EDDY CURRENT INSPECTION

• Eddy currents are created through a process called

electromagnetic induction.
• When alternating current is applied to the
conductor, such as copper wire, a magnetic field
develops in and around the conductor.
• This magnetic field expands as the alternating
current rises to maximum and collapses as the
current is reduced to zero. (Alternating)
• If another electrical conductor is brought into the
close proximity to this changing magnetic field,
current will be induced in this second conductor.
• Eddy currents are induced electrical currents that
flow in a circular path.
 Electromagnetic field produced
by alternating current

Generation of eddy current

in test object.
Eddy currents can be used for
• Crack Detection
• Material Thickness Measurements
• Coating Thickness Measurements
• Conductivity Measurements for:
– Material Identification
– Heat Damage Detection
– Case Depth Determination
– Heat Treatment Monitoring
Advantages
• Sensitive to small cracks and other defects
• Detects surface and near surface defects
• Inspection gives immediate results
• Equipment is highly portable
• Can be used other 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
Limitations
• Only conductive materials can be inspected
• Surface must be accessible to the probe
• Extensive skill and training required than
other techniques
• Surface finish and roughness may interfere
• Reference standards needed for setup
• Depth of penetration is limited
• Flaws that lie parallel to the probe coil
winding and probe scan direction are
undetectable
Electromagnetic induction or Induction
• The process of generating electrical current in
a conductor by placing the conductor in a
changing magnetic field.
• When an AC current is flowing through a piece
of wire in a circuit, an electromagnetic field is
produced that is constantly growing and
shrinking and changing direction due to the
constantly changing current in the wire.
• This changing magnetic field induces electrical
current in another wire or circuit that is brought
close to the wire in the primary circuit.
• The current in the second wire will also be
AC and in fact will look very similar to the
current flowing in the first wire.
• Note: It is the changing magnetic field that is
responsible for inductance, it is present only
in AC circuits and that high frequency AC
will result in greater inductive reactance
since the magnetic field is changing more
rapidly.
• When induction occurs in an electrical circuit
and affects the flow of electricity it is called
inductance.
 Self-Inductance
• It is the induction of a voltage in a current-carrying
wire when the current in the wire itself is changing.
In the case of self-inductance, the magnetic field
created by a changing current in the circuit itself
induces a voltage in the same circuit. Therefore,
the voltage is self-induced.
 Mutual Inductance
(The Basis for Eddy Current Inspection)

• The magnetic flux through a circuit can be

related to the current in that circuit and the
currents in other nearby circuits, assuming
that there are no nearby permanent magnets.
• The magnetic field produced by circuit 1 will
intersect the wire in circuit 2 and create
current flow. The induced current flow in
circuit 2 will have its own magnetic field
which will interact with the magnetic field of
circuit 1. At some point P on the magnetic
field consists of a part due to i1 and a part
due to i2. These fields are proportional to
the currents producing them.
• The coils in the circuits are labeled L1 and L2 and
this term represents the self inductance of each of
the coils.
• The values of L1 and L2 depend on the
geometrical arrangement of the circuit (i.e. number
of turns in the coil) and the conductivity of the
material.
• The constant M, called the mutual inductance of
the two circuits and it is dependent on the
geometrical arrangement of both circuits.
• In particular, if the circuits are far apart, the
magnetic flux through circuit 2 due to the current i1
will be small and the mutual inductance will be
small.
• L2 and M are constants.
 Coil

Conductive Material

•The test probe is basically a coil of wire through which

alternating current is passed.
•When the probe is connected to an eddy-scope
instrument, it is basically represented by circuit above.
The second circuit can be any piece of conductive
material.
• Surface probes generally
consist of a coil of very
fine wire encased in a
protective housing. The
size of the coil and shape
of the housing are
determined by the
intended use of the probe.
Most of the coils are
wound so that the axis of
the coil is perpendicular to
the test surface
Scanning Probes: The surface of semi-finished
products or components is scanned with scanning
probes. Allows maximum flaw resolution
 •Discontinuities, such as delaminations, that are in a
parallel plane to the test surface will likely go
undetected with this coil configuration.

