Finite Element Analysis of Corrosion Damaged Pipeline Using PZT-Based Ultrasonic Guided Wave Energy Method

Abstract

PZT-based ultrasonic guided wave has played an important role in health monitoring of pipeline structures. By using the PZT-based ultrasonic guided wave energy method and finite element software ABAQUS, the numerical simulation is performed to analyze various corrosion damaged pipeline structures, emphasizing on the damage identification, sensitivity analysis and longitudinal energy attenuation of the guided wave along various corrosion damaged pipelines. The preliminary analysis of the echo signals shows that the grass-like clutter wave belongs to echoes of the corrosion damage of the pipeline, and the wave energy spreads faster here. At the same time, by frequency spectrum analysis of the echo signal, the relationship between the reflection coefficient and the radial depth of defection is made which can be used to approximately evaluate geometrical dimension of the damage.