The application of synthetic focusing for imaging crack-like defects in pipelines using guided waves

This paper deals with quantifying the performance of a technique for detection, location, and sizing of circumferential crack-like defects in pipelines using synthetically focused guided waves. The system employs a circumferential array of piezoelectric transducer elements. A torsional probing guided wave is excited using the array, which subsequently interacts with the reflecting features of the pipe, such as defects or weld caps. The recorded backscattered signals are synthetically focused to every point of interest in the pipe wall, to form an image of the reflecting features of the pipe. The defect image amplitude is used to estimate the defect depth, and the full width at half maximum of the defect image circumferential profile is used to estimate the circumferential extent of the defect. The imaging system is tested with data from finite element simulations and from laboratory experiments. It is found that reliable sizing of circumferential cracks in finite element simulations and experiments can be achieved if the circumferential extent of the defect is greater than 1.5 lambda_S, where lambda_S is the shear wavelength at the frequency of inspection. This result is theoretically valid for any pipe size, any axial defect location, and any inspection frequency. Amplitude gains of around 18 dB over an unfocused system have been observed experimentally in an 8-inch pipe with a 9 dB SNR improvement.