Pipeline thickness estimation using the dispersion of higher-order SH guided waves

Thickness measurement plays an important role in the monitoring of pipeline corrosion damage. However, the requirement for prior knowledge of the shear wave velocity in the pipeline material for popular ultrasonic thickness measurement limits its widespread application. This paper proposes a method that utilizes cylindrical shear horizontal(SH) guided waves to estimate pipeline thickness without prior knowledge of shear wave velocity. The inversion formulas are derived from the dispersion of higher-order modes with the high-frequency approximation. The waveform of the example problems is simulated using the real-axis integral method. The data points on the dispersion curves are processed in the frequency domain using the wave-number method. These extracted data are then substituted into the derived formulas. The results verify that employing higher-order SH guided waves for the evaluation of thickness and shear wave velocity yields less than1% error. This method can be applied to both metallic and non-metallic pipelines, thus opening new possibilities for health monitoring of pipeline structures.

Detection of internal crack growth in polyethylene pipe using guided wave ultrasonic testing

Despite the success of guided wave ultrasonic inspection for internal defect detection in steel pipes,its application on polyethylene(PE)pipe remains relatively unexplored.The growth of internal cracks in PE pipe severely affects its pressure-holding capacity,hence the early detection of internal cracks is crucial for effective pipeline maintenance strategies.This study extends the scope of guided wave-based ultrasonic testing to detect the growth of internal cracks in a natural gas distribution PE pipe.Laboratory experiments and a finite element model were planned to study the wave-crack interaction at different stages of axially oriented internal crack growth with a piezoceramic transducer-based setup arranged in a pitch-catch configuration.Mode dispersion analysis supplemented with preliminary experiments was performed to isolate the optimal inspection frequency,leading to the selection of the T(0,1)mode at 50-kHz for the investigation.A transmission index based on the energy of the T(0,1)mode was developed to trace the extent of simulated crack growth.The findings revealed an inverse linear correlation between the transmission index and the crack depth for crack growth beyond 20%crack depth.

Research on High-Velocity Impact Damage Monitoring Method of CFRP Based on Guided Wave

Carbon fiber-reinforced polymer(CFRP)is widely used in aerospace applications.This kind of material may face the threat of high-velocity impact in the process of dedicated service,and the relevant research mainly considers the impact resistance of the material,and lacks the high-velocity impact damage monitoring research of CFRP.To solve this problem,a real high-velocity impact damage experiment and structural health monitoring(SHM)method of CFRP plate based on piezoelectric guided wave is proposed.The results show that CFRP has obvious perforation damage and fiber breakage when high-velocity impact occurs.It is also proved that guided wave SHM technology can be effectively used in the monitoring of such damage,and the damage can be reflected by quantifying the signal changes and damage index(DI).It provides a reference for further research on guided wave structure monitoring of high/hyper-velocity impact damage of CFRP.

Temperature Dependence of Ultrasonic Longitudinal Guided Wave Propagation in Long Range Steel Strands

Ultrasonic guided wave inspection is an effective non-destructive testing method which can be used for stress level evaluation in steel strands.Unfortunately the propagation velocity of ultrasonic guided waves changes due to temperature shift making the prestress measurement of steel strands inaccurate and even sometimes impossible.In the course of solving the problem,this paper reports on quantitative research on the temperature dependence of ultrasonic longitudinal guided wave propagation in long range steel strands.In order to achieve the generation and reception of a chosen longitudinal mode in a steel strand with a helical shaped surface,a new type of magnetostrictive transducer was developed,characterized by a group of thin clips and three identical permanent magnets.Excitation and reception of ultrasonic guided waves in a steel strand were performed experimentally.Experimental results shows that in the temperature range from-4 ℃ to 34 ℃,the propagation velocity of the L（0,1） mode at 160 kHz linearly decreased with increasing temperature and its temperature dependent coefficient was 0.90（m·s-1 ·（℃）-1） which is very close to the theoretical prediction.The effect of dimension deviation between the helical and center wires and the effect of the thermal expansion of the steel strand on ultrasonic longitudinal guided wave propagation were also analyzed.It was found that these effects could be ignored compared with the change in the material mechanical properties of the steel strands due to temperature shift.It was also observed that the longitudinal guided wave mode was somewhat more sensitive to temperature changes compared with conventional ultrasonic waves theoretically.Therefore,it is considered that the temperature effect on ultrasonic longitudinal guided wave propagation in order to improve the accuracy of stress measurement in prestressed steel strands.Quantitative research on the temperature dependence of ultrasonic guided wave propagation in steel strands provides an important basis for the compensation of temperature effects in stress measurement in steel strands by using ultrasonic guided wave inspection.

