Leak Location Detection of Underground Water Pipes using Acoustic Emission and Acceleration Signals

Leaks in underground pipelines can cause social, environmental and economical problems. One of relevant countermeasures against leaks is to find and repair of leak points of the pipes. Leak noise is a good source to identify the location of leak points of the pipelines. Although there have been several methods to detect the leak location with leak noise, such as listening rods, hydrophones or ground microphones, they have not been so efficient tools. In this paper, acoustic emission (AE) sensors and accelermeters are used to detect leak locations which could provide all easier and move efficient method. Filtering, signal processing and algorithm of raw input data from sensors for the detection of leak location are described. A 120m-long pipeline system for experiment is installed and the results with the system show that the algorithm with the AE sensors and accelerometers offers accurate pinpointing of leaks. Theoretical analysis of sound wave propagation speed of water in underground pipes, which is critically important in leak locating, is also described.