Ricerc@Sapienza

In this work, an innovative system for structural health monitoring of metallic pipes is presented. The proposed system relies on exploiting the pipeline as a waveguide for the propagation of an electromagnetic (EM) signal. By analyzing the reflected signal, it is possible to assess the possible presence of anomalies or damage in the pipe.The innovative aspect of the proposed monitoring system is that the EM test signal is injected in the pipeline/waveguide through a coaxial/waveguide transition that is made on the surface of the pipe.

Events like earthquakes, landslides, tsunami and other important occurrences, related to human activities could affect heavily the security of the pipeline constructions. Pipeline used for transportation of gas, petroleum and other hydrocarbons could become dangerous for three main problems that can occur during the operation process:1-Explosions related to malfunction of the system itself; 2-defects of the utilized material; 3-Robbery and sabotage operations.

The transportation of hazardous materials via pipelines is often considered a safer alternative to other transportation modalities such as railway, road and ship. However, pipelines often cross industrial and highly populated areas, so that their failure can pose a significant risk to the surrounding environment and the exposed population: the possible release of flammable and/or toxic materials in such areas can generate catastrophic events with very severe consequences.