Electromagnetic acoustic transducer (emat) for inspection

A method of operating an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) assembly for non-destructive test (NDT), the method comprising:

• placing a surface of the EMAT assembly of on or near an object under test, the EMAT assembly comprising:
• a static magnetic field generator;
• a first transducer coil;
• a second transducer coil;
• and
• a conductive shield located laterally between the first transducer coil and the second transducer coil, the conductive shield extending away from the first transducer coil and the second transducer coil toward the surface of the EMAT assembly, the surface configured to face an object under test;
• selectively energizing at least one of the first transducer coil or the second transducer coil to electromagnetically induce an acoustic pulse in the object under test in a presence of a static magnetic field;
• and
• electromagnetically detecting a scattered or reflected acoustic energy from the object under test elicited in response to the acoustic pulse.

An electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) assembly for non-destructive test (NDT), the EMAT comprising:

• a means for generating a static magnetic field;
• a means for generating a time-varying electromagnetic field using a first transducer coil;
• a means for generating a time-varying electromagnetic field using a second transducer coil;
• and
• a means for shielding the first transducer coil from the second transducer coil using a conductive non-ferromagnetic material, the means for shielding the first transducer coil from the second transducer coil configured to reduce a sensitivity of the EMAT assembly to lift-off versus an EMAT assembly without the means for the shielding the first transducer coil from the second transducer coil.