Overview
ISO 15548-1:2013 - Non-destructive testing - Equipment for eddy current examination - Part 1: Instrument characteristics and verification - defines the functional and electrical characteristics of a general-purpose eddy current instrument and gives methods for measuring and verifying those characteristics. The standard enables clear description, comparison and verification of eddy current instruments used in nondestructive testing (NDT). It specifies what to document (generator, input stage, signal processing, outputs, digitisation, environmental and physical data) but does not set acceptance criteria or extent of verification; those are provided in application-specific documents.
Key topics and technical requirements
- Instrument classification: Distinguishes general-purpose instruments (user-configurable frequency, gain, balance, phase, filters) from specific-application instruments.
- Power, safety and environment: Specifies that nominal power supply, tolerances, warm-up time, temperature/humidity/vibration ranges and EMC compliance must be stated.
- Generator unit: Defines requirements for excitation type (single/multifrequency, swept, pulsed), source type (current/voltage), frequency range/steps, amplitude settings, harmonic distortion and source impedance.
- Input stage & probe interface: Requires input impedance vs. frequency, gain range, maximum input voltage and common-mode parameters.
- Balance and demodulation: Describes balance (manual/automatic), HF synchronous demodulation (vector extraction), phase polarity and demodulator reference characteristics.
- HF and LF signal processing: Specifies HF filters (bandwidth, attenuation, transient response), HF/LF amplification ranges and saturation limits, and phase setting accuracy.
- Output and display: Covers analogue/digitised/logical outputs, display formats (complex plane, time-synchronous, imaging), transfer factors, linearity and bandwidth.
- Digitisation: Requires stage of digitisation, technique (internal clock or external encoder), A/D resolution and sampling rate to be documented.
- Verification procedures: Gives verification levels, measurement methods and corrective actions; includes annexes with methods such as frequency-beat and linearity measurement.
Practical applications and users
ISO 15548-1:2013 is used to:
- Specify and procure eddy current instruments with comparable, verifiable characteristics.
- Guide NDT engineers in system design by matching instrument capabilities to probe and application.
- Define verification and calibration procedures for quality assurance, maintenance and regulatory compliance.
- Support manufacturers in documenting instrument performance and accessories.
Typical users: NDT engineers and inspectors, equipment manufacturers, quality managers, inspection service providers, procurement specialists and R&D teams working with eddy current testing.
Related standards
- ISO 15548-2 (Probe characteristics and verification)
- ISO 15548-3 (System characteristics and verification)
- ISO 15549 (Eddy current testing - General principles)
- ISO 12718 (Eddy current testing - Vocabulary)
Keywords: ISO 15548-1:2013, eddy current, non-destructive testing, instrument characteristics, verification, signal processing, digitisation, HF filtering, demodulation.