MicroCorr Digital Users Guide Ty Coch House Llantarnam Park Way Cwmbran NP44 3AW United Kingdom 1 Tel: +44 (0) 1633 489479 Fax: +44 (0) 1633 877857 Email: info@palmer.co.uk Internet: www.palmer.co.
MicroCorr Digital Users Guide Introduction and Features.......................................................................................................... 3 New features.............................................................................................................................. 3 Operational Benefits .................................................................................................................. 4 Principle of Correlation ...........................................
MicroCorr Digital Users Guide Introduction and Features MicroCorr® DIGITAL is the latest model of the world’s leading correlator brand (over 4,000 MicroCorr® units in use worldwide) but is the first fully digital system. This enables it to achieve performance levels well in excess of previous analogue-based systems, with important benefits to the user.
Operational Benefits • Pinpoints a higher percentage of leaks... • ...and a significantly higher percentage of “difficult” leaks (plastic pipes, trunk mains, low pressure situations) • Fewer “dry” holes reduces excavation costs • Improved productivity – more leaks found per hour • Easier to use – less training required • Improved reliability with less downtime • Lightweight and robust • Easily integrates into Company-specific reporting • New software versions available from www.palmer.co.
Principle of Correlation In the "classic" correlation process, two sensors are deployed on pipe fittings ("dry" connection) or connected to hydrants ("wet" connection). The sensors are positioned either side of the suspected leak position. Noise is created by the leak as it escapes from the pipe under pressure. This noise is conducted in both directions away from the leak through the pipe wall (as minute vibrations) and through the water column (as a pressure wave).
System Overview Standard system configuration The standard MicroCorr Digital system comprises the following equipment:1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Control Unit External Antenna for C.U. Carry strap for C.U. Red Out Station Blue Out Station 2 x External Antennae for O/S 2 x Digital Sensors with cables Headphones (for use with C.U.
Fully Digital Correlation Digital sensor • New sensor with improved sensitivity to low frequency noise (for plastic and large diameter pipes and low pressure situations) - down to 1.
Features of the correlator unit Large backlit colour display with protective screen Rubber hand grip Tactile rubber keypad Carry-strap attachment Battery compartment (accessed from underside) Injection moulded housing Headphone / charger connector External antenna / magmount connection Sensor connector Communications connector 8
Features of the Out Stations The Out Station consists of a transmitter unit (red, blue – or optionally yellow) and a digital sensor unit complete with cable to connect to the transmitter. Its design incorporates sensor stowage and cable wrap.
Rear of transmitter On/Off switch with integral flashing LED Sensor stowage Top view of transmitter – connector covers removed Headphones / charger connector Communications connector Sensor connector Antenna connector Top view of transmitter – connector covers fitted 10
MicroCorr® DIGITAL correlator unit operational features The unit performs accurate leak noise correlations for leak positioning and velocity measurement. It has listening and surveying facilities and its stored information can be downloaded to a computer or printer. Key functions On / Off button Up arrow Enter button Down arrow Keypad functions abc 2 def 3 CANCEL ghi 4 jkl 5 mno 6 .
Using the MicroCorr Digital Correlator BATTERY WARNING All three batteries supplied are rechargeable lithium ion. Do not short circuit these batteries. Any misuse of these batteries may result in explosion or fire. They must not be used in any other application or used with any other equipment. Only batteries/battery-packs supplied by Palmer Environmental must be used. The Palmer sealed battery packs contain circuitry to prevent overcharging and overdischarging.
4. To charge the Out Station batteries they must first be installed. To do this remove the screws from the battery compartment on the bottom of each Out Station, connect the battery lead to the connector and insert the battery. Refit the screws and attach the battery charge lead to the headphone / charge connector on the top of the transmitter. The Out Stations will turn themselves on to charge. Unscrew these 2 quick-release screws to remove battery compartment panel.
Step 2: Set up and deployment of Out Stations 1. Once the batteries have been charged and installed in the correlator and the Out Stations, connect the antennae, connect a sensor cable and sensor to each Out Station. Switch on each transmitter by pressing the On / Off button on the back. 2. Transmitter switch functions To switch the transmitter on, press the switch on the rear of the transmitter once momentarily. The beacons will flash once.
Step 3: Switching on the Correlator Switch the correlator on by pressing the On/Off switch momentarily. A number of system tests are carried out on power up to ensure the correlator is fully functional. After a few seconds the main correlation screen will appear on the display as shown below. Note, this is the default screen on start-up to enable the operator to start correlating immediately. The Main Menu screen is accessed by pressing Cancel.
