EDDY CURRENT

AIM

To obtain understandings on how Eddy current testing can be applied to

metal, construction and other industries for the materials sorting,
inspection of electrically conducting materials, structural defects and
irregularities, and measurement of coating and sheet thickness.

PREPARATION

1) Refer to the Eddy Current Brochure for electromagnetic principles of

Eddy current. Try to answer the following questions before starting the
experiments:

a) How does Eddy current occur?

b) What are the factors controlling the magnitude of Eddy current?

c) What is the skin effect?

d) What factors will determine the depth of penetration and what is the
relation between these factors and the depth of penetration?

2) Refer to the Eddy Current Brochure for instructions on how to adjust

the Eddyscope.

When the Eddyscope is in good working condition and sensitive, go on with

the following experiments.

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EXPERIMENTS

1) Obtain an Impedance Diagram for the given samples of standard metals:-

Ferrite, Copper, 7075-0, 7075-T6, Brass, Magnesium, Bronze, Lead and SS
304, using the 10 kHz probe.

Repeat the experiment using 2000 kHz probe.

Repeat the experiment for brass using 100 and 500 kHz probes,
respectively. Together with the previous results, re-plot the results
of 10, 100, 500, 2000 kHz for brass to see the effect of frequency.

Discussion: a) The Impedance diagrams obtained, their shape etc. the

impedance diagram.

b) Discuss the effects of frequency and materials on the

appearance of the impedance diagram. Explain how to
choose the optimal condition for different materials.

2) Determine what metals the given unknown samples A, B, and C are made
of. Use the impedance diagrams obtained previously.

Discussion: Explain the principles and how the determination was made.
Comment on your choice of probe frequency.

3) Obtain the Sheet Thickness Loci for lead, using first the 10 kHz probe
and then the 500 kHz probe.

Repeat the experiment to obtain the sheet thickness loci for aluminium
using the same two frequencies.

Discussion: a) Explain the physical considerations behind the

experiment.

b) Discuss the effect of frequency on the sheet thickness

loci.

c) Comment on the range of thickness measurements best

suited to determine the sheet thickness of
lead/aluminium at the frequencies used.

4) Determine the thickness of the two given specimens; one of lead -sample
D, the other of aluminum - sample E.

Discussion: Explain the physical principle of this measurement.

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5) Calibrate the Lift-Off Loci for copper and for aluminum at frequency
10 kHz and 500 kHz, using sheets of non-conducting material e.g. sheets
of paper.

Draw calibration graphs using the loci obtained from the eddyscope.

6) Determine the thickness of the paper specimen - sample F, using the two
frequency probes and compare the results.

Discussion: a) Explain the principle of this measurement.

b) Discuss the effect of frequency on the accuracy of

measurement.

c) Compare this experiment with experiment 4.

7) Determine: a) The metal of which sample G is made up of.

b) The thickness of the paint on sections 1, 2, and 3 of

sample G. using the two frequency probes, and compare
the results.

Discussion: a) Explain the principle of this measurement.

b) Compare this experiment with experiments 4 and 6.

GENERAL DISCUSSION

Try to answer the following questions based upon your experiments, the
brochure and references:

• What properties can be revealed, detected or identified by the impedance

testing technique?

• What are the advantages of using the surface probes?

• What are the advantages of Eddy current testing?

• What are the limitations of Eddy current testing?

• What are the applications of Eddy current testing, apart from those
performed in the experiments?

LXY

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