Ultrasonic circumferential guided wave for pitting-type corrosion imaging at inaccessible pipe-support locations

A higher order cylindrically guided ultrasonic wave was used for the detection and sizing of hidden pitting-type corrosion in the hidden crevice regions (between the pipe and the pipe supports) without lifting or disturbing the structural layout arrangement of the pipelines. The higher order circumferential guided waves were generated using a piezoelectric crystal based transducer, located at the accessible top region of the pipes, in a pulse-echo mode. By studying the experimental parameters such as dispersion, particle displacement, and wavelength of the ultrasonic guided wave modes, an appropriate higher order mode was selected for excitation using an appropriately designed acrylic angle wedge that conforms to the pipe's outer curvature. A manual pipe crawler was designed with a provision for holding the wedge, and the essential hardware such as data acquisition card, encoder, etc., was integrated with the system so that the corrosion was mapped in real time during the scanning of the pipes. The system was validated on pipes ranging from 6 in. to 24 in. outer diameters of wall thicknesses up to 12 mm, by mapping defects as small as 1.5 mm diameter and 25% penetration wall thickness. A 2D finite element model using ABAQUS (R) was used to understand the wave propagation in pipe wall and its interaction with pinhole-type defects.