansen
Applications Material sorting
Eddy current applications encompass a wide range of capabilities. Non-ferrous metal sorting Here is given a summary of some of these and a discussion about This is conductivity testing, and for dedicated applications a their practical requirements. If we refer to part one of this series we conductivity meter may be a better choice. From the impedance will find the standard equation for calculating the effective depth plane diagram one can observe that the indication from a of penetration. This equation has parameters for resistivity, test conductivity change is essentially the same as from a crack, and frequency, relative magnetic permeability and depth of penetration. both meter and impedance plane type crack detectors can be The change in any one of these parameters gives the basis for successfully used to sort similar metals using a suitable absolute an eddy current. Figure 24 illustrates some of the applications probe. It should be remembered that: possible. q widely different metals may be a similar conductivity; q the allowable values for similar alloys may overlap; q an alloy of one material can, in vastly different states of heat treatment, have the same electrical conductivity; and q there is no direct relationship between conductivity and hardness. However, once these caveats are understood then conductivity measurement can be used as part of a quality control system. Suitable test frequencies used are in the range 10 kHz to 2 MHz, although account should be taken of the material thickness to ensure the depth of penetration is less than one third of the material thickness.
Ferrous metal sorting
Figure 24. Eddy current applications Ferrous material may be sorted using eddy current impedance plane equipment. Unfortunately it is not possible to produce Defect detection quantitative values due to the reading obtained being related to Surface crack detection electrical conductivity, magnetic permeability and the depth of the change in material properties. Frequencies to use are 100 Hz This is normally carried out with pencil probes or pancake type to 10 kHz. The use of two or more frequencies gives additional probes on ferrous or non-ferrous metals. Frequencies from 100 kHz information about the depth of the material properties such as in to a few MHz are commonly used. Depending on surface condition induction hardening. it is usually possible to find cracks 0.1 mm or less in depth. Shielded probes, with their focused field, add the ability to test very Coating thickness assessment close to edges or dissimilar materials such as ferrous fasteners in an In the simple case of a non-conductive coating (for example aluminium structure. paint) on a conductive material, then the eddy current lift of signal Differential probes are sometimes used, particularly in can be used. The probe type to be used should have an absolute automated applications, but care must be taken to ensure that the response with reflection spot face probes offering some advantage orientation of flaws is correct for detection. in temperature stability and frequency range. Higher frequencies Sub-surface crack/corrosion detection are preferred (100 kHz and higher) and for non-ferrous materials it should be checked that the frequency is sufficiently high so as not This is primarily used in airframe inspection. By using a low to be influenced by material thickness (say 10 times that to make frequency and a suitable probe, eddy currents can penetrate the wall thickness equal the effective depth of penetration). aluminium or similar structures to a depth of 10 mm or so, allowing To obtain quantitative readings, a calibration piece with several the detection of second and third layer cracking, which is invisible different thickness of coating in the range of interest is essential, from the surface, or thinning of any of the different layers making and a calibration curve created. up the structure. Some instruments have an intrinsic function as part of Test frequencies are generally in the range 100 Hz to 10 kHz. conductivity measurement for obtaining direct readings. Probe size should also be two or more times wider than the depth For the more complex case where the coating is conductive, then of penetration required. the following needs to be taken into account. The two materials John Hansen, Hocking NDT Ltd, Inspec House, 129-135 Camp Road, must have different conductivities and/or relative permeabilities St Albans, Herts AL1 5HL. UK. Tel: 01727 795509; Fax: 01727 795409; and the top coating must be non-magnetic. Choose a frequency E-mail: [email protected]; web: www.hocking.com that will make the effective depth of penetration equal the nominal
Insight Vol 46 No 8 August 2004 1
wall thickness. If the surface coating has higher resistivity than the Testing may be in-line during manufacture or off line on cut lower coating, then by using a frequency that is sufficiently low to length tube. penetrate the surface coating, results will be similar to that for non- When tubes are welded (usually by the ERW method) the weld conductive coatings. area is the usual site of defects and as the weld position is well controlled, it is more efficient to inspect the weld area only by Wall thickness assessment means of a sector (or saddle) probe. This is possible in the same way as it is possible to determine non-ferrous conductive coating thickness and the same rules apply Ferrous weld inspection about choice of frequency. The geometry and heat-induced material variations around welds in steel would normally prevent inspection with a conventional eddy Tube inspection current probe, however a special purpose WeldScan probe has been developed which allows inspection of welded steel structures Tubes may be inspected from the outer diameter (OD), usually for fatigue-induced cracking. The technique is particularly useful at the time of manufacture and from the inner diameter (ID), as it may be used in adverse conditions, or even underwater, and usually for in-service inspection, particularly for heat exchanger will operate through paint and other corrosion-prevention coatings. inspection. Cracks around 1 mm deep and 6 mm long can be found in typical welds both in the root area and the cap. ID heat exchanger tube testing Heat exchangers used for petrochemical or power generation Dynamic hole inspection applications may have many thousands of tubes, each up to 20 m Here, differential probes are used attached to high-speed rotary long. Using a differential Internal Diameter (ID or bobbin) scanners with test speeds as high as 3000 rev/min then the inner probe, these tubes can be tested at high speed (up to 1 m/s with bore of holes may be inspected rapidly and reliably with the eddy computerised data analysis) and by using phase analysis, defects current technique. Probes may be as small as 1 mm diameter and such as pitting can be assessed to an accuracy of about 5% of tube test frequencies used follow the same rules as for surface defect wall thickness. This allows accurate estimation