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Power cables tracking system
Teledyne TSS has extended its subsea monitoring expertise with introduction of what it claims is the worlds first tracking system for live seabed power cables, Powertrack. A variant of the Watford-based companys TSS 350 system used worldwide on ROVs, it is capable of detecting the harmonics of AC tones in all AC and DC utility cables regardless of whether they are carrying power or not.
Unlike conventional pipelines, cable versions have a much smaller metallic profile and are therefore considerably harder to detect, the company says.
Developed to meet the specific demands of the offshore power generation sector, the system weighs just 17kg and is depth rated to 3,000m. It is capable of detecting a cable at a vertical range of up to 10m and within a total horizontal swathe width, centred on a coil array, of 20m. Whenever power is not being carried by a cable at the time of a survey, a tone of 30mA at 25Hz can nonetheless be generated for detection purposes.
By David Goodfellow
