Apparatus and method for metallic constructions assessment

A device for discovering, identification and monitoring of mechanical defects in metallic structures, comprising:

• an electromagnetic pulse generator, said generator irradiating a part of the metallic structure with electromagnetic radiation;
• a sensor array registering a response of the part of the metallic structure on the irradiated electromagnetic radiation;
• the sensor array located in proximity of the structure, performing magnetic field distribution measurement of the metallic structure and producing a sensor signal;
• an analogue-to-digital converter digitizing the sensor signal;
• a calculation unit receiving the digitized signal, the calculation unit uses the inverse magnetostrictive effect, the effect of changing of material magnetic susceptibility under applied mechanical stress, the changing of magnetic susceptibility resulting in gradient distribution of the magnetic field along an area of the structure that has a magnetic field anomaly, the distribution of magnetic field gradient providing an information about a presence and a value of the magnetic field anomaly at the given location of the structure and a mechanical stress, corresponded to said anomaly;
• and
• the calculation unit calculating an absolute value of the mechanical stress around the anomaly, thus unveiling a mechanical defect of the structure and characterizing it.