• 专利附录
  • 专利说明
  • 权利要求
  • 类似技术
  • 同族专利
  • 引用文献
  • 法律状态
  • 优先权
    • 专利摘要:
    The invention relates to an apparatus for inspecting a pipeline, the apparatus comprising: a cylindrical body (15) adapted to be transported within the pipeline, an array of acoustic transducers (T x, y) located in the surface of the cylindrical body Body (15) are installed, wherein the acoustic transducers are organized in columns and rows in a band around the cylindrical body, a controller for initiating a transmission of an acoustic signal from a first transducer and receiving the acoustic signal from other transducers in the arrangement is designed around the first transducer, wherein the controller is further adapted to determine the direction to a damage in the wall of the pipeline of the received acoustic signals.
    公开号:CH712357B1
    申请号:CH01050/17
    申请日:2016-02-24
    公开日:2018-02-15
    发明作者:Norli Petter；Fleury Wayne；Doust Paul
    申请人:Halfwave As；
    IPC主号:
    专利说明:

    description
    Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the field of non-destructive testing and, more particularly, to a pipeline inspection tool for testing the integrity of oil and gas pipelines with acoustic transducers.
    Background There is a need in the oil and gas industry to test pipelines in an efficient manner. Such pipelines are often difficult to access, e.g. Offshore pipelines that are partially buried and are part of extensive structures. The pipelines are subject to wear due to corrosive fluids and sand and deformation due to movements in the sea floor. The pipelines also tend to develop cracks, especially in the welds. Weld seams are inherent weak points due to changes in the steel structure caused by the welding process. Cracks can occur due to loads caused by temperature fluctuations and movements in the sea floor.
    The structural integrity of pipelines can be checked with inspection pigs that migrate within the pipelines and measure the condition of the pipe wall. Several methods for measuring the condition of pipeline walls have been developed. We mention methods using magnetic flux leaks and ultrasonic testing. Magnetic flux leak methods are essentially only effective for detecting metal loss caused by corrosion (thinning of the pipeline wall). Ultrasonic testing methods are used to detect corrosion and cracks in pipeline walls, although there is some overlap between the technologies. Ultrasonic testing with conventional piezoelectric transducers is limited to testing pipelines filled with liquids because a liquid is required to direct the ultrasonic energy into the pipeline wall. The extreme difference in acoustic impedance between air / gas and steel significantly reduces the amount of acoustic energy that is conducted into the pipeline wall in a “dry” pipeline. It has been proposed to use EMAT (Electro Magnetic Acoustic Transducer) technology to test gas pipelines, this type of transducer generates an electromagnetic field that generates ultrasonic waves in SH (Shear Horizontal) wave mode directly in the pipeline wall however large, have a limited bandwidth and must be positioned very close to the pipe wall, preferably less than 1 mm from the wall surface.
    From US 8 677 823 a device is known in which an acoustic transducer-bearing roller (in an arrangement around the central narrow part of the roller) is sent through a pipeline containing compressed gas. Acoustic signals are transmitted from each transducer through the gas medium to the inner surface of the pipe wall. These are reflected back from the wall and received by the same transducer or by one or more preselected transducers in the role. This equipment is used to measure the diameter of the pipeline to identify deformations on the wall. However, this device is not suitable for testing the material in the wall itself due to the high impedance contrast between air and steel.
    European patent application EP 2 887 060 A1 discloses a device for inspecting pipelines. This application was filed on December 20, 2013 and published on June 24, 2015. The tube wall is inspected using acoustic pulses emitted by an array of transducers, the transducers being in a single ring or row around the body of the device, see Fig. 1. The measurements are pulse-echo Measurements where the pulses are sent and received by the same transducer.
    From US 9 852 033 a device for logging oil and gas wells is known. The device includes a rotating transducer head with three acoustic transducers. The transducer head is rotated as the device is moved vertically along the borehole. In this way, the borehole can be covered with a series of individual measurements that cover the wall along a spiral path.
    SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for acoustically inspecting pipelines that overcomes the problems mentioned above.
    [0008] This is achieved in an apparatus and method as defined in the appended claims.
    Brief Description of the Drawings Further aspects of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description that follows, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It shows:
    1 is a schematic representation of the device according to the invention and the electronic circuits of the device,
    CH 712 357 B1
    FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating the path of propagation of acoustic waves between a transmitting and a receiving transducer in the device according to the invention, and
    Fig. 3 is a plan of the path of propagation.
    Detailed Description In accordance with the invention there is provided a device designed as a roll carrying a multi-element arrangement of acoustic transducers, each of which can be used to transmit or receive acoustic energy at any predetermined time, the device being used for Transport is designed through the interior of a pipeline while the pipe wall is being inspected. Such a device is also known as a pig.
    Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the device 11 according to the invention together with electronic modules 16, 18, 19 which are arranged within the device. The device is designed as a roller with two circular end plates 13, 14 which are connected by a cylindrical body 15, the body having a smaller diameter than the end plates. A plurality of transducers T x , y are installed in the wall of the body 15. The transducers are organized in (circular) columns and rows covering a band around the cylindrical body 15 (only one column can be seen in the figure). If necessary, each transducer can be composed of several elements in order to obtain a sufficient signal strength and a narrow beam.
    Inside the body 15 there are electronic circuits for exciting the transducers, for receiving response signals from the transducers and for storing the received signals. The electronic circuits can be organized into several separate modules as shown. An analog module 16 carries the transducers T x , y and a number of batteries 17 which feed the entire device. The analog module 16 is connected to a digital module 18. The digital module 18 includes circuits for controlling the converters T x , y , AD and DA converters, data storage units and a host interface for system configuration and data communication. The device 11 further includes a position module 19 which supplies position information to the digital module 18. The position module 19 may include displacement meters 110 in contact with the pipe wall. Here three travel meters are used, which are evenly distributed around the circumference of the tool to ensure that at least one of them is in contact with the wall. The odometers issue pulses as the tool travels the pipeline, with each pulse indicating that a certain distance has been covered. The pulses can be used to control the triggering of the transmitters. Pressure sensors III are used to inform the electronics that the tool has been channeled into a pipeline, whereupon the measuring process is initiated. It also includes an inductive unit 112, a so-called newt tracker that emits low frequency magnetic waves that can be tracked from outside the pipeline.
    The device can work in two modes: in the "connected mode" the device is connected to a computer 113 for system configuration and retrieval of collected data, while the device in "autonomous mode" works independently in a pipeline without access to the computer. In this mode, collected measurement data must be saved on board.
    The device device is intended to be transported through the pipeline, driven by the differential pressure across the device, while some of the transducers (especially the transducers in one of the columns, such as the transducers T x2 , where X is 1-n) are triggered while the other converters are listening. However, it should be noted that all transducers can serve as transmitters and receivers and their role is chosen at will.
    As mentioned above, it is an object of the present invention to examine the properties of the pipeline wall with acoustic transducers such as piezoelectric transducers to avoid the disadvantages of EMATs. However, the question arises how an acoustic signal of sufficient strength can be obtained in the wall. Another question is how to determine the correct position of a crack or inhomogeneous structure found in the wall. A third question is how to obtain a sufficient sample point density when the tool travels along the pipeline, i.e. how fast it is measured when the tool is moving at full speed. When sending acoustic energy into a pipeline, a reasonably clean signal is initially received, but later the signal is masked by noise generated by dispersion effects, etc. This means that there must be a “quiet” time delay between the individual programs. The first and last questions are answered with the specific acoustic pulses that are used to excite the pipeline wall, while the second question is solved by the special layout of transducers used in the tool and their mode of operation, as will be explained below.
    Fig. 2 shows the propagation path followed by a signal from a sending transducer 21 to a receiving transducer 22. To overcome the impedance barrier between the gas in the pipeline and the wall, the sending transducer sends burst pulses 23 at a low frequency , The frequency can be in the range of 200-1400 kHz. This is about ten times lower than in the ultrasonic transducers used in probe tools. The loss in the gas increases dramatically with frequency. At these low frequencies, it has proven to be advantageous to match the transmission frequency to a thickness resonance of the wall. This increases the sensitivity of the measurements, increases the ability to locate a crack and reduces the data processing load. Assuming a plane wave with normal incidence, resonance peaks are found at frequencies at which the plate thickness is an integer of
    CH 712 357 B1
    Is half wavelengths. The frequency f of a thickness resonance is defined as f = nc / 2D, where c is the acoustic velocity of the wall material, D is its thickness and n is the harmonic.
    The pulses excite a signal 24 that wanders in the wall. This signal is converted back into a pressure wave at the steel / gas interface before it hits the receive transducer 22. Because of the geometric arrangement of the transducers, the first arrival detected in the receiving transducer is a wave that has traveled as a shear mode signal in part of the trajectory. Signals arrive later that travel as Lamb waves. Lamb waves have a much larger amplitude than shear waves, and this fact can be used to differentiate between the types of waves that arrive at the receivers as pressure waves.
    Fig. 3 shows how the signal from a converter T 2 , 2 of transducers Tu, T 1i2 , T 1i3 , T 1i4 , T 2 , i, T 2 , 3 , T 3 , i and T 3 , 2 can be recognized. The signal paths are indicated with arrows. In this way, signals are recognized that migrate in all directions from the transmitting transducer. If there is a crack in the wall, transducers located in the "shadow" behind the crack receive signals with a considerably lower amplitude. This is the case for the transducers T 3 , 3 , T 3i4 and T 2 , 4 , since there is a crack in the path between the transmitter and the receiver, which dampens the signal. The signal from the transmitter is also reflected by the crack and arrives at the transducers before the crack. However, the signal is inverted in the reflection and this can be used to identify reflected signals. This is indicated by the double-headed arrow between the transmitter T 2 , 2 and the crack. After triggering, the converter must then listen for inverted reflections. The distance and direction to a crack or its position can be found by comparing the signals received from the transducers.
