THE MAGAZINE FOR THE DRAINAGE, WATER & WASTEWATER INDUSTRIES
PRODUCT NEWS
the required accuracy, have been a considerable problem in the past being extremely time consuming where men-entry was still allowed, or even impossible with respect to occupational health and safety reasons and the small diameter of the pipelines.
The automation of this survey requirement during longer and curved drives has, for some time, been an active goal for navigation system developer, VMT.
Now, that goal has been reached with the launch of TUnIS. pipelight, a camera-based assistance system for carrying out automated control surveys. It improves the precision of gyro- based navigation systems for pipe jacking and Direct Pipe projects in small and even non-accessible diameter areas.
How it works
TUnIS.pipelight acts as an automated traverse measurement and establishes a geometric connection between the fixed- point field in the launch shaft and the tunnelling machine. Novel sensors with a very compact design determine angles by means of cameras that are monitoring LED light points. Together with defined distances between the sensor units, it is then possible to transfer the coordinates of fixed points in the launch shaft directly to the machine. The actual position of a reference point close to the machine determined in this manner can then be used for calibration of the gyro navigation system to ensure accuracy as the machine continues to advance.
The automated traverse measurement determines the actual position of the tunnelling machine and therefore enables the calibration of the gyro navigation system without any significant interruption to the tunnelling process. With this new method, the traverse measurement is not performed using the usual total stations, but with significantly more compact camera sensors, which can also be used in very small pipes and pipeline diameters (<1,300 mm). This enables complex alignment
FOLLOW US
geometried to be realised with adequate accuracy, even when dealing with small diameter tunnelling operations.
Benefits The use of the new TUnIS.pipelight are numerous including:
■ New opportunities for tunnel alignment of small pipe jacking and direct pipe jobs: longer drives thanks to higher accuracy
■ Automated control measurements that ensure more precise navigation with expected deviation of <500 mm in 800 m long drive on small or even non-accessible Direct Pipe projects.
■ Longer and curved drives possible in Pipe jacking with diametres below 1,200 mm with expected horizonal deviations of <100 mm in200 m (vertical deviations much smaller when using hydrostatic water level system)
■ Reduced downtime because the control survey takes on average 30 minutes instead of several hours
■ Increase in daily output which offers savings in energy costs, personnel and rental equipment
■ No need for man-entry and safety concepts in DN1200- 1400
■ Full integration into the navigation system as an add-on to TUniS Navigation MTGyro
For VMT, Jürgen Göckel, Business Development Microtunnelling said: “With TUnIS.pipelight it is now possible, for the first time, to carry out automated and high-quality control surveys in very small and even non-accessible Microtunnelling and Direct Pipe drives. This opens up completely new possibilities for the design of tunnel alignments. The use of camera technology for the determination of angles and distances is unique in this field of application and enables a very compact design of the sensors, which can also be used in very confined spaces.”
December 2023 | 65
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