Materials Science, Vol. 42, No.

4, 2006

EDDY-CURRENT FLAW DETECTION IN STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

V. M. Uchanin UDC 629.179.14

We describe promising directions in the development of the eddy-current method for the flaw
detection of structural elements. We show the possibilities of subsurface flaw location based on
the use of low working frequencies and quantitative control with the identification and evaluation
of parameters of the found defects. The possibilities of applying high working frequencies for
the control of thin surface layers of an article and low-conducting materials are described. We
present also the possibilities of new eddy-current converters and flaw detectors as well as testing
technologies developed on the basis of their application. Finally, we describe new methods of
information processing, in particular, the two-dimensional visualization of testing results.

At present, the eddy-current method (ECM) of nondestructive testing (NDT) is taking on greater and
greater significance for providing the reliability of critical objects of long-term operation, in particular, in avia-
tion, power engineering, and oil, gas, and chemical industry [1 – 5]. It is important that eddy-current control can
be realized without contact with the controlled object (CO), which guarantees its immediacy and possibility of
automation. One can move the eddy-current converter (ECC) with respect to the surface of the CO with high ve-
locity, which results in a high productivity of this method. It is important that surface contamination, moisture,
and radioactive emission do not affect the signal of the ECC. In general, it is multiparametric: it depends on the
electrophysical and geometrical characteristics of the material of the CO as well as on its discontinuities (de-
fects). This fact enables one to solve the problems of flaw detection, to evaluate changes in the structure of ma-
terials (connected, e.g., with the quality of thermal treatment or the degradation of the material), and to measure
the geometrical parameters of the CO (the thickness of sheets and pipes, the diameter of wires and bars, gaps be-
tween shells, the thickness of protective coatings of various types, etc.). For a long time, the positive properties
of the ECM were not known completely, which hindered its practical application.
This method of NDT has come a long way in its development, in the course of which numerous restrictions
declared at the beginning of its formation have been eliminated. In particular, it was not recommended for con-
trolling ferromagnetic materials due to the possible influence of the inhomogeneity of magnetic permeability.
However, at present, there are many examples of successive application of the ECM for the flaw detection of
ferromagnetic materials. Even in the case of high inhomogeneity of the magnetic properties of the CO, the influ-
ence of this feature can be reduced by biasing with a constant field or by using multifrequency methods of eddy-
current control or differential ECC [3 – 5].
As an example of serious understanding of the role of the ECM, we should mention Germany. Here, this
method is being studied in leading universities and institutes, such as the Fraunhofer Institute of Nondestructive
Testing (Saarbrücken), VAM (Berlin), and Otto von Guericke Magdeburg University. The development and
manufacture of instruments for eddy-current control as well as their introduction and service are the object of
work of 32 firms, many of which are world leaders. First of all, this is the pioneering work of the ECM–
Dr. Foerster Institute. Instruments for eddy-current control and the corresponding technologies developed by the
German firms Rohmann GmbH, Test Maschinen Technik, Pruftechnik, Siemens NDT, etc. are also well known
in the world.
Karpenko Physicomechanical Institute, Ukrainian Academy of Sciences, Lviv.

Translated from Fizyko-Khimichna Mekhanika Materialiv, Vol. 42, No. 4, pp. 66 – 73, July – August, 2006. Original article submitted
June 25, 2006.

494 1068–820X/06/4204–0494 © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

The limited space of this paper does not enable us to analyze the state of the ECM in detail. Therefore, we
describe only the basic achievements, which, in our opinion, will determine the tendencies of development of the
ECM.

