Seeing from above, What's below: How Drones Can Be Used in Pipeline Design and Construction

摘要

The Northeast Transmission Line is a joint project between the City of Houston and several major regional water authorities. It is a series of 120- and 108-in. water transmission lines, with 96, 84, 66, and 54-in interconnections which will convey water from the currently expanding Northeast water purification plant across the north of the City and to the wider region. Although the waterline will be buried, it still provides ample opportunity for the use of drones during construction. They have been used to capture preconstruction conditions, to track construction progress, and to document milestone steps in the construction progress. Additionally, drones have been utilized by the City to document existing conditions at two of its main repump facilities in order to provide useful training and reference tools to plant staff.