Correlating The screen shown on page 15 is the first screen that appears on the control unit when it is switched on. Once the ENTER key is pressed the system will begin to correlate. Correlation can be stopped by pressing the ENTER key again. This can be used for quick surveys without having to input any pipe data. If the Enter key is pressed the control unit will start to correlate as shown below.
Main Menu Correlate See previous page for quick correlation instructions or Correlation Screen section for more in depth instructions. File Enables the user to load previously saved files or save a current correlation. The control unit can store approximately 30 files.
Press 1(Save) The following screen is displayed. The current correlation information details can be typed and saved. Press 2(Load) The saved correlation will be displayed. Arrow over the required saved file and press 2. Loaded file name is displayed in green From a loaded file the control unit can undertake post correlation. Correlating functions such as pipe data, filters and peak suppression can be changed on the loaded data without having to return to site to re-correlate.
Regression Analysis Regression Analysis provides an additional way of pinpointing leak positions by using a set of correlation results, rather than an individual correlation result. This also provides a way of measuring an accurate velocity. The time delay / distance relationship of the correlation is linear, as the distance between a sensor and the leak noise increases, the time taken for the sound to reach the sensor increases proportionally with the distance.
Then press 1 to add the second correlation result. A second cross will appear and a line will pass through both. A result will be given on the leak position and velocity, but we recommend the user add a third result for a more confident result. Then press 1 to add the third correlation result. A third cross will appear and a best fit line will pass through or near the three crosses. The result of the leak position and velocity will be displayed under the graph.
Press 2 (Remove / Restore) Allows you to select a suspicious correlation for removal. After pressing 2, use the arrow keys to select the cross on the regression graph for removal (a box appears around the selected cross) then press ENTER. Press 3 (Load data) Retrieves previously stored regression analysis graph results. Press 4 (Save data) Saves the current regression analysis graph results. Press 5 (Delete) Enables the deletion of saved regression analysis files.
Set-up Press 1(Correlate on start-up) Toggles between YES and NO. If set to YES, the control unit will go straight to the correlate screen after turning on. If set to NO, the control unit will go straight to the Main Menu after turning on. Press 2(Default filters) Toggles between CLEAR and RETAIN. If set to CLEAR, in survey mode, the filters will clear each time a new correlation is processed.
Press 6(Power Saving) Press 1 to toggle the System power off between NEVER and 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 minutes duration. Press 2 to toggle the Backlight off between NEVER and 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 minutes duration. Press 7(Display set-up) Press 1 to incrementally decrease the screen brightness. Press 2 to incrementally increase the screen brightness. Press 3 to incrementally decrease the screen contrast.
Test and Service Press 1(Restore default pipe data) Wait a few seconds and the default pipe data will be restored to the control unit. Press 2(Units are Metric) Toggle between METRIC and IMPERIAL measurement units. Press 3(Time is in milliseconds) Toggles between MILLISECONDS and SECONDS Press 4(Using HP printer) Toggle between HP and EPSON printer. Press 5(Language) Select the required language by using the arrow buttons.
Press 6(Set clock) Set the clock according to the user preferred format. Press 7(Debug Messages are Off) Toggles between ON and OFF. This should normally be set to OFF and is normally only used during fault diagnosis. Press 8(Information) Connect sensors to Out Stations and turn on before pressing 8. This displays the current firmware and software version currently installed on the MC Digital.
Press 9(Diagnostics) Displays a series of numbers. This is only used during fault diagnosis Other System Options The MC Digital is designed for versatility. Pressing 1 will activate the Permalog Patroller Link, changing the MC Digital into a Permalog Patroller.
Correlation Screen A dashed cursor line shows the position of the largest peak (best result). The dashed cursor line can be moved once the correlation has been stopped, by using the arrow keys. Moving the dashed cursor line alters the correlation distance. This screen shows the result of a correlation where the position of the leak is. In this example 63.4 metres from the Red Out Station and 60.6 metres from the Blue Out Station. The time delay is calculated at 2.3 milliseconds.
Pipe data Press 2(Pipe data) To accurately locate a leak position the user must enter the correct information with respect to the physical properties of the pipe. Each section must be entered to be accepted by the system. Press 5 to Add new pipe data. A default setting appears.
Press 1 to enter Length, the distance between the sensors. In this example 124m. Press 2 to enter material type, use the arrow keys to select the required pipe material and press ENTER. In this example cast iron is selected.
Press 3 to enter the diameter of the pipe. In this example 80mm. The velocity column will then automatically be updated. In this example 1.280 m/ms. To add another pipe length for mixed material situations, press 5 to add another pipe. If working on mixed materials, work from the sensor colour displayed at the bottom of the pipe data screen, back to the sensor colour at the top of the screen. Up to 6 mixed materials can be used in one correlation.
