GE Inspection Technologies

Eddy Current

Whitepaper - Eddy Current

Author - Chris Hocking

Digital | Eddy Current | Film | Testing Machines | Ultrasonics | X-ray

Applications
Coating Thickness Measurement Dynamic Automated Inspection General Crack Detection Fastener Inspection Hole Inspection Material Sorting / Conductivity Measurement Rail Inspection (railway lines and associated applications) Thread Inspection Tube Inspection Weld Inspection Wheel Inspection Page 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 19 20 21 23

Coating Thickness Measurement

Coating thickness measurement is carried out for two main reasons: 1. Quality Control - determining how thick a protective coating is. 2. Inuence on an eddy current test - dierent coating thicknesses can cause a change in the sensitivity or the frequency needed for the inspection. Eddy currents are capable of determining coating thickness on non conductive coatings on a conductive base material. It is also possible to determine the coating thickness of non-magnetic metallic coatings on metallic bases providing there is a dierence in material properties (conductivity and magnetic permeability). Eddy Current Probes Most eddy current probes can be used for coating thickness measurement, however, in practice it is important that the probe mechanically stable. For this reason it is recommended that at faced or sprung probes, typically used in material sorting, are used.

Sprung probe e.g. 806P1

Flat faced probe e.g. 700P11A

Flat faced probe e.g. 720P1F4

Dynamic Automated Inspection

Eddy current NDT is highly suited to high speed dynamic inspection becuase: it has high surface inspection speeds (up to 5m per sec) there is no need for a couplant (so there is minimal surface preperation) the probe can scan with a gap between itself and the test surface. This is most conveniently applied to conponents that are rotationally symmetrical such as: tapered bearings gudgeon pins ball pins axels wheel hubs and so on Eddy Current Probes Probes for dynamic automated inspection are generally dierentiated. This means that the probes contain two or more coils which are electrically arranged to be in opposition to each other. This arrangement minimises eects which act on both coils simultaneously (e.g. material variations, temperature).

Eddy Current Crack Detection

Surface Inspection Eddy Current NDT is widely used for the detection of surface breaking defects in ferrous and non ferrous metals.

Surface Inspection Probes (high frequency) Due to the extremely small size of the probe core they are able to inspect aras of poor accessibility. Probes can easily be designed to t your specic application. See the Special Design Checklist for more infomation. The frequency is chosen to give a good phase seperation between the lift o signal and the defect indication. In practise, this means that generally good results can be achieved on: Aluminium with a 2 MHz probe Titanium with a 6 MHz probe and Ferrous materials with a 100 - 200 Hz probe

A high-frequency probe bing scanned across a calibration block

Shielded surface probe

Unshielded surface probe

Impedance plane analysis and display of the results of scanning block

Sub-Surface Inspection Probes (low frequency) The frequency of the test and the probe size determine the depth of the test , with lower frequency, larger diameter probes giving a deeper test.

Sub-Surface Inspection By using low frequencies on non ferrous metals, eddy currents can be used to inspect for sub-surface defects on materials such as aluminium, stainless steel, titanium and so on. Defects typically detected by this method include sub-surface corrosion and cracks.
Examples of sub-surface inspection probes

Fastener Inspection
Eddy Current NDT can be used to detect defects around fastener holes with the fastener still in place. Inspections are applicable to all types of fasteners including screws, bolts, rivits and so on. Eddy Current Probes A range of probes are available for the inspection of fasteners: Ring or Doughnut Probe - most simple form of probe available Sliding Probe (Transmit/Receive Probe) - a more rapid form of inspection Hocking FastScan Probe - provides a dual frequency solution Please see the table below for a comparison of the dierent types of probes: Ease of use/setup Ring Probe Sliding Probe FastScan Excellent Good Average Speed of inpsection Good Excellent Average Sensitive to defects in all directions Excellent Average Excellent Sensitivity of inspection Average Excellent Excellent

