3M Systems Locates Plastic Pipes

摘要

A practical and cost-efficient method to accurately locate buried plastic pipe has been developed by 3M, addressing the inability of conventional locating equipment to detect HDPE, MDPE and PVC pipe and conduit that does not contain tracer wire. The 3M technology uses passive electronic markers packaged with a carrier similar to caution tape or a rope which is placed near or above the pipe. An operator on the ground above the pipe uses a handheld locator to generate a radio signal which is received by the marker and reflected back to the transmitter, identifying the marker's exact location, type of utility, depth and path. Positioned at intervals along the pipe, a crew member can quickly identify and mark the path of the pipe. Locating plastic pipe is a continuing challenge because the primary utility locating tool - a two-component electromagnetic system -can locate plastic pipe only if tracer wire is attached. For years, utility owners and operators have used tracer wires to make plastic facilities locatable, but there thousands of miles of plastic pipe in the ground without tracer wire that is considered un-locatable by electromagnetic equipment because the wire was incorrectly installed or it has been cut or corroded.