Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Focused Rayleigh Wave EMAT For Characterisation
Focused Rayleigh Wave EMAT For Characterisation
NDT&E International
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ndteint
art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t
Article history: Developments towards higher resolution and the ability to detect small defects are bringing a step-change in
Received 16 December 2015 non-destructive testing. This paper presents a new method for increasing resolution, using a focused elec-
Received in revised form tromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) optimised to generate Rayleigh waves at 2 MHz. This high fre-
3 March 2016
quency allows detection of mm-depth defects, and the focusing allows sizing of much shorter defects than is
Accepted 11 March 2016
Available online 12 March 2016
possible when using standard EMATs. The focusing behaviour and the aperture angle effect are analysed
using laser vibrometry and finite element modelling, showing that a reduced aperture shifts the focal point
Keywords: from the designed value and increases the focal depth. The dual-EMAT has excellent signal to noise ratio (up
Ultrasonics to 30 dB) and has been used in single shot mode to image a variety of surface-breaking defects, including
EMAT
detecting and positioning a pair of real defects in an aluminium billet sample, and a machined defect of
Focusing
2 mm length, 0.2 mm width, and 1.5 mm depth, giving an upper limit on the defect length of 2:1 7 0:5 mm.
Rayleigh wave
The results can be used to design an EMAT with optimised focal behaviour for defect detection.
& 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ndteint.2016.03.002
0963-8695/& 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
C.B. Thring et al. / NDT&E International 81 (2016) 20–27 21
Fig. 3. (a) Bird's eye view of sample scanning set up, (b) cross-section of a
machined angled defect, (c) cross-section of a laser-micromachined slot defect. 3. Results and discussion
be seen at just after 30 μs. The same processing was performed on The beam profile generated by the EMAT is shown in Fig. 6(a).
all the data presented in this work including models, and all of the This plot was created by summing the cross-correlated data from
EMAT detected signals are single shot; no averaging was required each spatial element in the scan over time for 50 μs, such that
due to the high signal to noise ratio (SNR) obtained following regions where the beam passes through appear as bright areas on
EMAT optimisation. the figure. The noise speckles in the measured data are due to
To study the beam profile and the focusing of the generation artifacts of the laser vibrometer setup caused by low reflectivity at
EMAT, the out-of-plane surface displacement generated on a certain locations, and the beam is at a slight angle to the
C.B. Thring et al. / NDT&E International 81 (2016) 20–27 23
Fig. 6. (a) 2D laser vibrometer scan of the surface of an aluminium block (0.5 mm spatial resolution). (b) FE model of the scan, (c) FE model of a linear EMAT coil. The grey
scale shows normalised signal power (linear scaling from 0 to 1) after summation over 50 μs of time.
24 C.B. Thring et al. / NDT&E International 81 (2016) 20–27
Fig. 10. Laser-EMAT B-scan of an aluminium block sample surface for generation using (a) 11° aperture coil, and (b) 20° aperture coil. The first three positions show noise
only as the laser beam was over the magnet.
Fig. 11. B-scan results from the 20 mm length defect, characterised in Fig. 3. Fig. 13. A comparison plot of the maximum returned signal from each position in
Scanning was along the focal axis. Grey scale shows relative signal power. the transverse scans of the wedge defects outlined in Fig. 3, with the dashed lines
indicating the actual defect positions.
defect is smaller than the focal size and hence some of the Ray- The previous data indicates that a level of 30% of the maximum
leigh wave is transmitted around and underneath the defect, signal should give the best length measurement, however, as this
giving a smaller SNR. The weaker, constant arrival time (vertical) defect was considerably smaller than the previous ones tested, and
signals are signals generated within the NdFeB magnet and its is in fact smaller than the beam width of the ultrasound signal, it
nickel coating, which can be significantly reduced by using returns a much weaker signal. In this case a level of 30% of the
improved shielding between coil and magnet. Fig. 16 shows the peak signal would put the measurement in the background noise.
maximum signal found at each position from the scan in Fig. 15. The length of the main signal at a level just above that of the noise,
Fig. 12. Transverse scans of the angled defects as detailed in Fig. 3, with lengths of : (a) 20 mm, (b) 10 mm, and (c) 5 mm. Grey scale shows relative signal power.
