Nondestructive evaluation of wall thinning covered with insulation using pulsed eddy current

펄스와전류를 이용한 보온재 비해체식 배관감육 평가기술

Local wall thinning is a point of concern in almost all steel structures such as pipe lines covered with a thermal insulator made up of materials with low thermal conductivity(fiberglass or mineral wool); hence, Non Destructive Technique(NDT) methods that are capable of detecting the wall thinning and defects without removing the insulation are necessary. In this study we developed a Pulsed Eddy Current(PEC) system to detect the wall thinning of Ferro magnetic steel pipes covered with fiber glass thermal insulator and shielded with Aluminum plate. The developed system is capable of detecting the wall thickness change through an insulation of thickness 10cm and 0.4mm aluminum shielding. In order to confirm the thickness change due to wall thinning, two different sensors, a hall sensor and coil sensor were used as a detecting element. In both cases, the results show a very good change corresponding to the thickness change of the test specimen. During these experiments a carbon steel tube of diameter 210mm and a length of 620mm, which is covered with insulator of 95mm thickness was used. To simulate the wall thinning, the thickness of the tube is changed for a specified length such as 2.5mm, 5mm and 8 mm from the inner surface of the tube. A 0.4mm thick Aluminum plate was covered on the Test specimen to simulate the shielding of the insulated pipelines. For both hall sensor and coil detection methods Fast Fourier transform(FFT) was calculated using window approach and the results for the test specimen without Aluminum shielding were summarized which shows a clear identification of thickness change in the test specimen by comparing the magnitude spectra. The PEC system can detect the wall thinning under the 95 mm thickness insulation and 0.4 mm Al shielding, and the output signal showed linear relation with tube wall thickness.