Fluid-Bearing Structure Pressure Sensing for Early Leak Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for detecting water leaks in fluid-bearing structures, such as pipes, are time-consuming, expensive, and unreliable, particularly for micro-leakages, which are difficult to spot due to their small flow rates and often concealed locations, posing risks of severe water damage and health issues.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising local arrangements with valves, pressure sensors, and processing units that create hydrostatic subnetworks to measure pressure differences, apply clustering methods, and build multi-dimensional latent space models to detect leakages using unsupervised and supervised learning, providing early and reliable detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If known systems and methods are used for detecting leaking water pipes, then detection can be performed, but the process is time-consuming and expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical inspection methods with an acoustic detection system that uses sensors to listen for leak sounds. The processing unit analyzes acoustic signals to automatically detect leaks, eliminating the need for manual, time-consuming mechanical inspections while maintaining high reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces acoustic signals as an intermediary to detect leaks. Instead of directly observing or mechanically testing for leaks, the system uses sound waves generated by leaking water as a mediator to indicate the presence and location of leaks, enabling fast and reliable detection.
2Reliability
If traditional detection methods are used, then leaks can be detected, but false positive results occur leading to mistrust
Solution Approach 1:
The processing unit analyzes acoustic signals and provides feedback to distinguish true leaks from false positives. By continuously monitoring and analyzing sound patterns, the system learns to differentiate between actual leak sounds and other noises, reducing false positives while maintaining manageable system complexity through intelligent signal processing.
3Measurement precision
If micro-leakages are detected using conventional methods, then detection is possible, but it requires specialized cleaning and is expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses acoustic sensing to detect micro-leakages, replacing expensive and complex specialized cleaning methods. The acoustic detection system can identify even tiny leaks through sound analysis, providing high measurement precision at a lower cost by eliminating the need for invasive inspection and cleaning procedures.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If concealed leakages are spotted, then damage prevention is possible, but detection difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses acoustic signals as an intermediary to detect concealed leaks behind walls and cladding. The sound waves generated by leaking water can penetrate or travel through building materials, allowing the detection system to locate concealed leaks without physical access, thereby preventing water damage while overcoming detection difficulties.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables fast, cost-effective, and accurate detection of fluid leaks, reducing the risk of water damage and health hazards by identifying potential leaks before they become severe.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure sensor for measuring the fluid pressure in the hydrostatic subnetwork
Data Source
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AI summary
This invention relates to a system for detecting leakages in a fluid-bearing structure, the system comprising at least a local arrangement arranged at a fluid-bearing structure and comprising at least a valve for closing a fluid line of the fluid-bearing structure to create a hydrostatic subnetwork within the fluid-bearing structure, a pressure sensor (2) for measuring the fluid pressure in the hydrostatic subnetwork, a processing unit (3), an operating unit (10), whereby the processing unit (3) is adapted to direct the valve to close itself, to direct the pressure sensor (2) to measure the fluid pressure, to transmit a measured designated value to the operating unit (10), to direct the valve to open itself, whereby the operating unit (10) is adapted to receive a measured designated value from the processing unit (3), to command the processing unit (3) to direct, to determine a leakage likelihood and a measurement duration associated with the arranged fluid-bearing structure based on a calculated fluid pressure difference, to build a multi-dimensional latent space model based on multiple pressure differences between the measured fluid pressure and a predefined reference fluid pressure and based on the corresponding measurement duration of each pressure difference, to apply a clustering method to the built latent space in order to define at least two clusters, whereby the clusters represent different confidence levels regarding the detection of a leakage, to transform consecutive pressure measurements into a multi-dimensional data representation representing an individual fluid-bearing structure, to determine to which cluster the transformed multi-dimensional data representation belongs in order to yield the leakage confidence level of the corresponding fluid-bearing structure.