Gas-Coupled, Pulse-Echo Ultrasonic Crack Detection and Thickness Gaging

Ultrasonic inspection is a standard method to assess the integrity of large-diameter oil pipelines. However, similar methods applied to natural-gas pipelines present a considerably greater challenge; gas is a poor coupling agent for the probing ultrasonic signals between the transducer and the pipe wall. Natural gas exhibits a very low specific acoustic impedance (300 Rayls for methane at atmospheric pressure) compared to oil (1.5 MRayls and higher). Consequently, large ultrasonic-signal transmission losses occur at the transducer/gas and pipe-wall/gas interfaces. To circumvent this obstacle, past exploratory developments included the use of a liquid-filled wheel [1], electromagnetic-acoustic-transducer (EMAT) [2], and liquid-slug technologies [3]. While prototypes of high-speed, in-line inspection systems employing such principles do exist, all exhibit serious operational shortcomings that prevent widespread commercial exploitation.