Deep penetration magnetoquasistatic sensors

Abstract

This research effort extends the capabilities of existing model-based spatially periodic quasistatic-field sensors. The research developed three significant improvements in the field of nondestructive evaluation. The impact of each is detailed below: 1. The design of a distributed current drive magneto resistive magnetometer that matches the model response sufficiently to perform air calibration and absolute property measurement. Replacing the secondary winding with a magnetoresistive sensor allows the magnetometer to be operated at frequencies much lower than ordinarily possible, including static (DC) operation, which enables deep penetration defect imaging. Low frequencies are needed for deep probing of metals, where the depth of penetration is otherwise limited by the skin depth due to the shielding effect of induced eddy currents. The capability to perform such imaging without dependence on calibration standards has both substantial cost, ease of use, and technological benefits. The absolute property measurement capability is important because it provides a robust comparison for manufacturing quality control and monitoring of aging processes. Air calibration also alleviates the dependence on calibration standards that can be difficult to maintain. 2. The development and validation of cylindrical geometry models for inductive and capacitive sensors. The development of cylindrical geometry models enable the design of families of circularly symmetric magnetometers and dielectrometers with the "model-based" methodology, which requires close agreement between actual sensor response and simulated response. These kinds of sensors are needed in applications where the components being tested have circular symmetry, e.g. cracks near fasteners, or if it is important to measure the spatial average of an anisotropic property. 3. The development of accurate and efficient two-dimensional inverse interpolation and grid look-up techniques to determine electromagnetic and geometric properties. The ability to perform accurate and efficient grid interpolation is important for all sensors that follow the model-based principle, but it is particularly important for the complex shaped grids used with the magnetometers and dielectrometers in this thesis. A prototype sensor that incorporates all new features, i.e. a circularly symmetric magnetometer with a distributed current drive that uses a magnetoresistive secondary element, was designed, built, and tested. The primary winding is designed to have no net dipole moment, which improves repeatability by reducing the influence of distant objects. It can also support operation at two distinct effective spatial wavelengths. A circuit is designed that places the magnetoresistive sensor in a feedback configuration with a secondary winding to provide the necessary biasing and to ensure a linear transfer characteristic. Efficient FFT-based methods are developed to model magnetometers with a distributed current drive for both Cartesian and cylindrical geometry sensors. Results from measurements with a prototype circular dielectrometer that agree with the model-based analysis are also presented. In addition to the main contributions described so far, this work also includes other related enhancements to the time and space periodic-field sensor models, such as incorporating motion in the models to account for moving media effects. This development is important in low frequency scanning applications. Some improvements of the existing semi-analytical collocation point models for the standard Cartesian magnetometers and dielectrometers are also presented.