Influence of tensile stress in steel cables on magnetic Barkhausen noise

The magnetic Barkhausen noise (BN) method can be applied for stress measurement in ferromagnetic steel cables. The cable is led through magnetizing and sensing coils, and the induced noise is amplified and measured. Seven-wire strands used in reinforced concrete steel rope used by cranes and zinc-coated steel rope are the cables tested. The BN changes with applied tensile stress in all these materials. As tensile stress increases, the magnitude of BN decreases and coercive force increases. The origin of this phenomenon is studied in relation to microstructure and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Based on the results, one utilization of BN for stress measurement is considered