Small Amplitude Sharp Pressure Waves to Diagnose Pipe Systems

Abstract

In this paper the possibility of using transient tests, generated by the Portable Pressure Wave Maker (PPWM) device, as a powerful tool in the management of pipe systems, is demonstrated. Specifically, tests carried out in different experimental set-ups at the Water Engineering Laboratory of the University of Perugia, Italy show that small amplitude sharp pressure waves produced by the PPWM allow to locate and evaluate the entity of anomalies, such as leaks, illegal branches, partial blockages, and negligently partially closed in-line valves. To improve the precision of localization of anomalies, arrival times of pressure waves are detected by means of wavelet analysis. Simple relations based on the water hammer theory are proposed to evaluate the entity of the anomalies.

Water-hammer pressure waves interaction at cross-section changes in series in viscoelastic pipes

“…The former gives an idea of the pressure damping in the long period, the latter confirms that the effect of discontinuities, i.e. the change of cross-section area, is clear only in the first phases of the transient (Meniconi et al, 2011a(Meniconi et al, , 2011b. In fact, in Fig.…”

Uncertainty Analysis of Transient Flow Modeling and Transient-Based Leak Detection in Elastic Water Pipeline Systems

“…With regard to leak detection in water pipelines, pipe leakages have become one of the main sources of water and energy losses worldwide and many transient-based leak detection methods were developed for the use in water piping systems due to the advantages in terms of speed, ability to work online and large operational range (Colombo et al 2009;Duan et al 2011;Meniconi et al 2011;Haghighi and Ramos 2012). But so far these developed transient-based leak detection methods have not yet been applied to practical and complex pipe systems.…”

A Hybrid Heuristic Optimization Approach for Leak Detection in Pipe Networks Using Ordinal Optimization Approach and the Symbiotic Organism Search

“…The worst transient fluctuations are usually required because the severity of transient fluctuations is related to the efficacy of applying ITA. The possibility of the use on hydraulic transient for leak detection have been experimentally validated in laboratory conditions by using the Portable Pressure Wave Maker (PPWM) device [45,46], and further applied in field tests [47][48][49]. Generally, valve operation is a common way to create a change in the outflow discharge for obtaining transient fluctuations [18].…”