Baked Carbon Anode Defect Detection Using a Two-Level Non-destructive Evaluation Scheme

Non-destructive testing approaches have been developed for baked carbon anodes since the 1980s to evaluate anode quality. However, no two techniques have been coupled to complement their advantages. In this study acousto-ultrasonics (AU) and modal analysis (MA) are tested in a two-level scheme where anodes are first evaluated through MA and, if required, assessed through AU. The coupling allows the load on the AU system to be reduced while at the same time increasing the overall precision in discriminating anodes by the presence of external defects. Additionally, the coupling allows parameters to be adjusted for specific objectives.