WO2017017671A1 - Sonde à onde guidée (gw) à grande largeur de bande pour système d'inspection de tubes et de tuyaux - Google Patents

Sonde à onde guidée (gw) à grande largeur de bande pour système d'inspection de tubes et de tuyaux Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2017017671A1
WO2017017671A1 PCT/IL2016/050791 IL2016050791W WO2017017671A1 WO 2017017671 A1 WO2017017671 A1 WO 2017017671A1 IL 2016050791 W IL2016050791 W IL 2016050791W WO 2017017671 A1 WO2017017671 A1 WO 2017017671A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
tube
absorbing material
ring
guided
probe
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IL2016/050791
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Eyal Conforti
Adam Baer
Dov Furman
Asaf EILAM
Original Assignee
Acousticeye Ltd.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Acousticeye Ltd. filed Critical Acousticeye Ltd.
Publication of WO2017017671A1 publication Critical patent/WO2017017671A1/fr

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N29/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves; Visualisation of the interior of objects by transmitting ultrasonic or sonic waves through the object
    • G01N29/22—Details, e.g. general constructional or apparatus details
    • G01N29/32—Arrangements for suppressing undesired influences, e.g. temperature or pressure variations, compensating for signal noise
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N29/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves; Visualisation of the interior of objects by transmitting ultrasonic or sonic waves through the object
    • G01N29/04—Analysing solids
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N29/00—Investigating or analysing materials by the use of ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves; Visualisation of the interior of objects by transmitting ultrasonic or sonic waves through the object
    • G01N29/22—Details, e.g. general constructional or apparatus details
    • G01N29/225—Supports, positioning or alignment in moving situation
    • G01N29/226—Handheld or portable devices
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N2291/00—Indexing codes associated with group G01N29/00
    • G01N2291/04—Wave modes and trajectories
    • G01N2291/042—Wave modes
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N2291/00—Indexing codes associated with group G01N29/00
    • G01N2291/04—Wave modes and trajectories
    • G01N2291/044—Internal reflections (echoes), e.g. on walls or defects
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N2291/00—Indexing codes associated with group G01N29/00
    • G01N2291/10—Number of transducers
    • G01N2291/106—Number of transducers one or more transducer arrays
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
    • G01N2291/00—Indexing codes associated with group G01N29/00
    • G01N2291/26—Scanned objects
    • G01N2291/263—Surfaces
    • G01N2291/2636—Surfaces cylindrical from inside

