Russian Journal of Nondestructive Testing, Vol. 38, No. 11, 2002, pp. 795–805. Translated from Defektoskopiya, No.

11, 2002, pp. 3–16.

Original Russian Text Copyright
c 2002 by Dyakin, Sandovskii, Dudarev.

MAGNETIC AND EDDY-

CURRENT METHODS

Magnetic Permeability of Spherical Bodies

in a Homogeneous AC Field
V. V. Dyakin, V. A. Sandovskii, and M. S. Dudarev
Institute of Metal Physics, Ural Division, Russian Academy of Sciences,
Yekaterinburg, Russia
Received May 20, 2002

Abstract—The paper presents a solution for the case of a ferromagnetic ball placed in a ho-
mogeneous ac field. The studied characteristic is the frequency dependence of the magnetic
permeability derived from experimental data with the help of the previously developed tech-
nique for determination of the magnetic permeability of samples in ac fields. Hodographs of the
signals from the pickup coil and the effective magnetic permeability are given.

The problem of the field distribution for the case of a magnetic ball in a homogeneous magnetic
field was solved [1] assuming that the ball is homogeneous and the magnetic permeability of its
material is constant and real.
Figure 1 shows a ball of radius R in a homogenous magnetic field aligned with the z-axis. The emf
generated in the pickup coil shaped as a coaxial turn of an wire around the ball, the displacement
current being neglected, is determined by the following expression [1]:
  
3µA
ε = −jωµ0 SH0 −1 η +1 ,
3
(1)
1 + (µ − 1)A
where ω = 2πf , f is the frequency of the magnetizing field, H0 is the magnetizing field amplitude,
µ0 is the magnetic constant, S = π%2 is the area inside the circular turn, µ is the magnetic
permeability, η = R/r (see Fig. 1);
zcosh z − sinh z p √
A= , z= j β, β = R ωµ0 µσ , (2)
z 2 sinh z

Fig. 1. Mathematical model of a ball in a homogenous field.

1061-8309/02/3811-0795$27.00
c 2002 MAIK “Nauka/Interperiodica”
796 DYAKIN et al.

j is the imaginary unit, and σ is the electric conductivity of the ball. On the other hand, the cal-
culation of the magnetic induction averaged over the volume of a ball of radius r yields
Z
3
ε = −jωSB z , B z = Bz dr 0 , B x = B y = 0. (3)
4πr 3
r 0 ≤r

By comparing Eqs. (1) and (3), we obtain the following expression for the voltage expressed in
relative units, Urel , generated in the pickup coil:

ε Bz
Urel = =j . (4)
−ωµ0 SH0 µ0 H 0

If η ∼
= 1, the ratio B z /(µ0 H0 ) can be defined as an average magnetic permeability of a body:
3µA
µm = µ0 − jµ00 = . (5)
1 + (µ − 1)A

By separating the real and imaginary parts in Eq. (5), we obtain

u + (µ − 1) (u2 + v 2 )
µ0 = 3µ , (6)
1 + 2(µ − 1)u + (µ − 1)2 (u2 + v 2 )
3µv
µ00 = , (7)
1 + 2(µ − 1)u + (µ − 1)2 (u2 + v 2 )
where
1 sinh x − sin x 1 sinh x + sin x 2 √
u= , v= − 2, x= 2β. (8)
x cosh x − cos x x cosh x − cos x x
It directly follows from Eq. (8) that u is greater than or equal to zero, and for v this conclusion
is derived by expanding the functions sinh x, cosh x, sin x, and cos x. Thus, µ0 ≥ 0 and µ00 ≥ 0.
The asymptotics of expressions (6) and (7) lead to the following results:
(a) for β → 0  
0 3µ 1 µ+9 4
µ → 1− β , (9)
µ+2 175 (µ + 2)2
 
00 3µβ 2 2µ2 + 26µ + 107 4
µ → 1− β , (10)
5(µ + 2)2 1575(µ + 2)2
(b) for β → ∞  
3µ (µ − 1)2
µ0 → √ 1+ , (11)
2β β2
" √ #
3µ 2(µ − 1)
µ00 → √ 1− . (12)
2β β
It follows from the detailed analysis of Eqs. (6) and (7) that µ0 is a monotonically decreasing
function of β, and it has its maximal value at β = 0 :
3µ
µ0 (β = 0) = , (13)
µ+2
whereas the curve of µ00 versus β has one maximum at a certain value β = βm . The quantities
βm and µ00 (βm ) increase with µ, and at√relatively

high µ the value βm becomes approximately
equal to µ, whereas µ00 (βm ) → 3/ 2 + 2 2 = 0.62132 and µ0 (βm ) → 1.5. These tendencies are
illustrated by Table 1.

