Electromagnetic Strategies for Locatable Plastic Pipe

Under Development

University of Tulsa More »

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)

Damage Prevention and Mitigation -- Pipe Locating

The project investigated two strategies for fabricating plastic pipe that are intrinsically responsive to electromagnetic interrogation from the surface. The first strategy is to incorporate encapsulated magnetic nanoparticles (see figure) that will exhibit a strong response to EM radiation from the surface. This approach has two significant advantages when compared to previous attempts. First, microcapsules will reduce some of the deleterious effects on mechanical properties that the inclusion of conductive particles can have. Second, the potential for self-healing of crack damage is introduced. The second strategy is to investigate the production of antennas that can be used with either active or passive RFID systems to provide both location and pipe data.

The project will investigate characterization of the utility type, depth, and pipe size. The information will also provide data about neighboring pipes to enable a distributed map of the utilities. This approach is focused on fabricating pipe structures in such a way as to produce a continuous production line to ensure cost-effective, locatable, plastic pipe.

Increased Safety - Unlocatable utilities are a significant source of accidents throughout the US and add significant costs to construction from repair of accidental damage to locating the utilities. One of the largest issues is the widespread use of plastic pipes. These materials are difficult to detect with traditional utility locating systems even when their location is approximately known.

https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/matrix/PrjHome.rdm?prj=633