Ma Yunxiu, Hu Linzhi, Dong Yuxuan, Chen Lei, Liu Gang
College of Pipeline and Civil Engineering, China University of Petroleum (East China), Qingdao 266580, China.
Pipe-Network Group (Xuzhou) Pipeline Inspection and Testing Co., Xuzhou 221000, China.
Sensors (Basel). 2025 Apr 16;25(8):2515. doi: 10.3390/s25082515.
Ultrasonic guided waves can be employed for in-service defect detection in storage tank bottom plates; however, conventional single-array approaches face challenges from boundary scattering noise at side connection welds. This study proposes a collaborative bottom plate-wall plate detection methodology to address these limitations. Sensor arrays were strategically deployed on both the bottom plate and wall plate, achieving multidimensional signal acquisition through bottom plate array excitation and dual-array reception from both the bottom plate and tank wall. A correlation coefficient-based matching algorithm was developed to distinguish damage echoes from weld-induced scattering noise by exploiting path-dependent signal variations between the two arrays. The investigation revealed that guided wave signals processed through data matching effectively preserved damage echo signals while substantially attenuating boundary scattering signals. Building upon these findings, correlation matching was implemented on guided wave signals received by corresponding array elements from both the bottom plate and wall plate, followed by total focusing imaging (TFM) using the processed signals. Results demonstrate that the collaborative bottom plate-wall plate detection imaging cloud maps, after implementing signal correlation matching, effectively suppress artifacts compared with imaging results obtained solely from bottom plate arrays. The maximum relative localization error was measured as 5.4%, indicating superior detection accuracy.
超声导波可用于储罐底板的在役缺陷检测；然而，传统的单阵列方法面临着侧连接焊缝处边界散射噪声的挑战。本研究提出了一种协作式底板 - 壁板检测方法来解决这些局限性。传感器阵列被战略性地部署在底板和壁板上，通过底板阵列激励和来自底板及罐壁的双阵列接收实现多维信号采集。开发了一种基于相关系数的匹配算法，通过利用两个阵列之间与路径相关的信号变化来区分损伤回波和焊缝引起的散射噪声。研究表明，通过数据匹配处理的导波信号有效地保留了损伤回波信号，同时大幅衰减了边界散射信号。基于这些发现，对底板和壁板相应阵列元件接收到的导波信号进行相关匹配，然后使用处理后的信号进行全聚焦成像（TFM）。结果表明，与仅从底板阵列获得的成像结果相比，实施信号相关匹配后的协作式底板 - 壁板检测成像云图有效地抑制了伪像。最大相对定位误差测量为5.4%，表明检测精度较高。
