Author(s): Manli Wang; Bin Pan; Alireza Keramat; Tong-Chuan Che; Huan-Feng Duan

Linked Author(s): Manli WANG

Keywords: Leak detection; Transient-based method (TBM); Variable separation; Water pipe networks

Abstract: Urban water safety including water shortage and water quality issues have received increasing attention through global urbanization. Urban water pipe networks (UWPNs), as transporters of freshwater, its long-time operation and underground construction make it challenging to timely identify and repair the leaky parts in the networks. Currently, the global average water leakage rate in the UWPNs is still around 30%. Therefore, more efficient leak investigation and water loss management technologies are urgently demanded. The transient-based method (TBM) has garnered increased focus for its notable attributes of precision, effectiveness, and easy operation in pipe systems in past few decades. Nevertheless, the applications of existing TBMs are largely confined to simple pipe systems for unrealistic computational efficiency or implementational complexity. This study aims to develop an efficient strategy for leak detection in complex pipe networks based on the separability of leak location and size in the time domain and simplify the 2D optimization problem into two 1D estimations to first identify the leak location followed by size calculation. Both numerical and experimental applications confirm its validity and effectiveness. The achievement of this study helps to further improve the applicability of the transient-based method for effective water resources management in UWPNs.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3850/iahr-hic2483430201-44

Year: 2024