Optimal design of eddy current testing probe using fluxset magnetic field sensors

A numerical method is presented for the calculation of the signal picked up by eddy current testing (ECT) probes made of an exciting coil and fluxset type magnetic field sensors. The magnetic field generated by the interaction of the exciting coil and the non-ferromagnetic metal plate specimen is calculated by the solution of a boundary integral equation with singular kernel. The calculated results are compared with experimental ones. The combination of the magnetic field simulation with a simulated annealing optimisation procedure is used for the design of ECT probes by finding the optimal positions of the fluxset sensors. Due to the high resolution of the calculated magnetic field and the flexibility of the optimisation, rather complex design requirements can be easily fulfilled by the presented method.