26 C.B. Thring et al. / NDT&E International 81 (2016) 20–27
4. Conclusions
Fig. 14. The defect length measurement's dependence on the signal level used to The new focused Rayleigh wave dual-EMAT has been fully
indicate the presence of a defect. Dashed lines indicate actual defect lengths. characterised. The strongest side lobes of the generated Rayleigh
wave are approximately 10 dB below the main beam near the focal
point, giving a well-focused illumination signal with a minimum
beam width at the focal point of 3.0 70.5 mm. A narrower coil
aperture was found to increase the focal depth but give a shorter
focal point distance. Optimisation techniques have been used in
the design and construction to enable single shot operation. The
dual-EMAT has been used for fast scanning of aluminium samples,
with a typical SNR of 30 dB. A length measurement accuracy of
0.8 mm was found on machined 25° angled defects, with a cut-off
signal level of 30% of the maximum signal during the B-scan giving
the best length accuracy. A laser-micro-machined slot defect of
length 2 mm, width 0.2 mm, and depth 1.5 mm was accurately
detected to show the resolution potential.
While having a defect at the focal point returns the strongest
signal, the relatively long focal depth (E 21 mm) of the generation
coil means defects not precisely at the focal point will still return
Fig. 15. Transverse scan results of the micro-machined slot defect.
appreciable signals. Defects can then be pin-pointed by using time
of flight measurements or a more detailed 2D raster scan of the
sample. As such, reduction of the focal depth is unlikely to greatly
enhance defect detection in typical industrial applications. It is,
however, possible to optimise the EMAT coils for specific focusing
characteristics depending on the application requirements and the
focal properties required. Improvements to the EMAT design can
be made using knowledge of the aperture effect, ensuring that the
smaller generation coil has a focal point equal to that of the
detection coil, while keeping both coils small enough to sit under
the same magnet without significantly increasing transducer size.
Acknowledgements
References
[1] Thayer P. RCNDE industrial members vision for the future requirements for
NDE. Insight 2012;54:124–7.
[2] Rose JL. Ultrasonic waves in solid media. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge Uni-
versity Press; 1999.
[3] Dewhurst RJ, Edwards C, Palmer SB. Noncontact detection of surface-breaking
cracks using a laser acoustic source and an electromagnetic acoustic receiver.
Appl Phys Lett 1986;49:374–6.
[4] Hirao M, Ogi H. EMATs for science and industry: noncontacting ultrasonic
measurements. Boston: Kluwer Academic Publishers; 2003.
[5] Alers GA, Maclauchlan DT. High frequency, angle beam EMATs for weld
inspection. Rev Prog Quant Nondestruct Eval 1983;2A:271–81.
[6] Ogi H, Hirao M, Ohtani T. Line-focusing electromagnetic acoustic transducers
for the detection of slit defects. IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control
1999;46:341–6.
[7] Jian X, Baillie I, Dixon S. Steel billet inspection using laser-EMAT system. J Phys
Fig. 17. Transverse scan results of the real defect (Fig. 4). D: Appl Phys 2007;40:1501–6.
C.B. Thring et al. / NDT&E International 81 (2016) 20–27 27
[8] Baillie I, Griffith P, Jian X, Dixon S. Implementing an ultrasonic inspection [22] Wang X, Littman MG, McManus JB, Tadi M, Kim YS, Askar A, Rabitz H. Focused
system to find surface and internal defects in hot, moving steel using EMATs. bulk ultrasonic waves generated by ring-shaped laser illumination and
In: 45th annual British conference on NDT; 2006. application to flaw detection. J Appl Phys 1996;80(8):4274.
