5 Challenges of Underground Utility Locators

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5 Challenges of Underground Utility Locators

• https//www.exarotec.com/

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• There are various underground utilities which
  workers can come across during excavation or
  construction. These can be oil pipes, gas pipes,
  electricity and telephone wires, water pipes and
  sewage channels. The purpose of locating these
  utility lines is to reduce safety threat,
  resource wastage, avoid project delays and avoid
  utility disruptions. The accurate marking of
  these utilities is important for a project to
  remain within budget limit and avoid unnecessary
  delays. During locating underground utilities,
  there are certain challenges which can be
  encountered. This article discusses 5 challenges
  of underground utility locators.

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Poorly Insulated Utility

• Utility locators such as GPR and X-ray scanners
  cannot function well in poorly insulated
  utilities. The strength of signals induced in
  poorly insulated utilities weakens as they travel
  along the line, which make it difficult to detect
  the subsurface utilities. The utility lines
  metal surface comes in contact with the soil,
  deflecting the signal to travel through the soil.
  Since these signals dont travel along the cable,
  they lose their strength over some distance. The
  signal strength weakens significantly if the area
  is big. A well-insulated line can be difficult to
  detect if it has lost insulation over time.

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Proximity to Other Kinds of Utilities

• If too many utility lines lie underground very
  close to each other, it can be very difficult to
  identify them. The identification is difficult as
  the induced signal might travels from the target
  utility to another utility instead of locators
  transmitter. The electromagnetic field created by
  the current flowing to the neighboring utility
  fluctuates rhythmically. The electromagnetic
  field of the nearby utility affects the target
  utilitys electromagnetic field. Other than this,
  due to the powerful signal strength for of GPR
  utility location will not be over the target,
  rather it can be driven to nearby utilities.
• If two utility lines parallel to each other over
  a long distance, then the issue can increase
  significantly because the electromagnetic field
  created by both utilities can become so strong
  that it can merge to create a single field.
  Hence, Cathodic Protection Engineering locator
  will not be unable to differentiate between the
  two utility lines and will only show a single
  utility line.

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Commonly Bonded Utility

• To divert high-voltage current to the earth,
  electric utilities are often bonded together so
  that can be grounded combinely. Due to this,
  electrical current will flow on all commonly
  bonded utilities. This impedes the GPR locator to
  induce an electromagnetic signal only in one
  utility. Hence, only one utility cannot be
  targeted. For accurate identification, it is
  recommended to temporarily break the common bond
  of the utilities. After the location procedure is
  performed, they can be bonded together again.

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Utility Composition

• The material of utility can also affect the
  identification of a target utility. Some locators
  can only detect specific material utility lines,
  such as metal, which conducts electricity. Lines
  made of material such as plastic or terra cotta
  cannot be detected. If a metallic utility is
  corroded, then it can be hard to detect and
  locate as it impedes the flow of electrons. In
  this case, the locator does not indicate accurate
  results especially where it makes turns.

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Utility Depth

• The Digital Concrete Rebar Scanning fields weaken
  farther from their source. The field loses its
  strength especially when a conductive material
  such as soil is encountered. The amount of soil
  between the target utility line and the
  detectors receiver affect the detection
  abilities.
• Exaro Technology
• If you are into construction, and need GPR
  utility location services, get in touch with our
  experienced and skilled team of professionals at
  Exaro Technology. We provide a full range of
  non-destructive underground location services,
  for successful excavation and construction
  projects.