Crack impeding

At sufficiently high frequency, the electromagnetic skin depth is several times smaller than a typical defect and induced currents flow in a thin skin at the conductor surface and the crack faces. It is profitable to develop a theoretical model dedicated to this regime. Making certain assumptions, a boundary value problem can be defined and solved relatively simply leading to rapid numerical calculation of eddy-current probe impedance changes due to a variety of surface cracks. 

Once y/" has been determined, the impedance change in an eddy-current coil due to the crack can be calculated using the following integral over the crack mouth [3] ... 

The measurements were made along the cracks with an average step size of 3 mm. The predictions were calculated from a position -15 mm to + 15 ram for set 1, from -40 mm to + 40 mm for set 2 and from -25 mm to + 25 mm for set 3. The impedance change has been calculated at 1mm intervals in the range. Taking into account the symmetry of the configuration, only half of the predictions need to be calculated. 

J. R. Bowler and N. Flarfield, Evaluation of prohe impedance due to thin-skin eddy-eurrent interaction with surface cracks, IEEE Trans. Mag., accepted. 

The determined eddy-eurrent parameter is the inductance of the eomplex impedance measured by impedance analyzer at j=100 kHz. Therefore the impulse response function from chapter 4.2.1. is used for calculation. The depth of the cracks is big in comparison to coil size. For presentation the measured and pre-calculated data are related to their maxima (in air). The path X is related to the winding diameter dy of the coil. 

If the cross-sectional area of the product remains relatively constant but the product layer cracks during growth and so does not impede the access of the gaseous reactairts aird products to the reacting solid, then a linear rate law is observed... 

However, in the case of stress-corrosion cracking of mild steel in some solutions, the potential band within which cracking occurs can be very narrow and an accurately known reference potential is required. A reference half cell of the calomel or mercury/mercurous sulphate type is therefore used with a liquid/liquid junction to separate the half-cell support electrolyte from the process fluid. The connections from the plant equipment and reference electrode are made to an impedance converter which ensures that only tiny currents flow in the circuit, thus causing the minimum polarisation of the reference electrode. The signal is then amplifled and displayed on a digital voltmeter or recorder. 

Let us return to the reduction of shear stress at the crack tip due to the emission of dislocations. Figure 14-9 illustrates a possible stress reduction mechanism. It can be seen that the tip of a crack is no longer atomically sharp after a dislocation has been emitted. It is the interaction of the external stress field with that of the newly formed dislocations which creates the local stress responsible for further crack growth. Thus, the plastic deformation normally impedes embrittlement because the dislocations screen the crack from the external stress. Theoretical calculations are difficult because the lattice distortions of both tension and shear near the crack tip are large so that nonlinear behavior is expected. In addition, surface effects have to be included. 

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