Pipelines
Pipelines
have become the life-lines of many countries and industrial operations,
and a major problem associated with pipeline operation is associated
with pipe material corrosion of various types. A pipeline can be as
simple as a product transportation from one vessel to another, or as
complex as a product transfer mechanism across countries with widely
varying climatic conditions. Pipelines are both surface and buried structures,
and in most cases may be considered as long thin pressure vessels. There
are specific problems associated with acoustic emission monitoring of
pipelines; however, many of these problems have been overcome or are
taken into consideration during any competent acoustic emission monitoring
program. The surface or boundary conditions of the pipe are one of the
more difficult parameters to cope with in such a test. While it is possible
to monitor some pipelines with very large sensor spacings, these long
distances frequently are reduced by a factor of ten or more and usually
a hundred for buried pipelines. However, Metacoustics has developed
modifications to the acoustic emission techniques which allow for realistic
long-or short-term monitoring of just about any pipe configuration.
These include desert situations, open landscape pipes, buried pipes
and industrial piping within plants. The more sophisticated Metacoustics
instrumentation allows for long-term remote monitoring, which is important
as typical deformation in pipelines does not usually activate when being
monitored briefly.