Sliding probe

Righ/Doughnut probe

FastScan probe

Hole Inspection
The inspection of holes in metals is often essential as the stresses around them are twice as high as in the rest of the material, causing fatigue cracks to grow. Eddy Current Probes Eddy current probes provide an ideal solution as they can go into extremely small holes. They can be made to measure to t any diameter - the smallest currently has a 1.6mm diameter. Manual Hole Inspection Probes Rigid - suitable for where there is no problems with access Flexible - suitable for areas of poor access as the probe shaft can bend around problematic geometry.
Flexible diameter rotary probe Set diameter rotary probe

Hocking Probe Drive The MiniDrive has been specially designed for dynamic rotary hole inspections. It makes the inspection of fastener holes, even in conned spaces, simple and accurate and can help test the largest number of holes in the shortest amount of time.

Rigid manual probe MiniDrive with set diameter probe

Flexible manual probe

Dynamic Rotary Hole Inspection Probes These are most suited where there are a large quantity of holes to inspect rapidly and with high levels of accuracy. Set diameter - suitable for applications where the hole diameter is known in advance. These probes are extremely robust. Flexible diameter - a split tip is provided for inspections where hole sizes vary or are not known in advance.

MiniDrive with Flexible Diameter Probe

Materials Sorting / Conductivity Measurement

Electrical conductivity of a material is a measure of the ease with which electrons will ow within it. A material having a high conductivity, e.g. copper, will permit eddy currents to ow more than a material having a low conductivity, e.g. lead or non-metals. Conductivity changes in materials can be caused by variations in: Heat treatment Chemical Composition Temperature Eddy currents can be used to measure conductivity, for the purpose of metal sorting or dening areas of heat damage. Eddy current instruments designed for measuring conductivity are usually calibrated in Percentage International Annealed Copper Standard (IACS). This is a standard whereby pure copper is said to be 100% IACS, all other conductivities being compared with it.

Non Ferrous Materials Conductivity probes may be used for sorting nonferrous materials. The main advantage of using conductivity probes is that a quantitative measure of conductivity is given. The probes are used for the following purposes. Alloy identication and verication Verication of heat treatment during manufacture and to detect in-service heat damage Detection of changes in material grade Metal sorting Determine the density of powder metal parts Ferrous Materials Because of the ferrous materials magnetic permeability, it is not posssible to get a quantitative measure of conductivity, so a comparative method must be used to sort between good and bad samples.

Eddy Current Rail Inspection

The Inspection Problem The early detection of conditions in rail that may lead to a break is now a critical activity in the maintenance of rail worldwide. Understanding of these mechanisms is constantly improving and the evolution of a range of complementary NDT techniques now means that the engineer has a better choice than ever of tools for the task. In addition to the maintenance of the rail, there is a growing requirement for inspection techniques on the rolling stock itself. The rapid inspection of axels, wheels and bogies is essential for the safe operation of the rail network. This document aims to give you a brief overview of the dierent NDT inspection methods currently used on railways around the world. Eddy Current NDT will be introduced as a new method of complementing these inspections along with why and where this inspection method is needed to ensure rail integrity.

NDT Rail Solutions NDT Inspections have been used for a number of years to check our railway tracks for a range of faults. There are a variety of methods available for use, the most common of which are mentioned below. 2.1 Visual Inspection This form of inspection is widely used, but produces the poorest results of all the methods. It is now becoming widely accepted that even surface cracking often cannot be seen by the naked eye. 2.2 Ultrasonic Inspection Ultrasonic Inspections are common place in the rail industry. Its a relatively well understood technique and was thought to be the best solution to crack detection. However, Ultrasonics can only inspect the core of materials; that is, the method cannot check for surface and near-surface cracking where many of the faults are located. This is where eddy currents come in. 2.3 Eddy Current Inspection Eddy Currents are most eectively used to check for cracking located at the surface of metals such as rails. Figure 1 shows the dierent inspection areas covered by eddy currents and ultrasonic. It is important to emphasise at this stage that ultrasonics and eddy currents are complementary inspection methods and should not be used exclusively of one another (g. 1)

