Theoretical study on eddy current tests for ferromagnetic materials

The eddy current tests of ferromagnetic materials are theoretically analyzed employing a Globus model for the magnetization process, and the impedance change of a coil due to the presence of flaws contained in a magnetic conductor is derived employing Green’s function technique. The results show that for an excitation field which is lower than the critical field, the impedance change is maximum when the residual magnetization (or the dc magnetic field applied for the magnetic saturation of the conductor) is absent but for a large field the impedance change becomes maximum when the appropriate dc magnetic field in which the differential permeability reaches its maximum value is applied. For small surface flaws, the volume inhomogeneity mainly contributes to the reactance change of the coil whereas the discontinuity in magnetic permeability contributes to both real and imaginary parts of the impedance change. The dependence of the impedance change on flaw shape is shown explicitly in the derived formula.