Inspection and Quality Control in Manufacturing

Prof. Kaushik Pal

Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology – Roorkee

Lecture - 09
Eddy Current Inspection

Hello my friends, now, we are going to discuss about our new chapter that is the, Eddy Current
Inspections under the non-destructive testing. So first, let us know, the history behind it, so
eddy current inspections has its own origins with the Michael Faraday's discovery of
electromagnetic induction in the year of 1831. Its development as a non-destructive testing
techniques for industrial applications was carried out during the World War II, in Germany.
(Refer Slide Time: 00:58)

Eddy current testing sometimes we are calling it as ECT is widely used in aerospace industry
and in other manufacturing and the service environments that require inspection of thin metal
for potential safety related or quality related problems. What is Eddy current? Eddy currents
are electrical currents that induced within a conductor by a varying magnetic field. So it is just
the opposite of that magnetic particles inspection. They get either name from eddies that are
formed when a liquid or gas flows in a circular path around obstacles when conditions are right.
(Refer Slide Time: 01:45)
Properties of the Eddy Currents: They flow in closed loops within conductor. They flow in a
plane that is parallel to coil winding or maybe the material surface. They attenuate and lag in
phase with depth. Now what are the basic principles of the Eddy current testing? Eddy current
testing works on the principle of electromagnetic induction to detect flaws in conductive
materials.

Electromagnetic induction: When the magnetic flux through a conductor changes, induced
currents are set up in closed paths on the surface of the conductor itself. So now, you can see
that we are having that sample. So now we are having that induction coils and through that we
are generating the magnetic field over there, and due to that magnetic field this red in color the
eddy currents is generating on to our workpiece or maybe the onto our sample. These currents
are in direction of perpendicular to the magnetic flux and are called eddy current.
(Refer Slide Time: 02:46)
How it works? Step one, first is that the generation of Eddy currents. In order to generate the
eddy currents for an inspection, a probe is used. Inside the probe is a length of electrical
conductor which is formed into a coil. So you can see that coil. Alternating current is passed
through the coil which generates an oscillating magnetic field. The probe and its magnetic field
are brought close to a metal test piece. A circular flow of electrons form known as Eddy current
will begin to move through the metal itself that red in color.

Second step, Secondary magnetic field is set up in opposite directions. Eddy currents flowing
in the material will generate their own secondary magnetic field which will oppose the coil's
primary magnetic field over there.
(Refer Slide Time: 03:42)
Step 3: Impedance of the coil is changed. Changes in metal thickness or defects like near
surface cracking will interrupt or alter the amplitude and pattern of the eddy current and thus
resulting the magnetic field. This in turn affects movement of electrons in coil by varying the
electrical impedance of the coil itself. So now you can see from this particular image, that how
we are getting the signals, EC signal without crack, so it is good in nature. But, when we are
having some cracks we are getting some erratic signals over there, so now change in impedance
is analyzed. Eddy current instrument plots changes in the impedance amplitude and phase
angle, which can be used by a trained operator to identify changes in the test piece.

Now what are the factors that affecting the eddy current response? These factors include
electromagnetic factors and geometric factors. Electromagnetic factors are: electrical
conductivity of the sample (σ), magnetic permeability of the sample (µ), and excitation
frequency (f). Next is that geometric factors, i.e. coil parameters: loop area, number of turns,
diameter of wire; lift-off: proximity of excitations or pickup coil to the sample implies coupling
efficiency; sample geometry: thickness compared to skin depth, shape and lateral dimensions;
probe proximity to sample edges.
(Refer Slide Time: 05:20)

Next is Eddy Current Density and Depth of Penetration: Eddy currents concentrate near the
surface adjacent to an excitation coil and their strength decreases with distance from the coil.
So that means, a thin sample can be easily detected rather than the thick sample. Eddy current
density decrease exponentially with the depth. This phenomenon is known as the Skin Effect.
What causes the Skin Effect? Skin effect arises when the eddy currents flowing in the test
object at any depth produce magnetic fields which oppose the primary field thus reducing the
net magnetic flux and causing a decrease in current flow as the depth increases. Factors
affecting the depth of penetration: frequency of the excitation current, electrical conductivity
of the specimen, magnetic permeability of the specimen.
(Refer Slide Time: 06:09)

What is the Standard Depth of Penetration?

