In this paper, the effect of pipe bend arrangement on guided
waves-based defect detection is investigated by experimental
method. FE simulations and experiments are conducted to investigate
the detection sensitivity for different crack locations. The following
conclusions are drawn from this study:
(1) Simulation results reveal that pipe bend configuration difference
has no significant influence on propagation behavior
when guided waves travel across the first elbow. When
the pipes with more than one bend, the guided waves
energy focuses on extrados of space-Z and plane-Z pipe,
but focused on intrados of U pipe.
(2) Discrepancy is indicated in guided waves propagation in
pipes with different configurations. Space-Z pipe shares the
highest penetration rate when guided waves travel across it
without defects, and the inspection of cracks in the straight
pipe beyond two elbows in this kind of pipe is most
sensitive.
(3) The detection sensitivity is influenced by defects location
and pipe configurations. For the first bend, the guided
waves show a high sensitivity in extrados in the three pipeconfigurations. But for the second bend for space-Z pipe
and plane-Z pipe, the defect detection is easier in extrados,
although it is more sensitive to detect defects in intrados of
the U pipe