High resolution in situ ultrasonic corrosion monitor
First Claim
1. An in situ ultrasonic corrosion monitoring system comprising:
- an elongate corrodible probe including at least one monitoring zone defined between first and second discontinuities, and being adapted to be exposed to a corrosive environment;
means for applying ultrasonic pulses to said monitoring zone of said probe while the probe is exposed to the corrosive environment, for receiving the corresponding pulses reflected from said first and second discontinuities, and for converting the received pulses into corresponding electrical signals; and
signal processing means for determining the time delay intervals between the electrical signals corresponding to the pulses reflected from the first discontinuity and the electrical signals corresponding to pulses reflected from the second discontinuity while the probe is exposed to the corrosive environment, and for providing an indication of the corrosion thickness on the monitoring zone of said probe based on said determination of the time delay intervals.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An ultrasonic corrosion monitor is provided which produces an in situ measurement of the amount of corrosion of a monitoring zone or zones of an elongate probe placed in the corrosive environment. A monitoring zone is preferably formed between the end of the probe and the junction of the zone with a lead-in portion of the probe. Ultrasonic pulses are applied to the probe and a determination made of the time interval between pulses reflected from the end of the probe and the junction referred to, both when the probe is uncorroded and while it is corroding. Corresponding electrical signals are produced and a value for the normalized transit time delay derived from these time interval measurements is used to calculate the amount of corrosion.
40 Citations
15 Claims
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1. An in situ ultrasonic corrosion monitoring system comprising:
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an elongate corrodible probe including at least one monitoring zone defined between first and second discontinuities, and being adapted to be exposed to a corrosive environment; means for applying ultrasonic pulses to said monitoring zone of said probe while the probe is exposed to the corrosive environment, for receiving the corresponding pulses reflected from said first and second discontinuities, and for converting the received pulses into corresponding electrical signals; and signal processing means for determining the time delay intervals between the electrical signals corresponding to the pulses reflected from the first discontinuity and the electrical signals corresponding to pulses reflected from the second discontinuity while the probe is exposed to the corrosive environment, and for providing an indication of the corrosion thickness on the monitoring zone of said probe based on said determination of the time delay intervals. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An in situ corrosion monitoring method comprising:
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locating, in a corrosive environment, a corrodible monitoring probe having at least one monitoring zone defined between first and second discontinuities; applying ultrasonic pulses to the monitoring zone of the said probe; detecting the ultrasonic pulses reflected from said first and second discontinuities; determining the time interval between the reflected pulses; and using the time interval determination to determine the amount of corrosion of said probe. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification