EDDY CURRENT TESTING

Introduction
 Also known as Foucault currents or induced
currents
 Use a varying magnetic field produced by a test
coil to induce small, circulating currents called
eddy currents into electrically conductive materials
 Any change in the eddy currents is reflected by a
change in the test coil impedance
 The effect is analogous to a transformer, with
specimen acting as transformer core
 Most widely applied to non-magnetic materials,
because the relative permeability is unity
History
H.C. Oersted 1819 Change of electric current affected a magnet
W. Sturgeon 1823 Copper wire around a horseshoe produced an electromagnet
Gamby 1824 Oscillations of suspended bar magnet damped by presence of metal
Plate
J. B. Foucault 1830 Demonstrated existence of eddy currents
M. Faraday 1832 Law of electromagnetic induction
D.E. Hughes 1879 Electric pulses from a microphone coil to induce eddy currents in
metals for NDT
F. Krantz 1920 Wall thickness measurements
C. Farrow 1925 Eddy current inspection testing of steel tubes on an industrial scale
Reutlingen 1948 Development of eddy current instrumentation
Institute, Germany
H.G. Doll 1949 Eddy current in geology
F. Forster 1954 Impedance plane diagram. Used model of mercury conductor with
plastic trips as discontinuities
Basic Principles
 Faraday's law states that, whenever a magnetic field
cuts a conductor, an electrical current will flow in the
conductor, if a closed path is provided over which
current can circulate
 The alternating current flowing through the test coil
produces an alternating magnetic field around the coil

Coil’s
Magnetic field
As coil’s magnetic field
Test coil alternates eddy currents flow in
one direction and then the other

Eddy
Current
Material path
Basic Principles

 The flow of eddy currents in the material causes

a fluctuating magnetic field of its own
 This magnetic field is always in opposition to
the coil's magnetic field
Indicating
instrument
Test coil’s

Direction of coil’s field

Direction of eddy current’s field

Test materials
Eddy currents
Basic Principles
 V = i R (for dc) (Ohm’s law)
R = resistance
 V = i Z (for ac) L = inductance
I = I0 sin ω t Z = impedance
ω=2πυ
ω = angular frequency

V – L di/dt = i R
VL = -L di/dt = - L ω i0 cos ωt = - XL i0 cos ωt
V - XL i0 cos ωt = i0 R sin ωt
V = i0 ( R sin ωt + XL cos ωt )
Z = R sin ωt + XL cos ωt
Basic Principles
 When the test coil is placed on conductive material,
the strength of the coil's magnetic field is reduced
 This change in the magnetic field causes a
change in the impedance of the coil which, in
turn, causes a change in the current flowing
through the coil.
 This change is detected by a meter placed in the
test circuit
 anything that affects the eddy currents will affect
the impedance of the coil and, thus, be detectable
by the meter.
Objectives/Applications
 Surface and sub-surface discontinuities
in metallic surfaces, cracks, pits,
scratches,
 Intergranullar corrosion in tubes and
pipes depending on metals involves
 Heat treatment crack in non-ferrous
surface
 Conductivity measurement for
determining fire damaged area
 Coating and metal sheet thicknesses
Advantages

 Instantaneous result
 Sensitiveto a range of physical
properties
 Contact
between inspection coil
and specimen not required
 Equipment small and self contained
 Canbe miniaturized to observe
discontinuities as small as 1 mm3
Limitations
 Specimen must conductor materials
 Access to materials surface required
 Special probe required for each applications
 Depth of penetration restricted
 Trained and experienced operator required
 Sensitive to combinations and variations in
materials
 No permanent records
 Reference standard required
Inspection System
1. Source of varying magnetic field, for
example, a coil carrying an alternating
current of frequencies ranging from well
below 1 kHz to above 10 MHz (a pulsed
source may also be used)
2. Sensor to detect minute changes in the
magnetic field (~ 0.01%), for example,
inspection coil or Hall gaussmeter
3. Electronic circuitry to aid the interpretation
of the magnetic field change
Inspection System
Inspection Coils Types

Inside/bobbin coils

Flat pancake coils

Encircling coils
Inspection Coils Types

Flat surface coils

Encircling coils

Bobbin coils
Inspection Coils System

 Single Coil as a Combined Induction-Receiver.