• Bobbin probes:
inserted into a piece of
pipe to inspect from
the inside out

•OD or Encircling probes: the coil or coils encircle

the pipe or solid bar to inspect from the outside in.
Encircling Probes: conventionally cover the
frequency band up to approx. 10 MHz. Generally
used for testing for surface flaws. Semi-finished
products, such as wires, bars and tubes, are tested
for local flaws in the form of cracks and holes.
 Thickness of paint and plastic coating :

Principle: Evaluate the effect of liftoff on impedance.

• Theory: Coating serves as a spacer
between the probe and the conductive
surface. As the distance between the
probe and the conductive base metal
increases, the eddy current field strength
decreases because less of the probe's
magnetic field can interact with base metal.
• Thickness range: between 0.5 and 25 µm
(accuracy of approx 10% for lower values
and 4% for higher values.
 Eddy Current: Depth of Penetration
• Eddy currents are closed loops of induced
current circulating in planes perpendicular
to the magnetic flux.
• They normally travel parallel to the coil's
winding and flow is limited to the area of the
inducing magnetic field.
• Eddy currents concentrate near the surface
adjacent to an excitation coil and their
strength decreases with distance from the
coil
• The depth of penetration decreases with
increasing frequency and increasing conductivity
and magnetic permeability.
• The depth at which eddy current density has
decreased to 1/e, or about 37% of the surface
density, is called the standard depth of
penetration (d).
• Although eddy currents penetrate deeper than
one standard depth of penetration they decrease
rapidly with depth. At two standard depths of
penetration (2d), eddy current density has
decreased to 1/e squared or 13.5% of the surface
density. At three depths (3d) the eddy current
density is down to only 5% of the surface density
• Skin effect: Eddy current density
decreases exponentially with depth. This
phenomenon is known as the.
• 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 net magnetic
flux and causing a decrease in current flow
as depth increases.
• Sensitivity: The sensitivity of an eddy
current inspection depends on the eddy
current density at the defect location, it is
important to know the strength of the eddy
currents at this location.
• When attempting to locate flaws, a
frequency is often selected which places
the expected flaw depth within one standard
depth of penetration. This helps to assure
that the strength of the eddy currents will be
sufficient to produce a flaw indication.
 Phase Lag
• Phase lag is a parameter of the eddy current
signal that makes it possible to obtain information
about the depth of a defect within a material.
• It is the shift in time between the eddy current
response from a disruption on the surface and a
disruption at some distance below the surface.
• The generation of eddy currents can be thought of
as a diffusion process meaning that the eddy
currents below the surface take a little longer to
form than those at the surface.
• Therefore, subsurface defects will be detected by
the eddy current instrument a little later in time
than surface defects.
• Both the signal voltage and current will have this
phase shift or lag with depth
• Phase lag is an important parameter in eddy
current testing because it makes it possible to
estimate the depth of a defect and with proper
reference specimens, determine the rough size
of a defect.
• The signal produced by a flaw depends on both
amplitude and phase of the eddy currents being
disrupted.
• A small surface defect and large internal defect
can have a similar effect on the magnitude of
test coil impedance. However, because of the
increasing phase lag with depth, there will be a
characteristic difference in the test coil
impedance
• A coil consists of a length of wire wound in a
helical manner around the length of a
cylindrical tube or rod, called a former. The
winding usually has more than one layer so
as to increase the value of inductance for a
given length of coil.
• wire is made from copper or other nonferrous
metal to avoid magnetic hysteresis effects.
• The higher the inductance L of a coil, at a
given frequency, the greater the sensitivity of
eddy current testing.
 Sensitivity: Higher inductance
• Higher: mean radius of the coil.
• Lower: radius of the core
• Smaller: length of the coil.
• Higher: number of turns.