Guided Wave Testing (GW)

Guided wave testing on piping uses controlled excitation of one or more ultrasonic waveforms that travel along the length of the pipe, reflecting from changes in the pipe stiffness or cross sectional area. A transducer ring or exciter coil assembly is used to introduce the guided wave into the pipe and each transducer/exciter . The control and analysis software can be installed on a laptop computer to drive the transducer ring/exciter and to analyze the results. The transducer ring/exciter setup is designed specifically for the diameter of the pipe being tested, and the system has the advantage of being able to inspect the pipe wall volume over long distances without having to remove coatings or insulation. Guided wave testing can locate both ID and OD discontinuities but cannot differentiate between them.