Ultrasonic guided waves applications for locating and quantifying pipelines defects

Abstract

On-line Health Monitoring of industrial structures in particular the oil and gas transporting system such as pipelines is of great importance to the reliability and survivability of the plant. In this research the propagation of Ultrasonic Guided Waves as a tool to condition monitoring of the pipes was investigated. Also, under this research the Kirchhoff flaw approximation model was modified to provide an estimation of the size and location of flaws that may exist along the pipe. The modified model and the dispersion curves generated by the Ultrasonic Waves using PCDISP software can provide assessment of the location and extent of the flaw. Several simulation trials were performed using Matlab to validate the feasibility and applicability of the modified model and the results indicate that this model can accurately estimate the size and location of the flaws that exist in the pipe.