EcProbe control properties

As with all our EddyCentre controls, right clicking on the EcProbe control at any time you can see the EcProbe control's hot-menu shown below.

EcProbe controls hot-menu

Using this menu you can:

• View the name of the control
• Change the view
• Open the EcProbe control properties dialog box.

General tab

The EcProbe control properties dialog box allows you to change all aspects of the probe; its name, its type, etc. A typical view of the properties dialog box is shown below. For air-cored probes you will only see the general tab as shown.

General tab on the EcProbe control properties window General tab

The EddyCentre Probe control supports 5 types of eddy-current probes:

1. Air-cored probe
2. Pencil-cored probe
3. Shielded core probe
4. Cup-cored probe
5. Differential probe

Name - Name of the control (must be non-blank)

Driving Coil parameters:

• Inner Radius - the inner radius of the driving coil (must be > 0), shown as r1 in figure below.
• Outer Radius - the outer radius of the driving coil (must be > Inner Radius), shown as r2 in figure below.
• Height - the height of the coil itself, not the entire probe (must be > 0), shown as h in figure below.
• Number of Windings - the number of complete turns in the coil, can have a fractional part (must be > 0).
• Vertical Offset - the vertical offset of the coil from the bottom of the probe; not to be confused with lift-off. Probes often have wear plates on the bottom. (must be non-negative), shown as l in figure below
• Radial Offset - amount of radial offset the driving coil centreline has from probe centreline (must be non-negative), there is no Radial Offset in the figure below.
• Radial Direction - direction of radial offset.
  

Cross-section view of air-cored probe

Central Core tab

If you have selected any of the ferrite-cored types of probes you will see additional tabs in the properties window. The Central Core tab shown in the figure below allows you to change the parameters that control the ferrite cylinder inserted in the centre of the driving coil.

Central Core tab on the EcProbe control properties window

Central core parameters:

• Outer Radius - the radius of the central core (must be > 0), shown as r1 in the figure below.
• Height - the height of the cylinder of ferrite (must be > 0), shown as h1 in the figure below.
• Vertical Offset - offset of the core from the bottom of the probe (must be non-negative). Don't confuse this with lift-off, some probes have a wear plate under the driving coil, the value is zero in the figure.
• Permeability - The permeability of the ferrite itself (must be > 1).

Cross-section view of pencil-cored probe

Shield tab

For shield core and cup-cored probes you use the Shield tab to control the parameters that define the shield. For shielded core probes the shield is a simple cylinder of ferrite added outside the driving coil, as shown in the figure below. Cup-cored probes have an additional disc of ferrite on top of the central core and shield which forms one large circuit for the magnetic flux, as shown in the cross-sectional view below.

Shield tab on the EcProbe control's properties page

Shield parameters:

• Inner Radius - the inner radius of the shield (must be > driving coil Outer Radius), shown as r2 in the figures below.
• Outer Radius - the outer radius of the shield (must be > Inner Radius), shown as r3 in figures below.
• Height - the height of the shield (must be > 0), shown as h2 in the figures below.
• Vertical Offset - the vertical offset of the shield from the bottom of the probe (must be non-negative). Do not confuse this with lift-off, many probes have a wear plate on the bottom, shown as zero in both figures.

NOTE: for cup-cored probes Height + Vertical Offset must be > than the driving coil's Height + Vertical Offset

Cross-section view of shielded core and cup-core probes

Pickup Coil tab

If you have selected a differential probe type you will see the additional PickUp Coils tab, shown in the Figure below. You view/edit the parameters on this page to control define the 2 pick-up coils used in the probe. Differential probes are not axi-symmetric, like all the other probes. The orientation of the pickup coils relative to the scanning direction is significant. Using the Radial Direction angle as described below controls this orientation.

Pickup Coils tab on the EcProbe control properties window

Pickup Coil parameters:

• Pickup Coil # - selector for which pickup coil you are viewing/editing.
• Inner Radius - inner radius of the coil (must be > 0), shown as r1 and r3 in the figure below.
• Outer Radius - outer radius of the coil (must be > Inner Radius), shown as r2 and r4 in the figure below.
• Height - the height of the coil itself (must be > 0), shown as h1 and h2 in figure below.
• Number of Windings - the number of complete turns in the coil, can have a fractional part (must be > 0).
• Vertical Offset - the vertical offset of the coil from the bottom of the probe; not to be confused with lift-off. Probes often have wear plates on the bottom (must be non-negative).
• Radial Offset - amount of radial offset the pickup coil centreline has from probe centreline (must be non-negative), shown as o1 and o2 in the figure below.
  

Side View of a Differential Probe type

Radial Direction - direction of radial offset relative to the positive x-axis (shown as a1 and a2 in the figure below - hence a1 = -a2 = 90 deg).

Top View of a Differential Probe type

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