FLOW AND PIPE MANAGEMENT USING VELOCITY PROFILE MEASUREMENT AND/OR PIPE WALL THICKNESS AND WEAR MONITORING

• US 20110056298A1
• Filed: 03/16/2009
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cidra Corporate Services, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Cidra Corporate Services, Inc.
• Inventors: Maron, Robert J., Van der Spek, Alex M., O'keefe, Christian Victor, Viega, John V., Davis, Michael A., Fernald, Mark R., Bailey, Timothy J.
• Granted Patent: US 9,404,893 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 73/622
• CPC Class Codes: G01B 17/02 for measuring thickness
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/04 Analysing solids using acoustic emission techniques G01N29/14
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 29/2437 Piezoelectric probes

Abstract

The present invention provides new techniques for non-invasive and real-time measurement of the velocity profile of slurry flow in horizontal pipes, as well as the measurement and trending of pipe wear on slurry lines. In the first case, this information can be used to determine the approach and onset of solid deposition on the bottom of the pipe. Having this information in real time can enable operation at lower velocities or higher solids concentration or both while avoiding solids deposition or plugging and their associated operational costs. In the second case, the present invention uses a permanently or semi-permanently installed ring of conformable ultrasonic transducers clamped onto the outside of the pipe. These transducers are used to measure the thickness of the pipe under their respective locations.

Claims

1. Apparatus comprising:

one or more modules configured to respond to signalling containing information about a wave propagated through a wall of a pipe and to provide a corresponding signal containing information about a determination related to a thickness of the wall of the pipe.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more modules is configured to make the determination based at least partly on an amount of time the wave propagates through the wall of the pipe, including the time a traveling stress wave travels to and is reflected back from an inner wall of the pipe.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus further comprises a transducer module mounted on the wall of the pipe, including an ultrasonic transducer module.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the one or more modules is configured to provide an input signal to the transducer module, including an electrical input signal.

5. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transducer module is configured to propagate the wave through the wall of the pipe.

6. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transducer module comprises a series, a ring or circumferential array of transducers that are permanently or semi-permanently mounted around a perimeter of the wall of the pipe.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein each transducer is configured to respond to an input signal from the one or more modules and provide the wave that is propagated through the wall of the pipe.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, wherein each transducer is also configured to respond to the wave reflected off an inner surface of the wall of the pipe and returned back to said each transducer, and provide an output signal containing information about the same that can be used to determine the thickness of the wall of the pipe back to the one or more modules.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more modules is configured to determine the thickness of the wall of a steel pipe or a polymer pipe.

10. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more modules is configured to determine an absolute thickness of the wall of the pipe.

11. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more modules is configured to determine a relative thickness of the wall of the pipe, including a pipe wall thickness trend based on a comparison of the thickness of the wall of the pipe performed at two different periods of time.

12. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more modules is configured to provide the corresponding signal containing information about a graph to provide a visual indication of the thickness of the wall of the pipe.

13. Apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the graph is a polar plot that provides the thickness of the wall of the pipe as a function of the angular distance from a set reference point of the pipe.

14. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the one or more modules is configured to determine an interpolation of the thickness of the wall of the pipe between one or more pairs of sensor points in the series, ring or circumferential array of transducers.

15. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transducer module includes a piezoelectric element, including one made of PVDF material.

16. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the series or ring of transducers are equally spaced circumferentially around the perimeter so as to provide a complete picture of the thickness of the wall of the pipe.

17. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more modules is configured to form part of either a portable device hand carried to the series, ring or circumferential array of transducers, or configured to be mounted near or next to the series, ring or circumferential array of transducers.

18. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transducer module is configured as an ultrasonic signal transmitter and receiver that receives an input signal from the one or more modules, and that provides the signalling containing information about the wave propagated through the wall of the pipe back to the one or more modules.

19. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transducer module is configured as a dual transducer, having one transducer configured to receive an input signal from the one or more modules, and having another transducer configured to provide the signalling containing information about the wave propagated through the wall of the pipe back to the one or more modules.

20. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the transducer module is configured in two parts, a first part being a transducer part, and a second part being an optional spacer.

21. Apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the transducer part is configured to inject the wave or pulse into the optional spacer so as to travel to an inner wall part of the pipe, such that the wave or pulse hits an outer wall of the pipe and some amount thereof is reflected back along with a reflection of another amount from the inner wall part of the pipe at a certain time later, and where the difference between these two detected waves or pulses is proportional to the thickness of the wall of the pipe.

22. Apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the transducer part is configured to inject the wave or pulse into the wall of the pipe that will continue to bounce back-and-forth producing a series, ring or circumferential array of equally spaced pulses, and where the thickness of the wall of the pipe is determined by the time between successive pulses being measured, so as to eliminate the requirement for absolute timing based on the injected pulse.

23. Apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the transducer part is configured to detect received pulses with any one or more signal processing techniques, including a simple peak detection, as well as a quadrature, homodyne or heterodyne demodulation.

24. Apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the one or more modules is configured to determine a substantially continuous wall thickness prediction around the perimeter.

25. Apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the one or more modules is configured to determine a future pipe condition prediction around the perimeter, including the future pipe condition prediction being based on the orientation of the pipe.

26. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the one or more modules is configured to make the determination based on the orientation of the series, ring or circumferential array of transducers around the perimeter.

27. Apparatus according to claim 26, wherein the one or more modules is configured to make the determination based on the recordation of data related to the orientation of the series, ring or circumferential array of transducers around the perimeter.

28. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the apparatus comprises a band configured and arranged to compress the series, ring or circumferential array of transducers against the wall of the pipe, including a metal band.

29. Apparatus according to claim 28, wherein the apparatus comprises a compliant backing material, including rubber, configured and arranged between the band and the series or ring of transducers to cushion and allow the series, ring or circumferential array of transducers to conform to the shape of the wall of the pipe.

30. Apparatus according to claim 3, wherein one or more of the series, ring or circumferential array of transducers is coupled to the wall of the pipe using a couplant taking the form of a solid gel, a liquid gel, or some combination thereof, so as to substantially eliminate air pockets and maximize a signal path between the series, ring or circumferential array of transducers and the wall of the pipe.

31. Apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the series, ring or circumferential array of transducers comprises transducers.

32. Apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the one or more modules is configured to interpolate based on either cubic spline or polynomial regression techniques, or a Fourier decomposition technique, that are curve fitting routines.

33. Apparatus according to claim 32, wherein when implementing the Fourier decomposition technique, the one or more modules is configured to determine various Fourier components required to create a curve which includes all sample or sensor points and to determine intermediate locations between the sample or sensor points.

34. Apparatus according to claim 33, wherein the one or more modules is configured to use custom tailored weighting coefficients on Fourier components.

35. Apparatus according to claim 33, wherein the one or more modules is configured to limit the magnitude of one or more derived Fourier components to physically realistic value points so as to identify and discard a derived Fourier component from a data set.

36. Apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the one or more modules is configured to determine the future pipe condition prediction by an extrapolation technique, including determining a calculated wear model or profile using some combination of a least-square polynomial extrapolation and Fourier component extrapolation.

37. Apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the one or more modules is configured to determine a lifetime schedule or a rotation schedule for the pipe to substantially optimize the viable lifetime of the pipe, including when the pipe should be rotated and/or at which angle so as to distribute substantially equally the wear of the pipe around the inner wall of the pipe.

38. Apparatus according to claim 25, wherein the one or more modules is configured to determine trigger points that can be used to predict certain wall thickness configurations requiring intervention from maintenance personnel.

39. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more modules is configured to provide an input signal containing information about an adjustment to the frequency of the wave propagated through the wall of the pipe based at least partly on the signal-to-noise ratio of the signal.

40. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises an ultrasonic signal pulser and receiver configured to adjust the frequency of the wave propagated through the wall of the pipe by modulating the phase of an ultrasonic signal with an m-sequence code.

41. Apparatus according to claim 40, wherein the ultrasonic signal pulser and receiver is configured to correlate the m-sequence code with a known code and to detect a desired signal from system noise and other non-coherent reflections.

42. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus comprises one or more orientation or rotation sensors, each configured to respond to its orientation in relation to its displacement on the pipe and to provide an orientation signal containing information about the same.

43. Apparatus according to claim 42, wherein the one or more orientation or rotation sensor is configured to provide the orientation signal back to the one or more modules.