Lais, H., Lowe, P.S., Gan, T.H. et al. (2 more authors) (2018) Characterization of the use of low frequency ultrasonic guided waves to detect fouling deposition in pipelines. Sensors, 18 (7). 2122.
Abstract
The accumulation of fouling within a structure is a well-known and costly problem across many industries. The build-up is dependent on the environmental conditions surrounding the fouled structure. Many attempts have been made to detect fouling accumulation in critical engineering structures and to optimize the application of power ultrasonic fouling removal procedures, i.e., flow monitoring, ultrasonic guided waves and thermal imaging. In recent years, the use of ultrasonic guided waves has been identified as a promising technology to detect fouling deposition/growth. This technology also has the capability to assess structural health; an added value to the industry. The use of ultrasonic guided waves for structural health monitoring is established but fouling detection using ultrasonic guided waves is still in its infancy. The present study focuses on the characterization of fouling detection using ultrasonic guided waves. A 6.2-m long 6-inch schedule 40 carbon steel pipe has been used to study the effect of (Calcite) fouling on ultrasonic guided wave propagation within the structure. Parameters considered include frequency selection, number of cycles and dispersion at incremental fouling thickness. According to the studied conditions, a 0.5 dB/m drop in signal amplitude occurs for a fouling deposition of 1 mm. The findings demonstrate the potential to detect fouling build-up in lengthy pipes and to quantify its thickness by the reduction in amplitude found from further numerical investigation. This variable can be exploited to optimize the power ultrasonic fouling removal procedure.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2018 The Authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | COMSOL; ultrasonic guided waves; numerical modelling; disperse; fouling detection |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Advanced Manufacturing Institute (Sheffield) > Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 06 Nov 2019 15:40 |
Last Modified: | 06 Nov 2019 15:47 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI AG |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/s18072122 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:151540 |