Considerations in the Validation and Application of Models for Eddy Current Inspection of Cracks Around Fastener Holes

To improve the detection and characterization of cracks around fastener holes in multilayer structures without removing the fastener, model-based approaches are proposed to support the design of advanced eddy current (EC) NDE systems. This work demonstrates the validation and application of models to simulate EC inspection as part of the design process. The volume integral method (VIM) and finite element method (FEM) are both used to simulate eddy current inspection of fastener sites for fatigue cracks. Convergence studies, validation with existing models, experimental validation studies and validation through inverse method demonstrations are presented, providing a continuum of methods to ensure the quality of measurement models. Consideration concerning convergence and validation is also given with features sensitive to the sample geometry and flaw characteristics. A novel calibration technique is also presented to practically evaluate the transformation between model-based impedance calculations and experimental voltage data. A series of studies are presented concerning the detection of cracks around fastener holes demonstrating the quality of the simulated data to represent experimental measurements.     

Recommended NDT Practice and its Model-based Investigation for Eddy Current Inspection of Aerospace Structures

This paper describes a model-based investigation of inspection standards being developed as a recommended practice for eddy current (EC) NDT of aerospace structures for surface cracks. Compared to experimental investigations that can be laborious and expensive, model-based approach provides cost-effective and quantitative verifications of the recommended practice that covers wide ranges of materials, probes, instruments, frequencies, and test conditions. Probe signals for a number of specified standard notches are predicted and the expected amplitudes and phase-angle ranges are determined for various test conditions, in order to examine the influence of material electrical conductivity, frequency, and probe types. For a few selected situations, the model predictions are validated against experimental data. This study verifies the adequacies of the recommended specifications, especially of the reference notch selections and their response amplitudes for various test conditions, as well as confirming the suitability of using vertical amplitude alone for all the test situations. The influence of probe cable and the issue of three-point calibration are also discussed specifically in this investigation.     

电涡流式振动位移传感器检定技术的研究

文章简述电涡流式振动位移传感器的工作原理,并根据《JJG644—2003振动位移传感器检定规程》,从理论和实践上对电涡流式振动位移传感器静态特性、动态特性的检定方法展开研究,以提高电涡流式振动位移传感器测量的准确性和量值的统一性。     

Review of Advances in Quantitative Eddy Current Nondestructive Evaluation

A comprehensive review of advancements in eddy current (EC) modeling is presented. This paper contains three main sections: a general treatise of EC theory, the thin skin EC forward modeling, and the EC inverse problem. (1) The general treatise of eddy current theory begins with an exposition of the reciprocity formulas for evaluating probe impedance changes, which are derivable from first principles. Two versions of the reciprocity formulas, one with a surface integral and the other with a volume integral, are given. Any particular type of defect, as well as both one-port and two-port probes, can be treated. Second, a brief account of analytical and numerical methods for calculating the field distributions is presented. Third, theory of probe/material interactions with various defect types is described. (2) The paper then proceeds to the forward modeling section, which contains a detailed treatment of the eddy current forward problem for surface breaking cracks and EDM notches in the thin skin approximation. (3) The inverse problem section begins with a general review of commonly used inversion methods, exemplified by selected references from the literature, followed by more detailed examinations of EC inversions for surface breaking cracks and slots. The last part of this section is devoted to the inverse problem for layered structures. Although being a review in nature, the paper contains a number of new accounts for time-domain eddy current interactions. In particular, a modification is proposed to the reciprocity formula in order to take a better account of pulsed eddy current signals.     

Dynamic Piezoresistivity Calibration for Eddy Current Nondestructive Residual Stress Measurements

It has been recently demonstrated [M. P. Blodgett and P. B. Nagy, J. Nondestruct. Eval. 23, 107 (2004)] that eddy current conductivity measurements can be exploited for near-surface residual stress assessment in surface-treated nickel-base superalloy components. To quantitatively assess the prevailing residual stress from eddy current conductivity measurements, the piezoresistivity coefficients of the material must be first determined using known external applied stresses. These calibration measurements are usually conducted on a reference specimen of the same material using cyclic uniaxial loads between 0.1 and 10Hz, which is fast enough to produce adiabatic conditions. Therefore, the question arises whether dynamic calibration measurements can be used or not for accurately assessing the sensitivity of the eddy current method for static residual stress. It is demonstrated in this paper that such dynamic calibration measurements should be corrected for the thermoelastic effect, which is always positive, i.e., it increases the conductivity in tension, when the material cools down, and reduces it in compression, when the material heats up. For low-conductivity titanium and nickel-base engine alloys the thermoelastic corrections are relatively modest at ≈5–10%, but for high-conductivity aluminum alloys the difference between the adiabatic and isothermal properties could be as high as 50%.     

