Water Widget Leak Detection for Flexible Plumbing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods fail to accurately detect water leaks and calculate leak flow rates in residential plumbing systems, especially those with flexible materials and components, due to their inability to account for material expansion and variation in leak rates over time.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a static 'water widget', an expansion gauge connected through a controllable manifold, and a mathematical 'phantom water widget' model, along with a software program, is used to determine the leak flow rate by representing the difference in water volume between pressurized and non-pressurized systems, allowing for precise measurement of cross-sectional area and leak rate calculation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional water meter monitoring is used to detect leaks, then leak detection is possible, but the method cannot locate small leaks quickly and fails to account for leak rate variation due to flexible materials
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the plumbing system into measurable sections by temporarily isolating zones using closure members (valves). This allows focused measurement of specific segments rather than monitoring the entire system, enabling faster and more precise leak detection in targeted areas.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-isolating measurement zones and establishing baseline flow conditions before actual leak detection begins. Closure members are positioned and initial measurements are taken to account for normal system variations before testing for leaks.
2Reliability
If permanent flow monitoring devices are installed to continuously monitor for leaks, then leak detection capability is improved, but device complexity and installation requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses temporary, portable flow measurement devices that can be quickly deployed and removed, rather than permanent installations. These temporary devices are simple to set up and can be reused across different locations, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining detection reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces temporary closure members and portable flow meters as intermediary tools between the permanent plumbing infrastructure and the detection process. These intermediaries enable flexible, non-invasive measurement without requiring permanent modifications to the plumbing system.
3Adaptability or versatility
If flexible materials like PEX tubing are used in plumbing systems, then system flexibility and modern design are improved, but accurate determination of leak flow rate becomes difficult due to expansion and contraction
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary measurements of the plumbing system's volume characteristics before leak detection. By understanding the expansion and contraction behavior of flexible materials under different pressure conditions, the system can compensate for these variations when calculating actual leak flow rates.
Solution Approach 2:
The system measures flow rates at multiple pressure parameters and uses the differential measurements to account for volume changes in flexible materials. By conducting measurements at different pressure levels and analyzing the variations, the system can distinguish between material expansion/contraction and actual leak flow.
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
This system efficiently detects leaks and calculates flow rates in plumbing systems with flexible components, providing accurate results by accounting for material expansion and pressure variations, thus overcoming the limitations of prior methods.
Implementation Method 1
flexible materials, such as PEX tubing, which expand and contract depending on temperature and pressure
Implementation Method 2
determining a flow rate based on pressure variations
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention is a system and method for quickly and efficiently detecting water leaks and leak flow rates in plumbing systems which can include flexible materials and components. The preferred system is comprised of a static device (known as a “water widget”), an expansion gauge temporarily connected to the physical system through a controllable manifold, a mathematical model (known as a “phantom water widget”), and a software program which accepts input related to the physical system and which outputs a result.