Definitions

  • the present disclosure relates to the field of non-destructive testing and more particularly, the present disclosure is in the technical field of tube and pipe inspection.
  • the non- traversing methods employ a probe, which can inspect only the portion of the tube in its immediate vicinity.
  • a traversing probe can be used.
  • the traversing probe can be tethered to a cable by which the probe is pushed all the way down from one end of the tube to the other and then pulled back. Traversing methods are slow, prone to wear and tear of the probe, and eventual failure.
  • One example of a traversing inspection method is Eddy Current Testing, and related methods such as Remote Field Testing and Magnetic Flux Leakage testing.
  • Non-traversing methods are based on inserting a probe a relatively short distance into a tube under test, and then applying a physical method for inspecting the entire tube from this location.
  • APR Acoustic Pulse Reflectometry
  • an acoustic signal (which could be, for example, but not limited to a pulse or a pseudo noise signal, swept sine, etc.) is propagated through the air inside the tube. Any changes in the cross sectional profile of the tube creates reflections, which propagate back toward to the probe where they can be converted to electronic signal, recorded and later analyzed.
  • APR gives good results in detecting anomalies on the interior surface or cross-sectional profile of a tube, such as blockages, through holes, and circumferential changes in cross section of a tube.
  • APR has several advantages: APR is fast, it can accurately assess blockages, and it is very sensitive to through-holes, for example.
  • a reader who wishes to learn more about APR systems is invited to read US patent number 7,677,103, or US pre-granted publication number US2011- 0166808, or US patent 8,960,007.
  • An inspection method which is known widely as the Guided-Wave (GW) method, is based on propagating mechanical waves within the tube wall itself.
  • These waves can be, for example but not limited to, a torsional or longitudinal or flexural wave, and the excitation signal can be for example, but not limited to, a pulse or a pseudo noise signal, swept sine, etc.
  • the torsional waves are marked with the letter 'T'; the longitudinal waves are marked with the letter 'L'; the flexural waves are marked with the letter 'F.
  • Torsional waves are those in which particle displacement is in the circumferential direction, but the wave propagates down the axis of the tube.
  • Longitudinal waves are those in which the particle displacement is in the axial direction, similarly to the direction of propagation of the wave. Particle displacement in torsional waves and longitudinal waves is independent of the azimuthal angle, therefore they are axisymmetric.
  • Each type of the above waves are associated with:
  • T(0,m) denoted ⁇ ,2,3...
  • Interfacing to the tube can be done from the interior of the tube by inserting a GW probe with one or more GW transducers in one of the openings of the tube.
  • the interfacing can be done from the external side of the tube by associating one or more GW transducers with the outer circumference of the tube.
  • the GW technique is sensitive to the degree of material loss. Any changes in the tube wall properties or dimensions will create a reflection, which can be recorded and analyzed. GW is fast and sensitive to flaws on both the outside and inside surfaces of the tube. Typically GW inspection systems have limited bandwidth (BW).
  • an embodiment of the system can transmit substantially the same signal simultaneously from all transducers on a ring of N transducers.
  • the transducers can be distributed substantially evenly on the circumference.
  • the dominant unwanted modes interfering with the measurement may include: F T (N,1); F T (2N,1)... ; F L (N,1); F L (2N,1);... ; etc. .
  • using six transducers on each ring can excite unwanted modes F T (6,1), F L (6,1), F T (12,1), F L (12,1), T(0,2), F L (6,2),... etc.
  • the zone of guided-wave transducers comprises two rings of transducers.
  • An alternate embodiment may use a foam filled ring or a ring of rubber segments, fitted onto the tube, which in one embodiment would be inflatable in order to press it firmly to the tube wall.
  • a ring of absorbing material could also be permanently affixed to the wall of the tube.
  • the absorbing material could be pressed against the inside wall of the tube.
  • the absorbing material could be affixed to a segment of the GW probe, which would come into action whenever a measurement is carried out.
  • the absorbing material would be coupled to the tube wall either through its own elasticity or through a mechanism such as inflation with compressed air.
  • the segment of the GW probe with the absorbing material could be located towards the front end of the probe, towards its rear end, or between rings of transducers.
  • modules of the same or different types may be implemented by a single processor.
  • Software of a logical module may be embodied on a computer readable medium such as a read/write hard disc, CDROM, Flash memory, ROM, or other memory or storage, etc.
  • a software program may be loaded to an appropriate processor as needed.
  • the terms task, method, process can be used interchangeably.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates relevant elements in an axial cross-section view of an example of a GW probe for tube inspection, wherein absorbing material is associated to the external wall of a tube while it is checked;
  • FIG. 2 illustrates relevant elements in an axial cross-section view of an example of a GW probe for tube inspection, wherein absorbing material is associated to the probe.
  • Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a hand-held probe 100 of an example of a Broadband- GW-Tube Inspection (BBGWTI) system.
  • the hand-held probe 100 can comprise a housing 10 to which a guided-wave-transducer mechanism can be either permanently affixed or detachably affixed.
  • An example of the guided-wave-transducer mechanism can be a transducer cylinder 12.
  • the guided-wave-transducer mechanism can comprise two separate rings; each ring can comprise a plurality of transducers. Each ring can be placed adjacent to each other, along the external circumference of the tube. Other embodiments may use other types of guided-wave-transducer mechanisms.
  • the transducer cylinder 12 can be inserted into a near-end of a tube to be inspected 14.
  • the hand-held probe 100 can include or be coupled with a plurality of different sizes of transducer cylinders 12, wherein each transducer cylinder could fit a different internal diameter of an inspected tube 14.
  • An example of a transducer cylinder 12 can comprise a zone of GW transducer mechanism 18, having two or more rings 16a and 16b where each ring can comprise a plurality of GW transducers 16 and a pressing mechanism 17.
  • the plurality of GW transducers 16 are used for generating the guided waves in the tube under inspection 14 and for obtaining the reflected waves.
  • the first ring 16a can be referred to as a transmitting ring while the other ring 16b can be referred to as the receiving ring.
  • the first ring 16a can be used as the receiving ring, while the other ring 16b can be used as the transmitting ring.
  • a plurality of measuring cycles can be implemented one after the other. In each cycle the task of the rings can be changed. In the first cycle the first ring 16a can be used as the transmitting one, while in the second cycle it can be used as the receiving one, etc.
  • each ring, 16a and 16b represent multiple rings, the main ring 16a or 16b and one or more subrings (for convenience and simplicity the subrings are not shown in the figures).
  • Each subring comprises a similar number of transducers as its associated main ring 16a (N transducers) or 16b (M transducers).
  • the subrings can be used to distinguish between left and right (back and forward) propagating waves. The technique of determining the direction is known to a person with ordinary skill in the art. Processing the signal from the subrings can be done in a similar way as it is disclosed for the main rings 16a and 16b and therefore will not be further discussed.
  • the substantial ring 30 can be in the range of two to ten centimeters, for example. In one embodiment a ring of five centimeters was used, for example.
  • the absorbing material can be pliable material such as plasticene, for example. In other embodiments rubber can be used, etc.
  • the ring of the absorbing material 30 can be placed in association with the zone of GW transducer mechanism 18.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates similar elements as FIG. 1 but in FIG. 2 the location of the absorbing material 30 is different than in FIG. 1.
  • the absorbing material is placed around the surface of the transducer cylinder 12 in association with the zone of GW transducer mechanism 18.
  • the absorbing material 30 creates a shape that is substantially ring of few centimeters around the transducer cylinder 12.
  • the ring 30 can be in the range of two to ten centimeters, for example. In one embodiment five centimeters were used, for example.
  • the absorbing material can be pliable material such as plasticene. In other embodiments rubber can be used, etc.
  • the absorbing material 30 would be inflatable in order to be pressed firmly to the tube wall. Such a ring of absorbing material could also be permanently affixed to the wall of the tube. In alternate embodiment, the absorbing material 30 could be pressed against the inside wall of the tube. In other embodiment, the absorbing material 30 can be affixed to a segment of the GW probe, which would come into action whenever a measurement is carried out. In such embodiment the absorbing material 30 would be coupled to the tube wall 14 either through its own elasticity or through a mechanism 17 such as inflation with compressed air. The segment of absorbing material 30 can be located towards the beginning of the probe, or towards its end, or between rings of transducers, for example.
  • Another example may use a foam filled ring 30 fitted onto the tube 14, which in one embodiment would be inflatable in order to press the ring 30 firmly to the tube wall.
  • the foam filled ring 30 can be permanently affixed to the wall of the tube 14.
  • the absorbing material 30 can be pressed against the inside wall of the tube 14.
  • the absorbing material 30 could be affixed to a segment of the GW probe 12, which would come into action whenever a measurement is carried out.
  • the absorbing material 30 can be coupled to the tube wall 14 either through its own elasticity or through a mechanism 17 such as inflation with compressed air.
  • the segment of absorbing material 30 could be located towards the beginning of the transducer cylinder 12, towards its end, or between rings of transducers 16.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Analytical Chemistry (AREA)
  • Biochemistry (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Immunology (AREA)
  • Pathology (AREA)
  • Acoustics & Sound (AREA)
  • Investigating Or Analyzing Materials By The Use Of Ultrasonic Waves (AREA)
  • Investigating Or Analyzing Materials By The Use Of Magnetic Means (AREA)

