Magnetic memory inspection of an overhead crane girder : experimental verification

The safety and efficiency of material handling systems involve periodical inspections and evaluation of transportation device technical conditions. That is particularly important in case of industrial cranes, since they are subjected to a large impact load and mechanical stresses acting on the crane's structure and equipment. The paper considers the possibility of a crane structure inspection using the metal magnetic memory (MMM) method. As an advanced non-destructive technique, this method can be employed for inspection of crane structure during operation, which leads to reduce the down time costs and increase the safety confidence in the monitoring process. The MMM technique is effective for early identification of the possible defect location and detecting the micro-damage in ferromagnetic structures through detecting the stress concentration areas. The basic principle of MMM method is the self-magnetic flux leakage signal that correlates with the degree of stress concentration. This method allows detecting early damage of ferromagnetic material through performing measurement in the earth magnetic field, without the use of a special magnetizing device. The paper presents the experimental results carried out on the double-girder overhead travelling crane with hoisting capacity 1000 kg. The influence of the load variation and duration time on the intensity of the self-magnetic flux leakage signal is analysed and discussed.