High Precision Ultrasonic Guided Wave Technique for Inspection of Power Transmission Line

Due to the merits of high inspection speed and long detecting distance, Ultrasonic Guided Wave（UGW） method has been commonly applied to the on-line maintenance of power transmission line. However, the guided wave propagation in this structure is very complicated, leading to the unfavorable defect localization accuracy. Aiming at this situation, a high precision UGW technique for inspection of local surface defect in power transmission line is proposed. The technique is realized by adopting a novel segmental piezoelectric ring transducer and transducer mounting scheme, combining with the comprehensive characterization of wave propagation and circumferential defect positioning with multiple piezoelectric elements. Firstly, the propagation path of guided waves in the multi-wires of transmission line under the proposed technique condition is investigated experimentally. Next, the wave velocities are calculated by dispersion curves and experiment test respectively, and from comparing of the two results, the guided wave mode propagated in transmission line is confirmed to be F（1,1） mode. Finally, the axial and circumferential positioning of local defective wires in transmission line are both achieved, by using multiple piezoelectric elements to surround the stands and send elastic waves into every single wire. The proposed research can play a role of guiding the development of highly effective UGW method and detecting system for multi-wire transmission line.

Numerical Perspective of Second-Harmonic Generation of Circumferential Guided Wave Propagation in a Circular Tube

The effect of second-harmonic generation （SHG） by primary （fundamental） circumferential guided wave （CGW） propagation is investigated from a numerical standpoint. To enable that the second harmonic of the primary CGW mode can accumulate along the circumferential direction, an appropriate mode pair of primary and double frequency CGWs is chosen. Finite element simulations and evaluations of nonlinear CGW propagation are analyzed for the selected CGW mode pair. The numerical simulations performed directly demonstrate that the response of SHG is completely generated by the desired primary CGW mode that satisfies the condition of phase velocity matching at a specific driving frequency, and that the second harmonic of the primary CGW mode does have a cumulative effect with circumferential angles. The numerical perspective obtained yields an insight into the complicated physical process of SHG of primary CGW propagation unavailable previously.

Guided Wave Based Damage Detection Method for Aircraft Composite Structures under Varying Temperatures

Guided waves based damage detection methods using base signals offer the advantages of simplicity of signal generation and reception,sensitivity to damage,and large area coverage;however,applications of the technology are limited by the sensitivity to environmental temperature variations.In this paper,a Spearman Damage Index-based damage diagnosis method for structural health condition monitoring under varying temperatures is presented.First,a PZT sensor-based Guided wave propagation model is proposed and employed to analyze the temperature effect.The result of the analysis shows the wave speed of the Guided wave signal has higher temperature sensitivity than the signal fluctuation features.Then,a Spearman rank correlation coefficient-based damage index is presented to identify damage of the structure under varying temperatures.Finally,a damage detection test on a composite plate is conducted to verify the effectiveness of the Spearman Damage Index-based damage diagnosis method.Experimental results show that the proposed damage diagnosis method is capable of detecting the existence of the damage and identify its location under varying temperatures.

Borehole guided waves in a non-Newtonian(Maxwell) fluid-saturated porous medium

The property of acoustic guided waves generated in a fluid-filled borehole surrounded by a non-Newtonian （Maxwell） fluid-saturated porous formation with a permeable wall is investigated. The influence of non-Newtonian effects on acoustic guided waves such as Stoneley waves, pseudo-Rayleigh waves, flexural waves, and screw waves propagations in a fluid-filled borehole is demonstrated based on the generalized Biot-Tsiklauri model by calculating their velocity dispersion and attenuation coefficients. The corresponding acoustic waveforms illustrate their properties in time domain. The results are also compared with those based on generalized Biot＇s theory. The results show that the influence of non-Newtonian effect on acoustic guided wave, especially on the attenuation coefficient of guided wave propagation in borehole is noticeable.

