Patent · US Expired

System and method for non-destructive evaluation of surface characteristics of a magnetic material

US5313405A · kind A · utility

11Cited by
35References
12Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateSep 4, 1991
Grant dateMay 17, 1994
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 4, 2011

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01N27/725
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

A system and a related method for non-destructive evaluation of the surface characteristics of a magnetic material. The sample is excited by an alternating magnetic field. The field frequency, amplitude and offset are controlled according to a predetermined protocol. The Barkhausen response of the sample is detected for the various fields and offsets and is analyzed. The system produces information relating to the frequency content, the amplitude content, the average or RMS energy content, as well as count rate information, for each of the Barkhausen responses at each of the excitation levels applied during the protocol. That information provides a contiguous body of data, heretofore unavailable, which can be analyzed to deduce information about the surface characteristics of the material at various depths below the surface.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.