Abstract

La présente invention concerne le domaine technique de l'inspection de tubes et de tuyaux lié au domaine d'essai non destructif. Certains modes de réalisation de la présente invention portent sur l'obtention d'une grande largeur de bande par positionnement précis des transducteurs sur la circonférence du tube.
PCT/IL2016/050791 2015-07-26 2016-07-20 Sonde à onde guidée (gw) à grande largeur de bande pour système d'inspection de tubes et de tuyaux WO2017017671A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US201562197010P 2015-07-26 2015-07-26
US62/197,010 2015-07-26

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2017017671A1 true WO2017017671A1 (fr) 2017-02-02

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Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3894169A (en) * 1972-02-18 1975-07-08 Rockwell International Corp Acoustical damping structure and method of preparation
US4398424A (en) * 1980-12-16 1983-08-16 Micro Pure Systems, Inc. Ultrasonic sensing
US20030188589A1 (en) * 2002-04-05 2003-10-09 Harthorn Larry K. Internal riser inspection device
US20090158850A1 (en) * 2006-04-28 2009-06-25 David Alleyne Method and apparatus for ultrasonically inspecting pipes

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US3894169A (en) * 1972-02-18 1975-07-08 Rockwell International Corp Acoustical damping structure and method of preparation
US4398424A (en) * 1980-12-16 1983-08-16 Micro Pure Systems, Inc. Ultrasonic sensing
US20030188589A1 (en) * 2002-04-05 2003-10-09 Harthorn Larry K. Internal riser inspection device
US20090158850A1 (en) * 2006-04-28 2009-06-25 David Alleyne Method and apparatus for ultrasonically inspecting pipes

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