3D Simulation and Experiment of Pulsed Eddy Current Testing for Pipeline Corrosion

Pulsed eddy current testing technology is of non-contact and high sensitivity to large-area corrosion, and is applicable for the buried pipeline corrosion condition evaluation without the need of the excavation of the pipeline. The finite element analysis software ANSYS MAXWELL was used to establish the simulation model for pulsed eddy current testing technology, and the signal variations of different pipe wall thickness were analyzed. An experimental device was designed based on the simulation results and corresponding testing was carried on the pipeline of diameter of 108 mm and wall thickness of 6 mm and 10 mm, respectively. Experimental results show that the decay curves of pulsed eddy current signals of different thickness basically coincide with the simulation curve, which might provide a valid reference for the corrosion detector design for trenchless pipeline, for the optimization of eddy current probes, and for the quantitative assessment of pipeline corrosion.