Experimental and theoretical research on relation between magnetic and mechanical property of structural I-steel column

As an ignored physical property, the metal magnetic memory signal has the potential for non-destructive testing in the future. To get the variation characteristic of magnetic signals under different loads, the normal components of surface spontaneous magnetic signals Hp(y) of the Q235 I-steel column were measured online. In this paper, the variation law of Hp(y) with stress was investigated in the position of the point of contraflexure and stress concentration. The physical mechanism between its magnetic property and mechanical property was established at the elastic and plastic stages. Experimental results show that Hp(y) reaches the extreme value in the position of stress concentration, where the magnetic field gradient K presents the zero-crossing phenomenon along with the peak–peak value phenomenon on the left and right sides. In the position of the point of contraflexure, when the Hp(y) curve reaches the extreme value, the corresponding equivalent uniaxial stress σeq is 54 MPa, which is in good agreement with the Jiles–Atherton (J–A) model. Characteristic parameters Kmax, ζ, and η can reflect the extent of damage of the specimen. In the position of stress concentration, Hp(y) values decrease sharply at the early plastic stage. The analysis shows that the distribution regularity of Hp(y) at the elastic stage is in good agreement with the J–A model. The modified J–A model is consistent with the experimental results at the plastic stage.