基于涡流方法的智能螺纹检测仪的研制

针对目前存在的内螺纹人工检测工作量大的问题,采用基于单片机技术的涡流方法研制了一种智能螺纹检测仪。先设计了一个简单的阻抗测量电路,建立了探头对不同螺纹状态试样和试验频率的阻抗图,然后通过分析该阻抗图找出了适合于用幅度法检测的频率范围,最后通过对探头施加合适的正弦激励信号,用测量探头两端电压的方法完成螺纹检测。对给定的螺纹试样检验结果表明,该仪器可以准确地判断出试样的半牙、无牙和合格状态,并能给出相应的输出信号。     

A New Approach for Restoration of Eddy Current Images

Eddy current images of defects are blurred due to convolution of point spread function of eddy current probe with defects. Disturbing variables such as lift-off, surface roughness, and material property variations influence the eddy current images. In order to restore the length, width, depth, and orientation of surface-breaking defects in the presence of disturbing variables, a new and comprehensive approach has been developed. This approach uses artificial neural network and image processing methods. Studies on austenitic steel plates confirm that through this approach it is possible to restore the spatial information of surface-breaking defects of uniform or slowly varying depth and also to form their accurate three-dimensional pictures. This approach is fast as well as amenable for automation.     

Eddy Current Assessment of Near-Surface Residual Stress in Shot-Peened Nickel-Base Superalloys

It is shown in this paper that, in contrast with most other materials, shot-peened nickel-base superalloys exhibit an apparent increase in eddy current conductivity at increasing inspection frequencies, which can be exploited for nondestructive residual stress assessment of subsurface residual stresses. It has been found that the primary reason why nickel-base superalloys, which are often used in the most critical gas-turbine engine components, lend themselves easily for eddy current residual stress assessment lies in their favorable electro-elastic behavior, namely that the parallel stress coefficient of the eddy current conductivity has a large negative value while the normal coefficient is smaller but also negative. As a result, the average stress coefficient is also large and negative, therefore the essentially isotropic compressive plane state of stress produced by most surface treatments causes a significant increase in conductivity parallel to the surface. The exact reason for this unusual behavior is presently unknown, but the role of paramagnetic contributions cannot be excluded, therefore the measured quantity will be referred to as apparent eddy current conductivity. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate that the magnitude of the increase in apparent eddy current conductivity correlates well with the initial peening intensity as well as with the remnant residual stress after thermal relaxation.     

On the Influence of Cold Work on Eddy Current Characterization of Near-Surface Residual Stress in Shot-Peened Nickel-Base Superalloys

Shot-peened nickel-base superalloys exhibit 1–2% increase in apparent eddy current conductivity (AECC), which can be exploited for nondestructive residual stress assessment. Experimental evidence indicates that the excess AECC is due in part to elastic strains, i.e., residual stress, and in part to plastic strains, i.e., cold work. The very fact that the conductivity increases rather than decreases was originally thought to indicate that there was no significant cold work contribution to the observed AECC increase. This assumption was also supported by X-ray diffraction (XRD) results on fully relaxed specimens showing that the cold work induced widening of the diffraction beam only partially vanishes when both the residual stress and the AECC completely disappear due to thermal relaxation. However, we show in this paper that assuming that the conductivity change is entirely due to residual stress via the piezoresistivity of the material could result in an unacceptable overestimation of the magnitude of the compressive residual stress. Therefore, we investigated the different mechanisms through which cold work could influence the AECC in surface-treated nickel-base superalloys. It was found that neither the magnetic susceptibility nor the piezoresistivity of the material is affected significantly by cold work up to 50% plastic strain level, but the electrical conductivity does substantially increase due to microstructural changes. Based on these observations, we suggest that in future research the complex variations caused by cold work should be modeled by at least two main types of cold work parameters rather than by a single one in order to properly account for the otherwise contradictory effects of plastic deformation on eddy current conductivity and XRD measurements.     