The depth that the eddy currents are only 1⁄𝑒 or about 37% as strong as they are on the surface
is known as the standard depth of penetration or the skin depth. It can be calculated by using
following equation:
1
𝛿≈
√𝜋𝑓𝜇𝜎
Where:
δ =Standard depth of penetration (m)
f =Test frequency (Hz)
μ =Magnetic permeability (H/m)
σ =Electrical Conductivity (S/m)

Working with this equation:

If relative permeability (𝜇𝑟 ) is given, it must be converted to an absolute permeability (𝜇) as:
𝜇 = 𝜇 𝑟 𝜇0
where, 𝜇0 = 4𝜋 × 10−7 H/m (permeability of free space).
As per the International Annealed Copper Standard (IACS), electrical conductivity values are
often expressed as a percent of the conductivity of pure annealed copper measured at 25 °C
which can be converted to siemens per meter (S/m) as:
𝜎𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑙 = % 𝐼𝐴𝐶𝑆 × 𝜎𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟
where, 𝜎𝑐𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑟 = 5.8 × 107 𝑆/𝑚

(Refer Slide Time: 07:49)

Now Eddy Current Equipment: Equipments for eddy current inspections are much diversified
and proper equipment selection is important if accurate inspection data is desired for a
particular application. As a minimum, at least three basic pieces of equipments are needed for
any eddy current examination. What are those? First is that instrumentation, second is the
probes, third is the reference standards. So when you are talking about the instrumentation,
eddy current instruments are available in a large variety of configurations, and they are
commonly classified by the types of display used to present the data. So first is called the analog
meter then digital meter and the eddy scope or maybe the impedance plane display.
(Refer Slide Time: 08:34)
What is Analog Meter? They are used for many different inspection applications such as crack
detection, material thickness measurements, non conductive coating measurements or maybe
the conductive coating measurements. Next come to the digital meters, so here you can see,
that digital meters, the value will come digitally and analog meter maybe some graph will be
plotted, and from that, you have to calculate. When you are talking about the digital meters
they are designed to examine conductivity of test component or non-conductive coating
thickness.

A digital meter contains an analog to digital converter, to change the input voltage to a number,
and a digital readout to display this number. These meters tend to have slightly higher accuracy
than the analog devices, because it will give you the more precise value.

Third one is the eddy scopes or sometimes we are calling it as a impedance plane display. Eddy
scopes are another category of instrumentations and they present in the inspections data in the
form of an impedance plane diagram. On the impedance diagram the total impedance is
displayed by plotting its resistance component and inductive reactance component at 90° to
each other. So here in the X-axis, we are drawing or maybe the plotting the resistance (R) and
in Y-axis we are plotting the inductive reactance (X) and this the whole angle is the 90°. Now
it is based on two resistances it is the opposition offered by a substance to the flow of current,
and the inductive reactance it is the opposite reaction of the coil against the alternative current,
changing current flowing through it.
(Refer Slide Time: 10:24)
Now impedance plane trajectory of a coil over a non-ferromagnetic specimen with and without
the discontinuity. If the eddy current probe is balanced in air and then placed on a non
ferromagnetic specimen, the resistance component will increase, because eddy currents are
being generated in the specimen, and this takes energy away from the coil, which shows up as
resistance.

So first you can see that number one points, that is the coil in air, number two coil over
specimen with no discontinuities, no cracks. Now the inductive reactance of the coil decreases
because the magnetic field created by the eddy currents, oppose the coils magnetic field and
the net effect is a weaker magnetic field to produce the inductance. So that is the number three
positions over here. So coil over specimen with a discontinuity.

The presence of discontinuity or maybe the in homogeneity in the test specimen causes a
reduction as well as redistributions of the eddy currents. Consequently the changes in the coil
impedance are reduced. So Eddy scope is generally looks like this.
(Refer Slide Time: 11:41)
Second Eddy Current Probes: Eddy current probes are available in a large variety of shapes
and size. One of the major advantages of eddy current inspection is that probes can be custom
designed for a wide variety of applications. So depending upon the sample size, depending
upon the material size, there are different types of probes are available. Eddy Current Probes
are classified on the basis of configurations of the test coils and the mode of operation.

