Investigation on magnetic shield thickness of remote field eddy current probes for inspection of ferromagnetic and non-ferromagnetic plates

Abstract

Since Remote field eddy current (RFEC) detection technology is barely limited by the skin effect, it can realize the defect detection of large-thickness components. Whereas, the structure of the RFEC probe for the planar conductor is complicated, resulting in an oversized probe. This hinders the application and development of the RFEC testing technology. In this paper, finite element simulations and experimental verification are used to optimize the RFEC probe structure for flat conductors. The results have shown that the thickness of the magnetic shield is the dominant factor in achieving high performance of RFEC inspection of flat conductors. When inspecting both ferromagnetic and non-ferromagnetic flat conductors, cylindrical magnetic shields with appropriate thickness and appropriate excitation frequencies are preferred for improvement of RFEC testing.