Which type of steel cannot undergo magnetic particle inspection?

Austenitic steels are primarily non-magnetic due to their face-centered cubic (FCC) structure. This characteristic makes them unsuitable for magnetic particle inspection, a non-destructive testing method that relies on the magnetic properties of materials to detect surface and near-surface defects. In magnetic particle inspection, a material is magnetized; if there are any surface flaws, they will disrupt the magnetic field, and magnetic particles applied to the surface will gather at these disruptions, indicating the presence of defects. Since austenitic steels do not exhibit significant magnetic properties, they do not respond to this inspection method, rendering it ineffective.

In contrast, carbon steels, alloy steels, and tool steels generally possess sufficient magnetic properties, allowing for effective magnetic particle inspection to identify any defects present in these materials.