Transducer guided wave electromagnetic acoustic

• US 6,920,792 B2
• Filed: 05/05/2003
• Issued: 07/26/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/05/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Charles M. Fields, Daniel P. Geier, John H. Flora
• Original Assignee: Charles M. Fields, Daniel P. Geier, John H. Flora
• Inventors: Flora, John H., Fields, Charles M., Geier, Daniel P.
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams, Hezron
• Assistant Examiner(s): MILLER, ROSE MARY
• Application Number:
  US10/429,375
• Publication Number:
  US 20040221652A1
• Time in Patent Office: 813 Days
• Field of Search: 736/43, 735/97, 735/98, 735/99, 736/00, 736/22, 736/32
• US Class Current: 73/622
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0422 Shear waves, transverse waves, horizontally polarised waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0423 Surface waves, e.g. Rayleigh waves, Love waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/0427 Flexural waves, plate waves, e.g. Lamb waves, tuning fork, cantilever
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/048 Transmission, i.e. analysed material between transmitter and receiver
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2291/2634 cylindrical from outside
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/041 on the surface of the material, e.g. using Lamb, Rayleigh or shear waves
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/0645 Display representation or displayed parameters, e.g. A-, B- or C-Scan
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/2412 using the magnetostrictive properties of the material to be examined, e.g. electromagnetic acoustic transducers [EMAT]; investigating the presence of flaws using eddy currents G01N27/90, magnetostrictive transducers B06B1/08, measuring magnetostrictive properties G01R33/18

Abstract

A guided wave electromagnetic acoustic transducer for detecting defects in moving metallic products such as rods, tubes and the like and which has coils energized by pulse of a few cycles of a high frequency alternating voltage which produces an alternating field in the product, the coils being alternately wound and connected in series and measuring dynamic acoustic stress that is a function of the radial distance from the center of the product being tested and produces a reading that is different than that showing a surface defect in the product.

Claims

1. A guided wave electromagnetic acoustic transducer for detection of defects and/or or variances in the physical properties of metallic products including rods, wires, bars and tubes, all having a central axis, transmitting and detecting acoustic waves in these products, said transducer comprising

a housing means,

electromagnetic means within said housing for establishing a static magnetic field in said metallic products being inspected,

electrical conductors for wrapping around said metallic products to encircle the same for producing eddy currents in said products, said conductors being energized by a pulse of a few cycles of high frequency alternating voltage which produces an alternating field in said metallic products, which, in turn, produces eddy currents which flow around the circumference of the section of the metallic product being tested, and

means for inducing said eddy currents in said electrical conductor to produce, by the interaction of said eddy currents and said static magnetic field, Lamb waves which propagate along said metallic products in two directions,

and means for detection of said Lamb waves to allow said transducer to detect any defects or variances.

2. A transducer as in claim 1 wherein said electromagnetic means produces a symmetrical magnetic field with respect to the central axis of the products being tested.

3. A transducer as in claim 1 including a support structure encircling said metallic products, said electrical conductors being wrapped around said support structure so as to produce a symmetrical alternating magnetic field with respect to the central axis of said product when the conductors are excited by alternating electrical currents.

4. A transducer as in claim 3 wherein said support structure and electrical conductors are so positioned to enable the electrical fields to interact to produce acoustic stress waves which can propagate in a direction parallel to the central axis of said products to thereby afford an increased signal response to defects and properties located on and along the central axis of the products.

5. A transducer as in claim 3 wherein said electrical conductors comprise coils, said coils being flexibly mounted on said support structure to allow said conductors to adjustably accommodate various sized metallic structures by encircling them.

6. A transducer as in claim 1 wherein said electromagnetic means comprise segmented magnets.

7. A transducer as in claim 6 wherein said electromagnetic means are hinged to allow easy access for products being tested and wherein said magnetic means can be opened and closed upon the product being tested.

8. A transducer as in claim 1 wherein the Lamb waves can vary depending on the amount of excitation.

9. A transducer as in claim 1 wherein said eddy currents are produced by coils incorporated into said electrical conductors.

10. A transducer as in claim 1 wherein acoustic reflections of a large amplitude result when the static magnetic field is symmetric with respect to the central axis of the product.

11. A guided wave electromagnetic acoustic transducer for providing transmittal and receiving of acoustic waves to detect variations and/or defects in metallic products with a central axis, said transducer including

at least one segmented magnet for movement to and away from the central axis of such a product so as to allow said magnet to closely encircle said product regardless of the diameter of said product and

a set of coil means connected in series so that induced voltages are added to provide maximum signals for detection.

12. A transducer as in claim 11 and including at least one coil means flexibly mounted so as to adapt to the diameter of said products by moving away or closer to said product depending on the diameter thereof.

13. A guided wave electromagnetic transducer as in claim 11 and including two electromagnetic acoustic transducers, one for transmitting waves within said product and a second to receive the reflected waves;

so as to detect variances or defects in said products.

