There are currently various types of tracer wire on the market, such as copper clad steel, copper core PVC insulated cables (hereinafter referred to as copper core wires), copper clad aluminum, and so on. Which tracer wire is better and more conducive to long-term tracing and positioning management of buried gas pipelines? It is necessary to test the performance of the tracer wire in order to choose a more suitable tracer wire. Therefore, we conducted tests on the commonly used tracer wire for the three types of PE gas pipelines mentioned above, providing reference for the selection of tracer wire for PE gas pipelines in terms of their conductivity, anti-corrosion treatment of tracer wire joints, and strength.

Copper clad steel is a metal core composed of a steel core wire and a tightly wrapped copper layer, with a PE anti-corrosion layer on the outermost side. Copper plays a role in conducting weak electrical signals, while steel wire plays a supporting role. Copper core wires are generally composed of the innermost copper core wire, the insulation sheath of the middle layer, and the protective sheath of the outermost layer. Copper clad aluminum consists of an aluminum core wire and a copper layer tightly wrapped around it to form a metal core, with the outermost layer being a PE anti-corrosion layer.

Due to the fact that the outermost anti-corrosion layer of steel gas pipelines is a plastic layer or coating with insulation and anti-corrosion properties, similar in structure to the outermost plastic layer with insulation and anti-corrosion properties, such as copper clad steel, copper core wires, and copper clad aluminum. Therefore, we equate the two and use the PCM pipeline current decay rate method [1] to detect the average insulation quality of the trace line anti-corrosion layer. The detection principle is to apply a current signal of a certain frequency to the tracer wire, and the current will gradually decay when transmitted from the tracer wire to the distance. The magnitude of its attenuation is related to the insulation resistivity of the plastic layer of the tracer wire. The higher the average insulation resistivity of the plastic layer of the tracer wire, the slower the current attenuation, and vice versa, the faster the attenuation.

Copper clad steel tracer wire have obvious advantages in strength and can also meet the needs of detection and tracing in conducting detection signals. Construction is also more convenient. If the joint anti-corrosion treatment can be done well, this type of tracer wire has the highest cost-effectiveness.

Copper core wire tracer wire have the best transmission of detection signals, but the anti-corrosion methods for the joint parts are relatively simple, which cannot guarantee the anti-corrosion quality of the joint parts, and the strength is slightly poor. Therefore, copper core wires are not suitable as tracer wire for buried gas pipelines.

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