AI subsurface sensor investigated for powerline undergrounding in US
Hurricane Beryl caused extensive damage to trees and utility poles. Image courtesy UH
In the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, which highlighted the vulnerability of overhead powerlines in the face of extreme weather, researchers in the US are looking to develop a state-of-the-art subsurface sensor system with AI and UAVs to guide safe and efficient underground powerline installation.
Researchers from the University of Houston in the US are collaborating with Hawaii-based engineering consultancy Oceanit on the project, ‘Artificial Intelligence and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Real-Time Advanced Look-Ahead Subsurface Sensor’.
The project aims to create a subsurface, real-time, high-resolution look-ahead sensor system using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), electromagnetic resistivity well logging and machine learning.
Specifically, the technology will detect underground obstacles in front of a drill bit, minimising damage to existing infrastructures and enabling a smoother installation process.
The end goal is to produce a prototype capable of generating near real-time, high-resolution underground images during horizontal directional drilling (HDD).
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Commenting in a release was Jiefu Chen, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Houston, who is a key collaborator on the project:
“Advanced subsurface sensing and characterisation technologies are essential for the undergrounding of powerlines. This initiative can enhance the grid’s resilience against natural hazards such as wildfires and hurricanes.
“If proven successful, our proposed look-ahead subsurface sensing system could significantly reduce the costs of horizontal directional drilling for installing underground utilities. Promoting HDD offers environmental advantages over traditional trenching methods and enhances the power grid’s resilience.”
On the UH team, Chen focuses on designing electromagnetic antennas installed on UAV and HDD drilling string, as well as optimisation of the subsurface imaging system.
Yueqin Huang, assistant professor of information science technology, leads the geophysical signal processing needed to construct precise subsurface images ahead of the drill bit, while Xuqing Wu, associate professor of computer information systems, integrates machine learning for faster modelling and real-time image generation.
Hurricane Beryl
The project comes in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, which hit Houston in July, causing extensive damage to trees and utility poles, leaving over two million households without power. A week later, 250,000 Texans still faced the extreme summer heat without electricity or air conditioning, and at least three people lost their lives due to heat exposure.
The disaster, states UH, spotlighted critical vulnerabilities in Houston’s largely above-ground power grid, leading to much analysis.
The University of Houston in a statement on the project cites findings from the Edison Electric Institute, showing that underground powerlines are 8–10 times more reliable than their overhead counterparts.
However, less than 20% of power lines in the US are buried, a significantly lower percentage compared to other developed nations, such as France (40%), Germany (70%), and the Netherlands (90%).
The primary obstacle to burying power lines is the high cost, which can be 5–10 times greater than that of overhead lines.
Additionally, current undergrounding methods, such as trenching, raise safety concerns, including the potential for damaging other buried utilities during installation, as well as prolonged surface disruptions and traffic detours that can impact the safety and convenience of local communities. These challenges make undergrounding a complex and costly undertaking.
To combat this immense cost, the US Department of Energy in January launched an ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy) programme called GOPHURRS (Grid Overhaul with Proactive, High-speed Undergrounding for Reliability, Resilience, and Security).
GOPHURRs allocated $34 million for 12 projects across 11 US states to strengthen and modernise the country’s ageing power grid by spurring the development of cost-effective, high-speed, and safe undergrounding technologies.
The University of Houston and Oceanit project received $3.3 million from the programme.