GUIDED CIRCUMFERENTIAL WAVES IN DOUBLE-WALLED CARBON NANOTUBES

A model of guided circumferential waves propagating in double-walled carbon nanotubes is built by the theory of wave propagation in continuum mechanics, while the van der Waals force between the inner and outer nanotube has been taken into account in the model. The dispersion curves of the guided circumferential wave propagation are studied, and some dispersion characteristics are illustrated by comparing with those of single-walled carbon nanotubes. It is found that in double-walled carbon nanotubes, the guided circumferential waves will propagate in more dispersive ways. More interactions between neighboring wave modes may take place. In particular, it has been found that a couple of wave modes may disappear at a certain frequency and that, while a couple of wave modes disappear, another new couple of wave modes are excited at the same wave number.

Experimental Observation of Cumulative Second-Harmonic Generation of Circumferential Guided Wave Propagation in a Circular Tube

The experimental observation of cumulative second-harmonic generation of the primary circumferential guided wave propagation is reported. A pair of wedge transducers is used to generate the primary circumferential guided wave desired and to detect its fundamental-frequency and second-harmonic amplitudes on the outside surface of the circular tube. The amplitudes of the fundamental waves and the second harmonics of the circumferential guided wave propagation are measured for different separations between the two wedge transducers. At the driving frequency where the primary and the double-frequency circumferential guided waves have the same linear phase velocities, the clear second-harmonic signals can be observed. The quantitative relationships between the second-harmonic amplitudes and circumferential angle are analyzed. It is experimentally verified that the second harmonics of primary circumferential guided waves do have a cumulative growth effect with the circumferential angle.

Single SH guided wave mode generation method for PPM EMATs

Using periodic permanent magnet(PPM)electromagnetic acoustic transducers(EMATs),different shear horizontal(SH)guided wave modes can form simultaneously in some situations,which can interfere with the inspection.The main cause of this phenomenon(typically named multiple modes)is related to the frequency bandwidth of excitation signals and the transducer spatial bandwidth.Simply narrowing the frequency bandwidth cannot effectively limit the number of different SH modes.Previous researches showed that unnecessary SH wave modes can be eliminated by using dual EMATs.However,in practical applications,it is more convenient to change the excitation frequency than to use dual EMATs.In this paper,the stress boundary conditions of the PPM-EMAT are analyzed,the analytical expression of SH guided wave is established,and the magnitude of SH guided wave mode under continuous tone and tone-burst input is obtained.A method to generate a single SH mode by re-selecting an operating point is proposed.Furthermore,the influence of the frequency bandwidth of the tone-burst signal is analyzed.Finally,a single SH mode excitation is achieved with tone-burst input.

Defects detection in typical positions of bend pipes using low-frequency ultrasonic guided wave

In order to analyze the possibility of detecting defects in bend pipe using low-frequency ultrasonic guided wave, the propagation of T(0,1) mode and L(0,2) mode through straight-curved-straight pipe sections was studied. FE(finite element) models of bend pipe without defects and those with defects were introduced to analyze energy distribution, mode transition and defect detection of ultrasonic guided wave. FE simulation results were validated by experiments of four different bend pipes with circumferential defects in different positions. It is shown that most energy of T(0,1) mode or L(0,2) mode focuses on extrados of bend but little passes through intrados of bend, and T(0,1) mode or L(0,2) mode is converted to other possible non-axisymmetric modes when propagating through the bend and the defect after bend respectively. Furthermore, L(0,2) mode is more sensitive to circumferential notch than T(0,1) mode. The results of this work are beneficial for practical testing of pipes.

