In today’s featured lecture, “Easy-to-Use Eddy Current Arrays with Physics Model-Based Data Analysis,” Dr. Neil J. Goldfine will provide an overview of the developments in eddy current testing over the last three decades, with a focus on the rapid rise of the technique’s capabilities in the last five to seven years, which have been fueled by his team’s R&D efforts at JENTEK Sensors Inc.
“The two most significant developments in eddy current testing over the last three decades are the introduction of eddy current arrays more broadly, and the use of physics model-based data analysis methods for automated ET data interpretation,” says Goldfine. “However, the broad use of these two advances have been hampered by a combination of technical hurdles and lack of clarity on the capabilities of conventional ET methods. This presentation will summarize the work of our team with a focus on our more recent efforts to make eddy current arrays and model-based analysis more accessible and easier to use, by both technicians and engineers.”
This presentation will provide examples of the technique’s capabilities in
- crack detection and depth sizing,
- corrosion imaging,
- coating characterization,
- cold work assessment,
- stress monitoring,
- carbon fiber composites,
- additive manufactured metal powder and metal part density/porosity measurement and local defect detection and material property characterization.
The presentation will also describe the shift in focus from basic research and validation during the first decade (1992-2001), to development and transition for niche applications where no solution was available during the second decade (2002-2011), and then in the current decade (2012-2022) broadening the appeal, accessibility, and ease-of-use of the technology for the existing technician community, including enhanced solutions to common eddy current applications.
“Although eddy current arrays with physics model-based data analysis have been around for decades, together they have not been implemented broadly and have been used primarily in niche applications,” says Goldfine. “However, with these new developments, the technique now has a much broader appeal. Level II inspectors can be trained on the instrumentation in one and a half days.”
Goldfine was the 2020 recipient of the ASNT Research Recognition for Innovation, which recognizes highly distinguished individual breakthroughs in research in the field of NDE/NDT within the past five years.
Don’t miss this lecture, taking place today, 12 November, at 9:00 a.m. ET.