Fouling detection based on vibration analysis with the hammer impact test

Fouling detection is a persistent and relevant problem for the chemical, oil, food and pharmaceutical industries. The fouling process is the slow, unwanted layer deposition of heavy organic and other dissolved solid material out of transported fluids or suspensions onto inner wall surfaces in fluid transport system over an extended period of time. This work presents preliminary research results of vibrational hammer excitation for easy to use external non-invasive, non-destructive fouling detection in pipelines. The main goal is the detection of inner pipe layer formation, and thickness estimation of the adsorbed material. Data were taken from the temporal variation, and distortion / down shift of the natural vibrational pipe frequency spectrum in presence of an inner pipe fouling layer. The experimental set-up, sensitivity, observable frequency shift and spatial resolution of the method are outlined.