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 MAGNETIC PERMEABILITY OF SPHERICAL BODIES 797
Table 1
µ βm µ00 (βm ) µ0 (βm )
1 2.97 0.3661 0.6361
11 11.46 0.6139 1.4649
51 51.12 0.6211 1.4979
101 101.05 0.6212 1.4996

Attempts to describe experimental measurements of Urel versus frequency using formulas (4)–(8)
and only the real part of the magnetic permeability lead to considerable errors (up to 50%). There-
fore we decided to use Eq. (1), where the magnetic permeability is a complex quantity, as we did
in our earlier studies [2–8], i.e., hereafter we assume that µ = µ1 (ω) + jµ2 (ω).

SIGNAL FROM THE PICKUP COIL AT A CONSTANT REAL PERMEABILITY

In plotting hodographs of the pickup coil output at a constant and real value of the magnetic
permeability, we use the expression
ε
Urel = − , (14)
2πf µ0 SH0
where ε is derived from Eq. (1).

Fig. 2. Calculated hodographs of pickup coil output in relative units in the case of a spherical sample
in a homogeneous magnetic field: µ = const; η = 0.92.

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798 DYAKIN et al.

Fig. 3. Calculated hodographs of pickup coil output in relative units in the case of a spherical sample
in a homogeneous ac magnetic field at µ = 25 and different values of η.

Figure 2 plots the hodographs of the pickup coil output in relative units calculated by Eq. (14)
for η = 0.9 and different values of µ. Clearly, Im Urel increases with the magnetic permeability at
small β (in the range of low frequencies), but always remains smaller than 3, in accordance with
Eq. (13). At higher values of the permeability, the output tends to 3. In particular, at η = 0.98
and µ = 250, the calculation by formula (14) yields Im Urel = 2.86, whereas at η = 0.995 and the
same µ we have Im Urel = 2.947.
Figure 3 shows hodographs of the relative signal amplitude from the pickup coil calculated by
Eq. (14) for µ = 25 and different η. For all values of the latter parameter, the dependence on β
is similar: both components of the signal vary, so the operating point moves along a curved line
that looks like a part of a circle, and the trajectories are quite similar (the dashed lines connecting
points with equal values of β are almost straight lines). As the parameter η increases, the dashed
lines merge at one point (0, 1), which corresponds to the coil output in the absence of a ball.

EXPERIMENTAL DATA
Initially, measurements were performed using one coil at various distances between the coil and
ball. The ball was manufactured from the ShKh15 steel in the quenched state with a diameter of
45 mm, and the coil radius % = 23.5 mm. Table 2 lists the distances l between the centers of the
ball and the wire turn, and the corresponding values of η. For each of the values listed in Table 2,
the hodograph of the relative signal amplitude from the pickup coil was measured by varying the
frequency of the current fed to the solenoid. The field intensity amplitude in the solenoid was
H0 = 0.56 A/cm.
Figure 4 plots the measured hodographs. Instead of parameter β, the frequencies are given
along the hodograph lines. By comparing them to calculated curves in Fig. 3, one can see that,
by and large, they reproduce all the features discussed in the previous section, nonetheless, there
are some differences. In particular, the trajectories are notably elongated in the direction of the
Re Urel axis, and their shapes are essentially different from those of circular arcs. It is especially
significant that Im Urel drops rapidly with the increasing frequency in the low-frequency range and
is almost constant (drops slowly) in the range of higher frequencies.

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 MAGNETIC PERMEABILITY OF SPHERICAL BODIES 799
Table 2
η l, mm
0.92 6.77
0.79 16.1
0.72 20.6
0.68 23.9

All these features of the experimental curves can be attributed to the fact that the ac magnetic
induction penetrates into samples with a delay and decays with the depth, as a result, the magnetic
permeability of the sample is a complex parameter and depends on both the magnetic field frequency
and coordinates, i.e., it is not constant over the sample volume.
Another distinguishing feature of the experimental curves is that the trajectories are, as it were,
displaced and compressed in the lower part of the graph. This means that the dependence on η is
stronger in the range of lower frequencies than in the high-frequency range. In the measurements
under consideration, the pickup coil is shifted towards the sample’s pole . This effect can also be
observed in cylindrical samples. Figure 5 shows hodographs for a cylindrical sample from steel 45
in the condition as supplied by the producer. The sample diameter was 36 mm, and the length
44 mm. Curve 1 corresponds to the pickup coil position around the middle section of the sample,
and curve 2 around the end of the sample. The difference between the curves is due to the notable
distortion of the magnetic lines of force around the sample’s end. A similar effect takes place in
the case of a spherical sample.
In studying the magnetic permeability, we used the technique described in the earlier publica-
tions [2–8]. It is based on formula (14) in the case when the magnetic permeability is uniform
and on the solution of the corresponding inverse problem, which yields an effective magnetic per-
meability, i.e., what the permeability might be if it were uniform over the ball volume. In this
approach, we substitute for the constant and real magnetic permeability µ in Eq. (14) the effective
value expressed as
µeff = Re µeff + j Im µeff . (15)

Fig. 4. Measured hodographs of pickup coil output in relative units for a 45-mm-diam. ball from
the ShKh15 steel in the quenched state.