Multi-Mode Guided Waves Based Reference-Free Damage Diagnostic Imaging in Plates

Probability-based diagnostic imaging(PDI)is one of the most well-known damage identification methods using guided waves.It is usually applied to diagnose damage in plates.The previous studies were dependent on the certain damage index(DI)which is always calculated from the guided wave signals.In conventional methods,DI is simply defined by comparing the real-time data with the baseline data as reference.However,the baseline signal is easily affected by varying environmental conditions of structures.In this paper,a reference-free diagnostic imaging method is developed to avoid the influence of environmental factors,such as temperature and load conditions.The DI is defined based on the mode conversion of multi-mode guided waves with realtime signals without baseline signals.To improve the accuracy of diagnosis,two terms are included in the reference-free DI.One is called energy DI,which is defined based on the feature of signal energy.The other is called correlation DI and is defined based on the correlation coefficient.Then the PDI algorithm can be carried out instantaneously according to the reference-free DI.The real-time signals which are used to calculate DI are collected by the piezoelectric lead zirconate titanate(PZT)transducers placed on both sides of a plate.The numerical simulations by the finite element(FE)method on aluminum plates with PZT arrays are performed to validate the effectiveness of the reference-free damage diagnostic imaging.The approach is validated by two different arrays:a circle network and a square network.The results of diagnostic imaging are demonstrated and discussed in this paper.Furthermore,the advantage of reference-free DI is investigated by comparing the accuracy of defined reference-free DI and energy DI.

An analytical approach to reconstruction of axisymmetric defects in pipelines using T(0,1)guided waves

Torsional guided waves have been widely utilized to inspect the surface corrosion in pipelines due to their simple displacement behaviors and the ability of longrange transmission.Especially,the torsional mode T(0,1),which is the first order of torsional guided waves,plays the irreplaceable position and role,mainly because of its non-dispersion characteristic property.However,one of the most pressing challenges faced in modern quality inspection is to detect the surface defects in pipelines with a high level of accuracy.Taking into account this situation,a quantitative reconstruction method using the torsional guided wave T(0,1)is proposed in this paper.The methodology for defect reconstruction consists of three steps.First,the reflection coefficients of the guided wave T(0,1)scattered by different sizes of axisymmetric defects are calculated using the developed hybrid finite element method(HFEM).Then,applying the boundary integral equation(BIE)and Born approximation,the Fourier transform of the surface defect profile can be analytically derived as the correlative product of reflection coefficients of the torsional guided wave T(0,1)and the fundamental solution of the intact pipeline in the frequency domain.Finally,reconstruction of defects is precisely performed by the inverse Fourier transform of the product in the frequency domain.Numerical experiments show that the proposed approach is suitable for the detection of surface defects with arbitrary shapes.Meanwhile,the effects of the depth and width of surface defects on the accuracy of defect reconstruction are investigated.It is noted that the reconstructive error is less than 10%,providing that the defect depth is no more than one half of the pipe thickness.

Echo recognition and correction for guided wave radar level based on adaptive LMS

The radar echo signal of non-stationary and singular points usually contains false echoes,which affects the recognition and measurement of liquid level echo signal.In order to eliminate false echo interference and improve the recognition and measurement accuracy of the liquid level gauge,a method of echo recognition and correction based on adaptive least mean square(LMS)is proposed.The short-time amplitude function and short-time zero crossing rate function are combined to recognize the echo signal.The weight vector iteration and updating weight coefficients are obtained by LMS method.The echo signal is recognized and the false echo interference is suppressed.The experimental results show that the level echo signal can be accurately recognized by this method,and level measurement accuracy can reach0.47%F.S.Compared with other denoising methods,adaptive LMS can keep the signal singularity characteristics while suppressing the noise.Moreover,it has better robustness.

Efficient numerical analysis of guided wave structures by compact FDFD with PVL method

An efficient numerical simulation technique is introduced to extract the propagation characteristics of a millimeter guided wave structure. The method is based on the application of the Krylov subspace model order reduction technique (Padé via Lanczos) to the compact finite difference frequency domain (FDFD) method. This new technique speeds up the solution by decreasing the originally larger system matrix into one lower order system matrix. Numerical experiments from several millimeter guided wave structures demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of this algorithm.

