EMAT is an advanced couplant-free ultrasonic technology that overcomes the achilles heel of conventional ultrasonic testing (UT), transferring energy from the probe into the material inspected. Unlike UT, EMAT does not require couplant nor direct contact with the target surface, making the technology ideal for field-use and automation. Unlike UT, EMAT does not require couplant nor direct contact with the target surface, making the technology ideal for field-use and automation. EMATs do not suffer from curie temperature limitations as in conventional PZT ultrasonic elements. Furthermore, as EMAT transducers can work while remaining slightly separate from the surface under inspection, these are able to withstand high temperatures allowing for in-service inspection and monitoring of assets in working conditions.
The biggest drawback of this technology is its high-power consumption, which in turn leads to bulky instrumentation and higher pricing when compared to conventional ultrasonic devices. LOPEMAT project tackles this challenge, paving the way to a new generation of ultrasonic EMAT technology through the development of the first line of Low-Power EMAT systems.
The main goal of the LOPEMAT project is to develop and validate a first working prototype of low-power EMAT system for normal beam and guided wave generation. In line with the trend to make technology cheaper, lighter and more efficient, recent publications have shown it feasible to generate EMAT bursts with a far lower excitation, both in terms of power and voltage, using a combination of advanced signal processing techniques such as binary quantization and coded excitation. Such a change in power consumption could constitute a total gamechanger in the field, allowing for cheaper and lighter EMAT instruments, no bigger than a smartphone, that could be powered trough a power-bank or USB port, and could compete with conventional ultrasonic devices across the whole range of NDT applications.
