Valve-Based Leak Localization in Water Pipe Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current leak localization methods in urban water supply networks are inefficient, costly, and lack accuracy, especially in complex networks, as they require high-precision hydraulic models and large data sets, and often result in equifinality and low reliability.
Innovation Solution
An efficient method using valve operations and online water metering, where existing valves in a district metering area are decomposed into sub-areas through optimal valve closing strategies, reducing the leaking area through graph theory-based methods and water balance analysis, allowing for continuous reduction of the leaking area until no further valve operations are needed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If equipment-based methods (listening rods, leaking noise correlation instruments, ground penetrating radar) are used for leak localization, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and cost increase, and productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The water supply network is divided into multiple District Metering Areas (DMAs), and each DMA is further segmented into sub-areas using valve operations. This hierarchical segmentation allows the system to first identify the general leaking DMA, then progressively narrow down to specific sub-areas, achieving both high localization accuracy and improved efficiency by reducing the search space at each level.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intelligent system as an intermediary that combines valve operation data, online water metering data, and hydraulic models to identify leaking areas. This intermediary system processes multiple data sources and automatically determines sub-areas containing leaks, replacing the need for direct equipment-based detection in the entire network while maintaining high precision.
2Productivity
If transient-based methods, optimization-based methods, or data-driven methods are used to reduce leaking area, then productivity is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to equifinality issues in complex networks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple approaches by combining valve operation strategies with online water balance analysis and hydraulic models. This integration allows the system to use valve operations to create isolated sub-areas, then apply water balance analysis to reliably identify which sub-areas contain leaks, reducing equifinality issues by adding multiple constraining conditions from different data sources.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback by continuously monitoring online water metering data and comparing it with expected consumption patterns. When anomalies are detected in specific sub-areas, the system uses this feedback to identify leaking areas and adjusts valve operations accordingly, creating a closed-loop system that improves reliability through continuous verification.
3Measurement precision
If high-precision hydraulic models and large data sets are required for leak localization, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation worsen
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing hydraulic models and organizing network topology data before actual leak detection occurs. Valve operation strategies are pre-planned to systematically divide the network into manageable sub-areas. This preliminary preparation allows the system to quickly respond to leak detections without requiring complex real-time model calibration or data processing during the actual localization process.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure belongs to the field of municipal engineering and urban water supply network, and provides an efficient method for localizing leaks in a districted metering area (DMA) of water supply pipe networks based on valve operations and online water metering, which is implemented in multiple stages to gradually reduce the leaking area. At each stage, the DMA is firstly decomposed into two sub-areas using an optimized valve operation strategy determined by a minimized objective function, wherein a graph theory-based method is used for the solution. Then the sub-areas containing leaks are identified through online water balance analysis based on smart demand meters, thereby reducing the leaking area. The minimum leaking area is identified with the least number of valve operations. Compared with the traditional methods, the method of the present disclosure can obviously improve the efficiency and accuracy of leak localization and is easy to implement.