of the remaining detection. The use of high- and low-pass filters (so called band- life of the tube, allowing operators to decide on appropriate action pass filters) is essential to ensure optimum signal to noise. Target such as tube plugging, tube replacement or replacement of the calibration notch is usually a 0.5 mm corner notch at 45. complete heat exchanger. The operating frequency is determined by the tube material and Practical testing wall thickness, ranging from a few kHz for thick-walled copper tube, up to around 600 kHz for thin-walled titanium. Tubes up Any practical eddy current test will require the following: to around 50 mm diameter are commonly inspected with this q A suitable probe. technique. Inspection of ferrous or magnetic stainless steel tubes is q An instrument with the necessary capabilities. not possible using standard eddy current inspection equipment. q A good idea of size, location and type of the flaws it is desired Dual or multiple frequency inspections are commonly used to find. for tubing inspection, in particular for suppression of unwanted q A knowledge of the material conductivity and whether it is responses due to tube support plates. By subtracting the result magnetic or not. of a lower frequency test (which gives a proportionately greater q A suitable test standard to set up the equipment and verify response from the support) a mixed signal is produced showing correct operation. little or no support plate indication, thus allowing the assessment q A procedure or accept/reject criteria based on the above. of small defects in this area. Further frequencies may be mixed to q The necessary operator expertise to understand and interpret the reduce noise from the internal surface. results.
Remote field Operating frequency
Remote field is a branch of eddy current testing that has evolved Selection of operating frequency is the primary eddy current test over the last decade or so. By using specially designed equipment parameter under operator control. Frequency selection affects and ID probes it is possible to obtain indications of wall thickness both the relative strength of response from different flaws and changes on magnetic material. the phase relationship. Thus, selection of operating frequency is very important in obtaining good resolution of flaw signals in the In-line inspection of tubing presence of other variables which may affect the test. External eddy current encircling test coils are commonly used for Instrument set-up inspecting high quality metal tubing of wall thicknesses less than 6 mm. When the tube is made of a magnetic material there are two While the precise details of setting up an instrument will vary main problems: depending on the type and application, the general procedure q Because of the high permeability, there is little or no is usually the same. Once the application has been tested the penetration of the eddy current field into the tube at practical required values for many test parameters will be known, at least test frequencies. approximately. q Variations in permeability (from many causes) cause eddy 1. Connect up the appropriate probe and set any instrument current responses which are orders of magnitude greater than configuration parameters (mode of operation, display type those from defects. etc.). 2. Set the frequency as required for the test. These problems can be overcome by magnetising the tube using 3. Set gain to an intermediate value, for example 40 dB. a strong DC field. This reduces the effective permeability to a low 4. Move the probe on/over the calibration test-piece and set phase value, thus increasing the depth of penetration and masking the rotation as desired (for example lift-off or wobble horizontal on permeability variations, hence allowing effective testing. a phase plane display). It may help the stability of the readings Ferromagnetic tubing up to around 170 mm diameter are to attenuate the horizontal (x axis) gain by 12 dB (14 of the commonly tested using magnetic saturation and encircling coils. vertical gain).
2 Insight Vol 46 No 8 August 2004
5. Move over the defects and adjust gain (and horizontal/vertical ensure the test signal displays the lowest amount of high-frequency gain ratio if fitted) to obtain the desired trace size/meter noise but high enough to ensure that the smallest target defect is not indication. It may be necessary to re-balance after changing attenuated by the filter (see Figure 25). gain. 6. Further optimise phase rotation as required by setting the Advanced concepts dominant source of noise whilst scanning the probe in the horizontal axis. In this section, a few of the advanced testing concepts are 7. Use filters etc. to further optimise signal-to-noise ratio (see outlined. below). 8. Set alarms etc. as required. Simultaneous use of multiple frequencies 9. Run over the calibration test-piece again and verify that all Choice of frequency determines how well surface and subsurface flaws are clearly detected. defects may be detected. By using more than one frequency it is 10. Perform the test, verifying correct operation at regular intervals possible to achieve both good detection of surface defects and using the calibration test piece. sub-surface defects. Further, generally the more information that is available from a test, the easier it is to categorise difficult-to- Use of filtering interpret defects (for example ferrous inclusions in non-ferrous Searching for defects in an eddy current test conventionally implies material). probe movement. So when indications are detected then, due to Mixing of signals from a test at two frequencies allows the probe size, these will vary with time in a way which is fairly unwanted signals to be suppresses, for example support plate consistent (assuming that the probe movement speed is reasonably signals in heat exchanger inspection. constant). As a result of this speed and the probe size, defects have a characteristic frequency of response (probe width divided by probe speed). For example, if an absolute probe with diameter 2 mm moves over a narrow crack at a speed of 1 m/s the resulting indication will last for approximately 2 ms. If the material composition, thickness or probe lift-off is also varying gradually, the indication from this will change much more slowly. Therefore, a high-pass filter set to a frequency around 100 Hz or so will pass the rapidly changing signal from the defect but not the slowly varying changes. Further rapidly varying signals such as electronic noise or noise caused by surface roughness may be reduced by low-pass filtering. It is good practice to ensure that the low-pass filter is set sufficiently low to
Figure 26. Illustration of mixing
A mix exploits the changes in phase separation and amplitude that occur when testing at different frequencies on an unwanted signal. By suitable manipulation of the phase and x/y gain it is possible to minimise the signal from the unwanted signal, after subtraction of the two frequencies whilst maintaining sensitivity to wanted signals.
