Advances in Barkhausen noise analysis

The magnetic Barkhausen Noise technique is a well suited method for the characterization of ferromagnetic materials. The Barkhausen effect results in an interaction between the magnetic structure and the microstructure of materials, and is sensitive to the stresses and microstructure related mechanical properties. Barkhausen noise is a complex signal that provides a large amount of information, for example frequency spectrum, amplitude, RMS value, dependence of magnetic field strength, magnetization frequency and fractal behavior. Although this technique has a lot potentials, it is not commonly used in nondestructive material testing. Large sensors and complex calibration procedures made the method impractical for many applications. However, research has progressed in recent years; new sensor designs were developed and evaluated, new algorithms to simplify the calibration and measurement procedures were developed as well as analysis of additional material properties have been introduced.