An Eddy-Current Gauge For Measuring The Wall Thickness of Light-Alloy Drill Pipes

ISSN 1061-8309, Russian Journal of Nondestructive Testing, 2017, Vol. 53, No. 8, pp. 588–595. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.
, 2017.
Original Russian Text © A.E. Goldstein, V.Yu. Belyankov, 2017, published in Defektoskopiya, 2017, No. 8, pp. 57–64.
ELECTROMAGNETIC METHODS
An Eddy-Current Gauge for Measuring

the Wall Thickness of Light-Alloy Drill Pipes
A. E. Goldstein* and V. Yu. Belyankov**
Tomsk Polytechnic University, Tomsk, 634050 Russia
*e-mail: algol54@yandex.ru
**e-mail: vasyatpu@gmail.com
Received May 5, 2017
Abstract⎯The operating principle and design of an eddy-current transducer intended for in-service
measurement of the wall thickness of light-alloy drill pipes are described. The block diagram and algo-
rithm of conversion are provided for measurement-data signals from the eddy-current thickness gauge.
The main technical specs are listed for a thickness gauge prototype.
Keywords: eddy-current thickness gauging, gap, electric conductivity, dual-frequency method, sepa-
ration of frequency components, tuning out
DOI: 10.1134/S1061830917080022
INTRODUCTION
Light-alloy drill pipes (LADPs) are used in stem assemblies and applied in deep, extra-deep, horizon-
tal, and directional drilling. LADPs are classified [according to GOST (State Standard) 23786-79 and in
compliance with ISO 15546-2011] by their design and the grades of durability and heat resistance. LADPs
are manufactured from D16T aluminum alloy by direct-acting hydraulic hot pressing. This choice of the
material and manufacturing method ensures pipe properties that are optimum for drilling operations and,
at the same time, increases the wear resistance and efficiency of the entire stem assembly. The merits of
such pipes include low weight; high buoyancy in the drilling agent; corrosion resistance to aggressive
media (hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide); a flexibility higher than that of steel pipes, a fact that makes
pipes easier to inscribe in strongly curved well bores; vibration-absorbing properties; and lack of magne-
tism, a quality that is required for directional survey of wells [1, 2].
When in service, mechanical and mechanochemical wear thins pipe walls, thus reducing their strength
characteristics. This process is considerably accelerated for LADPs operating in hard rock and in the pres-
ence of alkaline and acidic media.
Periodic field evaluation of the thickness of drill-pipe walls is very important for timely identification
of hazardous wall thinning and ensuring trouble-free operation of pipe drills. According to the regulations,
the thickness of LADP walls is currently evaluated by the acoustic method, a technique that suffers from
the well-known shortcomings related to its high labor input and low efficiency of testing.
POSING THE PROBLEM

In this article, we propose an engineering solution of the eddy-current method for evaluating LAPD
wall thickness, a technique that offers an alternative to acoustic testing.
Attachable eddy-current transducers (ECTs) are most widely employed for eddy-current thickness
gauging. The advantages of ECTs include their versatility; the possibility for inspecting flat, cylindrical,
and complexly shaped bodies with one-sided access to the test object; and their locality that ensures high
definition and accuracy of locating flawed zones when scanning the surface of test objects [3–8].
Figure 1 presents schematically an attachable transformer differential ECT, equipped with energizing w1,
measuring w21, and bucking w22 coils, that is used in the proposed eddy-current thickness gauge.
Measuring the thickness of walls in electroconductive pipes with an attachable ECT is complicated by
possible significant changes in the gap between the ECT and the surface of the inspected pipe under actual
588
AN EDDY-CURRENT GAUGE FOR MEASURING THE WALL THICKNESS 589
w22
w1
h
w21
Fig. 1. Attachable ECT over an electroconductive pipe.
conditions of thickness gauging as well as in the electrical conductivity of the pipe material, changes that
hugely affect the informative parameters of the ECT signal.
Essentially, the problem of measuring the thickness of walls in electroconductive pipes is reduced to
finding functional dependence between the informative parameters of the attachable ECT and the mea-
sured pipe parameter, that is the wall thickness t, with tuning out from the effect of a wide variance in the
gap h between the ECT and the inspected pipe surface and in the electrical conductivity σ of the pipe
material.
The most efficient way to tune out from the effect of several concurrent influencing parameters on the
results of eddy-current testing is to use a multifrequency eddy-current excitation [9–11].
Figure 2 shows the hodographs of the relative added voltage of the attachable ECT (see Fig. 1) vs the
change in the electrical conductivity (the dashed line), the gap (the dashed-dot line), and the thickness
(the solid line) that have been calculated by the finite-element method [12, 13] for two excitation-current
frequencies of 2500 Hz (the diamond shapes in the complex plane) and 125 Hz (the circles in the complex
plane). Numerical modeling was performed for pipes with an outer diameter of 147 mm and an attachable
transformer differential ECT with the following design parameters: the outer and inner energizing-coil
diameters of 40 and 32 mm, respectively; the height of 10 mm; the diameter of the middle turn of the mea-
suring and bucking coils of 30 mm; and the distance of 16 mm between the planes of the measuring- and
bucking-coil middle turns that are symmetrically located relative to the energizing coil.
The frequencies were chosen so that the magnetic-field penetration depth is approximately equal to
half the wall thickness at the high frequency f1 and exceeds it at the low frequency f2. In this case, the added
voltage of the eddy-current transducer depends on the gap h and the electrical conductivity σ of the mate-
rial at the first frequency and on the gap h, the electrical conductivity σ of the material, and the wall thick-
ness t at the second frequency.
Analysis of the dependences in Fig. 2 shows that wall-thickness information can be gathered by mea-
suring the phase of the low-frequency added voltage. In this case, the affecting parameters would be the
changes in the gap and in the material’s electrical conductivity that affect, although to a smaller extent,
the phase of the added voltage. Detuning from the influence of the above parameters can be achieved by
means of measuring the high-frequency added voltage.
TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DUAL-FREQUENCY METHOD

OF EDDY-CURRENT THICKNESS GAUGING
The flow chart of the proposed eddy-current thickness gauge (hereinafter, the thickness gauge) that
implements the dual-frequency method of testing is depicted in Fig. 3. It contains two generators 1 and 2
of harmonic waves at frequencies f1 and f2, synchronization circuit 3, summator 4, ECT with energizing 5,
measuring 6, and bucking 7 coils, subtractor 8, amplitude-phase detectors 9–12, integrating digitizers 13–16,
computing unit 17, and display device 18.
RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING Vol. 53 No. 8 2017

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ISSN 1061-8309, Russian Journal of Nondestructive Testing, 2017, Vol. 53, No. 8, pp. 588–595. © Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.

An Eddy-Current Gauge for Measuring

POSING THE PROBLEM

Fig. 1. Attachable ECT over an electroconductive pipe.

TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DUAL-FREQUENCY METHOD

RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF NONDESTRUCTIVE TESTING Vol. 53 No. 8 2017

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