2. Magnetic-stress coupling theory
It is well-known that magnetic properties of ferromagnetic materials are stress-dependent. For example, the coercivity Hc and permeability m of ferromagnetic materials may be changed in the order of 100% by the stress within the elastic limit[15]. Fig. 1 presents a schematic description of a cyclic stress affecting the magnetization of ferromagnetic materials. The total magnetization M includes the reversible component, Mre, and irreversible component, Mirr. In every loading cycle, an irreversible magnetization difference DMirr is obtained when the domains pass through pinning sites under the action of the mechanical stress[16].
From the microstructural point of view, a ferromagnetic sample is composed of numerous magnetic domains. Every domain is 10*8–10*12 m3 in volume and includes approximately 10*12–10*15 atoms. The magnetic moments distribute randomly in the initial state, and no magnetization appears in the macro-scale. When an external load is applied to a ferromagnetic sample, a tension tends to orient the domains in the direction of the applied load for a positive magnetorestrictive material and a compression orients the domains perpendicularly to the loading direction due to the piezomagnetic effect [17]. Fig. 2a displays a symmetric structure in which the applied field H=0. Only in the case of H=/0 ( see Fig. 2b), the symmetric structure is destroyed and the ferromagnetic sample is magnetized. Thus, the presence of an external field (e.g. an artificial field or Earth’s magnetic field) is a necessary condition for all magnetic NDT techniques. This may also be concluded from the following experiment: the spontaneous stray field signal is detected when plastically deforming a ferromagnetic sample under the action of the Earth’s magnetic field, but not obtained when the sample was
plastically deformed in a magnetic-prohibited environment.
Theoretical studies of the magnetic-stress coupling effect provide a physical understanding of various magnetic NDT technologies.