• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.171-178
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• 2010

Pipeline structure is one of core underground infrastructure which transports primary sources. Since the almost pipeline structures are placed underground and connected each other complexly, it is difficult to monitor their structural health condition continuously. In order to overcome this limitation of recent monitoring technique, recently, a Ubiquitous Sensor Network (USN) system based on on-line and real-time monitoring system is being developed by the authors' research group. In this study, real-time pipeline health monitoring (PHM) methodology is presented based on electromechanical impedance methods using USN. Two types of damages including loosened bolts and notches are artificially inflicted on the pipeline structures, PZT and MFC sensors that have piezoelectric characteristics are employed to detect these damages. For objective evaluation of pipeline conditions, Damage metric such as Root Mean Square Deviation (RMSD) value was computed from the impedance signals to quantify the level of the damage. Optimal threshold levels for decision making are estimated by generalized extreme value(GEV) based statistical method. Throughout a series of experimental studies, it was reviewed the effectiveness and robustness of proposed PHM system.

• Journal of Welding and Joining
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.43-48
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• 2005

Conventional non-destructive techniques for inspection of the weld in pipelines require significant test time and high cost. Ultrasonic guided waves have been widely studied and successfully applied to various non-destructive tests with advantage of the long-range inspection. In this paper, a study on the application of ultrasonic guided waves to the long-range inspection of the pipeline is presented using a long-range guided wave inspection system, Wavemaker SE16, GUL. The characteristics and setup of the long-range guided wave inspection system and experimental results in pipes of with various diameter are introduced. The experimental results in mock-up pipes with cluster type detects show that the minimum detectable wall thickness reduction with this guided wave system is $2\~3\%$ in the pipe cross section area. And the wall thickness reduction of $5\%$ in cross section area can be detected when actual detection level is used. Therefore, the applicability of the guided wave systeme to long-range inspection of wall thickness reduction in pipes is verified.

• Journal of the Korean Magnetics Society
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.18-25
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• 2013

MFL PIG (Magnetic Flux Leakage Pipeline Inspection Gauge) is called the system which detects the defect for underground pipelines by using magnetic flux leakage method in nondestructive testing. This method is very suitable for testing pipelines because pipeline has high magnetic permeability. MFL PIG generates the magnetic fields to the pipe axially oriented, and detect the signal of leakage flux by using hall sensor. However, MFL PIG is hard to detect the axially oriented crack with small size because the magnetic flux leakage is not enough to be occurred. To detect the small size and axially oriented crack, the circumferential MFL (CMFL) PIG is being proposed and it can maximize the leakage flux for the axial crack by performing magnetic fields circumferentially on the pipe. In this paper, CMFL PIG is applied to detect the axially oriented crack with small size and the analysis for the distribution and the amplitude of the leakage flux signal is performed by using three dimensional finite element method. From sensing signals, the method how to determine the shape of axially oriented cracks is proposed and verified with experiment.

• Journal of Satellite, Information and Communications
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.16-21
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• 2015

In this paper, we presented Under Vehicle Inspection System by comparing two image signals. Two signals are generated by license plate number and under-vehicle pattern recognition. The test shows reliable precision within real-time of 2.8sec, which can be applicable commercially. In the future, more research will be conducted to enhance the precision by automatic image balance in many challenging situations.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.58-65
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• 2021

Most pipe-inspection robots have fixed sizes and use a wired cable system. Pipelines are generally composed of various structures, including bent pipes, vertical pipes, branch pipes, and holes, and it is difficult to explore the insides of such modular piping structures. In an offshore plant pipeline, a robot that can pass through the pipe hole in the downward direction or avoid obstacles, such as a measuring instruments, has not been introduced yet. In this study, an inspection robot that can travel through most pipelines in offshore plants is proposed. This robot uses mecanum wheels; upward, downward, and rotary motion; and a novel rotatable mechanism. Moreover, the robot is designed to be compact and lightweight to include additional devices in the middle.

• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.35-43
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• 2016

Recently, the pipeline system for waste transportation has been increasingly constructed as new solution for the waste collection and disposal system by constantly increasing domestic waste which issued as social problem. The pipeline system is constructed through long distance, so proper long-term monitoring system is necessary which available to detect the damage location for the effective maintenance. In this paper, the experimental study is carried out to evaluate the applicability of optical strain gauge sensor based on FBG for the long-term monitoring system. Three test parameters such as pressure leaking, blockage and deformation are considered as typical damages for real-scale pipeline test specimen. In order to measure flexural and volumetric strain and temperature, three FBG sensors are installed at each monitoring sections. From the test results, this study suggested effective methods of sensor installation and arrangement. Also the sensor spacing for the design of monitoring system using FBG sensor is derived by the correlation of distances from deformation between sensor responses.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.13 no.6
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• pp.1041-1063
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• 2014

This work introduces a two-module robotic pipe inspection system with ultrasonic NDE device to evaluate the integrity of pipe structures. The proposed robotic platform has high mobility. The two module mobile robot platform overcomes pipe obstacle structures such as elbow, or T-branch joints by cooperative maneuvers. Also, it can climb up the straight pipeline at a fast speed due to the wheel driven mechanism. For inspection of pipe structure, SH-waves generated by EMAT are applied with additional signal processing methods. A wavelet transform is implemented to extract a meaningful and specific signal from the superposed SH-wave signals. Intensity ratio which is normalized the defect signals intensity by the maximum intensity of directly transmitted signals in the wavelet transforms spectrum is applied to evaluate defects quantitatively. It is experimentally verified that the robotic ultrasonic inspection system with EMAT is capable of non-destructive inspection and evaluation of defects in pipe structure successfully by applying signal processing method based on wavelet transform.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.25 no.6
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• pp.733-749
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• 2020

This study presents a computer vision-based approach for representing time evolution of structural damages leveraging a database of inspection images. Spatially incoherent but temporally sorted archival images captured by robotic cameras are exploited to represent the damage evolution over a long period of time. An access to a sequence of time-stamped inspection data recording the damage growth dynamics is premised to this end. Identification of a structural defect in the most recent inspection data set triggers an exhaustive search into the images collected during the previous inspections looking for correspondences based on spatial proximity. This is followed by a view synthesis from multiple candidate images resulting in a single reconstruction for each inspection round. Cracks on concrete surface are used as a case study to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach. Once the chronology is established, the damage severity is quantified at various levels of time scale documenting its progression through time. The proposed scheme enables the prediction of damage severity at a future point in time providing a scope for preemptive measures against imminent structural failure. On the whole, it is believed that the present study will immensely benefit the structural inspectors by introducing the time dimension into the autonomous condition assessment pipeline.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.59-67
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• 2016

Owing to time and cost constraints, new methods that would make it possible to evaluate the safety of the water supply pipeline in a less time- and cost-consuming manner are urgently needed. In response to this exigency, the present study developed a new statistical model to assess the safety of the water supply pipeline using the quantification theory type II. In this research, the safety of the water supply pipeline was defined as 'a possibility of the pipeline failure'. Quantification analysis was conducted on the qualitative data, such as pipe material, coating, and buried condition. The results of analyses demonstrate that the hit ratio of the quantification function amounted to 77.8% of hit ratio, which was a fair value. In addition, all variables that were included in the quantification function were logically valid and demonstrated statistically significant. According to the results derived from the application of the safety evaluation model, the coefficient of determination ($R^2$) between K-region's water supply pipeline safety and the safety inspection amounted to 0.80. Therefore, these findings provide meaningful insight for the measured values in real applications of the model. The results of the present study can also be meaningfully used in further research on safety evaluation of pipelines, establishing of renewal prioritization, as well as asset management planning of the water supply infrastructure.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Gas
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• v.6 no.1 s.17
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• pp.10-16
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• 2002

This paper introduces developed prototype intelligent pig which detects corrosion on pipeline by using Magnetic Flux Leakage technology. The 8 inch developed MFL(Magnetic Flux Leakage) pig is composed of 5 yokes which magnetize pipeline wall and 45 Hall sensors which detect MFL signal. The designed MFL modules are analyzed by using magnetic circuit method in order to confirm whether pipeline wall is fully saturated. A variety of artificial defects are manufactured on 8 inch diameter steel pipeline in order to acquire MFL signals. So leakage flux of the axial, radial and circumferential component was acquired as defects. The results of this paper show that design technique for 8 inch MFL pig can be applied to large diameter MFL pig and 0.5mm defect depth can be detected.