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800 DYAKIN et al.

Fig. 5. Experimental hodographs of the pickup coil output in relative units in the case of a cylindrical
sample 36 mm in diameter and 44 mm long from steel 45: the pickup coil (1) in the middle section of
the sample; (2 ) around the end of the sample.

Fig. 6. Real part of effective magnetic permeability as a function of frequency of current in the
solenoid: (1) for a ball from the ShKh15 steel at l = 20.6 mm and η = 0.72; (2 ) for a cylindrical sample
with the pickup coil in the middle section; (3 ) with the coil around the end of the cylindrical sample.

In order to calculate both components of µeff , we need a system of two equations with two unknowns:
Re Urel (experimental) = Re Urel (calculated),
(16)
Im Urel (experimental) = Im Urel (calculated).

After substituting the experimental measurements of Re Urel and Im Urel in Eq. (16), we solve

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 MAGNETIC PERMEABILITY OF SPHERICAL BODIES 801

Fig. 7. Hodographs of the effective magnetic permeability of the ball from the ShKh15 steel in the
quenched state at different values of η and constant coil dimensions.

the equation system using the procedure of functional minimization by the method of deformable
polyhedron developed by Nelder and Mead [9, 10]. The solution yields the real and imaginary
components of the effective magnetic permeability at a given frequency.
Figure 6 plots the real part of the effective magnetic permeability as a function of frequency
calculated by the technique described above. Curve 1 was calculated for a 45-mm-diam. ball
from the ShKh15 steel in the quenched state. The center of the pickup coil was at a distance
l = 20.6 mm from the ball center, the parameter η = 0.72. Curves 2 and 3 were calculated by the
method described in the previous paper [7] for a cylinder, and the corresponding hodographs are
plotted in Fig. 5. Curve 2 corresponds to the coil placed around the middle section of the sample,
and curve 3 to the coil position around its butt. All these curves have down-peaks in the frequency
range of 80 to 300 Hz. For the ball (curve 1) the amplitude of this peak is notably larger.
Figure 7 shows hodographs of the effective magnetic permeability plotted using experimental
measurements given in Fig. 4 for a ball from the ShKh15 steel in the quenched state and dif-
ferent positions of the pickup coil (Table 2). The dashed lines connect points corresponding to
equal frequencies. The graph clearly shows that the magnetic permeability depends strongly on
parameter η in the low-frequency range. The components of µeff drop rapidly as this param-
eter decreases, especially the component Im µeff . The dependence on η is strong in the low-
frequency range because the coil displacement from the center means that it is located in the
zone of a strongly inhomogeneous magnetic induction (see the examples with the short cylin-
der in Figs. 5 and 6). As the distance between the centers of the ball and coil increases, pa-
rameter η drops, and, accordingly, the component Im Urel drops rapidly in the low-frequency
range (see Fig. 4), whereas the growth rate of this component notably decreases in the range of
higher frequencies, the hodographs of the effective permeability transfer to the region of pos-

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802 DYAKIN et al.

Fig. 8. Measurements by coils placed close to the surface of the ball from the ShKH15 steel in the
quenched state: (a) hodographs of the pickup coil output in relative units: (1) coil in the intermediate
position; (2 ) coil in the equator plane; (3 ) coil around the pole; (b) hodographs of effective magnetic
permeability: (1 ) in the equator plane; (2 ) in the intermediate position; (3 ) around the pole.

itive Im Urel , and the magnetic induction does not penetrate into deeper layers of the sam-
ple, which results in its more uniform distribution in the surface layer of the ball. The lat-
ter circumstance means that the magnetic permeability is more uniform, hence the true mag-
netic permeability is determined with a higher accuracy, despite the large variation in parame-
ter η.
If the magnetic permeability were the same over the entire ball volume, we would obtain the
true magnetic permeability for all frequencies and η by solving the inverse problem. To prove
this statement, we calculated and plotted hodographs of the pickup coil output in relative units
for a constant real value of the magnetic permeability. Then the calculations were substituted
for experimental measurements that were used in solving the corresponding inverse problem.
In all cases, we derived the initial real magnetic permeability from solutions of the inverse prob-
lem.
Further studies were conducted assuming the variable position of the pickup coil, but parameter
η remained constant. Clearly, this approach requires that the coil diameter should be variable.
We used coils of the following diameters: 49, 36, and 20 mm. The 49-mm coils were placed around
the equator, the 20-mm coil around the pole, and the 36-mm coil in an intermediate position.
The parameter η = 0.92 for all three cases.
Figure 8a shows experimental hodographs of the pickup coil output for all the three cases.
The tested sample was the same ball from the ShKh15 steel in the quenched state. The differ-
ences among the hodographs are obvious owing to the inhomogeneity of the magnetic permeability
throughout the ball volume. If the permeability were constant over the entire ball volume, we would
obtain the same hodograph of the effective permeability for all the three cases.
Figure 8b plots the hodographs of the effective permeability for all the three cases. Curve 1
corresponds to the coil position in the equator plane, curve 2 to the intermediate position, and
curve 3 to the position around the pole. In the range of higher frequencies, the highest magnetic
permeability is measured by the intermediate coil.

