Advances in Electromagnetic NDE and its Applications to the steel and allied industries

Abstract

Increasing demands in the performance requirements from industrial components and structures has put the onus on Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) techniques and proc-esses to improve the capability, reliability and produc-tivity in the detection and characterization of flaws and other material properties which can impact its structural integrity. Electromagnetic NDE techniques have been very widely used in the industry for surface & near-surface flaws at all stages; raw material,manufacturing / fabri-cation, maintenance, in-service and remaining life estima-tes. Over the decades, there have been a number of advan-cements in all adjacent disciplines thus giving rise to large number of advancements in the area of electro-magnetic NDE. The large range of materials used in to-day's industry, the complex shape of components for greater efficiency, the ability to process dat a at fast rates, the capability to miniaturize sensors and create arrays, desire to automate the inspection process and the need to expand the application space for the electro-magnetic NDE techniques have also brought along with it a set of challenges which need effective solutions. Apart from the technique advancements such as the use of multi-frequency, remote field and pulsed eddy current for newer and challenging inspections, the use of the higher end of the electromagnetic spectrum such as microwave and tera-hertz are being extensively explored today.