14. A guided wave electromagnetic acoustic transducer for providing transmittal and receiving of acoustic waves to detect variations and/or defects in metallic products with a central axis, said transducer including

at least one coil flexibly mounted so as to adapt to the diameter of said products by either moving toward or away from the axis of said product to encircle said product about its diameter,

said coils having alternate windings so as to detect Lamb waves measuring the dynamic acoustic stress in said products that is a function of the radial distance from the center of said metallic product therefore producing a reading that interprets reflected waves from a surface defect as smaller than those waves reflected from the center of the metallic product.

15. A transducer as in claim 14 at least one segmented magnetic means hingedly adapted to encircle the diameter of any such product to cooperate with said coils to transmit and receive Lamb waves.

16. An EMAT to detect defects both along the surface and at the center of various metallic products including rods, tubes, wires and bars, all having a central axis, by transmitting acoustic waves in these products, said EMAT comprising,

housing means

means to generate a static magnetic field in said products,

means to generate eddy currents in said products to generate, in conjunction with said static magnetic field, Lamb waves along the length of said products, and means to detect said Lamb waves to ascertain the existence of defects either along the surface or in the center of said products, said means for detecting said Lamb waves measuring the dynamic acoustic stress that is a function of the radial distance from the center of the metallic product thus producing a reading that interprets reflected waves from surface defects as smaller than reflected waves from the center of said products.

17. An EMAT as in claim 16 wherein said means for generating a static magnetic field is a permanent magnet.

18. An EMAT as in claim 16 wherein said means for generating eddy currents in said products is a series of coils encircling the axis area of said products.

19. An EMAT as in claim 18 wherein said coils are alternately wound, clockwise and counterclockwise and then separated by a distance equal to one half of the acoustic Lamb wave generated by the interaction of said eddy currents and said static magnetic field.

20. An EMAT as in claim 16 wherein the means to induce eddy currents in said metallic products produces a frequency from 50 KHz to 5 MHz, the excitation frequency selected depending on the acoustic wave mode, the acoustic properties of the metallic product and the diameter or wall thickness of the metallic product.

21. An EMAT as in claim 20 wherein the variation in excitation to the metallic product causes increases and/or decreases in the radial Lorentz forces thus producing the Lamb waves which can be detected for defects in the products.

22. An EMAT as in claim 21 wherein the variation said means for inducing the eddy currents comprises a series of coils surrounding said metallic products and being alternately wound and connected in series.

23. An EMAT as in claim 22 wherein the excitation current is adjusted so that the radial Lorentz forces of adjacent coils are at a maximum when the transmitted wave has traveled a distance equal to one half of the wave length.

24. An EMAT as in claim 16 wherein said means for detecting the strength of said Lamb waves comprise a set of coils connected in series so that induced voltages are added to provide maximum signals for detection.

25. An EMAT as in claim 24 wherein said guided acoustic Lamb wave travels along the length of said metallic product until it encounters a defect and then is reflected back to said coils where it is detected by an electronic amplifier.

26. An EMAT as in claim 16 wherein said means for detecting said Lamb waves comprises a series of coils surrounded by a permanent magnet which produces a magnetic field perpendicular to the eddy currents in said metallic product, thus producing a voltage which can be detected and measured.

27. An EMAT as in claim 26 wherein said magnet includes two pole pieces which protect the coils from wear and guide the metallic product through the EMAT.

28. An EMAT as in claim 27 wherein said magnet includes two pole pieces which are made of nonferromagnetic material.

29. An EMAT as in claim 16 wherein the means for producing a static magnetic field is a hinged permanent magnet and the means for producing eddy currents are a flexible coil attached to the internal sections of said magnet.

30. An EMAT as in claim 29 wherein the flexible coil comprises electrical conductors etched on a thin plate substrate and covered by a second thin substrate.

31. An EMAT as in claim 30 wherein there is a via in said coil dividing it into a length along the outside of the surface of said magnet and another length along the inside of said magnet, thus increasing, by approximately, a factor of five, the induced magnetic field.

32. The method of detecting defects in metallic products including pipes, rods, bars and wires, said method comprising,

providing a static magnetic field along said metallic product,

providing excitation by a pulse of a few cycles of high frequency alternating voltage to produce an alternating field in said product, to provide eddy currents along the length of said product and around the circumference of said product to interact with said static magnet field to produce Lorentz forces,

monitoring the Lamb waves created by the interaction and reflection off of defects along the length of said product so as to locate the defect by signal strength.

33. A method as in claim 32 and including the step of adjusting the frequency of said excitation so that the radial Lorentz forces are at a maximum.

34. A method as in claim 32 wherein the step of creating the static magnetic field and said excitation of eddy currents is performed by an EMAT.

35. A method as in claim 32 wherein the step of monitoring said Lamb waves is performed by an EMAT.

36. A hinged EMAT for testing for defects along the length of installed wires, bars, rods, or tubing and other metallic products where the product is already installed and cannot be removed, said EMAT including:

a hinged permanent magnet adapted to open and close around a length of said product and produce a magnetic field therealong, and

coil means along the surface of said magnet which encircles said product so as to provide eddy currents to interact with said magnetic field so as to produce measurable Lamb waves for detection of defects in said product, and

said permanent magnet surrounding said coil means and including two pole pieces which protect said coil means from wear and guide the EMAT along the metallic product.