An underground pipeline positioning method and system based on infrared thermal imaging

Abstract

The application discloses an underground pipeline positioning method and system based on infrared thermal imaging. The underground pipeline positioning method based on infrared thermal imaging can quickly and simply find the leakage point of the pipeline. Hot water is first introduced into the pipeline to be measured, and then the infrared imager is used to determine the area where the leakage point of the pipeline to be measured is located, and mark the area as a first area. The hot water in the pipeline leaks at the leakage point, so that the temperature of the ground above the leakage point of the pipeline to be measured is higher than the temperature of the ground above other positions of the pipeline to be measured, that is, the leakage point of the pipeline to be measured is located in the first area. Subsequently, a sound pickup device is used to detect the sound signal in the first area, so that the leakage point of the pipeline to be measured can be directly determined. Since the first area is determined by the infrared imager, the detection range of the sound pickup device is greatly reduced, and the method is more convenient, time-saving and labor-saving.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of pipeline positioning technology, and specifically to a method and system for locating underground pipelines based on infrared thermal imaging. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of science and technology, underground pipelines (such as water pipes) are increasing. When a large number of underground pipelines with complex layouts leak, it is necessary to locate the leak point in time to avoid water loss. At present, locating the leak point of buried pipelines is a difficult problem in the industry, and there is no universal solution. In particular, if water pipe leaks are not located and repaired in time, a large amount of water resources will be wasted.

[0003] Most existing methods for detecting leaks in water pipes use acoustic detectors placed on the ground to locate leaks. However, this method is rather crude, requiring operators to use handheld microphones to collect sound at various locations within the testing area, which is time-consuming and labor-intensive. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The main objective of this invention is to provide a method and system for locating underground pipelines based on infrared thermal imaging, which aims to solve the problem that the existing technical solution of using acoustic detectors to detect leaks in pipelines on the ground is time-consuming and labor-intensive.

[0005] The technical solution proposed in this invention is as follows:

[0006] An infrared thermal imaging-based method for locating underground pipelines is applied to an infrared thermal imaging-based underground pipeline location system. The system includes an infrared imager, a detection host, and a microphone. Both the infrared imager and the microphone are communicatively connected to the detection host. The method includes:

[0007] The area to be tested and the preset temperature are determined, wherein the pipe to be tested is located underground in the area to be tested, and the temperature of the water flowing in the pipe to be tested is higher than the preset temperature;

[0008] The infrared imager determines the area where the leak point of the pipeline under test is located and marks it as the first area, wherein the first area is located within the area under test;

[0009] The microphone is used to detect sound signals within the first area;

[0010] Based on the sound signal, the detection host determines the location of the leak point in the pipeline under test.

[0011] Preferably, the step of determining the area where the leak point of the pipe under test is located using the infrared imager and marking it as the first area includes:

[0012] An abnormal region is obtained after scanning the area to be tested by the infrared imager, wherein the abnormal region is a region in the area to be tested where the temperature is higher than the temperature of the ground above the pipe to be tested, and the pipe to be tested passes through the abnormal region.

[0013] The abnormal region is designated as the first region.

[0014] Preferably, the step of detecting sound signals in the first area using the microphone includes:

[0015] Determine the detection location points within the first region, wherein the number of detection location points is multiple;

[0016] The microphone is used to detect the sound signal intensity at each detection point within the first area.

[0017] Preferably, the system further includes an earpiece communicatively connected to the detection host; the earpiece is for use by the detection personnel; the step of determining the location of the leak point in the pipeline under test based on the sound signal via the detection host includes:

[0018] The sound signal collected by the microphone is played in real time through the headphones;

[0019] The detection point with the strongest sound signal intensity in the first area is taken as the leak point of the pipe under test.

[0020] Preferably, determining the detection location points within the first region includes:

[0021] The number of detection location points is determined based on the area of ​​the first region and marked as the number of location points. The larger the area of ​​the first region, the more detection location points there are.

[0022] Each detection location point is determined within the first region, wherein the detection location points are distributed in a matrix within the first region, and the number of detection location points is equal to the number of locations.

[0023] Preferably, the step of using the detection location with the highest sound signal intensity in the first area as the leak point of the pipe under test includes:

[0024] Mark the detection point with the strongest sound signal intensity in the first region as the target location point;

[0025] Obtain the preset difference value corresponding to the first region;

[0026] Detection points in the first region whose difference between the sound signal intensity and the sound signal intensity corresponding to the target location point is less than the preset difference are marked as locations to be analyzed.

