Propagation properties of acoustic waves inside periodic pipelines

Abstract

This paper presents a new method to model and to simulate the propagation properties of the acoustic wave in periodic pipelines. First, an ideal model of pipeline and its dispersion equations of acoustic waves are constructed and described in detail in order to implement this method. Subsequently, the classical finite difference method is applied to determine the boundary conditions of the pipelines. In addition, the transfer matrix method is used to simulate the propagation process of the acoustic waves inside the pipelines. Finally, by conducting length-limited periodic drill string experiments, it is shown that this model and algorithm can be used to obtain the acoustic-wave spectrum distribution and impulse response characteristics inside periodic pipelines under operational conditions. This method provides a theoretical basis for the fault diagnosis of acoustic-wave transmission systems for oil industry applications.