Detection of structural defects in pipes using time reversal of guided waves

  • Authors:

  • Nicholas O'Donoughue;Joel Harley;José M. F. Moura;Yuanwei Jin

  • Affiliations:

  • Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA;Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA;Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA;Engineering and Aviation Sciences, Univ. of Maryland, Princess Anne, MD

  • Venue:
  • Asilomar'09 Proceedings of the 43rd Asilomar conference on Signals, systems and computers
  • Year:
  • 2009

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Abstract

Structural health monitoring of buried pipelines is of vital importance as infrastructures age. Ultrasonic guided waves are a popular method for inspecting buried pipes, due to their potential for long propagation. Unfortunately, the large number of wave modes present, and the effects of dispersion, in a pipeline make analysis of the received signals difficult. We plan to use Time Reversal Acoustics to compensate for these complex signals, and improve performance for the detection of faults in a pipeline. We will present theoretical performance results for conventional and Time Reversal detectors, verified with simulations conducted in PZFlex. Time Reversal shows a potential for a reduction in the power requirements of a fault detection system.