Non-destructive measurement of pipe wall thickness
First Claim
1. A method of measuring the wall thickness of a pipe carrying a fluid medium, comprising sensing disturbances in the pipe at two spaced locations, determining the propagation velocity of coupled propagation mode signals at low frequencies resulting from said disturbances, and calculating the average pipe wall thickness between said two locations from said propagation velocity and known constants for said pipe and fluid medium.
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Abstract
The average wall thickness of a pipe carrying a fluid is determined by sensing disturbances in the pipe at two spaced locations, determining the propagation velocity of coupled propagation mode signals at low frequencies resulting from the disturbances, and calculating the average pipe wall thickness between the two locations from the propagation velocity and known constants for the pipe and fluid.
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Citations
15 Claims
- 1. A method of measuring the wall thickness of a pipe carrying a fluid medium, comprising sensing disturbances in the pipe at two spaced locations, determining the propagation velocity of coupled propagation mode signals at low frequencies resulting from said disturbances, and calculating the average pipe wall thickness between said two locations from said propagation velocity and known constants for said pipe and fluid medium.
- 11. An apparatus for measuring pipe wall thickness, comprising a pair of sensors for detecting coupled mode signals at spaced locations on a pipe, and a processor for determining the propagation velocity of said coupled mode signals between said locations, said processor further determining the average pipe wall thickness between said locations from the propagation velocity and known constants for said pipe and fluid.
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15. A method of determining the type of pipe carrying a fluid medium, comprising sensing disturbances in the pipe at two spaced locations, determining the propagation velocity of coupled propagation mode signals at low frequencies resulting from said disturbances, and determining the type of pipe material from said propagation velocity and known constants for said pipe and fluid medium.
Specification