October 2014, Vol. 69, No. 10
Features
New Water Assessment Technology Provides Detailed Data
Global Asset Management Engineering Consultants (GAME) has introduced to North American pipeline assessment technology that provides pipe wall thickness plus three dimensional and closed-circuit television (CCTV) inspections of water mains in diameters from four to 12 inches.
JD7 PipeScan+ technology provides a real time pipe wall measurement and high definition video inspection without interrupting service to customers, said Piero Salvo, P.M., GAME president. Equipment is inserted through an existing fire hydrant or tap inside a valve chamber.
“To our knowledge,” said Salvo, “there is no other technology on the market that can provide an internal pipe wall thickness using ultrasound technology, without interrupting the water service.”
The JD7 unit is s 320-foot-long umbilical unit with an ultrasonic head that measures the pipe wall thickness, a high definition camera head and a computer that allows for remote visual and pipe wall measurement monitoring.
“To access a hydrant,” said Salvo, “we need to isolate the hydrant and replace the hydrant’s core with our launch mechanism. Once installed, the hydrant valve is opened to allow entry into the pipe. Once we get to the hydrant tee, we can torque in either direction, advance the unit as far as we can and then start scanning the pipe on the way back. The pullback rate is controlled by a drive mechanism and the computer program. For valve chamber tap access, a minimum opening of three inches is required.”
Set-up from a project in Thames Water, London, UK, which varies from North American procedure.
Testing continues
The PipeScan+ was commercially released in the United Kingdom (UK) in early to mid-2014 and is currently being used by Thames Water and Yorkshire Water, said Salvo. To date there have been 300 insertions in the UK, 20 in Australia and 10 in Asia. The average length of inspection has been about 100 meters per insertion; therefore approximately 20.5 miles of pipe have been inspected. In terms of material being inspected, approximately 70 percent has been cast iron pipe, 28 percent has been ductile iron pipe (80 percent of it with lining), and 2 percent has been plastic pipe.
The technology is used for both water mains and gas mains in the UK, said Salvo.
The equipment is manufactured by JD7 Ltd., Derby, UK. GAME Consultants, in collaboration with JD7, is conducting testing and execution in North America.
First North American testing of the PipeScan+ was completed in early September in Canada in the Montreal area.
“The technology is available in the U.S. and the inspection work is being done by GAME Consultants with JD7,” said Salvo.
Based in Port St. Lucie, FL, and Montreal, Quebec, Canada, GAME Consultants also owns and operates the JD7 Investigator+ and JD7 LDS1000 systems that provide live condition assessment with high definition video and hydrophone leak detection. Neither system requires system shutdown for insertion of equipment.
The JD7 Investigator+ allows GAME to provide visual and leak detection inspections through a hydrant insertion, similar to the PipeScan+, for pipes ranging from four to 12 inches, with an umbilical of 330 feet.
FOR MORE INFO:
Global Asset Management Engineering Consultants, (855) 660-GAME (4263), www.gameconsultants.net
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