Skip to main content

Tunnel inspection investigation innovation in Japan

A new approach to tunnel inspection technology in Japan could yield major benefits in determining quality and safety. A team comprising specialists from Japan’s Institute for Laser Technology and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency is having evaluating the use of lasers for upgrading tunnel inspection methods as part of a two year research programme. The new technique is said to allow inspectors to examine tunnel wall conditions at a higher frequency of 25 times/second. The technology also allows tunnel wall
January 14, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
A new approach to tunnel inspection technology in Japan could yield major benefits in determining quality and safety. A team comprising specialists from Japan’s Institute for 3098 Laser Technology and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency is having evaluating the use of lasers for upgrading tunnel inspection methods as part of a two year research programme.

The new technique is said to allow inspectors to examine tunnel wall conditions at a higher frequency of 25 times/second. The technology also allows tunnel wall conditions to be inspected to a depth of 10cm under the surface. The new method uses a combination of laser technology and ultrasonic flaw detectors to evaluate conditions to greater depths than would previously have been possible.

Key features of the system include the use of a special lens as well as water-cooling in the laser to reduce heat generated by the equipment and boost performance.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • On track for excellence in asphalt plants
    May 30, 2013
    While one leading asphalt plant company has played a key role in the creation of the new Circuit of the Americas F1 racetrack, others have been releasing new plants and plant-related technology onto the market, some of which has been exhibited at major world industry shows. Guy Woodford reports. Astec played an important role in the new Circuit of the Americas Formula 1 racetrack in Austin, Texas. The asphalt base, binder, and surface courses for the 5.47km asphalt road course, which staged its first F1 rac
  • Building New zealand's landmark tunnel
    February 15, 2012
    A landmark tunnelling project is commencing in New Zealand - Kristina Smith reports. New Zealand is preparing to embark on its biggest transport project ever. In August it announced that it had selected its preferred bidder for the NZ$1.4 billion Waterview Connection in Auckland, 5km of new motorway connecting highways to the North and South of the city.
  • Innovative new drainage solutions will help keep roads free from water
    October 2, 2014
    An array of new technologies will help optimise road drainage and minimise flooding risks - Mike Woof reports In the UK the specialist contractor Lanes Group has carried out extensive inspection work of the drainage systems for the M6 toll route around the city of Birmingham. A powerful zoom camera has been used to carry out the inspection work for Midland Expressway, which operates and maintains the 43km-long motorway, running from Coleshill to Cannock.
  • ERIC 2016: What shape the ‘Smart Road’?
    February 7, 2017
    Optimism about the future of highways worldwide abounded at the inaugural European Road Infrastructure Conference (ERIC) in Leeds, UK Around 500 delegates passed through the varied sessions during the three-day event at the Royal Armouries Museum in the northern English city of Leeds. They came away with many visions of what a motorway and road could look like. But what speakers at the event - co-organised by the Brussels-based European Union Road Federation (ERF) and the UK’s Road Safety Markings Ass