Affiliations: [a] Department of Quantum Science and Energy Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Noritaka Yusa, Department of Quantum Science and Energy Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: This study proposes a method to probabilistically evaluate the area of coverage of nondestructive inspections to detect defects on a surface of a structure. For the specific problem, this study considers the effect of the distance between two neighboring scanning lines on the detectability of eddy current testing against near-side cracks. Thirty-eight type 316L stainless steel plates having a fatigue crack were prepared, and eddy current examinations were performed with a sufficiently fine scanning pitch. The full width at half maximum of the spatial distribution of the amplitude of the signals was approximated using a Gaussian function. A probability of detection model considering the distance between two neighboring scanning lines is proposed because in actual inspections a scanning line does not always run directly above a crack. The results demonstrated that the proposed model enables a reasonable probabilistic evaluation of the effect of the distance between two neighboring scanning lines.
Keywords: Electromagnetic nondestructive evaluation, probability of detection, surface breaking crack, fatigue crack, austenitic stainless steel, coverage path, Monte Carlo simulation, uncertainty