[0027] Among the other detection locations in the first region besides the location to be analyzed, the detection location closest to the target location is marked as the comparison location.

[0028] Obtain the distance between the comparison location point and the target location point, and mark it as the comparison distance;

[0029] Determine whether the distance between each of the locations to be analyzed and the target location is less than the comparison distance;

[0030] If so, the target location point shall be taken as the leak point of the pipeline to be tested;

[0031] If not, the detection location points in the first area are redefined, and the redefined detection location points do not overlap with the previous detection location points. Then, the sound signal intensity is detected at each detection location point in the first area using the microphone, and the following steps are performed.

[0032] Preferably, obtaining the preset difference value corresponding to the first region includes:

[0033] Obtain the sound signal intensity value corresponding to the target location point;

[0034] Obtain the distance between adjacent detection points within the first region;

[0035] The preset difference is determined based on the sound signal intensity value corresponding to the target location point and the distance between adjacent detection location points in the first region. The larger the sound signal intensity value corresponding to the target location point, the larger the preset difference. The larger the distance between adjacent detection location points in the first region, the larger the preset difference.

[0036] Preferably, determining the area to be measured and the preset temperature includes:

[0037] Obtain the current air temperature, the inner diameter of the pipe to be tested, and the average distance between the pipe to be tested and the ground;

[0038] The preset temperature is determined based on the current air temperature, the inner diameter of the pipe to be tested, and the average distance value. The higher the current air temperature, the higher the preset temperature; the larger the inner diameter of the pipe to be tested, the higher the preset temperature; and the larger the average distance, the higher the preset temperature.

[0039] The present invention also proposes an underground pipeline positioning system based on infrared thermal imaging. This system is applied to the underground pipeline positioning method based on infrared thermal imaging as described in any of the above-mentioned methods. The system includes an infrared imager, a detection host, and a microphone. The infrared imager and the microphone are both communicatively connected to the detection host.

[0040] The above technical solution can achieve the following beneficial effects:

[0041] The underground pipeline location method based on infrared thermal imaging proposed in this invention can more quickly and easily find pipeline leaks. Specifically, hot water is first introduced into the pipeline to be tested. Then, the area where the leak point of the pipeline is located is determined by the infrared imager and marked as the first area. Because the hot water in the pipeline will leak out at the leak point, the temperature of the ground above the leak point will be higher than the temperature of the ground above other locations of the pipeline. That is, the leak point of the pipeline is located in the first area. Subsequently, by using a microphone to detect sound signals in the first area, the leak point of the pipeline can be directly determined. Since the first area is determined by the infrared imager, the detection range of the microphone is greatly reduced. Compared with the traditional method of operators holding a microphone to collect sound at various locations in the test area to determine the leak point, this method is more convenient, time-saving, and labor-saving. Attached Figure Description

[0042] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings without creative effort.

[0043] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of the first embodiment of an underground pipeline positioning method based on infrared thermal imaging proposed in this invention. Detailed Implementation

[0044] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

[0045] This invention proposes a method and system for locating underground pipelines based on infrared thermal imaging.

[0046] As attached Figure 1 As shown, in the first embodiment of the underground pipeline positioning method based on infrared thermal imaging proposed in this invention, this underground pipeline positioning method based on infrared thermal imaging is applied to an underground pipeline positioning system based on infrared thermal imaging; the system includes an infrared imager, a detection host, and a microphone; both the infrared imager and the microphone are communicatively connected to the detection host; this embodiment includes the following steps:

[0047] Step S110: Determine the area to be tested and the preset temperature, wherein the pipe to be tested is located underground in the area to be tested, and the temperature of the water flowing in the pipe to be tested is higher than the preset temperature.

[0048] Specifically, this embodiment takes the location of a leak in a household water pipe as an example; the area to be tested is the indoor floor area. When the location is started, hot water at a temperature higher than the preset temperature is continuously introduced into the pipe to be tested (for example, if the preset temperature is 75°C, then hot water at a temperature of 80°C is introduced) so that the temperature of the water flowing in the pipe to be tested is higher than the preset temperature.

[0049] Step S120: Determine the area where the leak point of the pipeline to be tested is located using the infrared imager, and mark it as the first area, wherein the first area is located within the area to be tested.

