Theory of thin-skin eddy-current interaction with surface cracks

Eddy-current non-destructive evaluation is commonly performed at relatively high frequencies at which the skin depths are significantly smaller than the dimensions of a typical crack. A thin-skin analysis of eddy currents is presented in which the electromagnetic fields on the crack faces are described in terms of a potential which obeys a two-dimensional Laplace equation. Solutions of this equation for defects in both magnetic and non-magnetic materials an determined by applying thin-skin boundary conditions at the crack perimeter. The impedance change of an eddy-current coil due to the defect is then calculated by numerical evaluation of one-dimensional integrals over the line of the crack mouth, the impedance integrals having been derived with the aid of a reciprocity relationship. Theoretical predictions are compared with experimental data for long, uniformly deep slots in aluminium and mild steel and good agreement between theory and experiment is obtained. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(97)06920-X].