Simultaneous use of absolute and differential tests
Differential testing is excellent for finding small defects but can be poor at detecting very large defects. By testing simultaneously in absolute and differential then it is possible to preserve good sensitivity to small defects (for example cracks, small pits) in the differential channel and large defects (for example corrosion, material property changes) in the absolute channel. The risk in both simultaneous testing modes is that the data becomes more complex to analyse whilst not greatly improving the reliability of defect detection.
Spatial considerations in selecting probes
Probe geometry has an influence on the efficiency of an eddy current test. Smaller probe elements will give better signals from smaller Figure 25. Use of high- and low-pass filters defects. Shielded probes will further improve this.
Insight Vol 46 No 8 August 2004 3
Larger probes will allow the eddy current signal to penetrate Advanced Manual For: Eddy Current Test Method more deeply (probe diameter should be typically two times higher CAN/CGSB-48.14-M86, Canadian General Standards Board or more than the depth of the material to be penetrated. Note this ASNT Level III Study Guide: Eddy Current Testing Method means that choice of frequency is not the only consideration in Published in 1983, 72 pages, ASNT. ISBN: 0-931403-80-4 determining depth of signal penetration. Eddy Current Characterization of Materials and Structures Noise sources and how to them minimise Birnbaum & Free. Published June 1, 1981 ASTM There are numerous noise sources in eddy current testing but they ISBN: 0803107528 may be summarised as follows: Eddy Current Testing Theory and Practice q Intrinsic electronic noise from the instrument electronics By E Dane Harvey q External electronic noise also known as electromagnetic Published in 1995, 76 pages. ISBN: 0-57117-007-3 interference q Noise from the material, in that noise can be defined as any Eddy Current Testing signal that may obscure the signal that it is required to detect. By Cecco, Van Drunnen and Sharp Published in 1987, 196 pages, Nicholas Publishing A probe that is well matched to the instrument being used will ISBN: 0-87683-890-5 produce a better signal-to-noise ratio (NOTE: signal-to-noise ratio is the ratio of the wanted to unwanted component, usually Eddy Current Testing expressed in dB). Further larger probes will be better at averaging By Cecco, Van Drunnen and Sharp out noise caused by surface roughness and other small variations. Published in 1987, 196 pages, Nicholas Publishing By ensuring that the probe drive signal is as high as possible, ISBN: 0-87683-890-5 then both forms of electronic noise may be minimised. The probe Electrical and Magnetic Methods of Nondestructive Testing type and whether the instrument electronics become saturated will By Jack Blitz limit this. Published in 1997, Chapman and Hall, 261 pages. ISBN 0-412- External electronic noise is also influenced by the quality of the 79150-1 cables used and earthing of both the test-piece and the instrument. Mathematics Formulas and References for Nondestructive Similarly, the intrinsic electronic noise may be further Testing Eddy Current minimised by using as high an input (or pre-amplifier gain). J Mark Davis and Mike King. Published in 2001, 40 pages. ISBN: Filters may be used to ensure the signal is detected using the 1-884285-02-3 smallest possible bandwidth (NOTE: bandwidth is the numeric difference between the low- and high-pass filters). Nondestructive Testing Handbook, 3rd Edition, Volume 5: The setting of the lift-off signal in the horizontal is one simple Electromagnetic Testing form of optimising the removal of unwanted material signals. Satish S Udpa, (technical editor) and Patrick O Moore, (editor) Using two frequencies or more to minimise unwanted material Published in 2004, 536 pages. ISBN: 1-57117-046-4 (book) signals by mixing can further improve the situation but the 1-57117-116-9 (CD-ROM) electronic noise will generally decrease by 6 dB for each mix. Thanks This concludes the series. John Hansen acknowledges that a great deal of the original material Bibliography in this series was due in part to the work of Joe Buckley whilst he There are a number of excellent books available on eddy current worked at Hocking NDT. Thanks are also due to John Rudlin, John testing: Calvert, Richard Lewis, Don Hocking, Nigel Thorpe and Caroline Akeroyd who contributed to the authors understanding, sometimes without realising it!
Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Engineering College, Perambalur Department of Mechanical Engineering Me8097 / Non-Destructive Testing and Evaluation Question Bank - 2 Marks & 16 Marks