Systems and methods for non-invasive determination of properties of pressure vessels

1 . A system for determining target properties of a pressure vessel, the system comprising:

a signal generator acoustically coupled to a fluid contained in the pressure vessel and disposed at an external surface of a wall of the pressure vessel, the signal generator to directly emit acoustic signals into the fluid;

a plurality of sensors acoustically coupled to the fluid and disposed externally to the pressure vessel to detect the acoustic signals;

a gas sensor configured to determine dissolved gas parameters of the fluid contained within the pressure vessel;

a control device interconnected with the signal generator and the plurality of sensors, the control device configured to:

control the signal generator to directly emit acoustic signals into the fluid;

obtain sensor data from the plurality of sensors, the sensor data representing the acoustic signals as received by the plurality of sensors;

obtain the dissolved gas parameters from the gas sensor;

compute, based on the sensor data and the dissolved gas parameters, the target properties of the pressure vessel; and

output an indication of the target properties,

wherein the target properties comprise one or more of: a thickness of the wall of the pressure vessel, and a location of a fault in the pressure vessel.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control device is further to:

obtain predefined parameters of the pressure vessel and the fluid contained therein; and

compute the target properties based on the sensor data and the predefined parameters.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein, prior to controlling the signal generator to emit the acoustic signals, the control device is further to calibrate the signal generator and the plurality of sensors.

4 . The system of claim 3 , wherein, to calibrate the signal generator and the plurality of sensors, the control device is to:

compute initial spectral pulse parameters based on predefined parameters of the pressure vessel and the fluid contained therein;

control the signal generator to emit test signals according to the initial spectral pulse parameters;

obtain test signal data at the plurality of sensors; and

adjust a strength of the test signals emitted by the signal generator based on the test signal data and according to a target received signal strength.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the control device is further to:

determine whether a threshold number of iterations of controlling the signal generator to emit acoustic signals and obtaining sensor data from the sensors has been reached; and

compute the target properties only when the determination is affirmative.

6 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising temperature control components coupled to the signal generator and the sensors to maintain respective operating temperatures of the signal generator and the sensors.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the signal generator further comprises an integrated reference sensor configured to detect the acoustic signal as emitted by the signal generator.

8 . A method for determining target properties of a pressure vessel, the method comprising:

controlling a signal generator to directly emit acoustic signals into a fluid contained in the pressure vessel from an external surface of a wall of the pressure vessel,

obtaining sensor data representing the acoustic signals as transmitted through the fluid, the sensor data obtained externally to the pressure vessel;

obtaining dissolved gas parameters of the fluid contained within the pressure vessel;

computing, based on the sensor data and the dissolved gas parameters, the target properties of the pressure vessel; and

outputting an indication of the target properties,

wherein the target properties comprise one or more of: a thickness of the wall of the pressure vessel, and a location of a fault in the pressure vessel.

9 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

obtaining predefined parameters of the pressure vessel and the fluid contained therein; and

computing the target properties based on the sensor data and the predefined parameters.

10 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising, prior to controlling the signal generator to emit the acoustic signals, calibrating the signal generator and a plurality of sensors configured to obtain the sensor data.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein calibrating the signal generator and the plurality of sensors comprises:

computing initial spectral pulse parameters based on predefined parameters of the pressure vessel and the fluid contained therein;

controlling the signal generator to emit test signals according to the initial spectral pulse parameters;

obtaining test signal data from the plurality of sensors; and

adjusting a strength of the test signals emitted by the signal generator based on the test signal data and according to a target received signal strength.

12 . The method of claim 8 , further comprising:

determining whether a threshold number of iterations of controlling the signal generator to emit acoustic signals and obtaining sensor data has been reached; and

computing the target properties only when the determination is affirmative.