Patent ID: 7521926

Claim:
A method for the nondestructive testing of a component comprising a base body further comprising a base material, the method to determine a degraded region of the base material, comprising: subjecting the component to a first eddy-current producing signal of a first frequency; determining a property of the base material responsive to the first signal having a depth of penetration including the base material; subjecting the component to a second eddy-current producing signal of a second frequency, the first frequency lower than the second frequency; subjecting the component to additional frequency signals continuously from the first frequency to the second frequency, wherein the subjecting of the component to said additional frequency signals comprises performing a frequency scan from the first frequency to the second frequency; and determining a property of the degraded region responsive to the second signal having a depth of penetration including the degraded region, wherein the property of the degraded region comprises conductivity or permeability, wherein the base body and the degraded region do not contain ferromagnetic material.