Figure 1 - The dierent inspection areas covered by ET & UT

Eddy Current Good at detecting surface defects Near sub-surface defects reasonable to detect Deep sub-surface defect detection is impossible Probes are less sensitive to aw operation

Ultrasonic Poor at detecting surface defects Near sub-surface defects dicult to detect Good sub-surface defect detection Signal is strongly inuenced by aw orientation No couplant needed, Couplant is needed stable results between probe and material - variable results Probe can be made wide Defect must be on and proled to cover probe cnetre line wear face Faster inspection speeds Slow inspection speeds

2.4 Magnetic Particle Inspection MPI is also used in the rail industry but there are a number of problems inherent with the technique. The surface of the rail or component must rst be cleaned of all coatings, rust and so on. To get a sensitive reading, contrast paint must rst be applied to the rail, followed by the magnetic particle coating. The same inspection must then be carried out in two dierent directions at a very slow overall speed. On top of this, the end results will be less sensitive than those achieved with eddy currents.

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Type of Cracking and Where it Occurs A number of main areas have been identied where cracking occurs): Rail Heads Switch Blades Bolt Holes Foot of the Rail Thermite Welds

Inspection of Rail Heads Contact Stresses Cracking can be found in the head of all types of track, but is predominantly found on highly canted curves where stresses develop due to the extra pressure and wear of the wheel on the rail (see Figure 3).

Figure 3 - Contact stresses on tight curved track * Area of high stress prone to developing cracking on and near the surface of the rail head

Water & Lubricants Water from rain, snow or dew can become trapped in defects in the rail along with oil and diesel. When a wheel runs over a track with entrapped uid in a crack, a very high localised press at the crack tip will cause the crack to grow (see Figure 4).

Figure 4 - Trapped uids causing cracking to worsen

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As the wheel approaches the crack the mouth opens up to draw water in. Then, as the wheel passes over the crack it closes up the entrance of the crack mouth, trapping water inside so that the crack tip stays open allowing further growth. Tongue Lipping Tongue lipping develops because surface-breaking cracks are already present on the rail. Stresses caused by trains passing over the rail cause the crack to develop into a tongue which will continue to grow (see Figure 5). Ultrasonic inspections cannot reliably detect the cracks that cause tongue lipping due to their shape, size and angle. However, eddy currents can. This means that the cracking that causes tongue lipping can be identied early enough for preventative action to be taken.

Companies such as Railtrack in the UK carry out grinding on all their tracks to try and pre-empt the problem of tongue lipping. However, this raises a number of important questions all of which eddy current inspection can answer: i. When should the grinding take place? Regular eddy current inspections will identify when grinding will need to take place. Without inspecting the track rst, expensive and time consuming grinding could be carried out for no reason. ii. How often should it take place? Currently many tracks are ground according to a schedule. However, this doesnt take into consideration factors that may cause more or less cracking to develop than is usual. E.g. environmental conditions, increased trac, abnormal side loading etc.

Figure 5 - Tongue lipping developing from existing cracks

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iii. Has it solved the problem of cracking? Without the use of eddy currents it cannot be determine whether grinding of the rails has even solved the problem. That is, it cannot be guaranteed all the cracking has been successfully remove. A quick post-grinding test will conrm success or highlight where extra works needs to be carried out. Squats Squats and tongue lipping have a number of factors in common. Both start as surface-breaking cracks and are bought about by similar causes. The dierence is that squats usually develop at a point where high contact stresses occur as a result of a local irregularity in the rail head e.g. at a worn weld. Advantages of eddy current inspection: Faster than visual inspection Can identify cracking at a much earlier stage than ultrasonic testing allowing preventative measure to be carried out Wheel Burn Wheel burns are the result of frictional heating produced by a spinning wheelset. The eect of very rapid heating produced by the spinning wheel and subsequent rapid cooling is to change the structure of the rail head top layer into martensite. The presence of the martensite layer makes the rail untestable ultrasonically. This layer is also very brittle with the result that it tends to spall o very easily. Additionally, the railhead surface irregularity will signicantly increase dynamic impact forces and the likelihood of rail breakage will be raised.

