EMAT
EMAT
Transducers (EMATs)
I
Ie
SB
Key Features:
non-contact/no couplant
F=IxB
easy automation
low sensitivity
high reproducibility
high-temperature inspection
material dependent
easy to customize
Normal-Beam EMATs
spiral coil
radially polarized shear wave
rectangular coil
linearly polarized shear wave
N
N
B0
B0
symmetric coil
longitudinal wave
B0 N
SH
SV
SHn
Shear
Horizontal
Propagation
Sn
Symmetric
Propagation
An
Antisymmetric Propagation
(UT)
thickness measurement,
flaw detection,
material property characterization.
EMAT has found its applications in many
industries such as primary metal manufacturing
and processing, automotive, railroad, pipeline,
boiler and pressure vessel industries
non-contact/no couplant
easy automation
low sensitivity
high speed scanning
requires special electronics
high reproducibility
high-temperature inspection
material dependent
minimal wear
less surface preparation required
easy to customize
EMAT Principles or
Generation Mechanism
1. LORENTZ FORCE when the material is conductive
2. MAGNETOSTRICTIVE When the material is ferromagnetic
Principle #1: Lorentz Force- due to the interaction between the eddy
current and the magnetic flux density
F Q (E v B )
Lorentz force:
H J
Ampre's law:
B
E
t
Faraday's law:
J E
Ohms law:
Transmission (I F)
B0
Ip
Hp
Je
He
conducting medium
Reception (v V):
B0
V
v
F
Je
Je
specimen
Fm
y
0 V dH 2
dH
Fm 0 V M
dy
2 dy
magnetic force
volume
magnetization
magnetic field
height
magnetic susceptibility
strong bias
Signal
Time
excitation current
Signal
some bias
Signal
no bias
Fm
Time
magnetization force
Time
1,2,3
e
3
Induced magnetostriction:
Magnetostriction [10-6]
H=0
low-carbon steel
Fe
-10
Co
-20
-30
Ni
-40
0
1
2e
e
2,3 1
3
2
3
2
4
4
Magnetic Field [10 A/m]
EMAT Instrumentation
rectangular coil-meander
linearly polarized shear wave
N
N
B0
B0
symmetric coil
longitudinal wave
B0 N
B0
B0
S
N
sin
EMAT Electronics
EMATs with
permanent or
electromagnets
matching
network
matching
network
specimen
Impedance []
oscillator
driver
amplifier
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
resistance
reactance
0.5
1
1.5
2
Frequency [MHz]
2.5
+
_
Vs
EMAT Applications
transmitter
receiver
Rayleigh
wave
Textured Specimen
0% (annealed)
= 0.45 %
= 0.8 %
= 1.6 %
High-Temperature Monitoring
SiC/Ti-6Al-4V composite
(Ogi et al., 2001)
60
230
190
170
C44
50
Stiffness [GPa]
210
Stiffness [GPa]
55
C11
C33
45
40
C66
35
30
150
25
20
130
200
400
600
800
Temperature [K]
1000
200
400
600
800
Temperature [K]
1000
as-received
quenched & tempered
annealed
load
unload
Birefringence [%]
Birefringence [%]
0.05
pure titanium
-0.05
-0.10
0
50
100
Stress [MPa]
couplant
150
-1.1
-1.2
-120
-80
-40
Stress [MPa]
PZT
EMAT
specimen
specimen
Advantages
Compared to piezoelectric transducers, EMAT probes have the following advantages:
No couplant is needed. Based on the transduction mechanism of EMAT, couplant is not
required. This makes EMAT ideal for inspections at temperatures below the freezing point and
above the evaporation point of liquid couplants. It also makes it convenient for situations where
couplant handling would be impractical.
EMAT is a non-contact method. Although proximity is preferred, a physical contact between
the transducer and the specimen under test is not required.
Dry Inspection. Since no couplant is needed, the EMAT inspection can be performed in a dry
environment.
Less sensitive to surface condition. With contact-based piezoelectric transducers, the test
surface has to be machined smoothly to ensure coupling. Using EMAT, the requirements to
surface smoothness are less stringent; the only requirement is to remove loose scale and the like.
Easier for sensor deployment. Using piezoelectric transducer, the wave propagation angle in
the test part is affected by Snells law. As a result, a small variation in sensor deployment may
cause a significant change in the refracted angle.
Easier to generate SH-type waves. Using piezoelectric transducers, SH wave is difficult to
couple to the test part. EMAT provide a convenient means of generating SH bulk wave and SH
guided waves.