Cylindrical Guided Wave Signals for Underground Pipe Inspection using Different Continuous Wavelet Mother Functions

Over the past decade, wavelets provided a powerful and flexible set of tools for handling fundamental problems in science and engineering. Wavelet analyses are being used for solving problems in different engineering areas like audio de-noising, signal compression, object detection, image decomposition, speech recognition etc. Wavelet analysis employs orthonormal as well as non-orthonornal functions. This research investigates the effectiveness of wavelet analysis in detecting defects in underground steel pipe networks. Continuous Wavelet Transforms （CWT） has been performed on the received signals of cylindrical guided waves. Cylindrical Guided waves are generated and propagated through the pipe wall boundaries in a pitch-catch system. Piezo-electric transducers are used to generate as well as receive guided waves. Several mother wavelet functions such as Daubechies, Symlet, Coiflet and Meyer have been used for the Continuous Wavelet Transform to investigate the most suitable function for defect detection. This research also investigates the effect of surrounding soil on wavelet transforms for different mother wavelet functions.

Review on second-harmonic generation of ultrasonic guided waves in solid media(Ⅰ): Theoretical analyses

Considering the high sensitivity of the nonlinear ultrasonic measurement technique and great advantages of the guided wave testing method, the use of nonlinear ultrasonic guided waves provides a promising means for evaluating and characterizing the hidden and/or inaccessible damage/degradation in solid media. Increasing attention on the development of the testing method based on nonlinear ultrasonic guided waves is largely attributed to the theoretical advances of nonlinear guided waves propagation in solid media. One of the typical acoustic nonlinear responses is the generation of second harmonics that can be used to effectively evaluate damage/degradation in materials/structures. In this paper, the theoretical progress of second-harmonic generation（SHG） of ultrasonic guided wave propagation in solid media is reviewed. The advances and developments of theoretical investigations on the effect of SHG of ultrasonic guided wave propagation in different structures are addressed. Some obscure understandings and the ideas in dispute are also discussed.

Nonlinear inversion of ultrasonic guided waves for in vivo evaluation of cortical bone properties

Ultrasonic guided waves(UGWs),which propagate throughout the entire thickness of cortical bone,are attractive for the early diagnosis of osteoporosis.However,this is challenging due to the impact of soft tissue and the inherent difficulties related to multiparametric inversion of cortical bone quality factors,such as cortical thickness and bulk wave velocity.Therefore,in this research,a UGW-based multi-parameter inversion algorithm is developed to predict strength-related factors.In simulation,a free plate(cortical bone)and a bilayer plate(soft tissue and cortical bone)are used to validate the proposed method.The inversed cortical thickness(CTh),longitudinal velocity(V_(L))and transverse velocity(V_(T))are in accordance with the true values.Then four bovine cortical bone plates were used in in vitro experiments.Compared with the reference values,the relative errors for cortical thickness were 3.96%,0.83%,2.87%,and 4.25%,respectively.In the in vivo measurements,UGWs are collected from the tibias of 10 volunteers.The theoretical dispersion curves depicted by the estimated parameters(V_(T),V_(L),CTh)match well with the extracted experimental ones.In comparison with dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry,our results show that the estimated transverse velocity and cortical thickness are highly sensitive to osteoporosis.Therefore,these two parameters(CTh and V_(T))of long bones have potential to be used for diagnosis of bone status in clinical applications.

Three-Dimensional Scattering of an Incident Plane Shear Horizontal Guided Wave by a Partly through-Thickness Hole in a Plate

We investigate the three-dimensional （3D） scattering problem of an incident plane shear horizontal wave by a partly through-thickness hole in an isotropic plate, in which the Lamb wave modes are also included due to the mode conversions by the scattering obstacle in the 3D problem. An analytical model is presented such that the wave fields are expanded in all of propagating and evanescent SH modes and Lamb modes, and the scattered far-fields of three fundamental guided wave modes are analyzed numerically for different sizes of the holes and frequencies. The numerical results are verified by comparing with those obtained by using the approximate Poisson/Mindlin plate model for small hole radius and low frequency. It is also found that the scattering patterns are different from those of the SO wave incidence. Our work is useful for quantitative evaluation of the plate-like structure by ultrasonic guided waves.