Identification of the Properties of Soils and Defect Detection of Buried Pipes Using Torsional Guided Waves

Abstract

A technique is presented that uses a circular waveguide for the measurement of the bulk shear (S-wave) velocities of unconsolidated, saturated media, with particular application to near surface soils. The technique requires the measurement of the attenuation characteristics of the fundamental torsional mode that propagate along an embedded pipe, from which the acoustic properties of the surrounding medium are inferred. From the dispersion curve analysis, the feasibility of using fundamental torsional mode which is non-dispersive and have constant attenuation over all frequency range is discussed. The principles behind the technique are discussed and the results of an experimental laboratory validation are presented. The experimental data are best fitted for the different depths of wetted sand and the shear velocities are evaluated as a function of depths. Also the characteristics of the reflected signal from the defects are examined and the reflection coefficients are calculated for identifying the relation between defect sizes and the magnitude of the reflected signal.