[9] Petcher PA, Potter MDG, Dixon S. A new electromagnetic acoustic transducer [23] Stratoudaki T, Hernandez JA, Clark M, Somekh MG. Cheap optical transducers
(EMAT) design for operation on rail. Non-Destr Test Eval Int 2014;65:1–7. (CHOTs) for narrowband ultrasonic applications. Meas Sci Technol
[10] Tretheway KR. Some observations on the current status in the understanding 2007;18:843–51.
of stress-corrosion cracking of stainless steels. Mater Des 2008;29:501–7. [24] Gutfeld R, Vigliotti DR, Ih CS, Scott WR. Thermoelastic hologram for focused
[11] Grassie SL. Rolling contact fatigue on the British railway system: treatment. ultrasound. Appl Phys Lett 1983;42:1018.
Wear 2005;258:1310–8. [25] Kim H, Jhang K, Shin M, Kim J. A noncontact NDE method using a laser gen-
[12] Fan Y, Dixon S, Edwards RS, Jian X. Ultrasonic surface wave propagation and erated focused Lamb wave with enhanced defect-detection ability and spatial
interaction with surface defects on rail track head. NDT & E Int 2007;40:471–7. resolution. NDT & E Int 2006;39:312–9.
[13] Rosli MH, Edwards RS, Fan Y. In-plane and out-of plane measurements of [26] Takishita T, Ashida K, Nakamura N, Ogi H, Hirao M. Development of shear-
vertical-wave point-focusing electromagnetic acoustic transducer. Jpn J Appl
Rayleigh waves using EMATs for characterising surface cracks. NDT & E Int
Phys 2015;54:07HC04.
2012;49:1–9.
[27] Wang S, Su R, Chen X, Kang L, Zhai G. Numerical and experimental analysis of
[14] Boonsang S, Dewhurst RJ. Enhancement of laser-ultrasound/electromagnetic
unidirectional meander-line coil electromagnetic acoustic transducers. IEEE
acoustic transducer signals from Rayleigh wave interaction and surface fea-
Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control 2013;60:2657–64.
tures. Appl Phys Lett 2003;82:3348–50. [28] American Society for Testing and Materials, Standard practice for ultrasonic
[15] Edwards RS, Dutton B, Clough AR. Interaction of laser generated ultrasonic examinations using electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) techniques,
waves with wedge-shaped samples. Appl Phys Lett 2012;100:184102. Designation: E; 1996. p. 1816–96.
[16] Ringsberg JW. Life prediction of rolling contact fatigue crack initiation. Int J [29] Yacoubian A. Optics essentials: an interdisciplinary guide. Boca Raton, FL: CRC
Fatigue 2001;23:575–86. Press; 2014.
[17] Deutsch WAK, Cheng A, Achenbach JD. Focusing of Rayleigh waves: simulation [30] Dixon S, Edwards C, Palmer SB. Rayleigh wave dispersion on extruded alu-
and experiments. IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control 1983;2A:333– minium. Insight 1998;40:634–5.
40. [31] Dixon S, Cann B, Carroll DL, Fan Y, Edwards RS. Non-linear enhancement of
[18] Kim BG, Lee JO, Lee S. New design and analysis for point-focusing of surface laser generated ultrasonic Rayleigh waves by cracks. Non-Destr Test Eval
waves in contact testing. IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control 2008;23:25–34.
1993;40:162–6. [32] Cullen WH. Automated test methods for fracture and fatigue crack growth: a
[19] Deutsch WAK, Cheng A, Achenbach JD. Self-focusing of rayleigh waves and symposium sponsored by ASTM: Committees E-9 on fatigue and E-24 on
lamb waves with a linear phased array. Res Nondestr Eval 1997;9:81–95. fracture testing, Pittsburg, PA: ASTM International; 1983.
[20] Dixon S, Harrison T, Fan Y, Petcher PA. Thermoelastic laser generated ultra- [33] Jian X, Dixon S, Palmer SB. In-plane and out-of-plane particle velocity mea-
sound using a ring source. J Phys D: Appl Phys 2012;45:175103. surement using electromagnetic acoustical transducers. IEEE Ultrason Symp
[21] Cielo P, Nadeau F, Lamontagne M. Laser generation of convergent acoustic 2005;1–4:1276–9.
waves for materials inspection. Ultrasonics 1985;23:55–62.