Research on In-situ Three-dimensional Imaging Technology of Local Corrosion of Carbon Steel Based on Ultrasonic Array Monitoring Technology

ZHANG Yuanqing; ZHANG Wei; LIU Fuguo; CHEN Yunda

doi:10.7643/ issn.1672-9242.2026.05.018

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Equipment Environmental Engineering ›› 2026, Vol. 23 ›› Issue (5) : 156-168. DOI: 10.7643/ issn.1672-9242.2026.05.018

Research on In-situ Three-dimensional Imaging Technology of Local Corrosion of Carbon Steel Based on Ultrasonic Array Monitoring Technology

ZHANG Yuanqing¹, ZHANG Wei^1,2,*, LIU Fuguo³, CHEN Yunda⁴

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Abstract

The work aims to develop a corrosion monitoring method adaptable to complex service conditions, to address the difficulty in achieving in-situ, continuous, and quantitative characterization of localized corrosion in oil and gas pipelines, enable high-precision three-dimensional reconstruction and engineering-level quantitative evaluation of localized corrosion morphology in carbon steel, and provide technical support for accurate corrosion damage assessment and life prediction. An in-situ 3D ultrasonic imaging monitoring platform with a permanently mounted design was established based on a 5×5 PZT transducer array. A chloride-containing corrosive environment was simulated using 3.5 wt.% NaCl solution, and localized corrosion at different development stages was induced by applying currents of 50 mA (3 h) and 100 mA (21 h). A temperature-compensated shear-wave time-of-flight (ToF) thickness inversion model was developed, and combined with signal processing algorithms to achieve 3D reconstruction of corrosion morphology. Based on the measurements of the 3D ultra-depth-of-field microscope, the quantitative accuracy and morphology characterization ability of this technology were verified through comparative analysis. Under corrosion conditions of 50 mA (3 h) and 100 mA (21 h), the maximum thickness losses measured by in-situ ultrasonic imaging were 47.10 μm and 1 046.42 μm, respectively. Compared with the ultra-depth-of-field microscope measurements of 45.75 μm and 1 052.87 μm, the relative errors were 3.0% and 0.61%, respectively. The temperature compensation model effectively eliminated thickness drift caused by temperature fluctuations. The ultrasonic imaging results showed high agreement with optical microscopy in terms of pit location and overall morphology. Further analysis indicated that corrosion product layers significantly attenuated ultrasonic signal amplitude, especially for multiple-reflection echoes, while having limited influence on ToF-based thickness measurements. The proposed in-situ 3D ultrasonic imaging technique enables continuous and quantitative monitoring of localized corrosion in carbon steel without interrupting the corrosion process or completely removing protective coatings. The measurement error is maintained at the level of a few percent or lower. The method exhibits good in-situ capability, repeatability, and environmental adaptability, and can effectively characterize the full evolution process of localized corrosion from initiation to severe stages, demonstrating strong potential for long-term online monitoring of pipelines and applications in complex structural regions such as bends and elbows.

Key words

in-situ three-dimensional ultrasound imaging / local corrosion / corrosion monitoring / shear wave / temperature compensation / non-destructive testing / internal corrosion of pipeline

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ZHANG Yuanqing, ZHANG Wei, LIU Fuguo, CHEN Yunda. Research on In-situ Three-dimensional Imaging Technology of Local Corrosion of Carbon Steel Based on Ultrasonic Array Monitoring Technology[J]. Equipment Environmental Engineering. 2026, 23(5): 156-168 https://doi.org/10.7643/ issn.1672-9242.2026.05.018

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