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 MAGNETIC PERMEABILITY OF SPHERICAL BODIES 803

Fig. 9. Measurements by coils close to the surface of the 45-mm-diam. ball from steel St3:
(a and b) hodographs of pickup coil output in relative units: (1) the pickup coil around the pole;
(2 ) in the intermediate position; (3 ) in the equator plane; η = 0.92; (c) hodographs of effective
magnetic permeability.

EFFECT OF SAMPLE MATERIAL

For studies of the effect of material on the magnetic permeability, we manufactured a 45-mm-
diam. ball from the low-carbon St3 steel in the condition as supplied by the producer. Measure-
ments were conducted using the same three coils. The measurements of the coil outputs are plotted
in Fig. 9a,b. The difference from the curves in Fig. 8 is essential. In particular, the leftmost curve
in Fig. 8a plots measurements by the intermediate coil, whereas the leftmost curves in Fig. 9a,b plot
measurements by the smallest coil, i.e., around the ball’s pole. While curve 3 (right-hand) in Fig. 8a
plots the measurements around the pole, the right-hand curves in Fig. 9a,b plot measurements in
the equator plane.
Figure 9c shows hodographs of the effective magnetic permeability for the ball from the St3
steel. The comparison of these curves with those plotted in Fig. 8b leads to the conclusion that
the magnetic permeability of St3 is higher than that of ShKh15, which is true.

EFFECT OF STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES

For studying the effect of structural properties on the magnetic permeability, we annealed the
ball from the ShKh15 steel at 600◦C during 2 h. Measurements were conducted using the same

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804 DYAKIN et al.

Fig. 10. Measurements by coils close to the surface of the ball from the ShKh15 steel after anneal;
η = 0.92: (a) hodographs of pickup coil output in relative units: (1) around the pole; (2 ) in the
intermediate position; (3 ) in the equator plane; (b) hodographs of effective magnetic permeability.

Fig. 11. Imaginary part of effective magnetic permeability versus frequency: (1) for the quenched
ball from the ShKh15 steel; (2 ) for the ball from steel St3; (3 ) for the ball from the ShKh15 steel
after anneal.

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 MAGNETIC PERMEABILITY OF SPHERICAL BODIES 805

three coils. Figure 10a shows experimental hodographs of the signals from each of the three coils.
Figure 10a plots the hodographs of signals from each of the three coils. The comparison with the
hodographs in Fig. 8a for the quenched ball reveals that changes in the shapes and positions of
curves due to the anneal are essential.
Figure 10b plots hodographs of the effective magnetic permeability of the ball after its anneal.
The comparison with the hodographs in Fig. 8b also reveals considerable differences. The curves
in Fig. 10b are smoother. The magnetic permeability (its real part) measured by the intermediate
and pole coils is notably higher, and the curve plotting measurements around the pole transfers
to the region of positive Im µeff in the range of higher frequencies, whereas the curve in Fig. 8b is
entirely in the negative region.
The differences are shown more clearly in Fig. 11, which plots the imaginary component of the
effective permeability for the quenched ShKh15 ball (curve 1), for the same ball after its anneal
(curve 3), and for the St3 ball. The graph shows that variations in the imaginary part of the
permeability due to the structure and material composition are clearly seen in the frequency range
of 700 to 1500 Hz.

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1. Divil’kovskii, M.A., Problem of a Ball in a Homogeneous AC Magnetic or Electric Field, Zh. Tekh. Fiz.,
1939, vol. 9, no. 5, pp. 433–443.
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in Tests by Applied Transducers, Defektoskopiya, 1997, no. 1, pp. 63–66.
3. Sandovskii, V.A., Dyakin, V.V., and Dudarev, M.S., Investigation of Frequency Dependence of Magnetic
Permeability in Eddy-Current Tests of Ferromagnetic Materials, Defektoskopiya, 1998, no. 11, pp. 27–33.
4. Sandovskii, V.A., Dyakin, V.V., and Dudarev, M.S., Investigation of Frequency Dependence of Magnetic
Permeability of Ferromagnetic Rods in Inhomogeneous Field, Defektoskopiya, 1999, no. 4, pp. 47–55.
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