Leak Detection In Water Pipes By Pressure Monitoring Method

Authors

  • Ettouhami Mohamed Karim , Mounir Hamid

Abstract

Leaks in the pipes of a water network cause significant losses. These losses are quantified in Morocco, for
the year 2019, at 30% of the quantity produced. This contribution aims to propose a method based on pressure
control to predict and locate in real time the cracks at the origin of these losses. A model based on the finite
element method has been developed to simulate the pressure profile in the water pipe with elliptical leak. For a
cylindrical PVC pipe tested, the results showed that when the water reaches the hole, the fluid undergoes an
overpressure then a significant depression. The study of the effect of the hole dimension show that the observed
depression increase when the hole dimension increase. Also we showed that the inlet water pressure does not
affect the flow profile. Consequently, the pressure can be used as control parameter to predict leaks in the pipes.

Published

2020-11-01

Issue

Section

Articles