Blockage detection method and associated system

摘要

A method of detecting the presence or absence of a blockage in an enclosed environment is provided. The method includes introducing an acoustic wave into the enclosed environment; receiving at sensor locations the acoustic wave and any reflected acoustic wave caused by the acoustic wave contacting a blockage; and, analyzing the acoustic wave and any reflected acoustic wave to determine the presence or absence of the blockage. The method can also include coherently accumulating into a digitized data array an electrical response indicative of the received acoustic wave and any reflected acoustic wave caused by the blockage. The method can further include computing a correlation between the introduced acoustic wave and the digitized data array. A system is also disclosed for detecting the presence or absence of a blockage in an enclosed environment. The system can include a communications interface for remote analysis and/or control of the system by a user. In another aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided that contains instructions for controlling a computer to perform detection and analysis on blockages in an enclosed environment. The instructions comprise constructing an interrogation waveform at a predetermined sampling rate; directing a transmitter to introduce an interrogation acoustic wave into the enclosed environment; coherently accumulating an electrical response into a digitized array representative of the interrogation acoustic waves and the acoustic waves reflected from a blockage; and, computing a correlation between said interrogation acoustic wave and said digitized data array.