The reflection of guided waves from notches in pipes: a guide for interpreting corrosion measurements

Ultrasonic guided waves are used for the rapid screening of pipelines in service and simple, standard testing procedures are already defined. The implementation of the method enables the localization of the defects along the length of the pipe and offers a rough estimate of defect size. In this article we present a systematic analysis of the effect of pipe size, defect size, guided wave mode and frequency on the reflection from notches. The maximum and minimum value of the reflection coefficient at varying axial extent are identified and used for the purpose of defect sizing. Maps of reflection coefficient as a function of the circumferential extent and depth of the defect are presented for a 3 in. schedule 40 steel pipe. An approximate formula, which allows these results to be extrapolated to other pipe sizes, is proposed and evaluated. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.