| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/S67074/01 |
| Title: |
On-line measurement of pipeline contents using ultrasonic guided waves |
| Principal Investigator: |
Lowe, Professor M |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Mechanical Engineering |
| Organisation: |
Imperial College London |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research (Pre-FEC) |
| Starts: |
01 November 2003 |
Ends: |
31 December 2006 |
Value (£): |
213,648
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Instrumentation Eng. & Dev. |
Modelling & simul. of IT sys. |
| Oil & Gas Extraction |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| Manufacturing |
Chemicals |
| Food and Drink |
Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology |
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| Related Grants: |
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| Panel History: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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This research proposal addresses the development of ultrasonic techniques for the non-intrusive detection and measurement of materials within pipelines. There are many circumstances in the process, power and oil industries, where it is necessary to determine information about what is inside a pipeline and it would be of great benefit to do so without having to take samples. Examples include the detection of sludging or blockages, the measurement of viscosity, the measurement of volume fractions of mixed fluids and particulate suspensions, the detection of the state of the contents, including supercriticality in advanced chemical/pharmaceutical processing, or even the determination of when a pipe is empty. The proposal aims to investigate the feasibility of using guided waves which travel in the wall of the pipe in order to make measurements of the contents. These waves are potentially more sensitive to the properties of the contents of the pipe than bulk waves which are transmitted across the pipe, and they may also be easier to utilise in plant conditions. This is a novel and complex area of work, and accordingly the project aims primarily to determine the feasibility of the principles; in order to remain grounded it will however include two specific foci of interest to the two collaborating industrial organisations: specifically (a) the detection of the state of complex fluids in enclosed metal pipework/vessels, and (b) the detection of sludging and blockages in chemical process pipelines.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.imperial.ac.uk |