Pipe survey method using UWB signal
AssigneeLouisiana Tech University Research Foundation; a division of Louisiana Tech University Foundation, Inc.
InventorsErez Allouche, Arun Prakash Jaganathan, Neven Simicevic
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method of surveying the condition of an underground enclosure including the steps of: (a) positioning at least one transmitter/receiver unit (including an antenna) within an underground, substantially nonconductive enclosure, such that a substantial air gap exists between the antenna and the inner wall of the enclosure; (b) transmitting an ultra wideband (UWB) signal toward at least a portion of the inner wall; and (c) processing the return signal in order to identify the interface between the soil and a region of conductivity different from the soil.
Claims20
A method of surveying the condition of an underground enclosure comprising:
- a. positioning at least one transmitter/receiver unit, including at least two antennas, within an underground, substantially nonconductive enclosure, wherein said antennas comprise a substantially in-line configuration;
- b. transmitting a UWB signal toward at least a portion of an inner wall of said enclosure;
- and
- c. processing a return signal from said transmitted signal in order to identify a distance between a receiver antenna and at least one of a liner/enclosure interface, a soil/enclosure interface or a void/enclosure interface.
A method of surveying the condition of an underground enclosure comprising:
- a. positioning a carriage assembly within an underground, substantially nonconductive enclosure, said carriage assembly comprising at least one transmitter/receiver unit including an antenna, wherein said antenna is capable of rotating with respect to said carriage assembly;
- b. transmitting a time domain UWB signal toward at least a portion of an inner wall of said enclosure;
- and
- c. processing a return signal from said transmitted signal in order to identify a distance between a receiver antenna and at least one of a liner/enclosure interface, a soil/enclosure interface or a void/enclosure interface.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.