Tunnel Data Capture Enhancement

Completed

Other Power and Storage Technologies(Electricity transmission and distribution)

Applied Research and Development

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY (Civil Engineering)

Not Cross-cutting

Project Contact
Eastern Power Networks plc

Network Innovation Allowance

Ofgem

01 November 2015

01 May 2017

18 months

£240,000

Power

London

Network Innovation Allowance

Project Contact, Eastern Power Networks plc

Project Contact, South Eastern Power Networks plc
Project Contact, UK Power Networks

The objectives of the project are to: Identify methods of inspection that are currently used on other assets that enable enhanced data capture. Capture sufficient data as part of tunnel inspections in order to reduce the need for staff to enter tunnels and enable condition based monitoring of tunnel sections. This will provide a reduced chance of injury to staff and minimised risk of failure of equipment by employing a proactive approach to improved inspection and monitoring. Test the identified methods and/or peer review to confirm observations noted that provide a true representation of the degrading health of the assets. Develop the tunnel inspection strategy to enable a condition based monitoring approach to tunnel inspections. The success of the project will be judged against the four objectives described below:- Recommended list of tunnel inspection techniques- Test case report on the innovative inspection techniques in tunnels- Developed tunnel inspection strategy that includes condition based monitoring of assets within tunnels

Within UK Power Networks operating licence areas there are 45 km DNO owned tunnels, this accounts for 34% of the total DNO owned tunnels in the GB. LPN - 35km Cable Tunnel Owned by DNOSPN - 6km Cable Tunnel Owned by DNOEPN - 4km Cable Tunnel Owned by DNO All GB DNOs - 131km Cable Tunnel Owned by DNO In addition to DNO owned cable tunnels, there are often third party tunnels within urban centres, including tunnels owned by National Grid, local councils and other utilities which are utilised by DNOs. Both DNO and third party owned tunnels represent complex confined spaces and may pose an enhanced level of risk to people entering them. The aims of this project are to: 1. Use new and innovative techniques to enhance the monitoring of assets within tunnels to more accurately calculate the health of the assets. 2. Improve data collection within tunnels to develop condition based maintenance and inspection where possible. 1. Improve public and employee safety by reducing the risk of disruptive failures and identifying joint, cable and tunnel defects. 2. Develop a proactive repair/replacement regime to reduce the impact of cable and joint faults on customer service reliability (reduced CIs and CMLs) 3. Improve public and employee safety by reducing the risk of disruptive failures and identifying joint, cable and tunnel defects. 4. Develop a proactive repair/replacement regime to reduce the impact of cable and joint faults on customer service reliability (reduced CIs and CMLs) These deliverables will minimise the risk to both staff carrying out work in the tunnels and the public in its locality by reducing the number of visits within the tunnels and enhancing the knowledge of the health of assets within the tunnel. The project is split into three key phases: Phase 1: Literature Review of Enhanced Inspection Techniques - Identification of tunnel inspection techniques to measure the condition of assets within tunnels (e. g. joints, cables, equipment, supports, tunnel fabric and fixed access equipment etc. ) It is envisaged this may include: Liaison with other tunnel owners to develop an understanding of best in class inspections; Review of related company, national and international standards to identify beneficial practices; Enhanced photography to provide a virtual walk through of the tunnel; Use of specialist partial discharge equipment to assess the health of assets during the inspection; Deployment of continuous partial discharge monitoring to asses changes to equipment over time; Use of mobile 3D laser scanning equipment to quickly identify movement of assets within the tunnel and of the tunnel structure itself. Proposal of the enhanced tunnel inspection techniques that should be implemented and trialled- Selection of techniques based on recommendation and peer review Phase 2: Develop, design and build technology & inspect tunnels using advanced techniques- Develop, design and build one/two prototype devices or obtain existing equipment that is commercially available or enhance commercially available equipment- Train a small number of inspectors on the use of prototype or equipment- Support further development of units based on feedback of use by inspectors- Peer review each inspection technique to identify the safest and most cost effective method of tunnel inspection Phase 3: Development of equipment, systems and policies - Return of prototype units and production of up to five devices- Produce instructional guide on useof technology- Produce report detailing how the system works and tunnel inspection & maintenance policies- Training on use of unit to all inspectors- Production of a strategy for the enhanced inspection of tunnels to be available to all GB DNOsNote : Project Documents may be available via the ENA Smarter Networks Portal using the Website link above

17/12/18