The change of impedance of the coil (or coils)
is determined in the same coil (or coils) used to
generate the magnetic field (fig a.)
 Separate Induction-Receiver Coils. The induced
magnetic field is measured by a separate coil.
Decreasing the size of the inspection coils is an
advantage, and also the coil can be enclosed in
a magnetic shield using mu-metal, when the
coil is considered focused. (fig b. and c.)
 Hall effect device is used to sense the eddy
current magnetic field
Inspection Coils System
Detector System
Effect of Discontinuity
 The presence of a non-conducting discontinuity
such as a crack or non-metallic inclusion, is to
impede and effectively reduce the eddy currents.
 This will result in an increase in impedance which
will be detectable by the instrument
 The instrument is then telling us is that there is
something present in the surface which has
caused an effective decrease in conductivity - no
matter what the manufacturer of the instrument
may call it, it is not essentially a "crack detector"
but rather a "change in electrical/magnetic
properties detector".
 The decision as to whether a crack is present is
made by the inspector and not the instrument !
Oscilloscope Displays
Oscilloscope Displays
Impedance Test
 Measures the magnitude of the impedance with no
information about the phase change
 The balanced bridge method is set up so that there is no
signal through the meter when the inspection coil is
against the surface of a specimen of good condition
 When the inspection coil is in the presence of a
discontinuity, the bridge is now unbalanced resulting in a
potential difference across the meter
Frequencies
 At the lower frequency, depth of penetration ‘σ’ is relatively
high, but sensitivity is relatively low
Frequencies
 Selection factors (depends on specimen) :
 Electrical conductivity
 Magnetic permeability
 Dimension
 Cylindrical specimen ; characteristic frequency (vc )

1
vc 
2  r 2  r 0 

1
 Thin-walled tubes v 2
   r 0 
Specimens
 Fundamental properties of materials that affect the eddy
currents :
 The electrical conductivity of the material
 The dimensions of the material
 The magnetic permeability of the material
 Metal condition (alloy, hardness, homogeneity, grain size)
 Discontinuities in specimen
 Testing conditions :
 Distance between coil and specimen lift-off
 Alternating current frequency, coil size, number of turn
Conductivity
 The ability of the material Metal or Alloy Conductivity (%IACS)
to carry electrical current Silver 105
Copper, annealed 100
 the IACS system the Gold 70
conductivity of unalloyed Aluminium 61
(pure) annealed copper is Aluminium alloys:
arbitrarily selected as the 6061-T6 42
standard 7075-T6 32
2024-T4 40
 Each type of material has Magnesium 37
an inherent conductivity 70-30 Brass 28
that is different from that Phosphor Bronze 11
of other types of material Monel 3.6
Titanium 3.1
 The higher the
Ti-6Al-4V Alloy 1.0
conductivity, the more 304 Stainless Steel 2.5
sensitive the test
Conductivity

 There are some internal factors that affecting

the conductivity of material :
 Alloying : Each metal or chemical element has an
individual effect on the conductivity of the base
metal. The conductivity of the base metal is
changed to a value related to the composition of
the alloy
 Heat-treatment or Hardness : The change in
hardness is brought about by an internal change
in the material
 Temperature and Residual Stress : An increase in
temperature normally results in a decrease in
conductivity
 Conductive Coatings
Dimensional Factors
 Material Thickness
 Eddy currents do not penetrate throughout a thick
material but tend to be concentrated near the surface
 Thus, there is a finite, or limited depth of penetration
Dimensional Factors
 Lift-off Factor
 any space that occurs between the test coil and the specimen
under test
 This effect is greatest when the coil is close to the surface,
when very small changes in lift-off can result in relatively large
instrument responses, which can swamp other test indications
Dimensional Factors
 Edge Effect
 eddy currents are distorted when the end, or an edge, of a
part is approached with the test coil since the eddy currents
can only flow in the test article
 A similar effect is apparent at the junctions between sections
Standard for Depth of Penetration
 Depth of penetration of eddy currents below the surface is
limited
 intensity decreases exponentially with depth
 The "standard depth of penetration" is defined as that depth at
which their intensity has fallen to 1/e (where ‘e’ is the natural
logarithm) of their value at the surface

K
S
 r 
S = the standard depth of penetration
σ = the conductivity of the material
υ = the frequency
μr = the relative magnetic permeability
K = a constant depending on the units used