Use of a zero-crossing matching algorithm for leak detection in buried water pipes

Yifan Ma, Yan Gao, Bin Liu, Jun Yang

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Water leakage from underground pipe networks has been a major concern due to the environmental damage and economic losses. Acoustic techniques based on cross-correlation are now in common use for water leak detection in many countries. This paper presents a zero-crossing matching (ZCM) algorithm for time delay estimation (TDE) to locate a leak from buried waterpipes. Theoretical analysis has been performed on simulated signals from which the time delay is further determined. It is found that the accuracy of the time delay estimateis affected by the selection of the window length and the maximum time lag. The ZCM algorithm is then applied to leak signal measurements made in an actualPVC water pipe and the effectiveness of the proposed TDE method is evaluated. In comparison with the conventional cross-correlationmethod, the algorithm has shown the advantage for ease of computation without loss of accuracy, which proves to be suited to this particular application.

Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - 2017
Externally publishedYes
Event46th International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering: Taming Noise and Moving Quiet, INTER-NOISE 2017 - Hong Kong, China
Duration: Aug 27 2017Aug 30 2017

Conference

Conference46th International Congress and Exposition on Noise Control Engineering: Taming Noise and Moving Quiet, INTER-NOISE 2017
Country/TerritoryChina
CityHong Kong
Period8/27/178/30/17

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Institute of Noise Control Engineering. All rights reserved.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • Acoustics and Ultrasonics

Keywords

  • Leak detection
  • Time delay estimation
  • Water pipe

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