LEAK DETECTION USING TRANSIENT PRESSURE WAVES IN PIPELINES WITH MULTIPLE LEAKS AND CHARACTERISTIC STRUCTURE

Abstract

 Transient test-based techniques (TTBTs), in which hydraulic transients are used, are expected to provide leak detection methods at lower costs and less labor than other methods in pipeline systems. This study investigates the effectiveness of a leak detection method of TTBTs by using leak-induced reflective waves as well as optimization. In numerical simulations, a three-series pipe system that has varying pipe diameters along the pipeline is considered for an example of all pipes except for a single pipe. Subsequently, a method for analyzing the transient pressure using joint-induced reflective waves is proposed for the leak detection method. In a laboratory experiment conducted on a model pipeline with a helical structure, the leak position is detected with a high accuracy of 2% or less of the total pipe length in all cases. The leak detection results demonstrate that the proposed method is effective for analyzing the transient pressure, including the high-frequency components (or reflected waves) derived from the characteristic structure of pipes.