Although these areas cannot be tested ultrasonically, eddy current inspections can be applied. The screen shot (gure 6 below) shows a Locator 2s instrument with a WideScan probe clearly picking up cracking within an area of wheel burn.

Figure 6 - Signal showing the detection of a crack in an area of wheel burn

Inspection of Switch Blades Switch blades are subject to a tremendous amount of stress due to the relatively thin section of metal carrying the weight of transport usually supported by much thicker track rail. Cracking is usually found along the top of the blade, and along the sides. As with thermite welding, a WideScan probe can be used for the head of the rail, while a WeldScan probe is suitable for the sides. The WideScan inspection trolley has a spring mechanism that lets it automatically adjust to the increasing blade width (Fig. 7). WideScan Probe the eddy current solution As the stresses discussed so far are occurring on and near the surface of the material, it is virtually impossible to detect cracking with ultrasonics and relatively straightforward with eddy current. This capability has been enhanced with the development of the patented WideScan probe. The probe is contoured to the surface of the rail and runs along the surface transmitting results back to an eddy current instrument via a probe and cable. The instruments are able to store the information which can then be downloaded onto a computer for future analysis and records (gures 8&9).

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Figure 7 - Inspection of switch blades using WideScan and WeldScan probes

Figure 8 & 9 - WeldScan probe and Phasec 2s

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The WideScan probe is unique due to the large surface area it covers. This means that it can detect cracking over the entire rail head in just one sweep. It doesnt matter where on the head the cracking is as long as its surface breaking.

Figure 10 - Phasec 2s and WideScan probe being used by hand to check a section of rail. The equipment can also be attached to an inspection trolly (see gure 11) or a vehicle that runs along the track

Figure 11 - Trolley-mounted WideScan probe

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Inspection of Welded Areas General Welds Welds are ground after welding which can lead to a slightly dierent prole around the weld than from that of the rest of the rail. The resulting change in rail prole has been found to have a signicant eect on the contact stresses between rail and wheel, resulting in rolling contact fatigue. Subsequent cracking has been found at the edges of the weld or in the body of the weld itself. Thermite Welds Thermic welding is used on sections of continuously welded rail (CWR) where two rails are welded together by means of an exothermic reaction. This method introduces a weak point in to the structure of the rail. As a rule they are very rough as the ash (surplus weld) has not been removed and so could damage any fragile inspection probe. However,

dressing (smoothing down) the weld can be time consuming and expensive, but may also weaken the weld itself. Hockings WeldScan range of probes has been designed specically to test for surface breaking cracks in welds. What makes the probe so special is its ability to test even very rough surfaces covered with rust or coatings such as paint and oil. Inspection of Bolt Holes Bolt holes are positioned regularly along the length of the rail and are subject to cracking due to the stresses placed upon them.

Figure 13 - Eddy Current inspection of bolt holes

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Rather than removing each bolt to inspect the hole underneath, an eddy current WeldScan or Pencil probe can be used to inspect the area around the bolt to determine whether any cracks are radiating from the area. Its important to note that no surface preparation is needed for this eddy current inspection, unlike most other NDT methods, e.g. MPI. If cracking is detected, the bolt can be removed and a special bolt-hole probe can be used to check the hole itself for conrmation of cracking and to determine the size and position of the crack (see gure 13). Inspecting the Rail Foot Fatigue cracking due to the stress of trains travelling along the track often occurs around the foot of the rail.

A special WideScan probe can be contoured so that it exactly ts the foot and checks for surface-breaking, fatigue cracking. The probe cannot test the areas around the clips or springs that attach the rail to the track, but a WeldScan can be used around these areas. The arrows in green (gure 14) show the areas of the foot where the WideScan probe can inspect. The arrows in white show where WeldScan must be used.