Classification of eddy current probes on the basis of configurations, the configuration of the
probe generally refers to the way the coil or coils are packaged to best couple to the test area
of interest. Some of the common classifications of probes based on their configuration include
surface probes, bolt-hole probes, inside diameter or may be the internal bobbin probes and the
outside diameter or may be the encircling probes.
(Refer Slide Time: 12:50)
Now come to the surface probes. Surface probes or sometimes we are calling it as a pancake
probe usually a spring mounted flat probe or a pointed pencil type probe allows determining
the exact locations of a defect. So this is the best example, it looks like this. The probe may be
hand held, may be mounted, or automated scanners or may even be rotated around to get like
helical scan in tube or maybe the rod inspections. Usually ferrite cores absolute cylindrical as
well as split D differential types and shields are used for enhanced sensitivity and the resolution.

The coil configuration is good for detecting surface discontinuities that are oriented
perpendicular to the test surface. Discontinuities such as delamination which are in a parallel
plane to the test surface will likely go undetected with the coil configuration. Applications
generally include crack detections, wield inspections, detection of corrosion or maybe the
exfoliation in the hidden layers. So like this way, we are doing the testing.
(Refer Slide Time: 13:59)

Now come to the Bolt-Hole Probes. They are intended exclusively for bolt-hole testing with
manual probe guidance. The main applications field for these probes lies in testing bores on
aircraft. They have a surface coil that is mounted inside a housing that matches the diameter of
the hole being inspected. So here you can see just we are trying to inspect the inside of this
particular hole. So we are having different bolt-hole probes. So just we have to insert these
probes inside this hole. So Bolt Hole Eddy-current inspection equipment looks like this.
(Refer Slide Time: 14:42)
Third inside diameter or may be the internal bobbin probes, they consist of a coil arrangement
in the form of a winding over a bobbin, which passes through components such as tubes and
scans the entire inside surface in one go. The ID probes have a housing that keeps the probe
centered in the product and the coils orientation somewhat constant relative to the test surface.
The directional properties of these probes are identical to encircling the probes itself.

Applications; high-speed multi frequency inspection of heat exchanger tubes in situ for
detection of cracks, wall thinning and corrosion in tubes as well as under support plate regions.
In some instances, bobbin type probes are employed for inspection of bolt holes, hollow
products such as pipes, to inspect from the inside out.
(Refer Slide Time: 15:40)
Next Outside Diameter or may be the Encircling Probes. They are similar to ID probes except
that the coils encircle the material to inspect from the outside in. In an encircling probe the
some oil is in the form of a solenoid into which the component is placed. In this arrangement
the entire outside circumferential surface of the component covered by the coil is scanned at a
time giving high inspection speeds. So that means one is internally we are putting and one is
externally we are putting.

These probes may not detect circumferential defects as the eddy currents flow parallel to them
without getting distorted. What are the Applications? Popular industrial applications of
encircling probes in high-speed inspection of tubes from outside during the manufacturing
stages. Encircling probes are used to inspect solid products such as rods, tubes and the wires.
(Refer Slide Time: 16:43)

Classification of Eddy current probes on the basis of mode of operations: mode of operations
refers to the way the coil or coils are wired and interface with the test equipment. The mode of
operation of a probe generally falls into one of four categories. What are those? Absolute mode
probe, Differential mode probe, Reflection mode probe and the Hybrid mode probe.

Now, first we are going to discuss about the, absolute mode probe. Absolute probes are
generally have a single test coil that is used to generate the eddy currents and sense changes in
the eddy current field. Absolute probes provide an absolute voltage signal. Absolute coils can
be used for flaw detection, conductivity measurements, lift-off measurements, and the
thickness measurements.
(Refer Slide Time: 17:45)
Important considerations for Absolute mode probes:
Absolute probes are sensitive to things such as conductivity, permeability, liftoff and the
temperature. Steps must be taken to minimize these variables, when they are not important to
the inspection being performed. So basically the actual logic is that depending upon your shape
and size and which area you are going to cover you have to take the different probes or maybe
the different techniques.

