Magnetic particle inspection
non-destructive method used to detect defects in ferrous materials
Magnetic particle inspection (MPI) is a nondestructive testing process where a magnetic field is used for detecting surface, and shallow subsurface, discontinuities in ferromagnetic materials. Examples of ferromagnetic materials include iron, nickel, cobalt, and some of their alloys. The process puts a magnetic field into the part. The piece can be magnetized by direct or indirect magnetization. Direct magnetization occurs when the electric current is passed through the test object and a magnetic field is formed in the material. The magnetic lines of force are perpendicular to the direction of the electric current, which may be either alternating current (AC) or some form of direct current (DC) (rectified AC). Indirect magnetization occurs when no electric current is passed through the test object, but a magnetic field is applied from an outside source.
The presence of a surface or subsurface discontinuity in the material allows the magnetic flux to leak, since air cannot support as much magnetic field per unit volume as metals.
To identify a leak, ferrous particles, either dry or in a wet suspension, are applied to a part. These are attracted to an area of flux leakage and form what is known as an indication, which is evaluated to determine its nature, cause, and course of action, if any.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 3, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1884449. The Library of Congress control number is sh85079754. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Magnetic particle inspection” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.