Figure 14 - Inspection of the foot of the rail

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Summary Eddy current inspections form a vital part of checking rails for the cracks and faults that can lead to serious accidents. Ultrasonic inspections alone do not cover all areas the rail as the technique cannot see surface and near-surface defects. As many of the cracks appearing in rails are fatigue induced and thus surface-breaking, it is important to employ eddy current inspection methods in order to detect them. Throughout this document, solutions have been suggested for a number of applications. Figure 15 shows a summary of which eddy current probes we believe are the most suited to those applications.

Figure 15 - Eddy Current probes for rail inspections

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Thread Inspection
Threads are commonly used to connect mechanical items together and forms a likey location for fatigue cracks. Eddy Current Probes In order to inspect the root of the thread, specially shaped tipped probes must be used. Both male and female threads may be inspected.

Pencil-type probes are available for hand-held manual inspection, but for more rapid and repeatable inspections, saddle and plug-type probes must be used, suitable to the thread form. Semi-automated bolt hole inspection is also available in the form of the Inconel Bolt Hole Tester.

Plug probe

Saddle Probe

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Eddy Current Tube Inspection

Heat exchanger tubing is subject to a number of problems, the nature of which is usually a characteristic of the material and application. Typical problems found include the following: Corrosion is the most common problem, while tubing materials are generally chosen to resist attack from the uids passing around them, those uids are seldom pure. In power station condensers using sea water as a coolant the most common problem is hydrogen sulphide produced by bacteria metabolising sewage, this attacks most copper alloys. In petrochemical plants impurities such as hydrogen chloride or ammonia can also give problems. Stress Corrosion results when tubes containing residual stresses are exposed to a corrosive environment. The grains of the metal tend to separate when weakened by corrosion, exposing fresh sites for attack. This can lead to rapid cracking of the material, usually in a circumferential direction. Corrosion erosion or impingement attack results from the combination of corrosive agents with mechanical attack from suspended sand, foreign bodies, or from turbulent ow of the cooling liquid. This prevents the formation of a protective lm on the surface of the tubing, greatly increasing the corrosion rate in the exposed areas.

Mechanical damage may come from a variety of sources. Foreign bodies in the coolant may cause damage. Poorly designed condensers have inadequate baing of steam, leading to erosion of tubing in the steam inlet areas. Improper operation of air conditioning systems may allow water to freeze in evaporators, resulting in freeze bulging or cracking. Many types of heat exchanger are subject to vibration, resulting in rapid damage to tubes loosened by corrosion or improper assembly. Mechanical damage due to vibration is quite common where Copper Nickel Alloy tubes have been replaced with thinner, less rigid titanium tubes, for which the support is marginally adequate. Heat exchangers designed for such tubing generally have support plates closer together. In extreme cases the vibration may be so severe that adjacent tubes collide, causing wear or cracking. Periodic eddy current testing of a heat exchanger assembly allows tubes with such problems to be identied before they lead to failure. With knowledge of the problems experienced in the application it is possible to determine which tubes are likely to deteriorate unacceptably before the next overhaul. These may then be plugged or replaced; resulting in a much higher level of condence in the reliability of the heat exchanger. In addition to the detection of such defects, Eddy Current testing can also be used to monitor other conditions, such as the build up of external sludge and to verify the degree of expansion at tube sheets during manufacture.

