Ten years of experience with leak detection by acoustic signal analysis

Abstract

Leaks in pipelines cause unnecessary waste of scarce resources and often endanger the environment. The Fraunhofer-Institut für Bauphysik (IBP), therefore, together with Technische Werke der Stadt Stuttgart (TWS), have developed and tested an effective acoustical technique of leak detection by correlation analysis (LOKAL). In the meantime several mobile measurement units for systematic checks of water supply systems have been established, and a compact electronic device has been developed and recently put on the market by Ingenieurgesellschaft für angewandte Sensortechnik (FAST). Ten years of experience with systematic surveys of water supply networks have shown that the specific losses can be reduced, on average, from approximately 1000 to less than 500 m 3/km per year. The new technique thus opens new possibilities of conserving precious water resources.