Numerical modeling of general cracks from the viewpoint of eddy current simulations

This study discusses numerical modeling of fatigue and stress corrosion cracking in eddy current simulations. Ten fatigue crack specimens and another 10 stress corrosion crack specimens are prepared for this purpose. The specimens are made of type 316 stainless steel and measure 10 mm in thickness for a general evaluation of the model. Eddy current inspections of the specimens are performed using a differential type plus point probe; the specimens then undergo destructive tests to confirm the true profiles of the cracks. Subsequent numerical simulations are conducted to evaluate the equivalent conductivity and width of the cracks. The simulations demonstrate that a fatigue crack can be modeled as a non-conductive region, and it is not necessary to know exactly how wide the opening of a fatigue crack is. They also revealed, in contrast, that stress corrosion cracking needs to be modeled as a conductive region with a certain width.