Optimal Design of a Magnetic Rope Detector and Aspects Related to the Interpretation of Results

Magneto inductive devices are widely employed in the non destructive testing of steel wire ropes across various industrial sectors, including cable transportation systems, ropeways, and freight transport. The Magnetic Rope Testing (MRT) method enables a reliable assessment of the in service condition of wire ropes by measuring the leakage electromagnetic fields generated by local imperfections or defects in a magnetically saturated ferromagnetic element thereby providing the inspector with the necessary elements to determine, in accordance with the applicable standard, a formal judgment on the performed test based on the results obtained. The EN 12927 standard, in its revision updated in June 2019, specifies the minimum requirements and performance criteria for magneto inductive devices used in ropeway transportation, providing relevant design constraints for the magnetic system. Within this framework, the present work employs three dimensional finite element simulations to investigate the influence of key design parameters on device behavior, with the aim of identifying optimal solutions in terms of weight, size, cost, and intrinsic noise. The numerical results are compared with experimental data obtained from real prototypes tested at the Domenico Di Santolo Non Destructive Testing Laboratory of the University of Trieste. The comparison shows good agreement between simulations and measurements, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed approach for the optimization of MRT devices.