Patent ID: 8884614

Claim:
An eddy current array probe, comprising: a plurality of eddy current channels, each eddy current channel comprising: a first sense coil and a second sense coil, wherein the first and second sense coils are offset from one another in a first direction and a second direction, and the first and second sense coils overlap with one another in either or both of the first and second directions, and wherein the first and second sense coils are configured to be connected at opposite polarities; a drive coil positioned proximate to the first and second sense coils, wherein the drive coil is configured to generate a probing magnetic field to induce eddy currents in a conductive material; and a conductive bus electrically coupled to the drive coil of each of the eddy current channels and configured to supply a current to the drive coil to generate the probing magnetic field, the conductive bus comprises an orientation that is substantially parallel with respect to a length of the eddy current array probe, and wherein at least a portion of the eddy current channels comprise inclined orientations with respect to the conductive bus to enable the eddy current array probe to detect flaws having a length greater than a size of each of the eddy current channels.