A defects detection method of buried liquid-filled pipes based on T(0,1) guided waves

In this paper, we propose a method using T(0,1) guided waves combined with coil coding technique to detect defects in buried liquid-filled pipes implemented by an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT). Due to its non-dispersive properties and the fact that there is no energy loss in non-viscoelastic fluids, the T(0,1) mode is selected for pipe defects detection. The electromagnetic device that generates the circumferential magnetic field is optimized to excite the pure T(0,1) mode. To realize energy enhancement and defect location identification, the electromagnetic acoustic coil is spatially encoded by 11-bit Barker code and the receiver coil is multiplexed consisting of a spatial coded coil and a unit coil. The defect detection is accomplished through time-of-flight (TOF) time-frequency analysis, and the defect location identification is achieved by digital signal processing methods (cross-correlation and convolution). The feasibility of this method is verified by the finite element model and experimental analysis, indicating the defect locating error in a liquid-filled pipes is less than 1%. Overall, the proposed method achieves a high-precision flaw detection and location identification.