Affiliations: Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Chaofeng Ye, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA. E-mail:chaofeng@msu.edu
Abstract: The detection ability of a rotating field transceiver
probe designed for axial and circumferential notches for inspecting tubes is
studied in this paper. The transceiver probe consists of three identical
windings, located 120° apart, on the same physical axis. A three-phase
sinusoidal current source is used for exciting the coils. The probe achieves
the functionality of a mechanical rotating probe electronically and
eliminates the need for mechanical rotation. A three-dimensional finite
element model is used to simulate and predict the response of the probe to a
variety of machined notches. The feasibility of detecting the axial and
circumferential position of a defect by analyzing the amplitude and phase of
the transceiver probe signals is studied. A prototype of the probe was built
and evaluated using an Inconel tube with axial and circumferential defects.
Keywords: Eddy-current testing, rotating field probe, steam generator tube, finite element method
