Unlocking the Potential of Hydraulic Transients as a Source of Information About Water Distribution Networks

Detecting and locating leakage in water distribution networks is a pressing issue due to ageing infrastructure, climate change and an increasing population. Transient methods offer unique benefits for the purposes of detecting and locating leakage, as they have a greater range than acoustic methods, especially in plastic pipelines which are becoming more common. Despite their success in laboratory settings they are yet to be widely implemented operationally, which is believed to be largely due to the use of hydrants as transient induction points, and unpredictable hydraulic changes (Dynamic system noise).
This thesis builds on previous research by providing a detailed understanding of the impact of induction via hydrants on signal behaviour, and consequently leak detection and localisation accuracy. This work was carried out using numerical modelling and physical experiments, with physical experiments used when the complexity of hydrants made modelling approaches unsuitable. This research led to the formulation of criteria for an operationally suitable leak detection algorithm, which is capable of accounting for both hydrants and dynamic system noise. An algorithm fulfilling this criteria has been developed and validated by detecting and locating a 0.6 l/s leak over 400 m away in an operational plastic pipeline.
This thesis has developed a deeper understanding of the challenges facing the operational implementation of transient based leak detection, and developed an algorithm which responds to these challenges. The developed algorithm is better suited for operational use than comparable methods, which is supported by it being used to detect and locate a leak which is either a greater distance away, or has a smaller flow rate than comparable tests where a hydrant has been used as an induction point. As a result of this research it is more likely that transient based leak detection will be implemented operationally, helping to meet leak reduction targets.