The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 06, 2009
Filed:
Jul. 16, 2007
Hegeon Kwun, San Antonio, TX (US);
Hirotoshi Matsumoto, Nagasaki, JP;
James F. Crane, San Antonio, TX (US);
Hegeon Kwun, San Antonio, TX (US);
Hirotoshi Matsumoto, Nagasaki, JP;
James F. Crane, San Antonio, TX (US);
Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX (US);
Abstract
Methods and devices for inspecting waterwall tubes for the detection of fire side damage over a long length of the tube are described. The system of the invention uses a magnetostrictive strip and a flat coil-type plate magnetostrictive sensor (MsS) that are held in place on the waterwall using a specially designed frame and an electromagnetic circuit. The magnetostrictive strip and plate type MsS are positioned against a tube in the waterwall using an elastomeric pad or a fluid filled bladder to achieve close contact and good mechanical coupling between the magnetostrictive strip and the tube surface. When current activated, the electromagnet holds the entire assembly in place and provides a DC bias magnetic field required for plate magnetostrictive sensor probe operation. Long-range guided-waves are pulsed into the tube and reflected signals are detected within the same sensor structure. The received signal data representative of a long section of the tube under investigation is then analyzed for the presence of anomalies and defects. When data acquisition for a particular tube or tube section is completed the electromagnet is turned off and the entire device is moved to the next tube in the waterwall.