November 2009 Vol. 64 No. 11
Rehabilitation
Pipe Profiling Sonar Chosen for New York Contract
Two Model 1512 Pipe Profiling Sonars have been bought from Marine Electronics Ltd, UK, by the National Water Main Cleaning Co. of Newark, NJ.
The sonars are being used to provide a precise image below the water line of silt and debris build-up inside 700,000 feet of large diameter sewer pipes in New York City for a large inspection and cleaning contract.
Equipped with this latest sonar technology, engineers from National Water Main Cleaning Co., which is part of the Carylon Corporation, are now able to detect any damage and quantify the amount of silt and debris that has accumulated in any part of New York’s sewer network. This provides important cost benefits for customers by enabling cleaning crews to prioritise their work. Instead of scraping or hydro-jetting lengths of sewer pipe at random, images from the Marine Electronics Ltd Pipe Profiling Sonar’s can reveal the areas requiring most urgent attention. By removing the worst blockages as a priority, it will be possible to increase the capacity of New York’s sewer network without the need for any costly system expansion. It will also reduce the likelihood of fines being imposed due to environmental violations caused by flooding.
Although Carylon companies are regular users of CCTV systems for pipeline inspection, these are incapable of providing useful data below the water line. With the Marine Electronics Ltd 1512 sonar head mounted on a float or crawler, it can be pulled through the sewer to reveal exactly how much silt or debris is present below the water. When a CCTV camera is also mounted on the float, the exposed pipe can be visually inspected at the same time so that engineers can gain a complete understanding of the condition of the sewer.
Cable and CCTV camera systems were prepared by Inuktun of Vancouver who also integrated the Marine Electronics Ltd sonar system into the National Water Main Cleaning Co. truck. With the option of either 2,000 feet of copper cable or 7,000 feet of fibre optic cable, the two technologies can be deployed on a float or a motorised tractor/pig to inspect significant lengths of sewer. The images obtained can be presented as a split display on a PC to provide a real time view of the pipe above and below the water simultaneously.
The success and cost benefits of this technology have quickly resulted in other Carylon Corporation companies also buying the Marine Electronics Ltd 1512 sonar systems. Ace Pipe Cleaning Inc and Robinson Pipe Cleaning Co can now also provide a service that enables the most serious blockages to be prioritised while saving its customers money by eliminating the need to clean sewers where no significant blockages exist. Post cleaning inspections can also be performed below the water to assure customers that the work has been satisfactory.
For smaller diameter pipes Marine Electronics has developed the model 2512 to complement the model 1512; details of both can be viewed on www.marine-electronics.co.uk. +44 (0)1481 253181, Email: sales@marine-electronics.co.uk
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