• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.761-776
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• 2018

Guided wave testing is a reliable and safe method for pipeline inspection. In general, guided wave testing employs a circumferential array of piezoelectric transducers to clamp on the pipe circumference. The sensitivity of the operation depends on many factors, including transducer distribution across the circumferential array. This paper presents the sensitivity analysis of transducer array for the circumferential characteristics of guided waves in a pipe using finite element modelling and experimental studies. Various cases are investigated for the outputs of guided waves in the numerical simulations, including the number of transducers per array, transducer excitation variability and variations in transducer spacing. The effect of the dimensions of simulated notches in the pipe is also investigated for different arrangements of the transducer array. The results from the finite element numerical simulations are then compared with the related experimental results. Results show that the numerical outputs agree well with the experimental data, and the guided wave mode T(0,1) presents high sensitivity to the notch size in the circumferential direction, but low sensitivity to the notch size in the axial direction.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.41 no.5
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• pp.605-615
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• 2012

In this paper, guided circumferential wave propagating in an orthotropic viscoelastic cylindrical curved plate subjected to traction-free conditions is investigated in the frame of the Kelvin-Voight viscoelastic theory. The obtained three wave equations are decoupled into two groups, Lamb-like wave and SH wave. They are separately solved by the Legendre polynomial series approach. The availability of the method is confirmed through the comparison with the published data of the SH wave for a viscoelastic flat plate. The dispersion curves and attenuation curves for the carbon fiber and prepreg cylindrical plates are illustrated and the viscous effect on dispersion curves is shown. The influences of the ratio of radius to thickness are analyzed.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.100-105
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• 2014

It has been previously reported that in principle sludge and blockages can be detected and even characterized by using guided ultrasonic torsional waves, based on an idealized model in which the sludge layer was simplified in terms of geometry and material properties. The work revealed that the presence of a layer inside a pipe scatters the guided wave propagating in the pipe and both the reflection and transmission of the guided wave can be used to effectively detect and characterize the layer. This paper proceeds the work by taking into account more realistic sludge characteristics, including irregular circumferential profiles of the sludge layer and imperfect bonding state between the sludge and the pipe. The influence of these issues is investigated to identify the critical factors that influence the detection and characterization capability of the two measurements.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.442-449
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• 2009

An investigation has been made on the relationship between characteristics of torsional mode signal in MsS and SH mode signal in BEM modeling for the defect of stainless steel pipe. In order to compare torsional mode signal with SH mode signal of defect in stainless steel pipe, specimens were made by changing size of depth and width along to circumferential direction 360 degrees. All the defects was detected by torsional mode signal of MsS, especially according to the change of depth size, amplitude of signal was changed. But width change for the circumferential defects has no certain tendency. SH mode signal of BEM modeling shows similar results with torsional mode, with change makes amplitude variation of signal. In this paper, the characteristics of torsional mode and SH mode signals were found. It is possible to predict the circumferential defects for the pipe by SH mode modeling.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.307-314
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• 2004

A circumferential guided wave method was developed to detect the axial crack on the bent feeder pipe. Dispersion curves of circumferential guided waves were calculated as a function of curvature of the pipe. In the case of thin plate, i.e. infinite curvature, as the frequency increases, the $S_0$ and $A_0$ mode coincide and eventually become Rayleigh wave mode. In the case of pipe, however, as the curvature increases, the lowest modes do not coincide even in the high frequencies. Based on the analysis, a rocking technique using angle beam transducer was applied to detect an axial defect in the bent region of PHWR feeder pipe. Based on the analysis of experimenal data for artificial notches, the vibration modes of each signal were identified. It was found that the notches with the depth of )0% of wall thickness can be detected with the method.

• Proceedings of the Korean Nuclear Society Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.210-210
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• 2003

• Journal of the Korean Society for Nondestructive Testing
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.364-371
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• 2003

In this paper, a review of the current status, on the use of long range cylindrically guided wave modes, and their interaction with cracks and corrosion damage in pipe-like structures will be discussed. Applications of cylindrically guided ultrasonic wave modes have been developed for inspection of corrosion damage in pipelines at chemical plants, flow-accelerated corrosion damage (wall thinning) in feedwater piping, and circumferential stress corrosion cracks in PWR steam generator tubes. It has been demonstrated that this inspection technique can be employed on a variety of piping geometries (diameters from 1 in. to 3 ft, and wall thickness from 0.1 to 6 in.) and a propagation distance of 100 meters or more is sometimes feasible. This technique can also be used in the inspection of inaccessible or buried regions of pipes and tubes.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.58-65
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• 2008

A method to test thin-walled tubes by guided ultrasonic wave is reported. The principle is that applicate two types of axially symmetric ultrasonic tube modes and "longitudinal" modes with particle displacement, which is coupled in axial and radial directions for transverse failures and torsional modes, oscillating in the circumferential direction only, for longitudinal failures. Both types of modes propagate along the tube in the axial direction. Therefore, a pulse-echo technique is possible. The pulses are excited and received at one end of the tube without contact electro-dynamic transducers. As soon as the tubes is put into a transducer coil at one end, the test of the whole tube can be accomplished in a few milliseconds. It is not necessary to rotate and transport the tubes during the test.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.461-472
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• 2012

This study proposes an optics-based active sensing system for continuous monitoring of underground pipelines in nuclear power plants (NPPs). The proposed system generates and measures guided waves using a single laser source and optical cables. First, a tunable laser is used as a common power source for guided wave generation and sensing. This source laser beam is transmitted through an optical fiber, and the fiber is split into two. One of them is used to actuate macro fiber composite (MFC) transducers for guided wave generation, and the other optical fiber is used with fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors to measure guided wave responses. The MFC transducers placed along a circumferential direction of a pipe at one end generate longitudinal and flexural modes, and the corresponding responses are measured using FBG sensors instrumented in the same configuration at the other end. The generated guided waves interact with a defect, and this interaction causes changes in response signals. Then, a damage-sensitive feature is extracted from the response signals using the axi-symmetry nature of the measured pitch-catch signals. The feasibility of the proposed system has been examined through a laboratory experiment.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.108-113
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• 2005

One of the recent safety issues in the pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR) is the cracking of the feeder pipe. Because of the limited accessibility to the cracked region and a high dose of radiation exposure, it is difficult to inspect all the pipes with the conventional ultrasonic method. In order to solve this problem, a long-range guided wave technique has been developed. A computer program to calculate the dispersion curves in the pipe was developed and the dispersion curves for the feeder pipes in PHWR plants were determined. Several longitudinal and/or flexural modes were selected from the review of the dispersion curves and an actual experiment has been carried out with the specific alignment of the piezoelectric ultrasonic transducers. They were confirmed as L(0,1)) and/or flexural modes(F(m,2)) by the short time Fourier transformation(STFT) and were sensitive to the circumferential cracks, but not to the axial cracks in the pipe. An electromagnetic acoustic transducers(EMAT) was designed and fabricated for the generation and reception of the torsional guided wave. The axial cracks were detected by a torsional mode(T(0,1)) generated by the EMAT.