[0050] Specifically, the first region here is the area within the test zone where the temperature is higher than that of the pipe being tested. This is because hot water inside the pipe will leak out at the leak point, causing the ground temperature above the leak point of the pipe to be higher than the ground temperature above other locations of the pipe. In other words, the leak point of the pipe is located within the first region.

[0051] Step S130: Detect sound signals in the first area using the microphone.

[0052] Step S140: Based on the sound signal, determine the location of the leak point in the pipeline to be tested through the detection host.

[0053] Specifically, by detecting the intensity of the sound signal in the first area, a leak will occur in the pipeline under test at the leak point. This will cause the intensity of the sound signal detected directly above the leak point to be greater than the intensity of the sound signal detected above other locations on the pipeline under test. Therefore, the location with the strongest sound signal detected by the microphone in the first area corresponds to the leak point of the pipeline under test.

[0054] The underground pipeline location method based on infrared thermal imaging proposed in this invention can more quickly and easily find pipeline leaks. Specifically, hot water is first introduced into the pipeline to be tested. Then, the area where the leak point of the pipeline is located is determined by the infrared imager and marked as the first area. Because the hot water in the pipeline will leak out at the leak point, the temperature of the ground above the leak point will be higher than the temperature of the ground above other locations of the pipeline. That is, the leak point of the pipeline is located in the first area. Subsequently, by using a microphone to detect sound signals in the first area, the leak point of the pipeline can be directly determined. Since the first area is determined by the infrared imager, the detection range of the microphone is greatly reduced. Compared with the traditional method of operators holding a microphone to collect sound at various locations in the test area to determine the leak point, this method is more convenient, time-saving, and labor-saving.

[0055] In the second embodiment of the underground pipeline positioning method based on infrared thermal imaging proposed in this invention, based on the first embodiment, step S120 includes the following steps:

[0056] Step S210: Obtain the abnormal area determined after scanning the area to be tested by the infrared imager, wherein the abnormal area is an area in the area to be tested where the temperature is higher than the temperature of the ground above the pipe to be tested, and the pipe to be tested passes through the abnormal area.

[0057] Specifically, because hot water in the pipe will leak out at the leak point, the temperature of the ground above the leak point of the pipe under test will be higher than the temperature of the ground above other locations of the pipe under test, meaning that the leak point of the pipe under test is located in an abnormal area.

[0058] Step S220: Designate the abnormal region as the first region.

[0059] Specifically, this embodiment provides a specific scheme for determining the first region.

[0060] In the third embodiment of the underground pipeline positioning method based on infrared thermal imaging proposed in this invention, based on the first embodiment, step S130 includes the following steps:

[0061] Step S310: Determine the detection location points in the first area, wherein the number of detection location points is multiple.

[0062] Specifically, multiple detection locations are set up within the first area.

[0063] Step S320: Detect the sound signal intensity at each detection location point in the first area using the microphone.

[0064] Specifically, the intensity of the sound signal is detected at each detection point in the first area to facilitate the subsequent determination of the leak point in the pipeline under test.

[0065] In a fourth embodiment of the underground pipeline positioning method based on infrared thermal imaging proposed in this invention, based on the third embodiment, the system further includes an earphone communicatively connected to the detection host; the earphone is for use by the detection personnel; step S140 includes the following steps:

[0066] Step S410: Play the sound signal collected by the microphone in real time through the headphones.

[0067] Step S420: The detection point with the strongest sound signal intensity in the first area is taken as the leak point of the pipe to be tested.

[0068] Specifically, the sound signal collected by the microphone is played in real time through headphones, so that the operator can directly determine the leak point in the first area based on the intensity of the sound signal. That is, the detection point with the strongest sound signal intensity in the first area is the leak point of the pipeline under test.

[0069] In the fifth embodiment of the underground pipeline positioning method based on infrared thermal imaging proposed in this invention, based on the fourth embodiment, step S310 includes the following steps:

[0070] Step S510: Determine the number of detection location points based on the area of ​​the first region and mark them as the number of locations. The larger the area of ​​the first region, the more detection location points there are.

[0071] Specifically, the larger the area of ​​the first region, the more detection points can be set within the first region, thus making the location of the leak more accurate.

[0072] Step S520: Determine each detection location point in the first area, wherein each detection location point is distributed in a matrix in the first area, and the number of detection location points is the number of locations.

[0073] Specifically, by distributing the detection points in a matrix within the first region, the intensity of the sound signal at each detection point can be easily collected.

