A novel E-shaped coil for eddy current testing

Purpose – Eddy current testing (ECT) is widely used in the non-destructive evaluation of materials in different industries. In this paper, ECT has been used to detect the presence of cracks in boiler tubes. The most important feature in ECT is the way in which the eddy currents are induced and detected in the sample. The authors have tried to design a new sensor that is effective in detecting cracks in boiler tubes. The purpose of this paper is to study the response of this sensor to cracks of different depths and dimensions. Design/methodology/approach – The designed eddy current sensor is equipped with an exciting and a sensing coil. An alternating current is passed through the exciting coil thus producing eddy currents. The sensing coil scans the outer surface of the boiler tube and looks for abrupt changes in output signals resulting from sharp discontinuities in structure. Findings – The sensor designed can detect the position of the crack. The presence of crack is indicated by a reduction in the induced voltage in the sensing coil. The sensor is also used for characterisation of the cracks, and can distinguish between cracks of varying shape, size and depth. The sensitivity of the sensing coil to cracks is dependent on operating conditions, such as frequency and voltage of the excitation signal. Practical implications – The new sensor designed is used to detect defects in boiler tubes in power plants. However, the operating conditions, such as excitation frequency and amplitude will vary with composition of the boiler tubes. Originality/value – The new eddy current sensor designed for crack detection is an E-shaped core coil. The shape of the coil provides a high permeability path to the magnetic field lines, thus reducing the loss of the field produced. This helps in improving the sensitivity of the coil, and makes the detection system effective in detecting hairline cracks.