AN ORIGINAL APPROACH TO EDDY-CURRENT PROBLEMS THROUGH A COMPLEX ELECTRICAL IMAGE CONCEPT

In this paper, we propose an original method for the physical analysis of electromagnetic interactions between an inductive sensor and any h omogeneous conducting plane target. In the first part of this paper, t he basic principles of inductive sensors are recalled. Then, we solve Maxwell's equations in order to obtain an analytical model for the rel ationship between the target properties and the electrical signals for a U-shaped sensor. Next, we emphasize the fact that our analytical re lations can be interpreted as an extension of the electrical image met hod, even in the most difficult case of conducting and magnetic target s. In the last part, we present some measurements illustrating this ne w electrical image concept.