What is the example? Commercially available absolute probes have a voltage compensation
using an additional reference coil that compensates for ambient temperature variations. So this
is the example of the absolute problem. A null voltage signal is measured when there is no
defect which increases the instruments dynamic range. Furthermore they are less sensitive to
temperature changes than non compensated probes.
(Refer Slide Time: 18:32)
Next come to the Differential mode probe: Differential probes consist of two coils that compare
two adjacent parts of the inspected materials. The detecting coils are wound in the opposite
directions to one another in order to equalize the induced voltage originated by the excitation
primary field.

Now differential double functioning encircling coil is looking like this. So here in this case, we
are using the double function pancake type coil. Signal from differential probe. The output
voltage of the differential coil probe is zero when there is no crack inside the probe. Cracks in
the test terminal which moves at a constant speed alter the balance and two pulses in the voltage
signals are detected.
(Refer Slide Time: 19:25)
Eddy Current Signal Responses to Local and Gradual defects. Differential coils have the
advantage of being able to detect very small discontinuities. However differential coils do no
detect gradual dimension or composition variation of the test piece, as the coils are typically
very close. So this is the local defect and this is the gradual defect is taking place over there.
So for local defects we are getting a sharp edges signal response of the differential channel and
when you are talking about the signal response of the absolute channel you can see only a
hinged kind of thing.
(Refer Slide Time: 20:05)

Next come to the third one that is called the Reflection Probe. Reflection probe have two coils
similar to a differential probe but one coil is used to excite the eddy currents and the other is
used to sense changes in the test material. Here not both the probes are, testing the samples.
Probes of this arrangement are often referred as send receive or maybe the driver pickup probes.

The advantage of reflection probes is that the driver and pickup coils can be separately
optimized for their intended purpose. The driver coil can be made, so as to produce a strong
and uniform flux field in the vicinity of the pickup coil, while the pickup coil can be made very
small, so that it will be sensitive to very small defects. So one will help for the eddy current
generations and another one will just take the results. The through transmission methods is
sometimes used when complete penetration of plates and tube wall is required.
(Refer Slide Time: 21:15)
Next is called the Hybrid probe. These eddy current probes are specially designed for a specific
inspection application and they work on two or more than two different operating modes. This
type of probe is very sensitive to surface cracks. Example: Split D differential probe. It has a
driver coil that surrounds two D shaped sensing coils here. So this is one D and this is another
D and this is surrounded by the driver coil.
(Refer Slide Time: 21:55)

Now selection of eddy current probes: Probe selection is critical in acquiring adequate
inspection data. Several factors to consider include, material penetration requirements, surface
versus subsurface, sensitivity requirements, types of probe connections on eddy current
instrument, probe and instrument impedance matching, will probe work with instrument, next
is the probe size, and last one is the probe type whether it is absolute, differential, reflection or
maybe the hybrid.
Some tips for selection of the eddy current probes:
Surface probes for plates and encircling probes for tubes and bars. Small diameter probes for
shallow and fine defects on smooth surfaces, smaller probes penetrate less. Large diameter
probes for subsurface defects and rough surfaces. Differential coils are used for temperature
compensations and drift. Probes with wear resistant coating and ceramic insulation are used for
high-temperature applications.
(Refer Slide Time: 22:56)

Now come to the Reference Standards. What is reference standards? In order to give the eddy
current inspector useful data while conducting an inspection, signals generated from the test
specimens must be compared with the known values. Yes of course, known values means,
some standard values. In almost all cases eddy current inspection equipments are configured
using reference standards. Reference standards are typically manufactured from the same or
very similar material as the test specimen.

You can say this is a nothing but a dictionary. So it is having the data for same materials,
different materials, different conditions, and then whatever the signals you are getting from
your sample, simply it will try to match with the database, and then it will show you the result.
Many different types of standards exist for due to the variety of eddy current inspections
performed.

