To address the problem of low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and poor spatial resolution of cracks detection of the angled SV wave electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT), pulse compression technique (PCT) and line-focusing technique are introduced into the angled SV wave EMAT. A finite element (FE) model of the line-focusing (LF) EMAT detection process based on the Barker code excitation was established, and the effects of the design parameters of magnet and meander-line coil (MLC) on the main lobe amplitude and width of the defect echo after pulse compression were analysed. The optimal combination of LF-EMAT design parameters and excitation parameters was obtained, and it was compared with the traditional angled SV wave EMAT and the tone-burst excitation method by experimental measurements. The results shows that compared with angled SV wave EMAT with tone-burst excitation, LF-EMAT can improve the SNR by 14.9 dB with no synchronous average and be processed by PCT. The SNR from LF-EMAT with PCT is10 dB at 1.5 mm lift-off, while the SNR of the angled SV wave EMAT with tone-burst excitation is less than 0 dB at 1 mm lift-off. When the Barker code PCT is applied to the LF-EMAT detection, we can achieve the purpose of increasing EMAT lift-off and reducing the synchronous averages to meet the demand of online, rapid, and high-temperature detection.

As the world increasingly gravitates towards green, environmentally friendly and low-carbon lifestyles, wind power has become one of the most technologically established renewable energy sources. However, with the continuous increase in their output power and height, wind turbine towers are subjected to higher-intensity alternating wind loads. This makes critical components more prone to fatigue failure, potentially leading to major accidents such as tower buckling or turbine collapse. High-strength bolts play a vital role in supporting towers but are susceptible to fatigue crack initiation under long-term cyclic loading, necessitating regular inspection. Types of wind turbine bolts mainly include high-strength bolts, stainless steel bolts, anchor bolts, titanium alloy bolts, and adjustable bolts. These bolts are distributed across different parts of the turbine and perform distinct functions. Among them, high-strength bolts in the tower are particularly critical for structural support, demanding prioritized periodic inspection. Compared to destructive offline inspection methods requiring bolt disassembly, non-destructive testing (NDT) has emerged as a trend in defect detection technologies. Therefore, this review comprehensively examines various types of NDT techniques for wind turbine towers’ high-strength bolts, including disassembly inspection techniques (magnetic particle inspection, penetration inspection, intelligent torque inspection, etc.) and non-disassembly inspection techniques (ultrasonic inspection, radiographic inspection, infrared thermographic inspection, etc.). For each technique, we analyze the fundamental principles, technical characteristics, and limitations, while emphasizing the interconnections between the methodologies. Finally, we discuss potential future research directions for bolt defect NDT technologies.

In order to solve the difficulty in localization and poor signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the angled shear vertical wave (SV wave) electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) in cracks detection of high-temperature carbon steel forgings, a finite element (FE) model of the angled SV wave EMAT detection process was established, and the influence of specimen temperature on the EMAT excitation, propagation, and reception processes was analyzed. A high-temperature resistant angled SV wave EMAT was designed to detect carbon steel from 20 °C to 500 °C, and the influence law of the angled SV wave at different temperatures was analyzed. Then a circuit-field coupled FE model of angled SV wave EMAT in the carbon steel detection process based on the Barker code pulse compression technique was established, and the effects of the Barker code element length, impedance matching method, and matching component parameters on the pulse compression effect were analyzed. In addition, the noise suppression effect and the SNR of the crack-reflected wave in the tone-burst excitation method and the Barker code pulse compression technique were compared. The results show that the amplitude of the block-corner reflected wave decreases from 556 mV to 195 mV, and the SNR decreases from 34.9 dB to 23.5 dB when the specimen temperature increases from 20 °C to 500 °C. When the temperature is 500 °C, the SNR of the crack-reflected wave obtained by the Barker code pulse compression technique can be improved by 9.2 dB compared to the tone-burst excitation method with 16 synchronous averages. The study can provide technical and theoretical guidance for online crack detection for high-temperature carbon steel forgings.