Electromagnetic acoustic resonance and materials characterization

Abstract This paper reviews the operation principles and several applications of electromagnetic acoustic resonance (EMAR). EMAR is an emerging ultrasonic spectroscopy technique for nondestructive and noncontact materials characterization, relying on the use of electromagnetic-acoustic transducers (EMATs) and the superheterodyne circuitry for processing the received reverberation signals excited by long radio-frequency (RF) bursts. The transduction occurs through the Lorentz force mechanism and, for ferrous metals, the dynamic response of magnetostriction and the magnetic force as well. Weak coupling of the EMATs is now essential to realize the high accuracy of measuring ultrasonic velocities and attenuation in conducting materials. High signal to noise ratio is achieved by receiving the overlapping coherent echoes at resonant frequencies. Small changes in the related material properties are well detectable. The spectral response can be interpreted for simple geometries such as plate, cylinder and sphere. EMAR has been proven to be powerful for industrial purposes because of its robustness, the omission of surface preparations and the capacity for simple measurement in a short time. Stress application varies the propagation velocities of ultrasonics and then shifts the resonant frequencies in longitudinal and shear modes in the parallel-sided geometries. Promising applications include the two-dimensional stress distribution in thin plates, the axial stress in railroad rails and the residual stresses around the weldments. In addition, the attenuation is precisely measurable at resonant frequencies and can evaluate the grain size of polycrystalline metals. Furthermore, the EMAR technique serves for developing the basic research on the effects of the metallurgical changes on ultrasonics, leading to the damage estimation of the fatigued, crept or thermally aged metal parts.