Multi-leak detection and isolation in fluid pipelines

Abstract

A multi-leak detection system for pipelines is designed and tested. The multi-leak detection problem is solved using only sensors of flow and pressure at the extremes of the duct, and using the analytical redundancy given of these measurements. The leak detection design is based on a distributed pipeline model that is discretized in space and assumes a set of leaks distributed through the duct. Leak location is accomplished by evaluating the residuals of a bank of unknown input observers that are robust against one leak and sensitive to the rest. Simulation and experimental results are reported to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach when two leaks appear simultaneously.