Examples: Material thickness standards, Material thickness standards used to help determine
material thinning caused by corrosion or maybe the erosion. So taper thickness gauges, mild
spot thickness standards use increasing depths. Crack standards some EDM notches. Non
conductive coating standards, non conductive coating like paint standard with various thickness
of paint on aluminum substrates. So this is the standards.
(Refer Slide Time: 24:28)

Now applications of the eddy current inspection: One of the major advantages of eddy current
as an NDT tool is to variety of inspections and measurements that can be performed. In the
proper circumstances, eddy currents can be used for crack detection, material thickness
measurements, conductivity measurements, non conducting coating thickness measurements.
What is crack detection? It is the primary uses of eddy current inspections. Cracks cause a
disruption in the circular flow patterns of eddy currents and weaken their strength, in this
particular case, here. The cracks are present, so it has been weakens the signals. This change
in strength as the crack location can be detected.
(Refer Slide Time: 25:07)
Material Thickness Measurement: Thickness measurements are possible with eddy current
inspection with certain limitations. Only a certain amount of eddy currents can form in a given
volume of material. Therefore, thicker materials will support more eddy currents than the
thinner materials. The strength of eddy currents can be measured and related to the material
thickness over there. Industrial applications: Eddy current inspection is used in aviation
industries mainly aerospace industries to detect material loss due to corrosion and erosion. It is
used to inspect tubing at power generations and petrochemical facilities for corrosion and the
erosion testing.
(Refer Slide Time: 25:50)

Non-conducting Coating Measurement: Non-conductive coatings on electrically conductive

substrates can be measured very accurately with eddy current inspections. The coating
displaces the eddy current probe from the conductive base material and this weakens the
strength of the eddy currents. This reduction in strength can be measured and related to the
coating thickness. So these green in color is the coating thickness, this is the conductive base
metals. So this will weaken the signal.
(Refer Slide Time: 26:22)

Next Conductivity Measurements, these techniques involves nulling an absolute probe in air
and placing the probe in contact with the sample surface. For non-magnetic materials, the
change in impedance of coil can be correlated directly to the conductivity of the material and
hence conductivity of material can be measured.

Applications of conductivity measurement techniques. The value of the electrical conductivity

of a metal depends on several factors like chemical compositions and the stress state of its
crystalline structure. So electrical conductivity information can be used for material
identification, sorting magnetic materials from non-magnetic materials, heat damage detection,
case depth determination, and the last one is called the heat treatment monitoring.

Some important points to consider for conductivity measurements: It is important to control

factors that can affect the results such as inspection temperatures and the part geometry.
Conductivity changes with temperature so measurement should be made at a constant
temperature. Thickness of specimens should generally be greater than the three standard depths
of the penetrations.
(Refer Slide Time: 27:37)
Now what are the advantages and limitations? Advantages are: sensitive to small cracks and
other defects. Detects surface and near surface defects. Can be easily measured, inspection
gives immediate results. Equipment is very portable, handy. Method can be used for much
more than flaw detection. Minimum part preparation is required. Test probe does not need to
contact the part. Inspects complex shapes and sizes of conductive materials.

What are the limitations? Only conductive materials can be inspected. Surface must be
accessible to the probe. Skill and training required is more extensive than other techniques.
Surface finish and roughness may interfere. Reference standards needed for set-up. Depth of
penetration is limited. Flaws such as delamination that lie parallel to the probe coil winding
and probe scan directions are undetectable.

So that means there are certain advantages and there are certain limitations, so in this particular
case what happen, the material should be conductive, and if there is any coating or paints are
present on top of the materials so that will create some kind of problem while measuring using
this technique.
(Refer Slide Time: 29:06)
Now we have come to the last slide of this particular lecture. So as a summary, we can say, that
eddy current testing, use the principle of electromagnetic induction which has been developed
by Faraday to detect and characterize surface and subsurface flaws, in the conductive material.
Eddy current probes used for inspections can be custom designed for a wide variety of
application. It is totally depends upon your shape and size you can customize your own probe.

A variety of inspections and measurements like crack detection, thickness, and conductivity
measurements can be performed using this method. It is widely used in automotive and aircraft
manufacturing not only that it is widely used into the petrochemical industry and it is an integral
part of inspections and maintenance in the power generations and the aircraft industries too.
Thank you.