Condition Assessment Services
KenWave Solutions specializes in addressing the asset information gap faced by utility companies. With their proprietary Dynamic Response Imaging technology, KenWave offers a non-invasive approach to assess the condition and leakage of in-service pipes across all standard materials and sizes. This technology allows for high-resolution analysis without service disruption or damage risk, providing crucial data for proactive maintenance and anomaly detection. Unlike traditional acoustic methods, KenWave uses a tunable valve box or sonar with test signals tailored to pipe specifications, ensuring safety and no risk of water hammer. The external tool adapts to various fittings or directly attaches to pipe surfaces for versatile inspections. Employing a physics-based dynamic response model, it incorporates ground propagation and dynamic loading aspects, enhanced by a thermodilatohydrometer for environmental corrections. The technology evaluates a range of pipes transporting potable water, wastewater, process-water, hot or chilled water, and glycol, enabling utilities to minimize failures and optimize replacement strategies.KenWave’s goal is to provide utilities with the data they need to close the asset information gap. Too often utilities spend money replacing pipes with little condition or leakage data; react to failures rather than work to prevent them; struggle to find leaks on plastics; and cannot scale good but expensive inspection programs. Despite increased spending on testing and monitoring, the information gap is still very real.
KenWave’s Dynamic Response ImagingTM provides a non-invasive and reliable method for condition assessment, leakage information for in-service pipes of all standard materials and sizes, including identifying any anomalies. This unique technology is able to provide a resolution down to a few feet, all with no service disruption, and no risk of damage.
KenWave Technology utilizes Dynamic Response ImagingTM technique, which represents the next evolution of condition assessment for critical assets with improved sensor sensitivity and the ability to collect multiple data types simultaneously, all with a focus on safety and ease of use.
Unlike acoustic leak detection which relies on leaks or flowing hydrants for a sound source, KenWave Technology uses a tunable valve box or a sonar to introduce test signals specific to each diameter and material combination, without any risk of water hammer.
Being an external tool, KenWave Technology can be attached to a variety of fittings so that it can inspect almost any watermain. Where fittings/valves are not available, both the wave generator and sensors can temporarily be attached directly to the external surface of the pipe.
A physics-based dynamic response model of pipes using ground propagation, dynamic loading, and impedance effects, gathers and analyzes the sensor data, with special post-processing to handle spurious noise such as from vehicle traffic.
Lastly, a thermodilatohydrometer or THD, uniquely allows KenWave Technology to correct for the effect of changes in water temperature, pressure, and dissolved gas content on the dynamic response dispersion curve.
First, the KenWave Field Team generates a multi-parameter dynamic response model for the pipe to be inspected. Test signals are then computed and introduced via the Wave Generator, which are measured downstream by the dynamic response sensors.
Then, KenWave compares the models with the measurements to deduce wall properties and anomaly locations. Results are then validated, and KenWave database and modeling algorithms are updated to make the next inspection more accurate.