Propagation of monopole source excited acoustic waves in a cylindrical high-density polyethylene pipeline

Acoustic wave propagation (up to 50 kHz) within a water-filled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipeline is studied using laboratory experiments and theoretical analysis. Experiments were carried out in a 15 m length of cylindrical HDPE pipeline using acoustic transducers to acquire signals uniformly spaced along the axis of the pipe. By proposing the use of the iterative quadratic maximum likelihood algorithm to this experimental configuration, wavenumbers, attenuations, and mode amplitudes could be accurately extracted from the measurement data. To allow comparisons with theoretical analysis, dispersion curves of the wavenumbers, attenuations, and acoustic power characteristics of the axisymmetric and nonaxisymmetric modes are predicted by extending an existing waveguide model. The model extensions included the introduction of a monopole acoustic source into the water medium so that amplitude variations with respect to individual modes and frequencies could be investigated in detail. In addition, stiffness coefficients of HDPE material are carefully used to account for viscoelastic effects. The comparisons between the theoretical predictions and experimental results demonstrate a very good match and are a validation of the theoretical model.