Preliminary investigations on automatic detection of leaks in water distribution networks by means of vibration monitoring

The efficiency of water supply networks is an important issue. In order to reduce water losses, policies of leak reduction are essential. The paper deals with a preliminary study on the use of vibration monitoring tools for the detection of leaks in water service pipelines. The long-term project is the development of a system for automatically detecting burst leaks occurring in service pipes. Preliminary experimental tests were performed on both a test rig and an actual service pipe of the water distribution system. Three main objectives were achieved: firstly, the effectiveness of vibration monitoring for leak detection purposes was assessed providing a positive response; then, a prototypal detection procedure was studied, implemented and tested on the preliminary experimental data; finally, the specifications for a prototypal acquisition equipment were also determined. This paper illustrates the experimental campaign and its main results.