Locating Leaks in Water Mains Using Noise Loggers
Publication: Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 22, Issue 3
Abstract
Because of their potential danger to public health, economic loss, environmental damage, and energy waste, underground water pipelines leaks have received more attention globally. Researchers have proposed active leakage control approaches to localize, locate, and pinpoint leaks. Noise loggers have usually been used only for localizing leaks while other tools were used for locating and pinpointing. These approaches have resulted in additional cost and time. Thus, regression and artificial neural network (ANN) models were developed in this study to localize and locate leaks in water pipelines using noise loggers. Several lab experiments have been conducted to simulate actual leaks in a sample ductile iron pipeline distribution network with valves. The noise loggers were used to detect these leaks and record their noise readings. The recorded noise readings were then used as input data for the developed models. The ANN models outperformed regression models during testing. Moreover, ANN models were successfully validated using an actual case study.
Get full access to this article
View all available purchase options and get full access to this article.
Acknowledgments
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support provided by Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) for this research project under Award No. QNRF-NPRP 4-529-2-193.
References
Al-Barqawi, H., and Zayed, T. (2006). “Condition rating model for underground infrastructure sustainable water mains.” J. Perform. Constr. Facil., 126–135.
Cheong, L. C. (1991). “Unaccounted for water and the economics of leak detection.” Proc., 18th Int. Water Supply Congress and Exhibition, Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, England.
Dikmen, I., Birgonul, M., and Kiziltas, S. (2005). “Prediction of organizational effectiveness in construction companies.” J. Constr. Eng. Manage., 252–261.
Fahmy, M., and Moselhi, O. (2010). “Automated detection and location of leaks in water mains using infrared photography.” J. Perform. Constr. Facil., 242–248.
Guillén, M., Dulhoste, J. F., Besancon, G., and Santos, R. (2012). “Study of a flow model for detection and location of leaks and obstructions in pipes.” 9th Int. Conf. on Modeling, Optimization and SIMulation, Bordeaux, France.
Hamilton, S. (2009). “ALC in low pressure areas—It can be done.” Proc., 5th IWA Water Loss Reduction Specialist Conf., International Water Association, London.
Hunaidi, O. (2000). “Detecting leaks in water-distribution pipes.” National Research Council of Canada, Construction Technology, Ottawa.
Hydrographic Technologies. (2015). “Acoustic leak detection.” 〈http://hydrograph.com.au/water-products/acoustic-leak-detection/〉 (Mar. 6, 2015).
Li, J., Yu, J., and Ren, S. (2011). “Gas pipeline leakage detection and location based on transient simulation.” Int. Conf. on Pipelines and Trenchless Technology, Beijing.
Lymperopoulos, D., Bimpas, M., Stratakos, G., Paraskevopoulos, N., Kaklamani, D. I., and Uzunoglu, N. K. (2004). “Detection of water leaks in supply pipes with active microwave GPR sensors and electromagnetic modeling.” Int. Symp. on Electromagnetic Theory, International Union of Radio Science (URSI), Pisa, Italy.
Makar, J., and Chagnon, N. (1999). “Inspecting systems for leaks, pits, and corrosion.” J. Am. Water Works Assoc., 91(7), 36–46.
Minitab 16.1 [Computer Software]. Minitab, State College, PA.
Neuroshell 2 version 4.0 [Computer Software]. Ward Systems Group, Frederick, MD.
Olunloyo, V. O. S., and Ajofoyinbo, A. M. (2009). “A model for real time leakage detection in pipelines: A case of an integrated GPS receiver.” Proc., 3rd Int. Conf. on Applied Mathematics, Simulation, Modeling, Circuits, Systems and Signals, World Scientific and Engineering Academy and Society (WSEAS), WI.
Poulakis, Z., Valougeorgis, D., and Papadimitriou, C. (2003). “Leakage detection in water pipe networks using a Bayesian probabilistic framework.” Probab. Eng. Mech., 18(4), 315–327.
Rao, P. V., Sridharan, K., Liggett, J. A., and Chen, L. C. (1996). “Discussion and closure: Inverse transient analysis in pipe networks.” J. Hydraul. Eng., 287–289.
Saraf, A. (2013). “Plug the leaks.” 〈http://www.utilities-me.com/article-2587-plug-the-leaks/1/〉 (Jun. 8, 2014).
Scott, V. (2013). “Managing water supply a key challenge facing Qatar, expert says.” 〈http://dohanews.co/managing-water-supply-a-key-challenge-facing-qatar-expert-says/〉 (Apr. 15, 2014).
Seckler, D., Amarasinghe, U., Molden, D., De Silva, R., and Barker, R. (1998). “World water demand and supply, 1990 to 2025: Scenarios and issues.”, International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Simbeye, I. (2010). “Managing non-revenue water: Non-revenue water sourcebook for trainers,WAVE programme.” Internationale Weiterbildung und Entwicklung (InWEnt), Rackwitz, Germany.
Vento, J., and Puig, V. (2009). “Leak detection and isolation in pressurized water pipe networks using interval LPV models.” 7th Workshop on Advance Control and Diagnosis (ACD), Zielona Góra, Poland.
Wang, X. J., Simpson, A. R., Lambert, M. F., and Vítkovský, J. P. (2001). “Leak detection in pipeline systems using hydraulic methods: A review.” Conf. on Hydraulics in Civil Engineering, Institution of Engineers, Institution of Engineers, Barton, ACT, Australia.
Wu, Z. Y., Sage, P., and Turtle, D. (2010). “Pressure-dependent leak detection model and its application to a district water system.” J. Water Resour. Plann. Manage., 116–128.
Xu, J., et al. (2012). “An improved method of leak detection used in natural gas pipelines.” Int. Conf. on Pipelines and Trenchless Technology, ASCE, Reston, VA.
Zayed, T. and Halpin, D. (2005). “Deterministic models for assessing productivity and cost of bored piles.” Constr. Manage. Econ., 23(5), 531–543.
Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Infrastructure Systems
Volume 22 • Issue 3 • September 2016
Copyright
© 2016 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Aug 4, 2015
Accepted: Jan 7, 2016
Published online: Mar 17, 2016
Discussion open until: Aug 17, 2016
Published in print: Sep 1, 2016
Authors
Metrics & Citations
Metrics
Citations
Download citation
If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download.