Eventos Anais de eventos
DINAME 2023
XIX International Symposium on Dynamic Problems of Mechanics
An Experimental Study into the Effects on Leak Noise Propagation of using Extension Rods at Measurement Points on a Pipe
Submission Author:
Fabricio Cesar Lobato de Almeida , SP
Co-Authors:
Fabricio Cesar Lobato de Almeida, Matheus Quartaroli, Michael Brennan, Paulo José Paupitz Gonçalves, Bruno Cavenaghi Campos
Presenter: Fabricio Cesar Lobato de Almeida
doi://10.26678/ABCM.DINAME2023.DIN2023-0144
Abstract
The cross-correlation technique is generally used in leak noise correlators to pinpoint the position of a leak in a pipe. The procedure involves the placement of two sensors at known positions and estimating the difference in time that it takes for the leak noise to reach the two sensors. However, sensors are placed at access points, which are generally hydrants, and these are not always close to a leak position. This can cause problems in plastic pipes because leak noise attenuates rapidly with distance. A solution to the problem could be to connect extension rods to the pipe at regular intervals, that terminate on the ground surface. This motivated the study described in this paper, which involves an experimental investigation into leak noise propagation along a water pipe and a connected extension rod. It is shown that for a one-meter-long metallic rod, the water pipe response to a leak excitation is reduced in the vicinity of the rod, but the propagation delay estimated using measurements on the pipe is not affected. However, this is not the case for measurements made at the top of the extension rod. For the case studied, there is an additional propagation delay (around 6%). The relative propagation delay between the extension rod and the water pipe can be reduced if the distance between the measurement positions is increased, assuming that the buried depth of the pipe is fixed. Of course, this is limited by the rate at which the leak noise is attenuated as it propagates along the pipe.
Keywords
Leak detection, water piper, one-dimensional waveguides
