Method and apparatus for measuring the thickness of a coated material
First Claim
1. A method of measuring the thickness of a coated material comprising:
- ultrasonically measuring the thickness of the coating on said coated material;
ultrasonically measuring the thickness of the coated material; and
,calculating the thickness of just the material by subtracting the measured thickness of the coating from the measured thickness of the coated material.
3 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A pipe (P) carries corrosive fluids (F). Ultrasonic measurements of the pipe'"'"'s thickness are made with an instrument (10) to determine if it needs to be replaced. If the pipe is coated with a layer (L) of protective material (C), a time of flight (TOF) measurement is made to determine the velocity of ultrasonic pulses transmitted through the material from which the pipe is manufactured. A second measurement is made to determine the velocity of pulses through the coated pipe material. The pulse velocity is now a function of the coating thickness by knowing the two velocity values, the coating thickness is determined. An ultrasonic pulse measurement of the thickness of the coated pipe is then made. The coating thickness is then calculated by a processor (12) of the instrument. If the thickness value is less than a minimum thickness value (M), an indication is given that the pipe needs to be replaced.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of measuring the thickness of a coated material comprising:
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ultrasonically measuring the thickness of the coating on said coated material; ultrasonically measuring the thickness of the coated material; and
,calculating the thickness of just the material by subtracting the measured thickness of the coating from the measured thickness of the coated material. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A method of measuring the thickness of a coated pipe comprising:
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measuring the velocity by which an ultrasonic pulse is transmitted through uncoated material from which the pipe is manufactured; measuring the velocity by which an ultrasonic pulse is transmitted through the coated pipe; determining the thickness of the coating on the pipe as a function of the difference in transmission velocities; ultrasonically measuring the thickness of the coated pipe; and
,calculating the thickness of just the pipe by subtracting the measured thickness of the coating from the measured thickness of the coated pipe. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. Apparatus for measuring the thickness of a coated material comprising:
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means ultrasonically measuring the thickness of the coating on said coated material; means ultrasonically measuring the thickness of the coated material; and
,a processor calculating the thickness of the material by subtracting the measured thickness of the coating from the measured thickness of the coated material to determine the thickness of the material. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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16. Apparatus measuring the thickness of a coated pipe comprising:
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means transmitting an ultrasonic pulse through uncoated material from which the pipe is manufactured and measuring the velocity by which said ultrasonic pulse is transmitted therethrough; means transmitting an ultrasonic pulse through the coated pipe and measuring the velocity by which said ultrasonic pulse is transmitted therethrough; a processor determining the thickness of the coating on the pipe as a function of the difference in transmission velocities; and
,means ultrasonically measuring the thickness of the coated pipe, said processor further calculating the thickness of just the pipe by subtracting the measured thickness of the coating from the measured thickness of the coated pipe. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18)
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19. An instrument for measuring the thickness of a coated pipe comprising:
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a memory storing a schedule of velocity values for ultrasonic pulses transmitted through an uncoated material from which a pipe whose thickness is to be measured is manufactured, a user of said instrument accessing velocity information for a particular pipe material prior to performing a thickness measurement; means transmitting an ultrasonic pulse through the coated pipe and measuring the velocity by which said ultrasonic pulse is transmitted therethrough; a processor to which velocity information is supplied from said memory, said processor determining the thickness of the coating on the pipe as a function of the difference in stored velocity value for the uncoated pipe material and the measured velocity through the coated pipe material; means ultrasonically measuring the thickness of the coated pipe; and
,said processor calculating the thickness of the pipe by subtracting the measured thickness of the coating from the measured thickness of the coated pipe. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification