Defect-depth-field algorithm for simulating magnetic flux leakage signals based on discrete magnetic dipole model

Magnetic flux leakage (MFL) testing is widely used for non-destructive detection of defects in ferromagnetic materials, in which fast and accurate processing of MFL signals is critical for reconstructing and evaluating the defects. Of the detection technologies, the existing magnetic dipole model (MDM) can simulate the MFL signals with regular or limited types of defects, but not with complex defects, such as naturally occurring corrosion material losses. With the help of finite element method (FEM), MFL signals of complex defects can be analysed but demanding time-consuming calculation. In this paper, an improved MDM method, i.e., the discrete MDM (DMDM) is proposed, and an algorithm for automatic MFL signals processing is further developed based on the DMDM and the defect-depth-field concept. By comparison, the difference of the simulated MFL signals between the DMDM and the FEM is less than 3%, and the maximum discrepancy of the MFL signals between the simulated and the experimental is about 6%. In addition, the simulation with the DMDM can be thousands of times more efficient than the FEM, indicating significant advantage over the existing method in both improving the accuracy and enabling the fast signal processing of reconstruction for any types of defects in MFL testing.