Prof. Dr.-Ing. B.P.C. Rao is with the NDE Division of Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research (IGCAR), Kalpakkam, India since 1986. He obtained Ph.D from Saarland University, Germany. He was a post-doctoral fellow at Center for NDE, Iowa State University, USA and a visiting scientist at Fraunhofer Institute for NDT (IZFP), Saarbruecken, Germany. He was Expert NDT Consultant at International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna.

His research interests include materials evaluation using electromagnetic, ultrasonics, magnetic Barkhausen noise, non-linear ultrasonic, acoustic emission, microwave, XRD and potential drop techniques. He specializes in numerical modeling, sensor development, imaging, signal & image processing, quality assurance, structural integrity assessment, condition monitoring, and life management.

He has published more than 150 research papers in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. He is the co-editor of Journal of Nondestructive Testing and Evaluation and Guest Editor of Journal of Sensors. Dr. Rao has two books and six book chapters and an Encyclopedia of Materials Science & Technology article to his credit. He is a recipient of Indian Nuclear Society Gold Medal, National NDT Award, two Weldman awards and several best paper/presentation awards. As a Professor of Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), he is involved in curriculum development, teaching and guiding scholars in engineering and NDE.

Abstract

Recent trends in Electromagnetic NDE Techniques and Future trends

Electromagnetic NDE area is continuously growing upon incorporating the contemporary advances in sensors, material science, numerical modelling, signal processing and image processing, automation and robotics. Use of array and integrated sensors, image fusion, inversion approach, multi-sensor fusion, POD concepts and model based investigations etc. have significantly enhanced the scope and application of the electromagnetic NDE techniques for materials evaluation. A clear result of this is the detection and sizing of defects and material degradations that could not be detected three decades ago. Also the size of electromagnetic NDE sensors is coming down drastically in the recent past, enabling high-resolution imaging and enhanced characterization of defects.

This paper gives an overview of recent developments in electromagnetic NDE techniques by giving a special emphasis to the recent work carried out at the author’s laboratory in this direction using eddy current, flux leakage, Barkhausen noise, potential drop, and microwave techniques for reliable detection of defects and for quantitative characterisation of defects and microstructure variations in metallic materials. The paper specifically highlights how the recent technologies have enabled detection of very shallow surface defects and deeply buried defects in plates, tubes, shells and welds used in a variety of engineering components. The paper will specifically highlight the use of Barkhausen noise and eddy current techniques for characterization of microstructures. The paper will also cover the advances in numerical modelling of flux leakage, eddy current and potential drop techniques for optimization purpose as well as Monte Carlo simulation of Barkhausen noise technique for enhanced understanding of the physical process. The presentation will give a detailed account of the advances in novel and innovative sensor technologies for electromagnetic NDE and the futuristic trends.