Search Results (7)

Water transport pipelines in the mining industry face significant corrosion challenges due to extreme environmental conditions, such as arid climates, temperature fluctuations, and abrasive soils. This study evaluates the effectiveness of three advanced inspection technologies—Guided Wave Ultrasonic Testing (GWUT), Metal Magnetic Memory (MMM), and In-Line Inspection (ILI)—in maintaining pipeline integrity under such conditions. A structured methodology combining diagnostic assessment, technology research, and comparative evaluation was applied, using key performance indicators like detection capability, operational impact, and feasibility. The results show that GWUT effectively identifies surface anomalies and wall thinning over long pipeline sections but faces depth and diameter limitations. MMM excels at detecting early-stage stress and corrosion in inaccessible locations, benefiting from minimal preparation and strong market availability. ILI provides comprehensive internal and external assessments but requires piggable pipelines and operational adjustments, limiting its use in certain systems. A case study of critical aqueducts of mining site water supply illustrates real-world technology selection challenges. The findings underscore the importance of an integrated inspection approach, leveraging the complementary strengths of these technologies to ensure reliable pipeline integrity management. Future research should focus on quantitative performance metrics and cost-effectiveness analyses to optimize inspection strategies for mining infrastructure. Full article

Guided wave ultrasonic testing (GWUT) within the realm of pipeline inspection is an efficacious approach; however, current GWUT systems are characterized by high costs and power consumption, and their detection results are significantly susceptible to noise interference. Addressing these issues, this study introduces a GWUT system predicated on adaptive wavelet threshold denoising, centered around a low-power main controller, achieving cost-effective and low-power-consumption pipeline non-destructive testing (NDT) with clear results. The system employs an STM32 as the main controller and utilizes direct digital frequency synthesis (DDS) technology to generate ultrasonic excitation signals. These signals, after power amplifier processing, ensure high-stability output for the driving signal. In conjunction with the signal acquisition module, digital filtering of the collected signals is executed via the host computer. Empirical validation has demonstrated that the system can achieve an output amplitude of up to 90 Vpp within an excitation frequency range of 20 kHz–400 kHz, directly driving piezoelectric transducers. The optimal threshold is identified using the butterfly optimization algorithm, enabling the wavelet threshold function to adaptively denoise the echo signals, thereby significantly enhancing the capability to identify pipeline damage. Full article

Continuous monitoring of structural health is essential for the timely detection of damage and avoidance of structural failure. Guided-wave ultrasonic testing (GWUT) assesses structural damages by correlating its sensitive features with the damage parameter of interest. However, few or no studies have been performed on the detection and influence of debris-filled damage on GWUT under environmental conditions. This paper used the pitch–catch technique of GWUT, signal cross-correlation, statistical root mean square (RMS) and root mean square deviation (RMSD) to study the combined influence of varying debris-filled damage percentages and temperatures on damage detection. Through experimental result analysis, a predictive model with an R2 of about 78% and RMSE values of about $7.5\times {10}^{-5}$ was established. When validated, the model proved effective, with a comparable relative error of less than 10%. Full article

Lamb wave dispersion curves are useful for optimizing the inspection scanning distance that can be covered with good sensitivity in many current applications. However, one of the main problems concerning this calculation lies in selecting a numerical method that is computationally accurate and efficient. In this paper, Lamb waves dispersion curves are generated by the Scaled Boundary Finite Element Method, and by the Rayleigh–Lamb equation. For the semi-analytical case, waveguide cross-section discretization was performed using isoparametric elements and high-order spectral elements. The semi-analytical formulations lead to an eigenvalue problem that can be solved efficiently by calculating the couples of wavenumbers and frequencies that guarantee the wave mode propagation, the basis for generating the dispersion curves. These are compared with those obtained from the analytical solution for the symmetric and antisymmetric modes; in both cases, homogeneous plates of constant thickness are considered. The numerical results show good agreement when using a low number of isoparametric elements, or a single spectral element with shape functions of the order of six for computing the dispersion curves and wave structure. The calculation is given with low computational effort, and the relative variation with respect to the analytical reference values is less than 2%. Full article

Damage is an inevitable occurrence in metallic structures and when unchecked could result in a catastrophic breakdown of structural assets. Non-destructive evaluation (NDE) is adopted in industries for assessment and health inspection of structural assets. Prominent among the NDE techniques is guided wave ultrasonic testing (GWUT). This method is cost-effective and possesses an enormous capability for long-range inspection of corroded structures, detection of sundries of crack and other metallic damage structures at low frequency and energy attenuation. However, the parametric features of the GWUT are affected by structural and environmental operating conditions and result in masking damage signal. Most studies focused on identifying individual damage under varying conditions while combined damage phenomena can coexist in structure and hasten its deterioration. Hence, it is an impending task to study the effect of combined damage on a structure under varying conditions and correlate it with GWUT parametric features. In this respect, this work reviewed the literature on UGWs, damage inspection, severity, temperature influence on the guided wave and parametric characteristics of the inspecting wave. The review is limited to the piezoelectric transduction unit. It was keenly observed that no significant work had been done to correlate the parametric feature of GWUT with combined damage effect under varying conditions. It is therefore proposed to investigate this impending task. Full article

This paper aims to provide an overview of the experimental and simulation works focused on the detection, localisation and assessment of various defects in pipes by applying fast-screening guided ultrasonic wave techniques that have been used in the oil and gas industries over the past 20 years. Major emphasis is placed on limitations, capabilities, defect detection in coated buried pipes under pressure and corrosion monitoring using different commercial guided wave (GW) systems, approaches to simulation techniques such as the finite element method (FEM), wave mode selection, excitation and collection, GW attenuation, signal processing and different types of GW transducers. The effects of defect parameters on reflection coefficients are also discussed in terms of different simulation studies and experimental verifications. Full article

Ultrasonic guided wave (UGW) is one of the most commonly used technologies for non-destructive evaluation (NDE) and structural health monitoring (SHM) of structural components. Because of its excellent long-range diagnostic capability, this method is effective in detecting cracks, material loss, and fatigue-based defects in isotropic and anisotropic structures. The shape and orientation of structural defects are critical parameters during the investigation of crack propagation, assessment of damage severity, and prediction of remaining useful life (RUL) of structures. These parameters become even more important in cases where the crack intensity is associated with the safety of men, environment, and material, such as ship’s hull, aero-structures, rail tracks and subsea pipelines. This paper reviews the research literature on UGWs and their application in defect diagnosis and health monitoring of metallic structures. It has been observed that no significant research work has been convened to identify the shape and orientation of defects in plate-like structures. We also propose an experimental research work assisted by numerical simulations to investigate the response of UGWs upon interaction with cracks in different shapes and orientations. A framework for an empirical model may be considered to determine these structural flaws. Full article