Marc Kreutzbruck

Recent developments in SQUID NDE

By presenting brief summaries of recent application highlights, an overview of NDE methods using SQUIDs is given. Bridge inspection with a SQUID array integrated with a yoke magnet excitation was shown by scanning along the pre-stressed steel of bridges and verified by opening the bridge deck. As the construction of the megaliner Airbus aircraft progresses, testing procedures for extremely thick-walled structures are needed. Defects at a depth of up to 40 mm were measured in a bolted three-layer aluminum sample with a total thickness of 62 mm. For the investigation of aircraft wheels, a remote eddy current (EC) excitation scheme yields better depth selectivity. Defects with an inside penetration of only 10% could be detected. SQUID magnetometers are well suited for pulsed EC techniques which cover a broader depth range than standard single frequency EC. An inversion procedure is presented providing a tomographic-like conductivity image of stacked aluminum samples. A recent SQUID application is nondestructive testing of niobium sheets used for superconducting cavities of particle accelerators. The detection of tantalum inclusions and other impurities which lower the cavity performance is based on the measurement of local current inhomogeneities caused by EC excitation or thermal gradients. Alternate techniques using SQUID sensors, such as modulated excitation arrays, rotating field schemes, sensor multiplexing, magnetic moment detection, and microscopy setups, are discussed.

Defect detection and classification using a SQUID based multiple frequency eddy current NDE system

The probability of detection (POD) of hidden fatigue defects in riveted multilayer joints, e.g. aircraft fuselage, can be improved by using sophisticated eddy-current systems which provide more information than conventional NDE equipment. In order to collect this information, sensor arrays or multi-frequency excitation schemes can be used. We have performed simulations and measurements with an eddy current NDE system based on a SQUID magnetometer. To distinguish between signals caused by material defects and those caused by structures in the sample, such as bolts or rivets, a high signal-to-noise ratio is required. Our system provides a large analog dynamic range of more than 140 dB//spl radic/Hz in unshielded environment, a digital dynamics of the ADC of more than 25 bit (>150 dB) and multiple frequency excitation. A large number of stacked aluminum samples resembling aircraft fuselage were measured, containing titanium rivets and hidden defects in different depths in order to obtain sufficient statistical information for classification of the defect geometry. We report on flaw reconstruction using adapted feature extraction and neural network techniques.

Experiments on eddy current NDE with HTS rf SQUIDS

HTS SQUIDs are promising sensors for applications in eddy current NDE. Due to their high field sensitivity at low frequencies, they are especially suitable for applications, where a large penetration depth is required. We have set up two SQUID systems for low frequency eddy current NDE. 3 GHz rf SQUIDs made from YBCO are used as sensors with a field resolution of about 1pT//spl radic/(Hz). One system, where the SQUIDs are cooled by immersing them in liquid nitrogen, is optimised for testing fellows of aircraft wheels. The fixed cryostat is mounted close to the outer surface of the rotating fellow. The second system uses a cryocooler for SQUID cooling. A motorised x-y stage is used to move the SQUIDs above the plane specimen to be tested. Due to the high slewrate of the SQUID electronics, both systems can easily be operated in an unshielded environment. A double-D shaped coil is used to reduce the excitation field at the location of the SQUID. We report on first results of measurements on aircraft parts.

Inspection of aircraft parts with high remanent magnetization by eddy current SQUID NDE

We have developed an eddy current NDE system based on HTS rf SQUIDs as magnetic field sensors. Due to their high field sensitivity even at very low frequencies, SQUIDs are especially suitable for applications where a large eddy current penetration depth is required. We have used 3 GHz rf SQUIDs in our system made from YBCO thin films with a field resolution of about 1 pT//spl radic/(Hz) and a high dynamic range, more than 140 dB//spl radic/(Hz) in unshielded environment. With this system we could detect deep lying (up to 26 mm) cracks in test samples and original aircraft parts. Measurements made on the same sample showed an improvement in the signal to noise ratio of up to 3 orders of magnitude for cracks deeper than 13 mm, when comparing a conventional eddy current NDE unit with our SQUID system. Test objects containing ferromagnetic structures with a high remanent magnetization (often more than 1 mT), like aircraft wheels or steel bolts in part of the aircraft wing, very often cause instabilities of the flux locked loop operation of the SQUID. To prevent unlocking, we have developed a new background field compensation scheme. Special compensation electronics takes care of slowly varying magnetic fields of up to 1 mT/s and enabled us to perform eddy current measurements in presence of slow (<30 Hz) background field variations of up to 5 mT.

