Recent Advances on Guided Waves in Pipe Inspection

Guided waves have been increasingly used in nondestructive evaluations. Guided waves have shown to be specially promising in the testing of pipelines and tubing systems due to the ability of propagating long distances. Recent advances on guided wave pipe inspection focus on the understanding and utilization of guided wave flexural modes. This paper discusses and compares the technologies currently employed in pipe testing. The phased-array guided wave focusing technique in pipes will be particularly addressed because of its ability of enhancing penetration power. Taking into account the fact that many pipelines are covered with protecting viscoelastic coatings, the newly developed guided wave focusing technique in viscoelastic coated pipes will be presented in detail.