A Digital Twin for Large Diameter Water Distribution Pipes
Publication: Pipelines 2023
ABSTRACT
Smart water technologies such as electromagnetic pipe inspection and online pipe monitoring are changing pipe maintenance in water utilities. The paper presents their application in a digital twin to improve asset management based on the challenge faced by the Tarragona Water Consortium (CAT) after experiencing a catastrophic failure on its main pipeline. An initial inspection with electromagnetic technology detected 35 pipes out of 13,188 with different degree of damage. Eight of them had high risk of failure and were replaced. Digital twin online pipe monitoring added 20 alarm events in six months and identified a high-risk area that is being by-passed with a new pipe. This highlights the importance of online monitoring for accurate calculation of remaining life of installed pipes to enable advanced planning and risk management. Use of gathered information leads to safe operation and increased reliability, key outcomes for water utilities as they provide a public service.
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REFERENCES
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Pipelines 2023
Pages: 67 - 77
History
Published online: Aug 10, 2023
ASCE Technical Topics:
- Analysis (by type)
- Computer networks
- Computing in civil engineering
- Construction engineering
- Construction management
- Engineering fundamentals
- Failure analysis
- Infrastructure
- Inspection
- Internet
- Lifeline systems
- Pipe sizes
- Pipeline management
- Pipeline systems
- Pipelines
- Pipes
- Utilities
- Water and water resources
- Water management
- Water pipelines
- Water supply
- Water supply systems
Authors
Metrics & Citations
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