Smart Sound Processing for Defect Sizing in Pipelines Using EMAT Actuator Based Multi-Frequency Lamb Waves

Abstract

Pipeline inspection is a topic of particular interest to the companies. Especially important is the defect sizing, which allows them to avoid subsequent costly repairs in their equipment. A solution for this issue is using ultrasonic waves sensed through Electro-Magnetic Acoustic Transducer (EMAT) actuators. The main advantage of this technology is the absence of the need to have direct contact with the surface of the material under investigation, which must be a conductive one. Specifically interesting is the meander-line-coil based Lamb wave generation, since the directivity of the waves allows a study based in the circumferential wrap-around received signal. However, the variety of defect sizes changes the behavior of the signal when it passes through the pipeline. Because of that, it is necessary to apply advanced techniques based on Smart Sound Processing (SSP). These methods involve extracting useful information from the signals sensed with EMAT at different frequencies to obtain nonlinear estimations of the depth of the defect, and to select the features that better estimate the profile of the pipeline. The proposed technique has been tested using both simulated and real signals in steel pipelines, obtaining good results in terms of Root Mean Square Error (RMSE).

Keywords

• EMAT actuators
• Lamb waves
• pipeline inspection
• defect sizing
• smart sound processing