Circumferential shear horizontal wave axial-crack sizing in pipes

Circumferential shear horizontal (SH) waves are used for the inspection and sizing of axial cracks in pipelines. Experiments on two sample pipes having notches with different depths and lengths were carried out utilizing magnetostrictive sensor (MsS) technology for generating circumferential shear horizontal guided waves. A simplified two-dimensional model for crack sizing in pipes was studied through wave-reflection amplitude coefficients. The wave-reflection amplitudes are affected by both defect depths and lengths. To estimate the defect depth, which is critical, length compensation was taken for defects shorter than the beam width. An axial scan was carried out for the defect length estimations and the length compensation. Based on this axial scan, an approximate two-dimensional theory has been developed that has improved the defect depth estimation greatly. Two-dimensional boundary element modeling analysis and normal mode expansion technology are used to study defect sizing theoretically in a pipe-like structure by calculating reflection coefficients. The theoretical results agree with the experiments quite favorably.