Abstract
It is now uncommon for a cemented paste backfill underground distribution system to not have some sort of pipeline instrumentation. The common types of instrumentation are pressure and flow meters. However, while these instruments are useful and can be used to both control and design the distribution system, it is hard to check the overall performance of the system with something external to the system.
This paper presents a case study using an in situ pipeline instrument called a Piper developed by INGU. This instrument is actually a small cluster of instruments that monitor pipeline pressure, acceleration, rotation, magnetic flux, and acoustic emissions. These instruments are used to measure the flow behaviour within the pipeline, as well as attempting to determine possible wear areas and determining potential leaks.
The case study area will be the reticulation network at the Dead Bullock Soak Mine located at Newmont’s Tanami Operations. The paper will include discussion of how the trials were setup and conducted, including such details as deployment and retrieval. It will also provide an analysis of the Piper data comparing it to both the reticulation network’s instrumentation and the operational flow model. The Piper data will also be tied into operational observations.