Barkhausen Noise Analyser INTROSCAN

NDT Sci
The Barkhausen Noise Company

TM

NDT Scientific Limited

Time Central, 32 Gallowgate Newcastle Upon Tyne NE1 4BF, UK email: info@ndt-sci.co.uk website: www.ndt-sci.co.uk

Barkhausen Noise Analyser INTROSCAN

Barkhausen noise analyser Introskan is a portable computerised instrument designed for fast, easy, accurate and reliable non-destructive assessment of various mechanical and metallurgical properties of soft ferromagnetic materials, as well as quality of surface treatment of steels. It is powered by over thirty years of scientific development and knowhow.

Main applications
evaluation of surface residual and applied mechanical stresses depth profiling of subsurface residual stresses (1 mm) evaluation of surface hardness and its variations assessment of quality of hardened surface layers evaluation of thickness, width and profile of the transition zone of surface layers hardened by laser, plasma and other types of surface treatment examination of inhomogeneity of micro-structure, particularly after heat treatment detection of material degradation due to fatigue detection and evaluation of grinding burns.
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Barkhausen Noise Analyser INTROSCAN

Fig.1 Front panel

Fig.2 Rear panel

Principle of operation
Principle of operation of Introskan is based on magnetic Barkhausen noise effect. An electromagnetic probe, connected to the analyser, provides alternated magnetisation of the tested object and picks up the response signal (magnetic noise), which is conditioned, digitally processed and analysed in the main instrument unit. This method enables indirect evaluation of mechanical and metallurgical properties of steels based on established correlation between magnetic noise and the examined property. Depth of examination of subsurface properties is limited to 1.2 mm due to electromagnetic damping. A variety of
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specialised probes is available for specific applications. Industrial applications encompass, but are not limited to, aeronautical engineering, automotive industry, ship building, railways, machine tools building, civil engineering, pipelines and other fields of engineering. Analysers Introskan are used by many manufacturers, the major of which count Gazprom (inspection of the stress-strain state of pipelines) and AvtoVAZ (evaluation of hardened layers of camshafts).

(a) Fig.3 Display: (a) line scan output, (b) angular scan output

(b)

Key features
Adjustable magnitude of excitation field Adjustable excitation frequency Adjustable signal averaging and filtering Adjustable reference Zero Correction Thresholding and audio/visual alert Stabilization of the magnetic field (excitation current control) Stabilization of the magnetic flux waveform and density. This mode enables pure BN measurement independently of magnetic permeability variation Invariance of the results of measurements on the random factors such as lift-off (distance between the poles of the probe and the examined surface) in a wide range of lift-offslift-off (distance between the poles of the probe and the examined surface) in a wide range of lift-offs state of the surface Capability of quantitative analysis of subsurface stresses and micro-structure. This feature requires certain prior material-related information Integrated capability for evaluation of the novel MBE phenomena Avalanche-type Barkhausen Effect or Domain Walls Aftereffect (DWA) Scanning modes: line scan (response vs probe position), Fig. 3a
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in-plane scan using a quadrupole probe with rotating magnetic field, valuable for testing in-plane anisotropy of stresses; it results in a directional diagram of stress, Fig. 3b Two magnetisation channels, running in a matched mode, to provide magnetic field rotation using a quadrupole probe Optional demagnetisation of a region under test Automatic setting of an optimal operating regime Automatic generation of calibration dependencies for various test cases Memorisation of settings, calibration dependencies and measurements results Interactive mode of operation, intuitive user interface Touchscreen interface for ease of use Colour display USB and infra-red connectivity to an external computer Software iScan for an external computer, providing extended capabilities for acquired data analysis Possibility of easy upgrade and customisation of the instrument with respect to specific problems Variety of specialised probes for specific applications Portability (when used with batteries).

Specifications Operating characteristics

Operation modes Excitation frequencies, Hz BN analysis bandwidths, kHz Measurement time (adjustable), sec Physical characteristics Power supply Power consumption Warm-up time Time of uninterrupted operation Mean service life Overall dimensions (without probe) Length of the cable from the unit to a probe Weight (without probe) mains 220 V / 50 Hz 12 V battery (1.5 V) less than 30 VA 10 min more than 8 h 10 years 320 180 107 mm >2m less than 5 kg stabilization of the magnetic field The stabilization of the magnetic flux 15, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120 (530), (5200), (51000), (2030), (20200), (20 1000), (2001000) 0.1 - 10

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The standard environmental conditions for safe operation Ambient temperature Relative air humidity Atmosphere pressure +1 to +400C 45 to 80% 84 to 106.7 kPa

Probes for Barkhausen Noise Analyser INTROSCAN

The exchangeable pick up transducers (probes) can be of different types: transducers for testing the articles with the regular curvature (universal, large articles, quadrapole, etc.); transducer for testing surface parts, which contain fillets; transducers for specific applications (e.g. gear tooth) can be designed and manufactured on order. The scheme of the transducer for testing the articles with the regular curvature is shown in the fig.4a. The transducer contains magnetic core 2 with coil 3 wound on it, which is fed from a generator. In order to reach the uniform contact with a tested surface of a steel component the pole of the core are rounded. The guiding rail is located in the inter-pole area, the pick up coil 5 is placed between the poles. Barkhausen noise signal is amplified by low noise amplifier 9. The pick up coil is spring 6 loaded to enable it perfect contact with a curved surface. The surface minimum negative radius of curvature is 5mm, the positive radius of curvature is 1mm. Fig. 4b shows the pick up transducer for testing parts of a surface containing fillets. It differs from the first one by the geometry and shapes of pole pieces, which are the part of a magnetic circuit 2. The transducer is connected to the Analyser with the help of a plug-and-socket and the cable 7 having the length more than 2 m.

(b) (a) Fig.4 Probes: (a) flat surface, (b) curved surface

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Barkhausen noise analysis software iScan

Software iScan can be installed on an external computer, providing extended capabilities for analysis of data acquired wit Barkhausen noise analyser Introskan. It allows: connectivity to the analyser Introskan via USB interface templates and data exchange between the device and the PC creating, editing and viewing templates and settings saving, editing and analysing acquired data management of firmware updates.

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