Reconstruction of Cracks with Multiple Eddy Current Coils Using a Database Approach

This paper presents some recent studies dealing with flaw reconstruction using eddy current testing. The locations of parallel planar cracks in an Inconel 600 plate specimen are determined and the shapes of them are reconstructed at the same time using the signals from a multi-pancake coil probe. The reconstruction strategy, consisting of a data base used fast forward solver and a first order optimization algorithm, relies on the minimization of the nonlinear least square residual function. Validity of the inverse analysis method is investigated with respect to the influence of the arrangement of scanning paths. The efficiency of the computation is also discussed.     

Eddy Current Assessment of Near-Surface Residual Stress in Shot-Peened Inhomogeneous Nickel-Base Superalloys

Recently, it has been shown that shot-peened nickel-base superalloys exhibit an approximately 1% increase in apparent eddy current conductivity at high inspection frequencies, which can be exploited for nondestructive subsurface residual stress assessment. Unfortunately, microstructural inhomogeneity in certain as-forged and precipitation hardened nickel-base superalloys, like Waspaloy, can lead to significantly larger electrical conductivity variations of as much as 4–6%. This intrinsic conductivity variation adversely affects the accuracy of residual stress evaluation in shot-peened and subsequently thermal-relaxed specimens, but does not completely prevent it. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate that the conductivity variation resulting from volumetric inhomogeneities in as-forged engine alloys do not display significant frequency dependence. This characteristic independence of frequency can be exploited to distinguish these inhomogeneities from near-surface residual stress and cold work effects caused by surface treatment, which, in contrast, are strongly frequency-dependent.     

高噪下的钢丝绳断丝定量检测

研究高噪情况下的钢丝绳断丝定量检测信号处理。利用时域与频域相结合的处理算法实现断丝的特征提取,采用这些方法对高噪下的钢丝绳磁检测信号进行处理,能够清楚地区分噪声和损伤信号。该方法运算量小,适合于实时在线的钢丝绳检测。     

数字式电脑多频涡流检测仪在电厂中的应用

目的 消除电站热交换管板信号干扰，提高检测信噪比。方法 采用4个独立频率的检测通道，混频处理后干扰信号，结果 在理论分析与实验室大量模拟试验基础上开发出国内第一台数字式电脑多频（四频）涡流检测仪，并在电厂中得到应用。结论 现场使用证明该仪器具有操作方便，检测速度快，抗干扰灵敏度高等特点。     

Quantitative Fractography for Improved Probability of Detection (POD) Analysis of Bolt Hole Eddy Current

Fatigue cracks are prone to develop around the fasteners found in multilayer aluminum structures such as ageing aircraft. The determination of their probability of detection (POD) using eddy current techniques is critical for risk assessments used in evaluating serviceability. Normally, a large number of samples of both fatigue cracks and electric discharge machined notches are required for such a study. In this study, the use of quantitative fractography (QF) to efficiently gather POD data for bolt hole eddy current is demonstrated. The technique can be readily automated, significantly reducing man-hour requirements. The method is applied to mid-bore cracks, grown without starter notches, in order to simulate naturally occurring fatigue cracks. POD of the mid-bore cracks is examined using a probit analysis. An a _90/95 is the probability that 90% of the cracks of size a or larger will be detected 95% of the time. An a _90/95 of 0.34 mm was obtained for mid-bore crack depth. This value is consistent with skin depth considerations at the 1.6 MHz inspection frequency. An examination of the POD based on crack length found that it was related to that of depth according to the average length-to-depth aspect ratio of 2 to 1.     

