Two Simultaneous Leak Diagnosis in Pipelines Based on Input-Output Numerical Differentiation.

Area of Science:

• Engineering
• Fluid Mechanics
• Control Systems

Background:

• Urban water shortages are a growing concern.
• Accurate pipeline leak detection is crucial for water resource management.
• Existing methods may struggle with simultaneous leaks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a method for diagnosing two simultaneous pipeline leaks.
• To improve water management strategies in large cities.
• To utilize only flow rate and pressure head measurements.

Main Methods:

• State vector reconstruction incorporating leak parameters as state variables.
• Application of a persistent input for invertible mapping.
• Algebraic-like observer utilizing Numerical Differentiation with Annihilators for state reconstruction.

Main Results:

• Accurate reconstruction of parameters for two simultaneous leaks.
• Demonstrated effectiveness of the state vector reconstruction approach.
• Validation using a dedicated testbed plant.

Conclusions:

• The proposed method effectively addresses the challenge of simultaneous pipeline leaks.
• State vector reconstruction is a viable strategy for pipeline leak diagnosis.
• The technique offers a promising solution for enhancing urban water supply reliability.