Residual Magnetic Field Non-Destructive Testing of Gantry Cranes

Non-destructive tests of gantry cranes by means of the residual magnetic field (RMF) method were carried out for a duration of 7 years. Distributions of the residual magnetic field tangential and the normal components of their gradients were determined. A database of magnetograms was created. The results show that the gradients of tangential components can be used to identify and localize stress concentration zones in gantry crane beams. Special attention was given to the unsymmetrical distribution of the tangential component gradient on the surface of the crane beam No. 5 (which was the most loaded one). The anomaly was the effect of a slight torsional deflection of the beam as it was loaded. Numerical simulations with the finite element method (FEM) were used to explain this phenomenon. The displacement boundary conditions introduced into the simulations were established experimentally. Validation was carried out using the X-ray diffraction method, which confirmed the location of strain concentration zones (SCZs) identified by means of RMF testing.