Eddy-Current Nondestructive Inspection with Thin Spiral Coils: Long Cracks in Steel

The impedance of a cylindrical coil and a planar circular spiral coil carrying an alternating current above (i) a defect-free conducting magnetic half-space and (ii) a conducting magnetic half-space containing an infinitely long slot with uniform depth and width is examined in detail. Closed-form expressions for the coil impedance in these cases are presented, based on the theories of Dodd and Deeds and Harfield and Bowler. The validity of these expressions is tested by measurements using steel plates over the frequency range 100 Hz-10 MHz. The theoretical predictions are in good agreement with experiment, with the best agreement for the smallest slot width. The results confirm that thin, flexible spiral coils offer some attractive features for eddy-current detection of cracks in metals, particularly in terms of sensitivity and potential for unobtrusive permanent attachment to the material being inspected. Approximate expressions for a spiral coil above a defect-free magnetic half-space are also given to allow easy calculation in limiting cases.     

Eddy current data for characterizing less volumetric stress corrosion cracking in nonmagnetic materials

The authors gather eddy current signals due to artificial stress corrosion cracking so that the data may be available to other researchers. Three cracks are introduced into an austenitic stainless steel plate, eddy current measurements are performed, and then the plate is destroyed to observe the cross-sectional profiles of the cracks. The authors will offer the data, as well as the true profile of the stress corrosion cracking revealed by destructive tests, to anybody who are interested in utilizing it in their studies.     

Characterization of Hydrogen Embrittlement in 2.25cr-1mo-0.25v Steel by Eddy Current Method

Eddy current method has been recently developed to characterize mechanical properties of materials and assess internal hydrogen content of high strength low alloy steels. The application of eddy current testing in evaluating hydrogen embrittlement state of 2.25Cr-1Mo-0.25V ferritic steel has been investigated using tensile test and electrochemical hydrogen charging test. The relationship between the embrittlement index and eddy current signal is well established. It found that there is a good linear relation between the hydrogen-induced plasticity loss and the eddy current signal. This shows eddy current testing is an effective method for evaluating hydrogen embrittlement state of 2.25Cr-1Mo-0.25V steel.     

A Comprehensive Structural Analysis Process for Failure Assessment in Aircraft Lap-Joint Mimics Using Intramodal Fusion of Eddy Current Data

In the aerospace industry, nondestructive evaluation (NDE) techniques are commonly used for structural health monitoring, including finding manufacturing and service-induced discontinuities and defects such as corrosion and cracks. A comprehensive structural analysis process is presented for quantizing and evaluating characteristics of aircraft lap-joint mimics. The process investigated here consists of NDE data acquisition, defect detection and characterization involving material loss estimation, three-dimensional structural model generation, finite-element modeling to simulate fatigue damage and comparison with actual tensile fatigue-induced structural analysis data (mechanical loading). The structural analysis process is examined using five test panels consisting of stacked and riveted aluminum plates, configured as lap-joints, four of them with different corroded patches at different layers of the lap-joints and one painted pristine panel used as a reference. The test panels were subjected to three rounds of incremental and cyclical tensile fatiguing with the final round resulting in complete fatigue failure. Eddy current data was obtained from the test panels prior to each round of mechanical loading. Comparing the simulated fatigue loading and the mechanical loading results for identifying susceptible-to-failure areas on the test panels, this comprehensive structural analysis process found the correct location of failure areas at rates as high as 88.9%.     

一种估计船舶辐射噪声线谱的联合分析法

线谱的提取为舰船的检测识别和方位跟踪提供了依据,研究线谱的提取具有实际的应用意义.采用Welch算法和Chirp-Z变换联合处理舰船的辐射噪声信号能够有效地提取线谱.根据对仿真信号和某实船的辐射噪声信号分析的结果表明,该方法原理简单,能够精确地提取特征线谱,其中频率分辨力可达0.36 Hz;根据所提取的船只的特征线谱,设定滤波区间对船辐射的噪声信号进行滤波,可以更准确地跟踪船的航迹.     

复杂封闭空间有源消声系统的建模新方法

针对具有两个弹性板的复杂封闭空间的有源消声系统。提出了一种新的建模方法。计算机仿真与实验结果验证了这一方法的正确性。该方法拓宽了利用结构声辐射进行有源消声的范围，可适用于任意形状的封闭空间。