Identification of leak characteristics in pipe systems by dynamic monitoring

Abstract

The paper presents some reflections about use of hydraulic transients in identification of pipe system characteristics. Controlled and safe transients can be used to excite pipe network to respond to change in flows/pressures. However, information about leaks, blockages, air pockets and other obstacles which are held in pressure recordings cannot be easily extracted. Coupled to the difficulties of knowing exact network layout and assets, this can lead to reluctance of use transients as system probe. As a possible answer to these problems a theoretical basis for "hydraulic" procedure for leakage detection, is again revealed. Originating from dimension analysis, simple relationship is presented. It can be used for leak detection from time domain pressure signal and for planning the real world measurements where the information is processed in frequency or wavelet domain. Numerical experiments are conducted to confirm these assumptions. Some remarks about the drawbacks of the method are also stated.