Method and apparatus for inspecting and monitoring pipe

An ultrasonic sensor assembly for detecting a characteristic of a pipe, the ultrasonic sensor assembly including:

• a first transducer ring attached to the pipe;
• and
• a second transducer ring attached to the pipe at a spaced location from the first transducer ring, each of the first and second transducer rings being configured to transmit a first wave longitudinally along the pipe and receive a reflection of the transmitted first wave reflected from the characteristic, the first transducer ring further being configured to use results related to the reflection of the transmitted first wave to guide a second wave along the pipe that is received by the second transducer ring;
• wherein the waves received by the transducer rings are configured to be analyzed to detect a dimension and location of the characteristic of the pipe.

A method of detecting a characteristic of a pipe, the method including the steps of:

• providing an ultrasonic sensor assembly including first and second transducer rings attached to and spaced apart along a length of the pipe;
• transmitting one or more first waves into the pipe from each of the first and second transducer rings;
• receiving a reflection of the transmitted first wave reflected from the characteristic by the first and second transducer rings;
• transmitting one or more second waves into the pipe from the first transducer ring and receiving the one or more second waves with the second transducer ring;
• and
• detecting the characteristic of the pipe based on the waves received by each of the first and second transducer rings.