Magnetic internal corrosion detection sensor for exposed oil storage tanks

Magnetic internal corrosion detection sensor for exposed oil storage tanks

Finite element method

Inspection

Petroleum transportation

Gas industry

Oil tanks

Steel corrosion

Storage (materials)

Pitting

Rare earths

Magnetic storage

Permanent magnets

Corrosion in the oil and gas industry represents one of the major problems that affect oil production and transportation processes. Several corrosion-inspection technologies are in the market to detect internal and external corrosion of oil storage tanks, but inspection of storage tanks occurs every 3 to 7 years. In between inspection interval, aggressive corrosion can potentially occur, which makes the oil and gas industry vulnerable to accidents. This study proposes a new internal corrosion detection sensor based on the magnetic interaction between a rare-earth permanent magnet and the ferromagnetic nature of steel, used to manufacture oil storage tanks. Finite element analysis (FEA) software was used to analyze the effect of various sensor parameters on the attractive force between the magnet and the steel. The corrosion detection sensor is designed based on the FEA results. The experimental testing of the sensor shows that it is capable of detecting internal metal loss due to corrosion in oil storage tanks within approximately 8 mm of the internal surface thickness. The sensor showed more than two-fold improvement in the detection range compared to previous sensor proposed by the authors. Furthermore, the sensor of this paper provides a monitoring rather than occasional inspection solution. 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

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Aljarah, Ahmad

Vahdati, Nader

Butt, Haider

Sensors

2021

journalArticle

14248220

10.3390/s21072457

http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/s21072457