Beam forming and steering of helical guided waves in pipe-like and plate-like structures
First Claim
1. A method of inspecting a pipe for flaws comprising:
- emitting ultrasonic waves in a helical pattern through the pipe from an array of ultrasonic transducer elements, wherein individual ultrasonic transducer elements of the array comprise at least one ultrasonic emitter and at least one ultrasonic receiver, and wherein the at least one emitter is configured to emit omnidirectional ultrasonic waves;
controlling the emission of the ultrasonic waves from the array such that a wave packet of the ultrasonic waves is emitted at a plurality of helical angles within a range of helical angles;
receiving reflections of the ultrasonic waves, the reflections of the ultrasonic waves caused by impingement of the ultrasonic waves on one or more flaws; and
determining at least one characteristic of the one or more flaws based on the received reflections of the ultrasonic waves based at least in part on the following formula;
Φ
=ϕ
Ξ
α
wherein Φ
is a Helmholtz scalar potential;
wherein Ψ
r, Ψ
θ
and Ψ
z are components of a Helmholtz vector potential;
wherein φ
, ψ
Tj;
j=1,2 and ψ
z are arbitrary constants; and
wherein Ξ
η
, η
=α
,β
is a function of the form exp i (η
r cos (θ
−
θ
η
)+kzz−
ω
t),wherein at least one ultrasonic transducer element is configured to produce a direction of oscillation relative to waves propagating in the pipe or to an axis of the pipe.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A method of inspecting a pipe for flaws includes emitting ultrasonic waves, controlling the emission of the ultrasonic waves, receiving reflections of the ultrasonic waves, and determining at least one characteristic of one or more flaws. The ultrasonic waves are emitted in a helical pattern through the pipe from an array of ultrasonic transducer elements. The emission of the ultrasonic waves from the array is controlled such that the ultrasonic waves are emitted at a plurality of helical angles within a range of helical angles. The reflections of the ultrasonic waves are caused by impingement of the ultrasonic waves on the one or more flaws. The at least one characteristic of the one or more flaws is determined based on the received reflections of the ultrasonic waves.
16 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method of inspecting a pipe for flaws comprising:
-
emitting ultrasonic waves in a helical pattern through the pipe from an array of ultrasonic transducer elements, wherein individual ultrasonic transducer elements of the array comprise at least one ultrasonic emitter and at least one ultrasonic receiver, and wherein the at least one emitter is configured to emit omnidirectional ultrasonic waves; controlling the emission of the ultrasonic waves from the array such that a wave packet of the ultrasonic waves is emitted at a plurality of helical angles within a range of helical angles; receiving reflections of the ultrasonic waves, the reflections of the ultrasonic waves caused by impingement of the ultrasonic waves on one or more flaws; and determining at least one characteristic of the one or more flaws based on the received reflections of the ultrasonic waves based at least in part on the following formula;
Φ
=ϕ
Ξ
αwherein Φ
is a Helmholtz scalar potential;wherein Ψ
r, Ψ
θ
and Ψ
z are components of a Helmholtz vector potential;wherein φ
, ψ
Tj;
j=1,2 and ψ
z are arbitrary constants; andwherein Ξ
η
, η
=α
,β
is a function of the form exp i (η
r cos (θ
−
θ
η
)+kzz−
ω
t),wherein at least one ultrasonic transducer element is configured to produce a direction of oscillation relative to waves propagating in the pipe or to an axis of the pipe. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A device for inspecting a structure for flaws, the device comprising:
-
at least one ultrasonic emitter configured to emit waves in the structure, wherein the structure is a pipe; at least one ultrasonic receiver configured to receive reflections of the waves caused by impingement of the waves on one or more flaws; and a computing system configured to; control emission of waves from at least one ultrasonic transducer element in helical patterns based on one or more control parameters, the one or more control parameters comprising at least a windowed pulsed signal comprising at least a half oscillation of any shape; determine at least one characteristic of one or more flaws in the structure based on the signals emitted from an array of ultrasonic transducer elements and the reflections of the waves received by the array of ultrasonic transducer elements; and determine at least one characteristic of one or more flaws in the structure based at least in part on a time delay supplemented by amplitude control based on a minimum time delay increment, wherein the minimum time delay is a characteristic of hardware in the device; wherein at least one emitter is configured to emit omnidirectional ultrasound waves, wherein at least one ultrasonic transducer element comprises the at least one ultrasonic emitter and the at least one ultrasonic receiver, and wherein the at least one ultrasonic transducer element is configured to produce a direction of oscillation relative to waves propagating in the pipe or to an axis of the pipe. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification