When I did my Bachelor Degree 35 years ago, my final year project was to build video amplifier that can detect image of under water object by transmitting and receiving low frequency signal through a Pizoelectric Transducers that can convert electromagnetic pulses into Electrical Signal. That was an amazing experience when I could successfully see the shape of the under water object clearly from my video screen just by pumping 1 Mhz signal. Wow, that was 35 years ago.
In May this year that beautiful memories came back to me as my company Abtel jointly with UK base company Tangent Technologies Ltd conducting a Test on Oil Pipelines using this Acoustic Emission Technology whereby Pizoelectric Sensors or Transducers were use to detect cracks in the Pipeline Structures.
It was really amzing to see that what I learn 35 years ago re-visited me and that little knowledge became very handy in conducting the testing due to my fresh understanding of the subject.
Acoustic Emission Technique has been used quite widely these days to monitor oil and gas pipelines and storage tanks integrity and gives early detection on any possible cracks or structural stress before it actually happens. Thus, protecting any possible pipe burst or explosion by reacting to quick maintenance at the exact location of problem areas identified by AET.
The AET Methodology can also be used to Composite Pipes to detect Structural Damage, Glueline Debonding and Fiber Breaking. The other interesting development is that there are going to be Wireless Sensors in the near future in order to eliminate the use of cables which can be very useful to transmit signal from a difficult sensor locations such as near high temperature and hidden areas.
This AET Technique can also compliment NDT Contractors to identify exactly where the cracks are especially in those difficult areas beyond the reach of its scanning devices.
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