Measurement of the ferrite content with the FERITSCOPE® FMP30

Chemical, utility and other processing plants are often The FERITSCOPE® measures the ferrite content in aus-
exposed to heat, aggressive media and high pressure. tenitic and duplex steel according to the magnetic
These circumstances require corrosion and acid resistant induction method. All magnetic components of the
steel that is mechanically resilient even at high tem- otherwise non-magnetic structure are recognized, that
peratures. If the ferrite content is too low, the weld is is, in addition to delta ferrite and other ferritic compo-
susceptible to cracking under heat, if the ferrite content nents transformation martensite is also recognized.
is too high, the weld loses its toughness and ductility. The instrument is suitable for measurements according
For duplex steel, a lack of ferrite in the area of the weld to the Basler Standard or according to DIN 32514-1.
seam is an indicator of susceptibility to cracking under Areas of application are on-site measurements, e.g.,
tension or vibration. of austenitic claddings as well as weld seams in stain-
less steel pipes, containers, boilers or other products
made of austenitic or duplex steel.

Determination of the ferrite content in the area of weld seams using the FERITSCOPE® FMP30

2 FERITSCOPE® FMP30
 FERITSCOPE® FMP30

• Various status displays (e.g., warning message when

battery voltage drops)
• Various language settings
• Measurement units selectable between WRC-FN and
%Fe
• Memory for up to 20,000 readings
• Up to 100 applications for measuring application speci-
fic calibrations
• Capability of allocating readings into up to 4,000
blocks
• Date and time stamp for blocks
• Display of statistical common characteristic values
such as mean value, standard deviation, min, max,
range in the block and final results. Output of cha-
racteristic variance-analytical values
• Graphical measurement display as a histogram with
a Gaussian plot
• Capability of entering process tolerance limits and
computation of the associated process capability in-
dices cp and cpk
• Audible and visual warning when tolerance limits
are exceeded
• Free-running display with additional presentation of
the reading as an analog bar between the tolerance
limits
Characteristic features: • Matrix measuring mode for connected multi-point
• Non-destructive measurement of the ferrite content in measurements, e. g., in a pre-defined surface array
a range of 0.1 to 110 FN or 0.1 to 80% Fe in aus- • Capability of averaging measurement data: Only
tenitic and duplex steel the mean value of several readings will be stored
• User-friendly instrument operation • Measurement acquisition through area measurement
• Large display, rich in contrast with 240x160 pixels possible: Only single readings until probe lift-off are
• USB port for data transfer to PC or printer captured and averaged
• Mechanical sliders to cover keys not required for the • Capability to measure continuously with the probe
measurement operation placed on the specimen
• Ready to make measurements right after power-up • Outlier rejection for the automatic elimination of
• Measurement automatic upon probe placement erroneous measurements
through external trigger via instrument button or PC • Overwriting of erroneous and already stored read-
• Automatic probe recognition ings through overwriting
• Audible signal at measurement acquisition • Application linking mode: Ability for common nor-
• Only one calibration required for the entire practi- malization/calibration of applications
cally relevant measurement range from 0.1 to about • Designations for applications through the optional
90 FN. Measurement accuracy according to ANSI/ PC program MP-Name
AWS A4.2M/A4.2:1997 standard • Data transfer to a PC into an Excel spreadsheet with
• Calibration with standards traceable to TWI secon- the optional PC program PC-Datex
dary standards or with customer-specific standards • Data transfer to a PC into an Access database with
• Adjustable instrument switch-off or continuous opera- the optional PC program PC-Datacc
tion • Battery and line power operation (AC adapter op-
• Lockable keyboard/restricted operating mode tional accessory)

3
 Fundamentals

Magnetic induction method Application example

The FERITSCOPE® FMP30 measures according to the Increasingly, the chemical and petrochemical indus-
magnetic induction method. A magnetic field genera- tries use duplex steel, e.g., for a container made of
ted by a coil interacts with the magnetic components high corrosion resistant duplex stainless steel shown
of the specimen. The changes in the magnetic field in figures 1 and 2. A ferrite deficiency in the weld
induce a voltage proportional to the ferrite content in beam may lead to cracks under the influence of ten-
a second coil. This voltage is then evaluated. All sion or vibration. However, when welding duplex
magnetic components of the otherwise non-magnetic steel, it is easy to bring the ferrite content in the
structure are recognized, that is, in addition to delta welding area to unfavourable values, either because
ferrite and other ferritic components transformation of unsuitable welding additives or through wrong
martensite is also recognized. One particular advan- heat application or removal. Only a measurement on
tage of the magnetic induction method for the ferrite site can ensure that the processing steps did not
Figure 1: Container
content measurement is that a sigma phase, i.e., a change the optimal ferrite content resulting in a made of highly corro-
Fe-Cr deposit, which may have formed due to decrease of the mechanical or corrosion resistant pro- sion resistant duplex
stainless steel
excessive ferrite contents and unfavorable cool down perties.
conditions, is recognized correctly as a non-ferritic
structural constituent. In a metallographic section, on Calibration/Standards
the other hand, it is not easily possible to distinguish To obtain comparable results, the instruments must be
a sigma phase from a ferritic structure, which may calibrated with standards that are traceable to inter-
lead to an erroneous evaluation of the ferrite content. nationally accepted secondary standards. For this
reason, the IIW (International Institute of Welding,
UK) developed secondary standards that have been
Soft iron core Low-frequency
alternating established by TWI (The Welding Institute, UK) accor-
magnetic field
ding to methods described in DIN EN ISO 8249 and
Exciter current
I~ ANSI/AWS A4.2. Helmut Fischer offers certified cali-
bration standards for the corrective and master cali-
bration that are traceable to the TWI secondary Fischer calibration
standard set with certi-
Measure- standards. The standards in the Fischer calibration ficate
ment signal
U = f(FN) standards sets carry both the ferrite numbers FN and
the %Fe values. Influences of the component geometry
(strong curvature, thickness of ferrite-containing coat-
1
ing, etc.) can be taken into account through correc-
tive calibrations with customer-specific calibration
2 standards or with correction factors (included with
shipment). Normalization and corrective calibration
are stored application-specific in the respective appli- TWI secondary
1: Ferritic portion of structure 2: Steel substrate material standard set
cation memory of the instrument.
Basic operation of the magnetic induction measurement method,
using the example of an austenitic plating

Figure 2:
Measurement
of the ferrite content
at a weld seam