Investigation of Measurement Method for Thickness of Hot Springs Scale Using Electromagnetic Force Vibration

Geothermal power generation is a method of generating electricity using steam from underground hot springs. Components contained in this hot spring water, such as silicon dioxide and sulfur, accumulate on the inner walls of steel pipes at geothermal power plants as hot spring scale. This hot spring scale can cause the pipes in geothermal power plants to become clogged. Therefore, it is important to determine the thickness of the hot spring scale deposited on the inside of the steel pipe from the outside of the pipe. In this research, an inspection method is proposed to measure the thickness of the hot spring scale inside a steel pipe using electromagnetic force vibration. The proposed inspection method was then used to investigate steel pipes actually used in a geothermal power plant, demonstrating its usefulness.