ROTATING ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELD FOR NDT INSPECTIONS
Reliable performance of a component or structure depends on its pre-service quality and in-service degradation under operating conditions. The importance of Non-Destructive Testing and Evaluation is ever increasing, above all in ensuring pre-service quality and monitoring in-service degradation, in order to avoid premature failure of the components/structures. There are many Non-Destructive Techniques based on various physical principles. In this work, our main objective is the characterization of anomalies such as defects, stresses and microstructural degradations in materials. Particularly, in this work we propose a Finite Element Method based approach for modelling a fast and accurate evaluation of defects in metallic materials able to easily detect defects, aside from the orientation. Within this framework, the paper proposes the application of a magnetic fleld rotating perpendicularly to the analysed specimen. We discuss a few case studies, starting from numerical simulations and flnally highlighting the importance of this approach in order to evaluate the structural integrity assessment.
Voltage Driven coils within a Discrete Geometric Approach to 3 D eddy-currents
We propose a method to account for voltage driven coils when solving 3D eddy-current problems with a discrete geometric approach. The formulation we use is based on the circulation A of the magnetic vector potential on primal edges and on a gauge functionχ on conductor primal nodes. An iterative technique to make the right-hand-side term of the linear system consistent is shown. It can be used both for simple coil geometries, where the external electric field is known in advance, and in the case of more general coil geometries, provided that a steady-state current conduction problem is solved first, from the impressed voltage, using a discrete approach. The results are compared with those obtained with Finite Elements.
Changes in Quartz During Heating and the Possible Effects on Si Production
In Si and FeSi production, the main Si source is SiO2, in the form of quartz. Reactions with SiO2 generate SiO gas that further reacts with SiC to Si. During heating, quartz will transform to other SiO2 modifications with cristobalite as the stable high-temperature phase. Transformation to cristobalite is a slow process. Its rate has been investigated for several industrial quartz sources and has been shown to vary considerably among the different quartz types. Other differences in behavior during heating between these quartz sources, such as softening temperature and volume expansion, have also been studied. The quartz-cristobalite ratio will affect the rate of reactions involving SiO2. The industrial consequences and other implications of the observed difference between quartz types are discussed. Initial studies of industrial quartz were published by Ringdalen et al. In the current work, a new experimental method has been developed, and an investigation of several new quartz sources has confirmed the earlier observed large variation between different sources. The repeatability of the data has been studied and the effect of gas atmosphere investigated. The results from the earlier work are included as a basis for the discussion.