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Implementing Nitrogen Vacancy Center Quantum Sensor Technology for Magnetic Flux Leakage Testing.
Jonathan Villing1, Matthias Niethammer2, Luca-Ion Arişanu2
1Materials Testing Institute (MPA), University of Stuttgart, 70569 Stuttgart, Germany.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|December 11, 2025
Summary
Quantum sensors using nitrogen vacancy centers in diamonds offer a new method for Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) testing of prestressed concrete structures. This approach enhances non-destructive testing (NDT) by providing precise, vectorized magnetic field measurements for infrastructure safety.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Quantum Sensing
- Civil Engineering
Background:
- Structural integrity of prestressed concrete is critical for infrastructure safety.
- Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) is a standard non-destructive testing (NDT) method for detecting fractures in prestressing steel.
- Existing MFL methods face limitations in sensitivity and directional detection.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the application of quantum sensors based on nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers in diamonds for MFL testing.
- To develop a novel method for processing continuous-wave optically detected magnetic resonance (CW-ODMR) data into vectorized magnetic field measurements.
- To validate the effectiveness of NV-center quantum sensors for high-resolution MFL data acquisition.
Main Methods:
- Utilized NV-center quantum sensors for MFL testing of prestressed concrete components.
- Developed a data processing framework to convert CW-ODMR measurements into vectorized magnetic flux density (x, y, z directions).
- Calibrated crystallographic sensor orientations to determine precise field directions for magnetic field reconstruction.
Main Results:
- Successfully transformed CW-ODMR data into high-resolution vectorized magnetic field measurements.
- Validated the method through 121 fracture measurements and 19 open-bar-end measurements.
- Quantified the influence of sensor displacement, magnetization, and measurement distances on data accuracy.
Conclusions:
- NV-center quantum sensors provide a promising, highly sensitive alternative for MFL-based NDT.
- The developed data processing method enables precise, multi-directional magnetic field reconstruction.
- This research lays the groundwork for integrating quantum sensing into advanced NDT and other industrial sensing applications.
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