    As mentioned above, the transducer sends a signal that is designed to excite a thickness resonance of the tube wall. The tube wall can be excited in several ways.
    One method is to use a two-stage process in which the transducer first emits a wobbled frequency signal (e.g. a chirp) that covers a possible thickness resonance frequency of the wall. The thickness of the wall can differ somewhat and so the thickness resonance frequency can also be variable, since it is determined on the basis of the mechanical thickness. When the exact resonance frequency has been determined by analyzing the received signal, a second signal at the fixed resonance frequency is sent into the tube wall.
    [0021] This method can be expanded by allowing the wobble to cover one or more harmonics of the fundamental resonance. The exact frequency of the resonance can be measured more accurately by measuring the frequency difference between two frequencies (harmonics) than by directly counting the basic resonance.
    Furthermore, in order to speed up the measurement process, several transmitters can be excited simultaneously, each on a different harmonic frequency, each receiver can receive signals from several transmitters, but “who is who” can be solved by cross-correlation with the transmitted signals. In this way, several positions on the pipe wall can be examined simultaneously.
    Another method is to excite the pipe wall with a sinc pulse from the transmitter. The frequency range of the sinc pulses should thus cover a selected harmonic of the thickness resonance with some tolerance for thickness differences. In this case too, several transmitters can be triggered simultaneously on different harmonics of the resonance frequency. [0024] Yet another method is to excite the wall with spread spectrum signals. This offers the possibility of coding a number of transmitters differently, i.e. they can transmit at the same time and the signals can be resolved in the receivers. Each signal can also be tailored so that it covers a small frequency range around a selected harmonic in the thickness resonance of the wall, although this frequency range will not be covered as closely and evenly as in the two previous embodiments. There are many variations of the spread spectrum technique that can be used for this purpose, but in particular a Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) technique using BPSK (Binary Phase Shift Keying) modulation has proven to be feasible.
    权利要求:
    Claims (6)
    [1]
    claims
    A device for inspecting a pipeline, the device comprising: a cylindrical body (15) designed for transportation within the pipeline, an array of acoustic transducers (T x> y ) installed in the surface of the cylindrical body (15) , wherein the acoustic transducers are organized in columns and rows in a band around the cylindrical body, characterized in that the device includes a controller for initiating the sending of an acoustic signal from a first transducer and the reception of the acoustic signal from other transducers is configured in the arrangement around the first transducer, the other transducers recognizing signals traveling in all directions from the first transducer, the controller further configured to determine the distance and direction for damage in the wall of the pipeline Comparing the signals received from the other transducers, the controller initiating the transmission ns of a signal is designed that excites a thickness mode of the pipeline wall.
    CH 712 357 B1
    [2]
    2. A method of inspecting the wall of a pipeline, the method comprising the following steps:
    Sending an acoustic signal from a first transducer facing the wall and positioned a distance from the wall, the signal stimulating a selected thickness resonance frequency of the wall, receiving an acoustic signal returned from the wall in a number of other transducers, also facing the wall at a distance from the wall, the other transducers surrounding the first transducer, the other transducers recognizing signals traveling in all directions from the first transducer,
    Processing the returned acoustic signals to determine the distance and direction to damage in the wall of the pipeline by comparing the signals received from the other transducers.
    [3]
    3. The method of claim 3, wherein the wall is excited by: first sending a swept frequency signal against the wall, observing any resonance in the received signals, then sending a single frequency burst signal against the wall at a selected resonance frequency of the wall of a converter.
    [4]
    4. The method of claim 3, wherein the wall is excited by sending a sinc signal against the wall, the sinc signal spanning a range of frequencies that covers a selected harmonic of the resonant frequency.
    [5]
    5. The method of claim 3, wherein the wall is excited by simultaneous transmission of acoustic signals from a plurality of transducers, each transducer transmitting on a different harmonic of said resonance frequency.
    [6]
    6. The method of claim 3, wherein the wall is excited against the wall by sending a spread spectrum signal, the signals being sent simultaneously by a number of transmitting transducers, each transmitting transducer being coded differently.
    CH 712 357 B1
    CH 712 357 B1, 21 '5
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    引用文献:
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    法律状态:
    2018-10-31| PCAR| Change of the address of the representative|Free format text: NEW ADDRESS: GRELLINGERSTRASSE 60, 4052 BASEL (CH) |
    优先权:
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    NO20150256A|NO20150256A1|2015-02-24|2015-02-24|An apparatus and method for inspecting a pipeline|
    PCT/NO2016/050033|WO2016137335A1|2015-02-24|2016-02-24|An apparatus and method for inspecting a pipeline|
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