Magnetic Particle Inspection And Testing

Magnetic particle Inspection (MPI) is a non-destructive testing (NDT) process for detecting surface and shallow subsurface discontinuities in ferromagnetic materials such as iron, nickel, cobalt, and some of their alloys. The process puts a magnetic field into the part. The piece can be magnetized by direct or indirect magnetization. Direct magnetization occurs when the electric current is passed through the test object and a magnetic field is formed in the material. Indirect magnetization occurs when no electric current is passed through the test object, but a magnetic field is applied from an outside source. To identify a leak, ferrous particles, either dry or in a wet suspension, are applied to a part. These are attracted to an area of flux leakage and form what is known as an indication, which is evaluated to determine its nature, cause, and course of action, if any.

After the part has been magnetized it needs to be demagnetized. This requires special equipment that works the opposite way of the magnetizing equipment. The magnetization is normally done with a high current pulse that reaches a peak current very quickly and instantaneously turns off leaving the part magnetized. To demagnetize a part, the current or magnetic field needed has to be equal to or greater than the current or magnetic field used to magnetize the part. The current or magnetic field is then slowly reduced to zero, leaving the part demagnetized.

Wikipedia contributors. (2018, May 28). Magnetic particle inspection. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:58, June 13, 2019, from [Ref]