Practical Eddy Current Testing

1. General procedure
Any practical eddy current tests will require the following :
· a suitable probe
· an instrument with the necessary capabilities
· a good idea of size, location and type of the flaws desired to find
· a suitable test standard to set up the equipment and verify correct operation
· a procedure or accept / reject criteria base on the above
· the necessary operator expertise to understand and interpret the results.

2. Typical instrument
There are a number of basic groups of eddy current instrumentation :

Special Purpose equipment

Coating thickness meters, conductivity meters. ..generally, designed to give a

digital readout
without requiring the operator to understand much about the internal
technology, except as needed to give reliable test conditions. Usually, this is a
small portable equipment.

Crack detection

Fairly simple equipment generally operate at a restricted number of frequencies

typically several hundred KHz, meter or bargraph display, e.g. Eddyscan® SM4
suitable for surface crack detection and simple sorting applications, and
normally have some means of compensation for lift off so that only crack-like
induction gives a reading on the meter or bargraph. An alarm threshold is
usually included.

Portable impedance plane eddy current flaw detectors

Give a real impedance plane display on a CRT or other electronic display.

Generally; have fairly extensive capabilities: wide frequency range from
around a hundred Hz to several MHz, extensive alarm facilities, general
purpose units may have rate filtering. Some instruments may be capable of
multi-frequency operation (Eddyscan® 30X ) allowing combination of results
at two or more test frequencies, in order to reduce or eliminate specific
interfering effects.
The same equipment can be use for heat treatment measurement, hardness
measurement and metal sorting measurement (Eddyscan® 30X TM).

Eddy current test systems

Intended for factory operation, often in automatic or semi automatic inspection

machines. Generally, similar operation to impedance plan eddy current flaw
detectors but usually have extensive input and output facilities such as relays
and photocell inputs. May be custom built or a specific purpose, in which case
features not needed for the intended application are often omitted.
Internal trace and parameters storage and printing, computer interfacing, etc ...
(Eddyscan® 30X ).

3. General instrument operation

3.1 Instrument set up.

While the precise details of setting up an instrument will vary depending on the
type and application, the general procedure is usually the same, obviously once
the application has been tried the required values for many test parameters will
be known, at least approximately.

 Connect up the appropriate probe and set any instrument configuration

parameters (mode of operation, display type, etc. ..).
 Set the frequency as required for the test
 Set gain to an intermediary value
 Move the probe on/over the calibration test piece or sample piece with a
natural flaw, and set phase rotation as desired (e.g. lift off horizontal on
the screen)
 Move over the defect and adjust the gain (and horizontal/vertical gain
ratio) to obtain the desired trace size/meter indication. It may be
necessary to rebalance after changing the gain
 Further optimise phase rotation as required
 Use filters (low pass, high pass, or band pass) to further optimise signal
to noise ratio
 Set alarms (square, sectorial) as required
 Run over the calibration test piece again and verify that all flaws are
clearly detected
  Perform the test verifying correct operation at regular intervals using the
calibration test piece (for example in production line, for each change of
type of part)

3.1.1 Operating frequency

Selection of operating frequency is the primary eddy current parameter under

operator control. Frequency selection affects both the relative strength of
response from different flaws and the phase relationship. Thus, selection of
operating frequency is very important in obtaining good resolution of flaw
signals in the presence of other variables which may affect the test.
Usually, if the noise is very important, even after filtering, it is necessary to
search for the operating frequency where the phase between the noise and the
flaw signal is optimal (the best phase is 90 degrees).

3.1.2 Filtering

Most eddy current tests involve movement. Therefore, the indications obtained
will vary with time in a way which is fairly consistent (assuming the movement
is regular) and which can be interpreted in terms of the speed of probe
movement over various discontinuities.
For example, in an absolute probe with diameter 2 mm, moving over a narrow
crack at a speed of 1 m/s. the resulting indication will be last for approximately
2 milliseconds. If the material composition or thickness is also varying
gradually over a distance of say 50cm, the indication from this will change
much more slowly. Therefore, a high pass filter set to a frequency around 100
Hz or so will pass the rapidly changing signal from the defect but not the
slower indication from the material changes.

Unfiltered Signal
 High pass filtered signal

3.2. Important Considerations when setting up

3.2.1 Effect of dimensional variations (changes in diameter)

The voltages induced in the coils by a crack or dimensional variation are

complex values. The two voltages differ in phase. By means of a phase-
selective arrangement it is possible to suppress the effect of a change in
diameter. Only the component of the crack perpendicular to the voltage vector
of the change in diameter is evaluated as a test signal.
The best separation of the crack effect from the diameter effect is obtained from
a compromise between the highest possible crack detection sensitivity and a
phase difference ?? as near to 90° as possible.

3.2.2 Effect of relative permeability µrel

The effect of permeability fluctuations only arise with ferromagnetic and

austenitic (with ferrite content) materials. With non ferromagnetic materials,
the relative permeability is unity and subject to no fluctuation.
Therefore, no interference with the test signal by the permeability will be
experienced during eddy current testing of non ferromagnetic metal parts.

However, the situation is different with ferromagnetic and austenitic materials

with a ferrite content. The relative permeability of these metals is greater than
1, and, with a number of ferromagnetic metals, a value of several thousand can
be reached. Internal stresses caused by drawing, straightening, and similar
working of the material, can give rise to severe fluctuations in the permeability.
These fluctuations would always cause interference with the test signals.
In order to eliminate this interference effect during testing, the ferromagnetic
test piece is magnetised by a suitable device. The relative permeability will
approach unity. The magnetic properties of the ferromagnetic test piece become
similar to those of a non ferromagnetic material and thus, the interference from
permeability fluctuation is eliminated.