To delete a pipe, use the arrow keys to highlight the relevant pipe to remove and press 6. To delete all pipe data press 0. To use a manual velocity the user has calculated, press 4 and type in the new velocity value, this will automatically update the default value for the current correlation only. To enter and store extra user defined velocity’s and diameters, press 2 Materials, then press 1 Edit materials, then press 1 Edit table, then press 3 Add entry.
Zoom Press 5 (Zoom) To see a more enhanced view of the leak centred around the dashed cursor line. Moving the dashed cursor line along the graph to the required point then press 5. Use the arrow keys to zoom in or out stage by stage. For a quicker zoom press 1 to zoom to maximum view or press 5 to zoom to a minimum view.
Peak Suppression Screen Press 6(Peak Suppression) To suppress a section of the time delay range from the current correlation. This may be used to remove known leaks or demand usage that may be hiding unknown leaks. Move the dashed cursor line to the start point of the data to be removed and press 1 to select a start point. A small arrow will appear below the correlation graph. Move the dashed cursor line along the data to select the stop point.
View Settings Press 7 (View Settings) During correlation or after stopping a correlation press 7 to view all pipe data and filter settings currently in use. A pop up box appears to display the information. Press Cancel to remove the display.
Calculate Velocity Press 8(Calc Vel) After stopping correlating the option to calculate velocity appears. A velocity check gives a more accurate velocity of the pipe to be correlated instead of using the default velocity value. To calculate velocity a leak must be present, either real or induced. The leak can either be between the sensors called an “In Bracket” check or outside of the sensors called an “Out of Bracket” check.
A new velocity will be displayed under the correlation graph The control unit then gives you the option to either use the calculated velocity by pressing ENTER or CANCEL to ignore it. By accepting the calculated velocity value, the default velocity value under Pipe Data will be replaced with the new calculated velocity value. A new correlation position may now be displayed using the more accurate velocity value.
Filters If correlating with pipe data entered, the default filter settings will be used depending on the properties of the pipe. Some times this may not be accurate enough to filter out unwanted frequencies, so the user may wish to alter the filer settings to remove certain frequencies that are influencing the current correlation.
Press 1 (Select cursor) This toggles between the two cursor lines. Only the longer dashed cursor line can be moved. Press 2 (Low cut-off) When the left cursor line has be selected the low cut off option is displayed. Move the left cursor to the required position and press 2. This will remove all frequencies to the left of the cursor line. Removed frequencies are displayed in a cyan colour.
Press 3 (Notch) This options allows a “notch” of frequencys to be filtered out. Move the selected cursor to the left of the area of frequency to be removed and press 3. A small arrow appears under the graph. In this example 81Hz is selected. Move the same cursor to the right of the area to be removed and press 3 again. In this example 105Hz. The notch area of filtered out frequencys will change colour to cyan.
Program upgrade (Software and Firmware) The MicroCorr Digital correlator and Out Stations have been designed so that their programs can be upgraded as the latest developments take place. The MicroCorr Digital Software is defined as the user interface within the base station, and the Firmware describes the program that communicates between the correlator base station and the Out Stations. To upgrade the Software and/or Firmware a program must be installed on the PC. This is the MCD Updater Application.
Upgrade Information 5. This field gives the name and location of a firmware update file. These files have the extension .mdf and contain the required information to upgrade a system’s firmware. 6. This button is used to ‘browse’ for a firmware update file on a local/network file system. 7. When a firmware file has been selected, this field displays version information about the file. This allows the user to check that a newer version of firmware is being installed onto the system. 8.
Upgrading a Base Station The following steps should be followed to upgrade the software/firmware within a base station: 1. Connect the PC to the base station via the supplied serial cable. 2. Connect external power to the system. This ensures that the system does not power down while the upgrade is in progress. Then back up all correlation files to the PC. 3. Start the MCDUpdater application and ensure that the ‘port’ is set correctly and ‘unit type’ is set to base. 4.
Technical Specification Base station Process Frequency response Filter selection Full digital correlation 0.1 to 5000Hz Automatic Parametric Filtering Manual setting if required ±0.
Out Station Radio communication Radio frequency Controls Single frequency digital transceiver UHF (local regulations apply) ON/OFF (all functions remotely controlled and monitored from Base station) with LED status light Headphones External antenna (if required) Rechargeable Lithium ion batteries, field replaceable >18 hours Flashing lights (2) External antenna Integral sensor stowage Integral cable wrap 210 x 145 x 305mm 1.
Warranty All equipment is warranted by Palmer Environmental Ltd to be free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one year (unless otherwise stated) from the date of shipment to the original customer. This warranty is only valid if the equipment has been installed and used in the correct manner as described in this manual. Repair or replacement (at Palmer Environmental’s option) will be made without charge provided the above conditions have been met.
