Wavespeed Measurement in Buried Water Distribution Pipes and its Significance in Leak Location

Abstract:

To determine the location of leaks in buried water pipes, acoustic methods are often used. These have proven to be very effective in metallic pipes but have been problematic in modern plastic pipes. In this paper the reason why this is so is discussed together with some measurements that were made on a bespoke test rig built by South Staffs Water plc. It is shown that there are significant issues in obtaining an accurate estimate of the wavespeed when a leak is present in the system. A method is proposed that overcomes some of these problems, which is discussed and is demonstrated using some data from the bespoke test-rig.

• Periodical: Key Engineering Materials (Volumes 569-570)
• Pages: 1202-1209
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.569-570.1202
• Online since: July 2013
• Authors: Michael Brennan, Fabricio de Almeida, Phillip Joseph, Simon Dray, Stuart Whitfield
• Keywords: Buried Plastic Pipes, Leak Detection, Wavespeed Estimate

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