SBIR Phase I: Underground Pipe Locator

Quantum Magnetics, Inc., San Diego CA

Investigators

Abstract

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of using magnetic tensor gradiometry to both locate and determine the depth of buried underground and/or submerged underwater ferrous pipes. Detection and location of subsurface pipes is of great importance to the utility, natural gas, and petroleum industries. Existing techniques such as Ground Penetrating Radar suffer from a number of limitations, including the inability to accurately scan through multi-component soil and water. This technique uses passive magnetic gradiometry to detect underground and underwater ferrous pipes, and is unaffected by the presence of water. Commercial magnetometer-based pipe locators do not measure enough component of the magnetic field and the magnetic gradient to be able to correctly find the depth of the buried pipe. During Phase I, the feasibility of detecting and locating one ferrous pipe in the presence of other ferrous pipes in the vicinity will be studied. A magnetic tensor gradiometer based pipe locator will first find applications in the natural gas, petroleum, and the utility industries. In addition, the gradiometer could be easily adapted to find underground structures, underwater vehicles, buried current-carrying conductors, buried unexploded ordnance and mines and concealed weapons.