Application of a novel type Barkhausen noise sensor to continuous fatigue monitoring

A novel Barkhausen noise (BN) sensor with no need for external magnetization was tested and applied to continuous fatigue monitoring of mild steel and high strength steel specimens. This new type of sensor indicated an increase in the BN rms value under maximum tensile stress during one cycle in cyclic bending tests with increasing stress amplitude. The BN rms value under maximum compressive stress stayed, however, approximately constant. The reason for this behaviour was the stress-induced anisotropy of the BN. Bending fatigue experiments with constant stress amplitude and R = -1 were conducted at different stress levels. In addition to the BN also the acoustic emission of the specimen was measured. In the mild steel specimens the BN amplitude stayed constant after the initial saturation period, but just prior to the failure of the specimen the amplitude increased meaningfully. This increase occurred at the same time as the increase in the acoustic emission signal indicating the beginning of crack initiation and growth. In the high strength steel specimens the BN amplitude decreased after the initial saturation period. The increase of the BN signal started well before the failure of the specimen and even before the increase in the acoustic emission signal. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.