In-Service Monitoring of Steam Pipe Systems at High Temperatures
First Claim
1. A steam pipe monitoring system, comprising:
- a piezoelectric transducer configured to be operable at a temperature present at an external surface of a steam pipe to be monitored, said piezoelectric transducer configured to be bonded to said external surface of said steam pipe, said piezoelectric transducer configured to emit a probe ultrasonic signal in response to a received activation signal, and configured to receive a reflected ultrasonic signal and to provide an electrical signal representative of said reflected ultrasonic signal;
a signal generator configured to provide said activation signal to said piezoelectric transducer;
an amplifier configured to receive said electrical signal representative of said reflected ultrasonic signal from said piezoelectric transducer, configured to amplify said electrical signal, and configured to provide as output an amplified electrical signal;
a signal processing module comprising an analog-to-digital converter, a digital signal processor, and a transceiver, said signal processing module configured to receive said amplified electrical signal, configured to process said amplified electrical signal to extract data indicative of a property of a fluid present in said steam pipe, and configured to transmit information about said property of said fluid for use by a user; and
a power supply configured to provide power to operate said piezoelectric transducer, said signal generator, said amplifier and said signal processing module.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method for monitoring the properties of a fluid, such as water, in a steam pipe without mechanically penetrating the wall of the pipe. The system uses a piezoelectric transducer to launch an ultrasonic probe signal into the pipe. Reflected ultrasonic signals are captured in a transducer, which can be the same transducer that launched the probe signal. The reflected signals are subjected to data processing, which can include filtering, amplification, analog-to-digital conversion and autocorrelation analysis. A result is extracted which is indicative of a property of the fluid, such as a height of the condensed fluid, a cavitation of the condensed fluid, and a surface perturbation of the condensed fluid. The result can be recorded, displayed, and/or transmitted to another location. One embodiment of the system has been constructed and tested based on a general purpose programmable computer using instructions recorded in machine-readable non-volatile memory.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A steam pipe monitoring system, comprising:
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a piezoelectric transducer configured to be operable at a temperature present at an external surface of a steam pipe to be monitored, said piezoelectric transducer configured to be bonded to said external surface of said steam pipe, said piezoelectric transducer configured to emit a probe ultrasonic signal in response to a received activation signal, and configured to receive a reflected ultrasonic signal and to provide an electrical signal representative of said reflected ultrasonic signal; a signal generator configured to provide said activation signal to said piezoelectric transducer; an amplifier configured to receive said electrical signal representative of said reflected ultrasonic signal from said piezoelectric transducer, configured to amplify said electrical signal, and configured to provide as output an amplified electrical signal; a signal processing module comprising an analog-to-digital converter, a digital signal processor, and a transceiver, said signal processing module configured to receive said amplified electrical signal, configured to process said amplified electrical signal to extract data indicative of a property of a fluid present in said steam pipe, and configured to transmit information about said property of said fluid for use by a user; and a power supply configured to provide power to operate said piezoelectric transducer, said signal generator, said amplifier and said signal processing module. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of monitoring a property of a fluid in a steam pipe, comprising the steps of:
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providing a probe ultrasonic signal at an external surface of a steam pipe; receiving reflected ultrasonic signals at said external surface of said steam pipe, said reflected ultrasonic signals present in response to said probe ultrasonic signal; processing said reflected ultrasonic signals to deduce a property of a fluid in said steam pipe; providing an electrical signal indicative of said property of said fluid in said steam pipe as a result; and performing at least one of recording said result, transmitting said result to a data handling system, or to displaying said result to a user. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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Specification