IDENTIFICATION OF PARTIAL PLUGGING IN A GAS-TRANSPORT PIPELINE BY AN ACOUSTIC METHOD

This paper describes how to locate and estimate accurately the degree of partial plugging in a gas-transport pipeline by acoustic methods. T he acoustic method proposed is one of the indirect methods that identi fies the inner structure of the pipeline from the acoustic standing wa ves introduced at one end of the pipeline by a source of noise. Both s imulations and experiments have been carried out to validate the propo sed technique. The method applies to straight sections of pipe without branches or leaks, and in the experiments we used pipe of length 4.11 3 m and uniform diameter of 16.0 mm (the cross-sectional area was 201 mm2). Results of the experiments and simulations yielded very similar time responses, which showed clear pulses due to a partial plugging. F rom the shape of the pulse and the occurrence times of the pulse, the location and degree of the partial plugging could be calculated. A par tial plug with an open diameter of 95% of the cross-sectional area of the pipeline was clearly located and estimated with reasonable accurac y.