Development of Methods for the Location of Latent Subsurface Defects

For a long time, it was customary to think that the ECM is unsuitable for the location of subsurface defects
due to the strong influence of the skin effect. This opinion was valid for the first eddy-current flaw detectors
(ECFD), working on high frequencies and identifying only surface cracks. However, already in the seventies of
the last century, the first low-frequency ECFD were developed at the Physicomechanical Institute of the Ukrain-
ian Academy of Sciences. These instruments made it possible to find defects in nonferromagnetic alloys at
depths up to 7 mm. Furthermore, methods were proposed for selective flaw location at a given depth, in particu-
lar, under the skin in multilayer aircraft constructions [6 – 8]. Approximately at this period, similar instruments
appeared abroad. It should be noted that there are no alternatives to the ECM for flaw location in the internal
layers of multilayer aircraft constructions or under a sealant.
The attenuation of eddy currents is evaluated by the standard depth of their penetration δ. This parameter
is calculated depending on the specific conductance and magnetic permeability of the material of the CO and
working frequency from the relation for a plane electromagnetic wave [1]. Most probably, the parameter δ
characterizes the material (but not the properties of eddy-current control) since the eddy-current density outside
this zone is fairly sufficient for obtaining information on the state of these layers. Hence, the notion of actual
depth of the penetration of eddy currents, equal to 2.8δ, was introduced. For evaluating the real possibilities of
the location of internal defects, the concept of “depth of the penetration of eddy currents restricted by noises”
was proposed. It was shown that the level of noises is the sole restriction for the achievement of the necessary
depth of control, and procedures for its determination under actual conditions were proposed [2, 9, 10].
To investigate the limiting possibilities of the ECM as to the depth of control, we proposed the physical
model of a “quasiinfinite” crack in the form of a butt of two plates 20 mm in thickness, made of D16 aluminum
alloy and covered with a set of thin sheets 0.9 mm in thickness of the same alloy [2]. The signal from such a
“quasiinfinite” crack will strongly depend only on the depth of occurrence of the defect (the number of upper
sheets) but not on its sizes. These investigations were carried out with the use of a Leotest MDF 3301-type low-
frequency ECC with a diameter of the working surface of 33 mm. By means of comparative analysis of the sig-
nals from such a defect under a set of sheets with a total thickness H r = 27.9 mm on a working frequency of
70 Hz (Fig. 1a) and Hr = 28.8 mm on a frequency of 50 Hz (Fig. 1b) as well as from interferences (Fig. 1c) in
the complex plane (the upper part of Fig. 1) and with time scanning (the lower part), we have shown that the sig-
nal strength from defects with such depth of occurrence exceeds that from interferences by more than 6 dB (or
twice).
These studies demonstrated the possibility to detect coarse defects with fairly large depths of occurrence,
which exceed significantly the existing concepts on the applicability of the ECM [2, 10].

Passage from Flaw Detection to Defectometry

The present-day development of NDT is characterized by the passage from qualitative control according to
the principle “there is a defect or there are no defects” to quantitative with determining the parameters of the
found defects [11, 12]. This is important in the course of operation of critical constructions, where quantitative
information gives an impartial assessment of defects for determining the lifetime of products. Quantitative con-
trol is not less important in industry, where the quality of products depends on the parameters of defects.
496 V. M. UCHANIN

Fig. 1. Signals of ECC from a defect under sheets with a depth of occurrence Hr = 27.9 mm (a) and 28.8 mm (b) and signals from
interferences (c).

In general, the problem of finding the parameters of defects is fairly complex. For the complete assessment
of a defect, it is necessary to determine its type, length (for cracks) or effective diameter (for local defects), depth
of a crack, its slope with respect to the surface of the CO, and also the depth of occurrence for subsurface de-
fects. For this purpose, approaches based on correlations between the parameters of defects and the signals of
ECC are usually applied. Here, preference is given to the information parameters of the signal having invariant
properties with respect to the affecting factors. It is customary to assume that the shape and parameters of the
signal hodograph in the complex plane are determined completely by the type and characteristics of the defect
under consideration [12].
In general, this problem can be solved on the basis of automated systems of eddy-current control, which
govern the scanning of surface of the CO with recording the coordinates of the ECC and information processing.
The present-day systems of quantitative control possess learning functions and improve their characteristics in
the course of operation, which enables us to refer to them as intelligence systems. The intellectual systems of
quantitative eddy-current control with the use of artificial neural networks were analyzed earlier [13]. However,
evaluating the prospects of these investigations, we should say that they are still experimental and have not ob-
tained practical application.
Engineering practice advances a series of problems of quantitative control, where one can reach the desired
result by relatively simple methods. For example, in practice, one can often meet the problem of determining the
depth of long surface cracks. As is well known, the crack length does not affect the signal of ECC if the former
exceeds at least twice the diameter of ECC, which simplifies significantly this problem. As an example, we may
mention here the determination of defect depth with the help of a VD-30 NK eddy-current flaw detector at the
close corporation “RAKS” (Dniprodzerzhyns’k). Using the results of preliminary investigations, researchers
“have sewn” the corresponding characteristic to the memory of the flaw detector, which enabled them to record
directly the defect depth in millimeters accurate within 10% in the range of depths up to 3 mm. This error in-
creases for larger depths and reaches 25% of the defect depth. However, this accuracy turned out sufficient for
decreasing spoilage with the use of the VD-30 NK instrument by means of removal of the defective layers of ini-
tially rejected articles within the limits of the admissible size [4].
E DDY-CURRENT F LAW DETECTION IN STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS 497

Fig. 2. Signals from internal (ID), external (OD), and technological (TD) defects in low-conducting ceramics at a working frequency
of 4 MHz.