[0074] In the sixth embodiment of the underground pipeline positioning method based on infrared thermal imaging proposed in this invention, based on the fifth embodiment, step S420 includes the following steps:

[0075] Step S610: Mark the detection location point with the strongest sound signal intensity in the first area as the target location point.

[0076] Step S620: Obtain the preset difference value corresponding to the first region.

[0077] For example, in this embodiment, the preset difference is 5dB.

[0078] Step S630: Mark the detection location points in the first region where the difference between the sound signal intensity and the sound signal intensity corresponding to the target location point is less than the preset difference value as the location points to be analyzed.

[0079] Step S640: Mark the detection location point closest to the target location point among the other detection location points in the first region besides the location point to be analyzed as the comparison location point.

[0080] Step S650: Obtain the distance between the comparison location point and the target location point, and mark it as the comparison distance.

[0081] Step S660: Determine whether the distance between each of the locations to be analyzed and the target location is less than the comparison distance.

[0082] If so, proceed to step S670: designate the target location as the leak point of the pipeline to be tested.

[0083] If not, proceed to step S680: redetermine the detection location points in the first area, and ensure that the redetermined detection location points do not overlap with the previous detection location points, and proceed to step S320 and subsequent steps.

[0084] Specifically, if the distance between each location point to be analyzed and the target location point is less than the comparison distance, it means that each location point to be analyzed is surrounding the target location point, and there are no comparison location points around the target location point. This indicates that the detection results are relatively normal.

[0085] If the distance between each location point to be analyzed and the target location point is not less than the comparison distance, it indicates that comparison location points have appeared around the target location point. This means that the detection results are abnormal and it is necessary to re-detect to obtain the location of the leak point.

[0086] In the seventh embodiment of the underground pipeline positioning method based on infrared thermal imaging proposed in this invention, based on the sixth embodiment, step S620 includes the following steps:

[0087] Step S710: Obtain the sound signal intensity value corresponding to the target location point.

[0088] Step S720: Obtain the distance between adjacent detection locations within the first region.

[0089] Step S730: Determine the preset difference based on the sound signal intensity value corresponding to the target location point and the distance between adjacent detection location points in the first region. The larger the sound signal intensity value corresponding to the target location point, the larger the preset difference. The larger the distance between adjacent detection location points in the first region, the larger the preset difference.

[0090] Specifically, this embodiment provides a specific scheme for obtaining the preset difference value corresponding to the first region. The greater the distance between adjacent detection location points in the first region, the fewer the number of detection locations within a certain range. Therefore, the number of location points to be analyzed that can be compared with the target location point is small, and the preset difference value needs to be increased to ensure that there are enough location points to be analyzed.

[0091] In the ninth embodiment of the underground pipeline positioning method based on infrared thermal imaging proposed in this invention, based on the first embodiment, step S110 includes the following steps:

[0092] Step S910: Obtain the current temperature, the inner diameter of the pipe to be tested, and the average distance between the pipe to be tested and the ground.

[0093] Step S920: Determine a preset temperature based on the current air temperature, the inner diameter of the pipe to be tested, and the average distance value. The higher the current air temperature, the higher the preset temperature; the larger the inner diameter of the pipe to be tested, the higher the preset temperature; and the larger the average distance, the higher the preset temperature.

[0094] Specifically, if the current temperature is higher, the preset temperature needs to be set higher to more clearly distinguish the first area; if the inner diameter of the pipe under test is larger, the more heat the pipe under test will dissipate, and the temperature of the ground above the pipe will be correspondingly higher, so the preset temperature needs to be set higher to more clearly distinguish the first area; if the average distance is larger, the less heat the pipe under test can dissipate to the ground, so the preset temperature needs to be set higher to more clearly distinguish the first area.

[0095] The present invention also proposes an underground pipeline positioning system based on infrared thermal imaging. This system is applied to the underground pipeline positioning method based on infrared thermal imaging as described in any of the above embodiments. The system includes an infrared imager, a detection host, and a microphone. The infrared imager and the microphone are both communicatively connected to the detection host.

[0096] The sequence numbers of the above embodiments of the present invention are for descriptive purposes only and do not represent the superiority or inferiority of the embodiments.

