Autonomous Underwater Vehicles for Pipeline Inspection

Introduction:
There are thousands of miles of pipelines underneath the surface of the ocean that are used to transport materials from one place to another. Specifically there are over 760 miles of pipes that stretch from Europe to Russia alone. Underwater operations are still underdeveloped in terms of the vehicles and the technology that we humans have at our disposal to safely and efficiently conduct maintenance and inspections on these pipes. We have managed to fly to outerspace and land on the moon but traveling underwater is still a field that raises many difficulties. Underwater unmanned vehicles, or UUV for short, have been designed and created for the purpose of combating some of the major issues we have with underwater operations.

Method:
Throughout our final paper for AT 219, we did a large amount of research into the topic of pipeline inspections using unmanned aircraft. While unmanned vehicles are mainly used for the inspection of pipes on the ground, I found that there is a specific field in which drones are created just to inspect the pipes that are beneath the surface of the water. From here, I did more research into some of the specific drones and tools that companies use for these inspections.

Discussion:
UUV are quickly overtaking manned operations for underwater pipe inspections. These underwater vehicles are able to quickly collect a vast amount of information and photographs for long periods of time. Before, many teams would go down underwater and try to inspect the miles and miles of pipes by sight or photograph. These new unmanned vehicles are able to travel at high speeds and take pictures of the pipes all while keeping the individuals out of harms way. (Figure.1)This saves companies an enormous amounts of time and money in the long run. There is a countless number of tools and technology that crews have at their disposal to conduct these inspections. UUV are equipped with high-definition cameras and laser profilers and, as mentioned before, transmit large amounts of data the the crew doing the inspection. Alongside this sonar (Figure.2) is used with the photographs to create a topographic map (Figure.3) of the pipelines which allows better inspection of the pipelines rather than just visually looking at it.

(Figure.1 UUV used for inspections)

(Figure.2 Sonar from UUV used to determine topography)

(Figure.3 Topographic map created from UUV inspection)

Conclusion:
Underwater inspection of pipelines is a difficult and time consuming task that risks the safety of the pipes as well as the team inspecting them. With UUV, teams of less people can safely and efficiently inspect miles and miles of pipes in order to pinpoint damages or leaks in the pipes. With technology always evolving, this field of unmanned vehicles will only continue to grow, making these inspections even more efficient.