The Reflected Impedance of a Circular Coil in the Proximity of a Semi-Infinite Medium

Most analyses on a circular coil when used in the eddy current method for nondestructive testing are empirical. Theories based on simple models are often inadequate to account for some experimental observations when the spacing between the coil and the material became small. In the present paper this problem is formulated as a boundary value problem. Wave equations of the magnetic vector potential are solved. The change in the coil impedance, when placed above a semi-infinite medium, is obtained by means of the induced voltage method, which is shown to depend only on the ϕ component of the magnetic vector potential. This change in impedance is found to be dependent on a number of factors: the shape and size of the coil; the spacing between the coil and the metal; the thickness, conductivity, and composition of the material, etc. Numerical computations are discussed for a few selected materials in connection with experimental results obtained elsewhere. The comparison made lent support to the present analysis. Extension of this method to the case of a stratified media is included.