National Grid – AC CIPS

This was a pure Research & Development project on behalf of National Grid with a remit to explore potential technologies, develop software and prove the algorithms for an AC CIPS device. The problem faced by National Grid and global pipeline companies is the fact that overhead power lines had been proven to induce high AC currents and voltages onto buried pipelines. In certain circumstances this AC current would dissipate through a small defect in the pipeline insulation and rapidly corrode the pipe to the point of failure. The project involved researching the underlying physics, mathematics and then designing a set of hardware and software and algorithms for undertaking a practical pipeline survey for AC CIPS.

The project took place over a number of years and yielded very promising results with the technology then being incorporated into the National Grid Smart Survey Device. A number of global patents have since been applied for.

National Grid – UK

Project Management / R&D / Filed Trials / Patent Application

September 2010 – December 2012