A holistic transient wave analysis method for multiple defects detection in water pipelines

Urban water supply system (UWSS) undertakes the daily water distribution of a city. Huge loss of water and energy can be caused if the pipe system is aging and damaged. Current average water leakage rate in UWSS around the world is above 30%, this critical number indicates that it is necessary and urgent to develop innovative method for effective water loss management in UWSS. This study aims to develop a new transient wave analysis method (TWAM) on the basis of signal processing method Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition (EEMD) based Hilbert-Huang Transformation (HHT) for its superiority on non-linear and non-stationary signal. Compared to current leak detection methods, this new TWAM is a real-time, non-invasive method that can support long term monitoring of the UWSS. Various numerical and experimental applications were applied to test and validate this method. The results and achievement of this study helped to improve the detection efficiency of leaks in pipeline, provide the quick response and identification of pipeline operation conditions by monitoring the UWSS, and therefore reduce the risk of water loss, strengthen the water supply security, enhance the efficiency of urban water use, thus achieve sustainability of UWSS development.