Innovative concept and application of EC probe for inspection of friction stir welds
by P. Vilaça; T.G. Santos; L. Rosado; R.M. Miranda
International Journal of Microstructure and Materials Properties (IJMMP), Vol. 9, No. 3/4/5, 2014

Abstract: This paper addresses a new non-destructive testing (NDT) system composed by a planar eddy currents (EC) probe (ionic probe), electronic devices for signal generation, conditioning and conversion, automated mechanised scanning, and analysis software. The ionic probe allows a 3D-induced current in the material and an easy interpretation of the signal based on a comprehensible perturbation of the signal. This provides enhanced lift-off immunity and improved sensitivity. The ionic system was developed focussing micro-defects detection on aluminium alloys processed by FSW. The experimental results in AA2024 welded by FSW clearly show that this system is able to detect imperfections around 50 µm, which contribute to increasing the reliability on NDT of micro-imperfections. EC conventional probes are also applied as material characterisation technique. Results are compared to micro-structural analysis, and hardness measurements show that EC can map the different zones, providing a deeper understanding on precipitate dispersion and grain shape and size.

Online publication date: Fri, 16-Jan-2015

The full text of this article is only available to individual subscribers or to users at subscribing institutions.

 
Existing subscribers:
Go to Inderscience Online Journals to access the Full Text of this article.

Pay per view:
If you are not a subscriber and you just want to read the full contents of this article, buy online access here.

Complimentary Subscribers, Editors or Members of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Microstructure and Materials Properties (IJMMP):
Login with your Inderscience username and password:

Username:        Password:          Forgotten your password?

Want to subscribe?
A subscription gives you complete access to all articles in the current issue, as well as to all articles in the previous three years (where applicable). See our Orders page to subscribe.

If you still need assistance, please email subs@inderscience.com