HIGH RESOLUTION 2D MAGNETIC VISION- B-Cam

电流产生磁场。在金属结构中，当电流在结构中流动时，结构中的缺陷(如裂纹或材料缺陷)会在场图中显示出来。如果电流正在变化，则可以将磁场检测为拾取线圈中的电压。然而，拾取线圈体积很大，要组装一个线圈阵列来在被测结构附近可察觉的空间区域感知场模式是不切实际的。出于这个原因，磁场检测不用于海底结构，通常仅限于实验室使用。有一种半导体替代使用传感线圈，称为霍尔效应器件。我们有一种技术，可以使这些设备在现场映射环境中像线圈一样敏感。它们有一个巨大的优势，那就是它们对所有实用频率的场都有统一的响应，而线圈没有。半导体技术使得生产一种可以在可感知的区域内看到磁场模式的相机成为现实。相机需要一个复杂的电流发生器来激励结构。这可以被认为类似于照亮场景。这样的相机将是在检查金属结构完整性方面向前迈出的重要一步。它可以安装在潜水器上，并用于检查管道和钻井平台结构。它增加了石油和天然气行业的安全性。该项目包括提高一种新型极灵敏霍尔效应装置的灵敏度，并建造一台原型相机来展示这项新技术的力量。我们预计它将在检测和进一步的材料研究方面产生一个服务行业。

An electric current generates a magnetic field. In metal structures, imperfections in the structure such as cracks or material flaws show up in the field pattern generated when current flows in the structure. If the current is changing, the field may be detected as a voltage in a pickup coil. However pick-up coils are bulky and it is impractical to assemble an array of coils that could sense a field pattern over an appreciable area of space in proximity to a structure under test. For this reason, magnetic field testing is not used for sub-sea structures and in general is confined to laboratory use. There is a semiconductor alternative to using sensing coils, called a Hall Effect device. We have a technology which can make these devices as sensitive as coils in the context of field mapping. They have a huge advantage in that they respond uniformly to fields of all practical frequencies, while coils no not. The semiconductor technology makes it practical to produce a camera which can see a magnetic field pattern over an appreciable area. The camera would need a sophisticated current generator to excite the structure. This can be thought of as akin to illuminating the scene. Such a camera would be a major step forward in checking integrity of metal structures. It could be fitted to submersible vehicles and used to inspect pipelines and rig structures. It adds to safety in the Oil and Gas industry.The project involves enhancing the sensitivity of a new type of extremely sensitive Hall Effect devices and building a prototype camera to demonstrate the power of the new technique. We expect it to generate a service industry in inspection and also to further materials research.