Improvement of EMAT Butterfly Coil for Defect Detection in Aluminum Alloy Plate

For non-destructive testing (NDT) of defects in aluminum alloy plates, traditional ultrasonic contact methods face challenges from high temperatures and liquid couplant contamination. Using electromagnetic acoustic transducers (EMATs), a key issue is that longitudinal waves (L-waves) excited by the butterfly-coil EMATs interfere with the desired shear waves (S-waves) reflected by internal defects. To solve this problem, a simulation–experiment approach optimized the butterfly coil parameters. An FE model visualized the electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) acoustic field and predicted signals. Orthogonal simulations tested three main parameters: excitation frequency, wire diameter, and effective coil width. Tests on aluminum specimens with artificial defects used the optimized EMAT. Simulated and measured signals showed strong correlation, validating optimal parameters. The results confirmed suppressed L-wave interference and improved defect detection sensitivity, enabling detection of a 3 mm diameter flat-bottomed hole buried 37 mm deep.