Determining the Depth and Location of Buried Pipeline by Magnetometer Survey

Abstract

This paper proposes a new approach to determine the depth and location of buried pipelines using the remote magnetic field measured by aboveground magnetometer surveys. Calculation is presented and verified by the experimental results on 152-mm (6-in.). steel vessels. Performance of the technique is also evaluated through field trials against industrial pipe locators. The depth calculated from the measured magnetic field using this proposed technique agreed within the tolerance interval representing the confidence level of 99.7% of the depth determined by the industrial devices and was able to trend changes of the buried depth. In addition, it was possible to map the target pipeline using the survey route coordinates by calculating the lateral position of the survey route relative to the pipeline centerline from the measured magnetic field. So far, the depth measured by this proposed technique has shown a potential error of 8%. By producing a three-dimensional profile of buried pipelines through quick aboveground surveys, the proposed technique can be considered as a screening technique for asset and integrity management such as monitoring geohazard conditions.