SBIR Phase I: Eddy Current Testing using Liquid Crystals

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目致力于基于液晶的磁光传感器，用于直接可视化不连续。这种方法使用涡流，但与传统的涡流方法相比具有优势。该传感器有可能在不显著增加成本的情况下显著扩大涡流仪器的视场(5倍)。此外，有很好的潜力使传感器足够灵活，以测试弯曲和轮廓的部件。第一阶段将专注于使用新型高灵敏度液晶系统的磁光传感器的设计和制造，以证明所提出的涡流检测方法的可行性。该传感器将在5亿美元的无损检测市场获得商业应用，涡流检测目前是增长最快的细分市场之一。在生物磁学和军事监视等其他领域也可能有应用。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses a liquid crystal based, magneto-optic sensor for direct visualization of discontinuities. This approach uses eddy currents but has advantages over conventional eddy current methods. The sensor has potential for significantly increasing the field-of-view of eddy current instruments (5x) without a dramatic increase in cost. Moreover, there is good potential for making the sensor flexible enough to test curved and contoured parts. Phase I will focus on the design and fabrication of magneto-optic sensors using new, high-sensitivity liquid crystal systems to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed eddy current testing approach. This sensor will have commercial applications in the $500 million nondestructive testing market, where eddy current testing is currently oneof the fastest growing segments. There may also be applications in other fields such as biomagnetics and military surveillance.