Inclination Measurement

Version: 1.2
Date: 18.11.2021

1 Introduction
2 System requirements
2.1 Hardware
2.2 Software
3 Inclination Measurement
4 Displaying Inclination Curve(s)
5 Settings inside the Inclination Panel
6 Entering Manhole Altitudes
7 Printing inclination data
7.1 Printing inclination data based on VAV-P50/SW-P91

Introduction

The inclination of a pipe section is always measured with a sensor built in the camera crawler. So an inclination profile is created that can finally be edited and printed. The inclination profile curve is displaying significant divergences from the linear course of a pipeline section (depressions, elevations etc.). It thus helps the engineer to assess the stability of the pipes lay in the soil.

System requirements

Hardware

• OSD-device (text generator), supported by WinCan

• Camera with a built-in inclination sensor and connected to the OSD-device

• Calibration of the inclination sensor according to the instructions given by the camera manufacturer

Software

The modules listed below must be installed and licensed:

• Control Textgenerator

• Inclination

Inclination Measurement

Basically the inclination measurement is controlled by a built-in sensor inside the camera crawler. The inclination values are gathered when driving either forward or backward with the camera crawler and are finally saved in the project database. These values are used later on to calculate and draw the average inclination curve in WinCan. During the measurement process the camera crawler has to drive through the pipe at a constant speed until the end of the section is reached.
We recommend that you run the inclination measurement process after damage recording (i.e. measurement in backward direction). So the crawler can be moved with constant traction which avoids to many jerks inside the pipe when passing over uneven surface parts.

Click on one of the measurement buttons in the OSD bar to select the preferred direction of inclination recording:

The recording of the inclination values starts automatically as soon as you have hit the corresponding button.
In case you measure the inclination when driving backward the green recording button stops blinking automatically as soon as the crawler reaches the beginning of the pipe section (i.e. 0.00 m).

In case you measure the inclination when driving forward always remember to push the corresponding button again as soon as the crawler reaches the end of the pipe section.

There are 4 different cases that WinCanVX has to take into account in order to have the values drawn correctly.

1. Inspection direction = downstreams -> Measurement = Forward -> camera driving downwards and producing NEGATIVE values

2. Inspection direction = downstreams -> Measurement = Backward -> camera driving upwards in backward direction and producing NEGATIVE values

3. Inspection direction = upstreams -> Measurement = Forward -> camera driving upwards and producing POSITIVE values

4. Inspection direction = upstreams -> Measurement = Backward –> camera driving downwards in backward direction and producing POSITIVE values

The operator thus does not need to worry about the start point of the measurement: The inclination curve for a gravity sewer will always be descending from left to right.

Displaying Inclination Curve(s)

Select the section whose inclination has already been measured and hit the command button Extended Modules > Inclination. This is going to display the corresponding inclination diagram:

1. Inclination curve showing the %-values recorded by the camera sensor directly. Small peaks changing abruptly (1a) display vertical jerky movements of the crawler due to unevenesses of the pipe sole (joints, holes, cracks, etc.).

2. Line zero: Positive values are lying above this line and show the profile curve (3) ascending at a specific position. Negative values are lying beneath this line and show the profile curve (3) descending at a specific position.

3. Average inclination profile curve calculated from the %-values transmitted by the camera sensor (1).

4. Straight link between the position of the START manhole and the position of the END manhole. The distance between the two parallel lines depend on the value put in the field Diameter (OBJ_Size1).

5. Height of the start manhole put automatically to zero.

Settings inside the Inclination Panel

The header of the inclination panel of WinCanVX provides a group of settings on the left that allow the user to change the aspect of the inclination curve. So the data can be printed according to the needs of the end customer:

1.) Hitting this button opens a panel that lists all original values recorded by the inclinometer and thus allows the user to prove the reliability of the inclination measurement in case of any doubts.

2.) This option group allows the user to show or hide additional information on the inclination graph.

• The option Display inclination curve additionally shows the graph based on the original values obtained from the inclinometer.

• The option Smooth inclination removes the highest peaks referring to extreme inclinometer values that are only due to jerky crawler movements during the measurement procedure.

• The option Show Gridlines hides or un-hides the gridlines based on the scale units applied for the horizontal and vertical axis.

3.) Hit this button if you want to save the current inclination graph as a picture file.

4.) Hit this button to have the inclination graph printed directly from the inclination panel.

The right part of the inclination panel contains options to control the printing of the node altitudes and the tolerance bars which are mandatory for Swedish projects.
The tab Settings shows the altitude difference measured in relation to the section length. In most cases the accurate altitude values (m/ft above sea level) for the upstream and downstream manholes are unknown.
WinCanVX thus sets the altitude of the upstream manhole automatically to 0.00:

If the user has entered values into the section fields OBJ_FromNodeInvert and OBJ_ToNodeInvert they will be shown in the text fields Altitude [ft]/[m] (5).

The tab calculation method allows the user to print the inclination graph either with or without tolerance bars. The calculation of these bars is based on the definitions of the specific standard VAV-P50/SW-P91, which must be applied in Sweden.
In all other countries the user can activate the option WinCan to get the inclination graph printed.

The tab inclination graph provides options the user can activate in case he wants to customize the value intervals for the corresponding scales of the inclination graph:

Entering Manhole Altitudes

Some country standards require the entry of the manhole altitudes and the output of these altitude values on the inclination graph.
The following sketch shows the meaning of the fields OBJ_FromNodeInvert and OBJ_ToNodeInvert that must both be available in the section input mask for each template in order to have the slope of the pipe represented exactly as in reality.

Legend:

Printing inclination data

The inclination graph finally can be printed together with the inspection report. Hit the tab command Printing > Printing Panel to open the printing dialogue and select the inspection as well as the inclination report.

Make sure you have checked the section inclination report and that the options highlighted above are enabled or disabled accordingly.

On the other hand you may also select a specific section, open the inclination panel and push the printing button (1) in order to print just that inclination curve:

It is recommended to print the average inclination curve (blue curve) only. This helps to assess the condition of the pipeline course quickly and clearly: the closer the blue curve follows the lower parallel line the more straight the pipe is laid inside the ground (…as it should be).

Printing inclination data based on VAV-P50/SW-P91

Swedish customers have to provide inclination data with additional tolerance bars displayed together with the inclination graph. The calculation of these tolerance bars is fully implemented in WinCanVX.
Either select the corresponding option VAV-50 for the section inclination report in the printing panel or on the inclination panel (1) directly to have the tolerance bars printed:

As soon as the user checks the options Out A, Out B and Out C (2) the inclination graph in addition shows the ranges of the average inclination curve (blue curve) that are crossing the green tolerance bars.

The user can also zoom directly to a certain range of the average inclination curve in order to have more details shown. Keep the left mouse key pressed and draw a rectangle over the area to be zoomed in (1).
To get back again to the default view, just hit the command Undo All Zoom/Pan in the context menu (2).