Invariance transformations for magnetic flux leakage signals

Abstract

Magnetic flux leakage (MFL) methods are used extensively for inspecting ferromagnetic materials. The analysis of the MFL signal is however fraught with problems associated with the sensitivity of the signal to a number of factors such as the MFL sensor velocity and variations in the permeability of the test specimen. The interpretation can be simplified if the signals can be processed to attain invariance to these conditions. This paper presents novel methods for obtaining permeability invariant and velocity invariant MFL signals.