INNOVATIVE ELECTROMAGNETIC SENSORS FOR PIPELINE CRAWLERS

Abstract

Internal inspection of pipelines is an important tool for ensuring safe and reliable delivery of fossil energy products. Current inspection systems that are propelled through the pipeline by the product flow cannot be used to inspect all pipelines because of the various physical barriers they encounter. Recent development efforts include a new generation of powered inspection platforms that crawl slowly inside a pipeline and are able to maneuver past the physical barriers that can limit inspection. At Battelle, innovative electromagnetic sensors are being designed and tested for these new pipeline crawlers. The various sensor types can be used to assess a wide range of pipeline anomalies including corrosion, mechanical damage, and cracks. The Applied Energy Systems Group at Battelle is concluding the first year of work on a projected three-year development effort. In this first year, two innovative electromagnetic inspection technologies were designed and tested. Both were based on moving high-strength permanent magnets to generate inspection energy. One system involved translating permanent magnets towards the pipe. A pulse of electric current would be induced in the pipe to oppose the magnetization according to Lenz's Law. The decay of this pulse would indicate the presence of defects in the pipe wall. This inspection method is similar to pulsed eddy current inspection methods, with the fundamental difference being the manner in which the current is generated. Details of this development effort were reported in the first semiannual report on this project. This second semiannual report focuses on the development of a second inspection methodology, based on rotating permanent magnets. During this period, a rotating permanent magnet exciter was designed and built. The exciter unit produces strong eddy currents in the pipe wall. The tests have shown that at distances of a pipe diameter or more, the currents flow circumferentially, and that these circumferential currents are deflected by pipeline defects such as corrosion and axially aligned cracks. Simple sensors are used to detect the change in current densities in the pipe wall