Abstract
The objective of this study is to improve the detection capability of eddy current testing by developing a novel eddy current probe. The developed probe is composed of six excitation coils made at different areas and suitably aligned with a single-axis sensitive DRV425EVM fluxgate sensor. The distribution of magnetic field intensity and eddy current density of the developed probe were calculated using ANSYS 2019R3 (Maxwell-3D) simulation software. The simulation results revealed that the new probe design enhances the detection capability and the spatial resolution compared to the conventional design that uses a double-D coil. Experiments were carried out using the double-D coil as reference, under the same input parameter to detect flaws with various sizes and locations. The experimental results validated the simulation results and showed that the sensitivity and spatial resolution of the developed sensor are much better than those obtained by the conventional probe.