DETECTION OF SUBSURFACE FACILITIES INCLUDING NON-METALLIC PIPE
CyTerra has leveraged our unique, shallow buried plastic target detection technology developed under US Army contracts into deeper buried subsurface facilities and including nonmetallic pipe detection. This Final Report describes a portable, low-cost, real-time, and user-friendly subsurface plastic pipe detector (LULU- Low Cost Utility Location Unit) that relates to the goal of maintaining the integrity and reliability of the nation's natural gas transmission and distribution network by preventing third party damage, by detecting potential infringements. Except for frequency band and antenna size, the LULU unit is almost identical to those developed for the US Army. CyTerra designed, fabricated, and tested two frequency stepped GPR systems, spanning the frequencies of importance (200 to 1600 MHz), one low and one high frequency system. Data collection and testing was done at a variety of locations (selected for soil type variations) on both targets of opportunity and selected buried targets. We developed algorithms and signal processing techniques that provide for the automatic detection of the buried utility lines. The real time output produces a sound as the radar passes over the utility line alerting the operator to the presence of a buried object. Our unique, low noise/high performance RF hardware, combined with our field tested detection algorithms, represents an important advancement toward achieving the DOE potential infringement goal.
- Research Organization:
- CyTerra Corp. (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- FC26-01NT41315
- OSTI ID:
- 816112
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: 26 May 2003
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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