Note that the problem of quantitative control even in a simplified statement differs substantially from the
usual problem of flaw location. It is necessary here to define new criteria for selecting the optimal parameters of
control. Detecting a defect, one selects the optimal parameters of control from the condition of guaranteeing the
maximum threshold of sensitivity, and, in the case of quantitative control, the optimal choice consists of provid-
ing the necessary sensitivity within the given range of variation of the measured parameter. It is no less impor-
tant to study the additional measurement errors connected with changes in the factors affecting the signal of ECC
and to develop methods for decreasing these errors. Among the factors that can affect substantially the measure-
ment error, one should mention, in particular, changes in the gap between the ECC and the surface of the CO as
well as variations of the electrophysical parameters of the material. For quantitative control, it is necessary to
change cardinally the simplified measurement assurance of flaw detectors, where, in fact, only the threshold of
sensitivity is standardized. New, in principle, metrological approaches and the corresponding means for the
measurement assurance of eddy-current flaw detectors should be developed.

Extension of the Working Frequency Band

In the course of its development, the ECM mastered more and more low and high working frequencies [14,
15]. The use of low working frequencies is described above, and, hence, we dwell briefly on the possibilities of
high frequencies. Owing to the mastering of working frequencies higher than 2 to 3 MHz, it became possible
to detect defects in low-conducting materials with a specific conductance less than 1 MSm / m, to which belong
numerous composite materials, coal-plastics, and certain kinds of ceramics. The use of working frequencies of
the order of several hundreds of MHz opens unique possibilities. In this case, eddy currents are localized in a
thin surface layer, which increases the sensitivity and resolving power of the ECM. In particular, this approach
is applied in the eddy-current structuroscopy of gas-saturated layers of titanium alloys [14].
With the use of a Leotest MDF 0501-type high-frequency ECC, we have developed the technology of de-
tecting internal and external defects of pipes made of special low-conducting ceramics (specific conductance less
than 0.1 MSm / m). The external diameter of these pipes was 21 mm, and their wall thickness was 2.2 mm. The
residual magnetization of their material and ovality were additional sources of interferences in the course of con-
trol.
We carried out control under dynamic conditions, rotating the ECC around the pipe, on a working fre-
quency of 4 MHz. Artificial crack-like defects of length 15 mm and width 0.5 mm were sawn through. We
found an internal defect of depth 1.5 mm and an external one of depth 0.5 mm (Fig. 2). Making internal artifi-
cial defects, we slit the specimens of pipes into two halves and glued them together afterwards. In such a way,
498 V. M. UCHANIN

we formed technological through defects, the signals from which are also seen in the defectogram (TD in Fig. 2).
We used here relatively low (as for a material with such conductance) working frequencies. This is connected
with the necessity to detect not only surface but also internal defects.
High working frequencies can be used for the location of small defects in graphite materials, the evaluation
of wear of the calorized layers of blades made of high-temperature steels, the determination of the initial stages
of intercrystalline damages of austenitic steels, etc. [14, 15].

Development of Selective ECC

Successes in the solution of problems in the eddy-current flaw detection depend, first of all, on the charac-
teristics of the ECC, in particular, on its sensitivity to defects in a material with given electrophysical parameters.
The best converters have to be selective, i.e., invariant to hindering factors.
For the solution of nonstandard problems of NDT, we developed new selective Leotest MDF-type eddy-
current converters [16, 17]. They were adapted for work with the following flaw detectors: ELOTEST of the
firm Rohmann, EDDYMAX of the firm Test Maschinen Technik, OKO-1 and VD 3-71 (research-and-produc-
tion firm “Promprylad,” Kyiv) as well as with instruments of the firm Hocking NDT Ltd and MFEC-4. The pos-
sibilities of these ECC were studied at the Magdeburg and Uppsala Universities, the Fraunhofer Institute of Non-
destructive Testing, the firm Kontroltechnik GmbH, and the research-and-production firm “Promprylad” [17,
18]. We have established that these ECC, as compared with standard ones,

— are more sensitive to short cracks and pore- or pitting-type local defects,

— suppress better the primary electromagnetic field and the effect of gap,

— possess higher resolving power and better locality of control, larger control zone with high resolving
power, and larger depth of control on low working frequencies,

— are more sensitive in the case of control through an air gap or a dielectric layer,

— have smaller sizes for low-frequency ECC (the best ratio between the sizes and the depth of control),

— offer the possibility to determine the parameters of defects.

