Pipeline inspection
AssigneeAnalogic Corporation
InventorJohn M. Dobbs
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present application provides techniques and/or systems for inspecting a pipe, or rather measuring one or more characteristics of a pipe, using radiation. A carriage, mounted to the pipe, may provide a mechanism for propelling a radiation source and a detector along the pipe. The detector is configured such that it can receive radiation that has traversed both a wall of the pipe and an obstacle, such as a pipe support. In this way, portions of a pipe that are traditionally difficult to inspect may be inspected easily with minimal human intervention.
Claims20
A pipe inspection apparatus comprising:
- a carriage configured to be mounted to a pipe and configured for movement along the pipe, the carriage comprising:
- a substantially c-shaped member configured for rotation relative to the pipe about an axis of rotation extending in a direction parallel to an axial direction of the pipe;
- an ionizing radiation source coupled to the c-shaped member;
- and
- a radiation detector coupled to the c-shaped member and positioned substantially diametrically opposite the ionizing radiation source relative to the pipe, the radiation detector extending beyond the c-shaped member in the axial direction to facilitate positioning a support beam to which the pipe is mounted between a portion of the radiation detector and the pipe and to facilitate an examination of a portion of the pipe in contact with the support beam, the support beam extending in a direction substantially transverse to the axial direction of the pipe.
A pipe inspection apparatus comprising:
- a carriage configured for movement along a pipe, the carriage comprising:
- a substantially c-shaped member configured for rotation relative to the pipe about an axis of rotation extending in a direction parallel to an axial direction of the pipe;
- an ionizing radiation source coupled to the c-shaped member;
- and
- a radiation detector coupled to the c-shaped member and positioned substantially diametrically opposite the ionizing radiation source relative to the pipe, the radiation detector extending beyond the c-shaped member in the axial direction to facilitate positioning a support beam to which the pipe is mounted between a portion of the radiation detector and the pipe and to facilitate an examination of a portion of the pipe in contact with the support beam, the support beam extending in a direction substantially transverse to the axial direction of the pipe, and wherein:
- the c-shaped member is configured to rotate to a first position relative to the support beam to facilitate the examination of the portion of the pipe in contact with the support beam, and
- the c-shaped member is configured to rotate to a second position relative to the support beam to facilitate traversing the portion of the pipe in contact with the support beam.
A method for inspecting a pipe via ionizing radiation, comprising:
- while mounted to the pipe, performing a helical scan of the pipe by rotating an ionizing radiation source and a radiation detector about an axis of rotation extending in a direction parallel to an axial direction of the pipe and moving a carriage supporting the ionizing radiation source and the radiation detector in a first direction parallel to the axial direction;
- and
- upon encountering a support beam extending in a direction transverse to the axial direction, halting the rotating and the moving and positioning the radiation detector in a first position relative to the support beam such that the support beam is between the pipe and a portion of the radiation detector to facilitate an examination of a portion of the pipe in contact with the support beam.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.