Defect detection in thick aircraft samples using HTS SQUID magnetometers

Abstract Although the sensitivity of the magnetic field sensor is important for many applications in electromagnetic testing, SQUID sensors are usually employed for other reasons. For successful defect detection, properties such as high linearity, large dynamic range, and good spatial resolution are required. We present the implementation of a SQUID magnetometer in an eddy current testing system for the measurement of very thick structures of large aircrafts. A three-layer aluminium sample from EADS Airbus was measured, with a total thickness of 62 mm, resembling the projected outer wing splice of the Airbus A-380. The sample has bolted joints and second-layer cracks adjacent to the titanium bolts. The combination of field sensitivities of a few pT/√Hz and a large dynamic range of about 140 dB/√Hz at low frequencies enables us to detect defects at a depth of up to 40 mm in aluminium. For sufficient current penetration into the layered aluminium sample, remarkably low excitation frequencies in the range of 10–40 Hz are required. The small field variations caused by the defects are superimposed on the current distortions and the corresponding field changes in the vicinity of the titanium bolts. Separation of these two contributions requires additional efforts in signal processing and simulations. The measurements were complemented by 3D-FEM calculations in order to find proper excitation frequencies, thus providing an easier separation of flaw signatures from structural background signals.

Physics of thermo-acoustic sound generation

We present a generalized analytical model of thermo-acoustic sound generation based on the analysis of thermally induced energy density fluctuations and their propagation into the adjacent matter. The model provides exact analytical prediction of the sound pressure generated in fluids and solids; consequently, it can be applied to arbitrary thermal power sources such as thermophones, plasma firings, laser beams, and chemical reactions. Unlike existing approaches, our description also includes acoustic near-field effects and sound-field attenuation. Analytical results are compared with measurements of sound pressures generated by thermo-acoustic transducers in air for frequencies up to 1 MHz. The tested transducers consist of titanium and indium tin oxide coatings on quartz glass and polycarbonate substrates. The model reveals that thermo-acoustic efficiency increases linearly with the supplied thermal power and quadratically with thermal excitation frequency. Comparison of the efficiency of our thermo-aco...

Routes for GMR-Sensor Design in Non-Destructive Testing.

GMR sensors are widely used in many industrial segments such as information technology, automotive, automation and production, and safety applications. Each area requires an adaption of the sensor arrangement in terms of size adaption and alignment with respect to the field source involved. This paper deals with an analysis of geometric sensor parameters and the arrangement of GMR sensors providing a design roadmap for non-destructive testing (NDT) applications. For this purpose we use an analytical model simulating the magnetic flux leakage (MFL) distribution of surface breaking defects and investigate the flux leakage signal as a function of various sensor parameters. Our calculations show both the influence of sensor length and height and that when detecting the magnetic flux leakage of μm sized defects a gradiometer base line of 250 μm leads to a signal strength loss of less than 10% in comparison with a magnetometer response. To validate the simulation results we finally performed measurements with a GMR magnetometer sensor on a test plate with artificial μm-range cracks. The differences between simulation and measurement are below 6%. We report on the routes for a GMR gradiometer design as a basis for the fabrication of NDT-adapted sensor arrays. The results are also helpful for the use of GMR in other application when it comes to measure positions, lengths, angles or electrical currents.

The magnetoresistance of homogeneous and heterogeneous silver-rich silver selenide

The magnetoresistance (MR) effect of the low-temperature phase of silver selenide (α-Ag2+δSe) is measured as a function of composition. Very small composition variations in the order of Δδ=10−6 are achieved by coulometric titration and can be performed simultaneously during the MR measurement. A homogeneous Ag2+δSe shows an ordinary magnetoresistance (OMR) effect, which can be well described by the two-band model. For silver selenide with a heterogenous silver excess, we found quite a different MR behavior. Up to a minor silver excess of 1×10−4 10−2) shows again an OMR effect.

Piezoelectric and electrostrictive effects in ferroelectret ultrasonic transducers

Electromechanical response of polypropylene ferroelectret transducers under application of high-voltage pulses was measured by laser Doppler vibrometry and compared with results of ultrasonic through-air transmission between two ferroelectret transducers. The electromechanical response was completely explained by piezoelectric and electrostrictive effects. The electrostrictive effect dominates at high voltages and provides significant enlargement of the transducer constant, up to factor of 2.5. The induced strain of 1.7% was achieved at −2000 V. The nonlinear ultrasonic transmission was shown to be well described by the piezoelectric and electrostrictive response of transmitter, except in the range of high negative exciting voltages where some limitation of the transmitted signal was observed. This limitation seems not to be a fundamental one and does not abolish the advantages of high-voltage excitation of polypropylene ferroelectret transducers.

A scanning superconducting quantum interference device microscope with high spatial resolution for room temperature samples

We have developed a scanning superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) microscope based on niobium tunnel junction direct current (dc) SQUIDs. It employs either a SQUID magnetometer or a planar first order gradiometer with an effective area of 40×40 μm2 and a magnetic field resolution on the order of 1 pT/√Hz at frequencies above a few hertz. The gradiometer has a base line of 1 mm. The SQUIDs are mounted inside the insulation vacuum of a fiberglass helium Dewar, and are thermally coupled to the helium bath via a brass block. A sapphire window with a thickness of about 50 μm separates the SQUIDs from the room temperature sample. We have also investigated different window materials, such as tungsten or iridium, and found them equally useful. The stand-off distance between SQUID and room temperature sample can be as low as 75 μm, and the spatial resolution of the microscope is about 50–100 μm. The SQUID sensor is read out using conventional dc SQUID electronics with a bandwidth of 1 kHz and a slew...