[0097] Through the above description of the embodiments, those skilled in the art can clearly understand that the methods of the above embodiments can be implemented by means of software plus necessary general-purpose hardware platforms. Of course, they can also be implemented by hardware, but in many cases the former is a better implementation method. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of the present invention, or the part that contributes to the prior art, can be embodied in the form of a software product. The computer software product is stored in a storage medium (such as ROM / RAM, magnetic disk, optical disk) and includes several instructions to cause a terminal (which may be a mobile phone, computer, server, air conditioner, or network device, etc.) to execute the methods described in the various embodiments of the present invention.

[0098] The embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above. The specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Those skilled in the art can make many other forms under the guidance of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims. All of these forms are within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for locating underground pipelines based on infrared thermal imaging, characterized in that, An application to an underground pipeline location system based on infrared thermal imaging; the system includes an infrared imager, a detection host, and a microphone; Both the infrared imager and the microphone are communicatively connected to the detection host; the method includes: The area to be tested and the preset temperature are determined, wherein the pipe to be tested is located underground in the area to be tested, and the temperature of the water flowing in the pipe to be tested is higher than the preset temperature; The infrared imager determines the area where the leak point of the pipeline under test is located and marks it as the first area, wherein the first area is located within the area under test; The microphone is used to detect sound signals within the first area; Based on the sound signal, the location of the leak point in the pipeline under test is determined by the detection host. The step of detecting sound signals in the first area using the microphone includes: Determine the detection location points within the first region, wherein the number of detection location points is multiple; The microphone is used to detect the sound signal intensity at each detection point within the first area. The system also includes an earpiece communicatively connected to the detection host; the earpiece is for use by detection personnel; determining the location of the leak point in the pipeline under test based on the sound signal via the detection host includes: The sound signal collected by the microphone is played in real time through the headphones; The detection point with the strongest sound signal intensity in the first area is taken as the leak point of the pipe under test; Determining the detection location points within the first region includes: The number of detection location points is determined based on the area of ​​the first region and marked as the number of location points. The larger the area of ​​the first region, the more detection location points there are. Each detection location point is determined within the first region, wherein the detection location points are distributed in a matrix within the first region, and the number of detection location points is equal to the number of locations. The step of identifying the detection point with the highest sound signal intensity within the first region as the leak point of the pipe under test includes: Mark the detection point with the strongest sound signal intensity in the first region as the target location point; Obtain the preset difference value corresponding to the first region; Detection points in the first region whose difference between the sound signal intensity and the sound signal intensity corresponding to the target location point is less than the preset difference are marked as locations to be analyzed. Among the other detection locations in the first region besides the location to be analyzed, the detection location closest to the target location is marked as the comparison location. Obtain the distance between the comparison location point and the target location point, and mark it as the comparison distance; Determine whether the distance between each of the locations to be analyzed and the target location is less than the comparison distance; If so, the target location point shall be taken as the leak point of the pipeline to be tested; If not, the detection location points in the first area are re-determined, and the re-determined detection location points do not overlap with the previous detection location points. Then, the sound signal intensity is detected at each detection location point in the first area using the microphone, and the following steps are performed. The determination of the area to be measured and the preset temperature includes: Obtain the current air temperature, the inner diameter of the pipe to be tested, and the average distance between the pipe to be tested and the ground; The preset temperature is determined based on the current air temperature, the inner diameter of the pipe to be tested, and the average distance value. The higher the current air temperature, the higher the preset temperature; the larger the inner diameter of the pipe to be tested, the higher the preset temperature; and the larger the average distance value, the higher the preset temperature. The step of obtaining the preset difference value corresponding to the first region includes: Obtain the sound signal intensity value corresponding to the target location point; Obtain the distance between adjacent detection points within the first region; The preset difference is determined based on the sound signal intensity value corresponding to the target location point and the distance between adjacent detection location points in the first region. The larger the sound signal intensity value corresponding to the target location point, the larger the preset difference. The larger the distance between adjacent detection location points in the first region, the larger the preset difference.

2. The method for locating underground pipelines based on infrared thermal imaging according to claim 1, characterized in that, The process of determining the area where the leak point of the pipeline under test is located using the infrared imager and marking it as the first area includes: An abnormal region is obtained after scanning the area to be tested by the infrared imager, wherein the abnormal region is a region in the area to be tested where the temperature is higher than the temperature of the ground above the pipe to be tested, and the pipe to be tested passes through the abnormal region. The abnormal region is designated as the first region.

3. An underground pipeline positioning system based on infrared thermal imaging, characterized in that, The method for locating underground pipelines based on infrared thermal imaging, as described in any one of claims 1-2.

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