Innovative Guided-Wave Sensor and System for Inspecting the Integrity and Corrosion Extent of Buried or Covered Pipes

Description

Pipelines, which are a crucial infrastructure in every metropolitan city, are prone to aging and corrosion. If defects in the pipes are not detected properly, the pipes will continuously deteriorate until leakages occur. Water pipe ruptures may cause severe flooding. Leakage of chemicals or gas may cause irreparable pollution or explosions which can be catastrophic. Today, there is no workable technique available for measuring the extent of corrosion in buried or wall-covered pipes. Recently, the guided wave (GW) method has grown popular due to its capability for inspecting the integrity of buried or wall-covered pipes. However, the mounting of conventional GW sensors is tedious and impractical. Therefore, we propose an innovative sensor, made by combining our recently invented flexible printed coil (FPC) with smart materials. This novel sensor can be easily mounted on pipes of any size, and has greater sensitivity in measuring the extent of corrosion. We also propose to develop an efficient GW system embedded with advanced signal analysis that will enhance the capacity for extracting defect-related features from the received GW signals. Moreover, this system will allow the implementation of improved standards and procedures that other industrial practitioners can follow in testing the integrity of pipes.