3.2.3 Effect of electrical conductivity fluctuations

The fluctuations in conductivity normally occurring in a test piece are not

usually large; moreover, the fluctuations are gradual, i.e. there is no steep local
rise as is normally the case with a crack.
The indication effect of conductivity fluctuation are, as already mentioned
previously, similar to these caused by a crack. Their phase position is almost
identical. Consequently, separation of these conductivity indications from the
crack indications, although small, cannot be performed by phase selection.
Such gradual interference effects can, however, be eliminated sufficiently by
differentiating using test coils in a multi-difference arrangements so that no
serious interference is caused with the test results.

3.2.4 Effect of guidance inaccuracy

If a test piece is not guided accurately and waggles as it passes through the test
coil or probe, the uniform distribution of the magnetic field is perturbed and the
difference windings of the test coil are not ideally symmetrical, giving rise to
interference signals.
Often, these interference signals are in phase with those caused by changes in
diameter and thus, can be largely eliminated together with the latter when they
are suppressed.
Further means of avoiding such interference effects are, firstly, the maximum
coil fitting factor i.e. the test coil or probe must be filled as much as possible by
the test piece and secondly, the guidance of the test piece on the conveyor
system must be accurate, smooth and free from jerks.

3.2.5 Effect of surface finish

For detecting material flaws such as cracks, it is of the greatest importance to

know by how much the flaws differ in depth and form from other surface finish
conditions, which pose no problem to the eventual application of the material.
Generally speaking, the better the surface finish to the test piece, the greater the
flaw detection sensitivity.
The suppression and reduction of interference signals from slowly varying
surface irregularity is effected either by differentiating the signals in the test
coils multi-difference arrangement or by a frequency selective arrangement.

3.2.6 Effect of test piece ends

As each end of the test piece and leaves the test coils, it induces a signal in the
windings. This effect occurs with both absolute coil and differential coil. The
voltage is always considerably greater than the test voltage produced by a flaw.
This end effect is undesirable for testing when the signals are used for
automatic control of the associated evaluating units. The end effect would
simulate a flaw signal and thus result in operation of the evaluating units. In
order to avoid this, electronic interlocking units are employed so that testing
does not begin until the test piece has been fully inserted in the test coil, and the
electronic test equipment is switched off before the end of the test piece leaves
the coils.
This arrangement results in a certain length of the piece remaining untested at
each end. The length of the untested end depends on the electronic evaluation
equipment used (static or dynamic signal gate) and on the material being tested.

3.2.7 Effect of testing speed

Generally, eddy current testing permits higher testing than other non destructive
methods. The various testing speed to be achieved are limited by the electronic
test equipment, i.e. the pass band of the receiver which processes the test
signals. In order to avoid any reduction in detection sensitivity, some testing
speeds must be exceeded at particular test frequencies determined by the
material. If the relevant maximum testing speed is exceeded, a reduction in
sensitivity is one of the immediate results.
The testing speed can also be limited by the performance of the mechanical
guiding mechanisms, and usually, with the Eddyscan® 30X real time
equipment, the performance of the mechanical parts are the main reasons
limiting the testing speed.

For example, small inaccuracies in the roller conveyor (unbalance etc...) which
cause no major adverse effect on the test results at low testing speeds, can cause
considerable interferences when testing at higher speeds. This means that the
maximum testing speed permitted by the electronic equipment can only be
attained if the mechanical guidance of the test piece is sufficiently precise.

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Eddy Current Inspection

Eddy current testing is an extremely sensitive and high-speed method of detecting cracks, holes
and other flaws in products made from conductive materials. Indeed, it can even detect differences
in materials such as variations in carbon in carbon steel. Systegration is pleased to announce that,
as of November 2001, we are the sole agents in the United Kingdom for Contrôle Mesure
Systèmes, a company based in Chalon-sur-Saône in France.

History and Theory

Eddy current testing has its origins with Michael Faraday's discovery of electromagnetic
induction in 1831. In 1879 Hughesrecorded changes in the properties of a coil when
placed in contact with metals of different conductivity and permeability, but it was not
until the second war that these effects were put to practical use in testing materials. Much
work was done in the 1950 's and 60's, particularly in the aircraft and nuclear industries,
and particularly in France where the nuclear industries are very present.

How does it work?

Simple coil above a metal surface

When an alternating current flows in a coil in close proximity to a conducting surface the
magnetic field of the coil induces (eddy) currents in this surface. The magnitude and phase of
the eddy currents will affect the loading on the coil and thus its impedance

As an example, assume that there is a deep crack in the surface immediately underneath the
coil. This will interrupt or reduce the eddy current flow, this decreasing the loading on the coil
and increasing its effective impedance.

This is the basis of eddy current testing, by monitoring the voltage across the coil in such an
arrangement we can detect changes in the material of interest.
For a full discussion of the technology, please request Basic Eddy Current Testing, parts 1 or 2,
from Sales, or look at how it is applied in Practical Testing
For fuller information on Contrôle Mesure Systèmes, link to their Web site.
To see how the technology might help you, request Applications of Eddy Current Testing from
Sales, or download application notes :
Rolled & welded tubes, Rods, tubes wires, Ferromagnetic wires.pdf, Rail Inspection.pdf
E-mail Sales for brochures or an immediate discussion of your requirements,
or Return to Home Page