Encircling Probe Design for Eddy Current Inspection System Used in The Aluminum Clad Steel Wire Inspection

Abstract

In this paper, an encircling probe design used in the inspection of conductive wires, which are qualified as aluminum clad steel (ACS) wire is made. The eddy current systems are widely used for the quality control of conductive materials as one of non-destructive testing methods. In these systems, it is possible to design and to use different types of probes according to the material type. Internal, encircling and surface probe types are used for the inspection of pipes, wires and plate conductive materials, respectively. The discontinuities on the conductor surfaces are detected and the changes in the inductance values of the coils of probes are analyzed with the electronic hardware and the quality control of the material is ensured. In this study, a sensitive probe design is realized to detect various defect on wire surfaces. The inductance value of the designed probe is calculated by using two and three dimensional finite element analysis (FEA) and the obtained results are compared. The inductance change of the probe was measured by an LCR meter while the probe contained sample ACS wires with different types of defects, these values are given in the table and the change graph is plotted. In addition, an impedance bridge circuit was set up with the probe and the results of the change in voltage induction on the coil are given as an oscilloscope image.

Keywords

• wire inspection
• eddy current
• non-destructive testing
• probe
• coil