Fluid Loss Assessment in Distribution Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for evaluating water loss in fluid distribution networks fail to accurately distinguish between leaks and other forms of water usage or theft, leading to incomplete and inaccurate assessments.
Innovation Solution
A method involving repeated measurement periods divided into time intervals, where main and secondary fluid meters acquire and calculate measurement differences to determine a minimum value representing water lost, excluding non-leak-related usage, and multiplying this value by the number of intervals to estimate total water lost.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the ratio between distributed water volume and consumed water volume is used as an indicator, then water loss assessment can be performed, but the method cannot distinguish between leaks and other water usage (public services, theft)
Solution Approach 1:
The measurement period is segmented into multiple time intervals, and the assessment is performed for each interval separately. This allows identification of abnormal water loss patterns that occur specifically during certain periods (such as nighttime when consumption should be minimal), thereby distinguishing leaks from normal consumption variations or scheduled public services.
Solution Approach 2:
The method performs preliminary assessment of water loss by calculating the difference between distributed and consumed volumes for each time interval before making final leak detection decisions. This preliminary action establishes a baseline that helps differentiate between expected water usage (including public services) and abnormal loss indicating leaks.
2Ease of operation
If simple volume ratio methods are used, then assessment is straightforward, but the assessment is incomplete and inaccurate for leak detection
Solution Approach 1:
The method transitions from a static overall volume ratio assessment to a dynamic time-interval-based assessment. By continuously evaluating water loss across multiple time intervals within a measurement period, the system adapts to varying consumption patterns and can dynamically identify when abnormal loss occurs, maintaining operational simplicity while significantly improving leak detection accuracy.
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
Method for evaluating a quantity of fluid lost in a network (1), comprising the steps of: - for each time interval of a given measurement period, acquiring a primary measurement taken by the primary fluid meter (PCM) and representative of a quantity of fluid distributed via the primary conduit (3) during said time interval, and, for each secondary fluid meter (PCM), acquiring a secondary measurement taken by said secondary fluid meter and representative of a quantity of fluid distributed via the secondary conduit (4) to which said secondary fluid meter is connected during said time interval; - calculating a difference in measurements equal to a difference between the primary measurement and the sum of the secondary measurements; - determining a minimum value of the differences in measurements over the given measurement period; - evaluating the quantity of fluid lost over the given measurement period from the minimum value.