Patent · US Expired

Acoustic tracing of buried conduits

US5412989A · kind A · utility

9Cited by
7References
26Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateDec 28, 1992
Grant dateMay 9, 1995
Priority date
Expiry dateDec 28, 2012

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG01V1/001
  • WIPO fieldMeasurement
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Buried fluid containing conduits, such as natural gas lines, are located by providing variable frequency sinusoidal excitation acoustic signals over a broad frequency range to the fluid content of the conduit so that the conduit will vibrate and cause elastic vibration in the media in which such conduit is buried. A plurality of measurements of said vibrations are taken on the surface of the media or ground in which such conduit is buried. The measurements are taken laterally of the estimated position of the conduit. The position of the conduit is determined by changes in the characteristics of the vibrations caused by the differences in distances between the pipe and the measurements.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.