High Resolution Electromagnetic Imaging and Decision Support for Pipeline Life Management

This proposal relates to the application of electromagnetic imaging of pipelines and coatings for damage detection, condition assessment and enhanced decision support and life management. JENTEK's inductive Meandering Winding Magnetometer (MWM) sensor and MWM-Arrays have demonstrated sensitivity and resolution capability superior to conventional nondestructive examination technology in a number of applications, such as detection of isolated fatigue cracks and crack clusters in fretting regions of jet engine components. Recent preliminary MWM-Array scans of steel pipeline samples have produced high resolution images of a stress corrosion cracking colony, including capability to resolve individual cracks within the colony, including capability to resolve individual cracks within the colony, through a simulated coating. This proposed program will adapt MwMw-Arrays and calibration and measurement procedures for rapid scanning of metallic pipelines for detection and imaging of SCC. JENTEK's Interdigitated Electrode Dielectrometer (IDED), the capacitive analog to the MWMW, has been used for characterization of non-metallic materials and coatings. This proposed program will also evaluate capability of IDED sensors and arrays to perform pipeline coating characterization, including fingerprinting and quality control.