Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090139337 | GUIDED WAVE PIPELINE INSPECTION SYSTEM AND METHOD WITH ENHANCED NATURAL FOCUSING TECHNIQUES - A method for the nondestructive inspecting of coated or uncoated pipeline, using ultrasonic guided waves excited on the outer or inner pipe surface, wherein at least one or more transducers are individually or simultaneously excited to generate ultrasound, wherein multiple received signals with different focal spot positions are processed and combined to produce a reduced number of final waveforms that show defect axial positions in the pipe, wherein a data calibration scheme is utilized to adjust velocity variability for all the guided wave modes at different frequencies, and wherein the hardware arrangement has at least one pulser channel and one receiver channel for the collection and storage of signals. | 06-04-2009 |
20090150094 | GUIDED WAVES FOR NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING OF PIPES - A method for the nondestructive testing of pipeline, and internal or external coatings, using guided ultrasonic waves excited from the inside or outside diameter, wherein at least two transducers are employed to send and receive ultrasound, wherein a data normalization scheme is employed to account for transducer variability, and wherein the hardware arrangement has a number of pulser channels and a number of receiver channels for the collection and storage of signals. | 06-11-2009 |
20100031972 | Ultrasonic vibration system and method for removing/avoiding unwanted build-up on structures - An ultrasonic method for removing and/or avoiding unwanted build-up on structures is provided, wherein the term build-up refers to, but is not limited to, ice, dirt, mud, or other wanted debris or contamination. Deicing or anti-icing structures of interest can include, but are not limited to, helicopter rotor blades, other helicopter blade components, fixed wing aircraft components, windshields in aircraft, automobiles, and other vehicles, ship hulls or other ship components, heat exchangers and other tubing where frost or ice could form, air-conditioning components, head lamp and other light coverings, bridge structures and components, and any structure where anti-icing or deicing would be beneficial. One or more ultrasonic actuators permanently embedded or coupled to the structure may be used accomplish the removal. The technique presented herein could also be utilized for non-destructive evaluation and structural health monitoring applications. | 02-11-2010 |
20100217544 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR THE INSPECTION OF STRUCTURES HAVING UNKNOWN PROPERTIES - An inspection method includes driving a plurality of spaced apart transmitting transducer elements with a respective time delay and a respective frequency such that each of the transmitting transducer elements transmits an ultrasonic guided wave through a transmission medium defined by a material having at least one unknown physical property. The ultrasonic guided waves are received at a receiving transducer element disposed at a distance from the transmitting transducer elements. A respective time delay and a respective frequency for each of the transmitting transducer elements is determined that provides a maximum amplitude in a signal received at the receiving transducer element. The plurality of transmitting transducer elements are activated in accordance with the determined time delays and frequencies to transmit inspection signals through the transmission medium. A location of a defect in the material is determined based on velocities of the inspection signals received at the receiving transducer element. | 08-26-2010 |
20100305870 | DETECTION OF GAS VOIDS IN PIPE USING GUIDED WAVE - A gas detection system for the detection of gas voids in piping systems. The gas detection system includes a transmitter, a receiver, and a computer. The transmitter is positioned at a designated point on a piping circuit and is adapted to transmit guided waves into the piping circuit. The receiver is positioned at a designated point distant from the transmitter and is adapted to receive the guided waves transmitted through the piping circuit by the transmitter. The computer analyzes and monitors the guided waves received by the receiver and determines the amount of gas in the piping circuit being analyzed. | 12-02-2010 |
20120119732 | MAGNETOSTRICTIVE SENSOR ARRAY FOR ACTIVE OR SYNTHETIC PHASED-ARRAY FOCUSING OF GUIDED WAVES - A system includes at least one strip of ferromagnetic material and a plurality of pulsing/receiving coil circuits. The at least one strip of ferromagnetic material is induced with a bias magnetic field and is coupled to a surface of a structure under test. The plurality of pulsing/receiving coil circuits are aligned with a surface of the at least one strip of the ferromagnetic material. The plurality of pulsing/receiving coil circuits are individually controllable by a number of channels to excite guided waves in the structure under test using at least one of active phased-array focusing or synthetic phased-array focusing of the guided waves. | 05-17-2012 |
20120279308 | ELASTIC WAVE RAIL DEFECT DETECTION SYSTEM - A rail defect detection system includes a controller in signal communication with at least one transducer. The at least one transducer is configured to receive a predetermined number of guided elastic wave modes at specific frequencies and with specific wave structures from a rail and generate a signal in response. The controller includes a processor configured to identify a defect disposed along the rail in response to the signal received from the at least one transducer. | 11-08-2012 |
20130327148 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DAMAGE DETECTION IN PLATE-LIKE STRUCTURES USING GUIDED WAVE PHASED ARRAYS - A method for ultrasonic guided wave defect detection in a plate-like structure is disclosed. The method includes driving a plurality of transducers to cause guided waves to be transmitted in the plate in a predetermined direction or focused at a predetermined focal point, receiving at least one reflected guided wave signal, and processing the at least one reflected guided wave signal to identify a location of at least one possible defect in the plate-like structure. Defect detection data including the location of the at least one possible defect in the plate-like structure is stored in a machine readable storage medium. | 12-12-2013 |
20130343424 | GUIDED WAVE THERMOGRAPHY METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR INSPECTING A STRUCTURE - Methods and systems ( | 12-26-2013 |
20150053009 | ULTRASONIC GUIDED WAVE CORROSION DETECTION AND MONITORING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR STORAGE TANK FLOORS AND OTHER LARGE-SCALE, COMPLEX, PLATE-LIKE STRUCTURES - A system for defect detection in plate like structures is disclosed. The system comprises a plurality of transducers configured to be coupled to a periphery of complex-plate structure. A controller is electrically coupled to the plurality of transducers. The controller includes a machine readable storage medium and a processor in signal communication with the machine readable storage medium. The processor is configured to generate a plurality of guided wave signals using a first set of the plurality of transducers, receive the plurality of guided wave signals at a second set of the plurality of transducers, and generate tomographic pseudo-image of structural changes of the complex-plate structure based on the plurality of guided wave signals received at the second set of the plurality of transducers. | 02-26-2015 |
20150073729 | SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DAMAGE DETECTION IN STRUCTURES USING GUIDED WAVE PHASED ARRAYS - A method for ultrasonic guided wave defect detection in a structure is disclosed. The method includes driving a plurality of transducers to cause guided waves to be transmitted in the structure in a predetermined direction or focused at a predetermined focal point, receiving at least one reflected guided wave signal, and generating image data of the structure based on the at least one reflected guided wave signal. Processed image data are generated by performing at least one of baseline image subtraction or image suppression on the image data, and a location of at least one possible defect in the structure is identified based on the processed image data. | 03-12-2015 |