Patent ID: 8519702

Claim:
An eddy current system having at least one eddy current probe configured for inspecting a test object for flaws of any flaw orientation, wherein the probe comprises: at least three coils, each of the coils is wound across two facing sides of an at least six-sided right polygonal prism, wherein at a finite time interval, at least two of the coils are configured to be eddy current driver coils, being charged simultaneously with electric current driven in coherent directions to induce predetermined eddy currents and one of the coils is configured to be an eddy current receiver coil to sense the eddy current, wherein the eddy currents induced by the at least two driver coils form a combined eddy current, the axis of the combined eddy current is orthogonal to the axis of the receiver coil, wherein each coil alternates to be one of the driver coils or the receiver coil at a predetermined switching sequence during consecutive time intervals; and, during the inspection of the test object, the probe is configured to be moved over a test surface with one polygonal prism base face facing the test surface.