Prevent water pipeline leaks with our patented state of the art remote field technology.
Do you know the condition of your water pipelines? Do you want to extend the life cycle of your existing pipelines? Do you want to save money by not having to needlessly replace good pipelines?
PICA is a company that can help identify the condition of your pipelines using it's patented state of the art Remote Field Technology (RFT) See Snake tool designed specifically for pipeline inspection. Join the growing list of water, waste water, and private companies around the world who have used our service. To date PICA has inspected 660,000' (200 kms) of water pipeline using the Hydroscope technique.
Identify the problem to help save you money, our systems will detect everything from large flaws done to the smallest defect in the pipeline without making contact with the pipe wall.
In a 2007 report released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an estimated 240,000 water main breaks per year just in the United States. The number of breaks increase substantially near the end of the system's service life. Large utility breaks in the Midwest increased from 250 per year to 2,200 per year during a 19-year period.
The US Geological Survey estimates that water lost from water distribution systems is 1.7 trillion gallons per year at a national cost of $2.6 billion per year.
PICA is the world leading pipeline inspection company with over 40 years experience in NDT and remote field technology
There is a demand in the market for improved probability of detection (P.O.D.) and exceptional accuracy for sizing of corrosion pits. Competing tools that use Magnetic Flux Leakage (MFL) require intimate contact with the pipe wall in order to achieve acceptable flaw sizing. Unfortunately many pipelines have internal deposits of wax, scale or sand and others are lined with cement mortar, epoxy or polyethylene, preventing the effective use of MFL tools. See Snake technology, on the other hand, requires no contact with the pipe wall, and can measure through scale, wax and non-magnetic liners. In fact, See Snake tools have a minimum clearance of 0.250” (6.3mm) to allow passage of the tool past weld roots, dents and internal deposits
The See Snake Tool advantage.
1. Non-contact NDT method.
2. Equally sensitive to internal and external flaws.
3. Complete coverage at fast inspection speeds.
4. Accurate results that identify both the severity and location of areas of wall thinning.
5. Novel mechanical design can accommodate ID variations as well as traverse sharp bends.
6. Compact and transport friendly.
Features
Flexible. So flexible in fact that they can be made to negotiate multiple 90 degree welded elbows.
Water proof. They can be pumped through the pipeline with the product flow, or with compressed air.
Rugged. They have have no external movable parts (Unlike MFL tools) so there is nothing to break off or get caught when passing through valves, tees and branches.
Fast. Inspection speeds of 0.5 to 1 km/hour are normal in common pipe wall thickness (0.125" to 0.156"). All data is stored on board and is downloaded over USB or Blue Tooth connection after the run.
Measures more information: because See Snakes use "Remote Field Technology" (a through transmission, A.C. technique) they have equal sensitivity to internal or external pits. They also measure both remaining wall thickness and surface area (length and width) with accuracy that competing technologies cannot match.
Measures Stress. Pipelines that are under external stress due to soil movement, bridging, inadequate support, rippling or denting have local variations in magnetic permeability that are measured by the tools. While these are not precisely quantified, they are detected very well, and can be quickly located.
No Magnets. Unlike MFL tools, See Snake tools contain no magnets, so they can be pushed with relative ease. If an air compressor is used, a pressure of 25 psig is often enough to push the tool.
Detected from the surface. No need for an extra "Sonde" for tool tracking. See snake signals are detectable from above ground because their unique signal travels through the wall of the pipe and up to the surface of the soil in an instant. Above ground markers can track the passage of the tools, and locate them quickly if they get stuck.
Data Analysis is semi-automatic and a report is created as the analysis is being performed. Depending on the line condition, analysis and reporting can be done in the field, but is usually done the next day, off-site, to reduce labour costs.
Application
Inspect pipelines prior to purchase or after construction to ensure integrity.
After a pipeline failure: check several km each side of the repair for more corrosion damage.
Check an old or abandoned line before re-commissioning it.
See Snake (free swimming)Tools are currently available to inspect 3”, 4”, 6”, 8”, 12”, 16” and 20, 24 (new),30” pipes. Tethered Tools are also available in the same size range. For larger diameter pipewe offer Tools that can be assembled inside a de watered pipeline, in sizes up to 120. For further details on the 24” Tool and other Tools offered by PICA: Pipeline Inspectionand ConditionAnalysis UK.
Adept Pro Software
See Snake data analysis is semi-automatic and a report is created as the analysis is being performed. Depending on the line condition, analysis and reporting can be done in the field, but is usually done the next day, off-site, to reduce labour costs.
The multi-channel See Snake Tools inspect 360° of the pipe. The data is displayed as color map, strip-chart logs and voltage planes. The screen capture below shows two pits at 6 o’clock.
Ferazzi House
Liverpool, L30 4UA
tel: 07591085150
fax: +44-151-530-4864
Waste water pipeline inspection
Do you have high risk waste water pipelines?
In a report released by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), since 2003 hundreds of municipal sewer authorities have been fined for violations, including spills that make people sick, threaten local drinking water and kill aquatic animals and plants. Fines totaling $35 million were assessed.
The report indicates, 3 billion to 10 billion gallons of raw sewage spill accidentally every year, in the estimated 1.2 million miles of waste water pipelines snaking underground across the USA. Causes of these spills include improper connections, clogs from debris, construction accidents and cracks in aging pipes.
Some examples are:
- a 42" pipe ruptured, spilling about 20 million gallons of sewage into the Pennsylvania's Schuylkill River.
- a damaged pipe spilled 700,000 to 1.3 million gallons of human feces and other waste into the Grand Lagoon at Panama Beach, Fla.
Don't let this happen to you.
PICA is a company that can help identify the condition of your waste water pipelines using it's patented state of the art Remote Field Technology (RFT) See Snake tool. Join the growing list of water, waste water, and private companies around the world who have used our pipeline inspection service.
To date PICA has sucessfully inspected 688,976' (210 kms) of water mains