Based on the Leotest MDF-type ECC, we have developed new, in principle, technologies and means for the
control of critical articles and assemblies, including:

— location of pores of diameter more than 0.8 mm at depths up to 4 mm in copper elements of the struc-
tures of nuclear power plants [17],

— 64-channel highly productive system of recording defects in hot aluminum sheets [18],

— eight-channel system for the control of fillet and lap welds of ferromagnetic steels through a layer of
protective coating of thickness up to 7 mm [5],

— location of defects under a repair strap, through a layer of sealant of thickness up to 4 mm in the
tanks of torsion boxes of airplanes, and through a chromium layer in the rods of shock absorbers [8],
E DDY-CURRENT F LAW DETECTION IN STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS 499

— detection of cracks that do not go out from under the head of rivets of different types [19],

— location of defects in the drums of aircraft wheels of airplanes of the firm Boeing [20],

— automatic system KRAB for finding defects on the external and internal surfaces of pipes (of diameter
102 mm and wall thickness 15 mm) made of 40Kh25N20 stainless steel for control from without
[21].

Development of Present-Day Universal ECFD

In practice, eddy-current flaw detectors directed to the solution of a certain single problem were applied for
a long time. These instruments enable one to connect a certain type of ECC and operate on one or (seldom) sev-
eral working frequencies. In the late eighties of the last century, leading firms developed universal ECFD, which
enable one to carry out control in a wide range of working frequencies and connect ECC of different types.
These flaw detectors provide observation of the signal of ECC in the complex plane (mode X / Y) or recording
of the real (vertical) or imaginary (horizontal) component of this signal under conditions of time scanning
(modes Y / T or X / T) on a CRT screen. In order to avoid the influence of interferences, one rotates the complex
plane from 0 to 360° and connects low- and high-pass filters by adjusting the cutoff frequency. In the case of
using two filters simultaneously, we provide the conditions of a band-pass filter, which makes it possible to con-
trol not only under the static but also under the dynamic mode. Having these ECFD, we can solve various prob-
lems owing to the choice of the type of ECC and working frequency. Obviously, due to the absence of universal
domestic ECFD, the development of the ECM in Ukraine was restrained. For recent years, universal flaw detec-
tors of the type OKO-01 and VD 3-71 were created at the research-and-production firm “Promprylad” [22].
They can work under the mode of calibration by specimens with defects of different depths. Using this mode,
the operator can record the signal amplitudes and the defect sizes corresponding to them as well as form the cor-
responding correlation. This dependence is recorded in the memory of the flaw detector and used for automatic
evaluation of the defect depth, which simplifies the realization of the technologies of quantitative control. Based
on these flaw detectors, using Leotest MDF-type selective ECC, one can realize the new technologies of eddy-
current control described above, for which fairly expensive German flaw detectors were applied earlier.

Development of New Methods for the Processing and Representation of Information

In the eddy-current flaw detection, the modern methods of signal processing and information representation
based on the consecutive interpretation of large data arrays are used more and more often. For the identification
and analysis of the signals of ECC, different clusterizing algorithms, two-dimensional digital filters, methods for
the reconstruction of defects with the help of holographic principles, and algorithms of fuzzy logic and neural
networks are used [13]. Methods for the two-dimensional visualization of the results of eddy-current control are
also being developed [23]. In Fig. 3, we show a two-dimensional halftone defectogram of the eddy-current con-
trol of a weld with three cracks, situated in its middle and on both sides from it. These results were obtained on a
working frequency of 20 kHz with the help of a computer system of eddy-current control and a Leotest MDF
1201-type ECC.
Two-dimensional visualization with the use of an ECC with high resolving power enables one to emphasize
the specific features of structure of the material (Fig. 4). Both methods make it possible to observe a characteris-
tic austenitic matrix with developed dendritic formations. Note that, for eddy-current investigations, it is not
necessary to polish and pickle specimens, which makes this technology less labor consuming.
500 V. M. UCHANIN

Fig. 3. Two-dimensional defectogram of the control of a weld.

Fig. 4. Results of the metallographic (a) and eddy-current (b) investigations of a specimen of chromium cast iron.

The principles of eddy-current tomography, offering the possibility to obtain and analyze sections of the
CO in different planes, are the most promising [24]. At present, its application is limited due to the low speed of
response of the existing tomographic systems.
Thus, the methods and means for eddy-current nondestructive testing, developed in Ukraine, can be suc-
cessfully used for the diagnostics of the technical state of critical objects in different branches of industry.

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