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Eddy current inspection of welds for cracks & corrosion

The Importance of Weld Inspection The quality of welds is becoming increasingly important as customer expectations rise. Products and components are expected to be of a high quality and not to fail unexpectedly. Such failures have large nancial and social consequences that can often be avoided with the proper inspection techniques. Inspecting welds can also reduce costs by detecting defects in the early stages of manufacture, reducing the cost of customer returns and extending the life of components by detecting and correcting any defects. Eddy Current Non Destructive Testing is a reliable, quick and inexpensive way to carry out preventative maintenance and ensure safety. Hockings range of eddy current equipment has a world-wide reputation for its reliability and accuracy, while their service, support and training ensure that you make the most of your equipment. Eddy Current Testing on Welds In welding inspection there is a need to detect surface breaking defects. For magnetic material e.g. carbon steel, generally magnetic particle inspection is used. However, eddy current inspection oers a number of advantages: No consumables used - e.g. ink & contrast paint Ability to test areas with poor access No surface preparation required - e.g. paint doesnt need to be removed, saving time in preparation for the inspection and in any recoating of surfaces Improved sensitivity - ability to detect smaller defects using specially developed Hocking WeldScan probes.

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WeldScan Probes Hocking NDT have developed the WeldScan range of probes specically to check welds for cracks and corrosion. Examples of areas where it is currently used include: Oshore platforms Buildings Bridges Amusement park rides Ships, boats, submarines etc. Cranes Trac signals Aircrafts

WeldScan probes have been designed to be extremely hard-wearing so that they can handle the rough weld surface while still picking up any faults in the weld. Advantages of WeldScan probes include: Faster then MPI (Magnetic Particle Inspection) Portability of equipment - light, handheld and easily transported Accepted method of use - see British and European Standard 1711:2000 May be used by rope access technicians Approved for use by Lloyds Register, DNV and Bureau Vertias - certifying authorities for ships and oshore structures. Waterproof WeldScan probe range is available for sub-sea weld inspection See more information on the WeldScan range of probes and download a datasheet. You can also request weld inspection application notes.

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Wheel Inspection
There are four main solutions for testing wheels depending on the volume, accuracy required, prole of wheel and so on. Solution 1 - Pencil Probe Standard surface inspection with a pencil probe & bolt hole inspection with a bolt hole probe. Solution 2 - Bead Seat Probe Bead seat probes are made to t the bead seat area of wheel and scan a width of about 50mm which gives a more rapid inpsection than with a pencil probe. A bolt hole probe is needed to inspect the bolt holes. Solution 3 - WheelScan LT WheelScan Lt provides a semi-automatic solution for the inspection of small, low volume of wheels. More information on WheelScan LT Solution 4 - WheelScan 5 Automatic, fast and highly accurate wheel inspection solution. The best solution where accuracy and, therefore safety, cannot be comprimised. The WheelScan range is commonly used in the airline industry.

The table below shows the advantages and disadvantages of each of these options. Advantages Low cost. Suits all types of wheels. Disadvantages Very low volume inspection (about 2 wheels per hr). Poor surface coverage due to human factor. Low volume inspection. Reduced sensitivity to aws. Dierent probe needed for each wheel prole Cost. Doesnt cover entire wheel prole. Cost.

Solution 1

Solution 2

Low cost. Slightly faster.

Solution 3

Solution 4

Portable, faster, more repeatable. Suits wide range of wheel proles. Very high volume inspection (about 10-20 wheels per hour). Data recording of wheel test. Suits all wheel proles.

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Aircraft Wheel Inspection

Aircraft wheels are subject to high level cyclic fatigue, particularly during landing. To ensure the safety of passengers and the aircraft, it is important that the wheels are maintained to the highest standard. Eddy Current wheel inspection is widely accepted throughout the world as a rapid and reliable means of maintaining the integrity of aircraft wheels.

Automotive Wheel Inspection

Scanning wheels to prevent failure isnt restricted to the aerospace industry. Formula 1 racing teams have recently started utilising the same technology to ensure there isnt a failure during the middle of a race.

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Contact Information
For more information about Eddy Current technology or products, please contact us at the following address: GE Inspection Technologies Ltd 129-135 Camp Road St Albans Herts. AL1 5HL UK Tel: Fax: Email: Web: +44 (0)1727 795500 +44 (0)1727 795400 hockinginfo@ae.ge.com www.GEInspectionTechnologies.com

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