[6B5] Advancement in asset integrity management through digitalised eddy current testing technology for inspection of surface-breaking and near-surface indications
M Al Lutfallah
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Inspection of surface and near-surface indications has always been a challenge in industry due to the limitations of the commonly utilised conventional non-destructive testing (NDT) methods and their implementation difficulties such as surface preparation requirements, reliance on operators’ skills, slow deployment and the inability to archive inspection data. Keeping pace with industrial revolution (IR) 4.0, non-destructive testing (NDT) methods have been evolving to be digitised by automated data evaluation and visualisation of inspection results while improving detection capability, the decision-making process and speeding up the inspection activities. This paper will illustrate the principle, applications and benefits of the new digital generation of eddy current testing (ECT), namely eddy current array (ECA). The paper will also discuss and analyse the trial test conducted to validate the technology capability. ECA technology shows significant potential as a replacement for the conventional NDT methods, ie magnetic particle inspection (MPI) and penetrant testing (PT), that are used for the inspection of surface-breaking and near-surface indications.
