A Novel Leakage-Detection Method Based on Sensitivity Matrix of Pipe Flow: Case Study of Water Distribution Systems

Urban water supply networks are important infrastructure to ensure the daily water consumption of urban residents and factories. However, the scope of leakage detection is large and inaccurate using the traditional leakage-detection method based on a sensitivity matrix of the nodal flow. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel leakage-detection method based on a sensitivity matrix of the pipe flow. The sensitivity matrices regarding the pipe flow to nodal pressure and pipe flow are deduced. Then, the least-square method based on the sensitivity of the pipe flow is used to fit the actual leakage state of the pipeline network. Moreover, the leaking pipeline is determined by using the fitting residuals of each pipeline. Finally, the proposed method is applied to fit the leakage detection of water distribution systems. Compared with the traditional leakage-detection method, the results show that the proposed method is more accurate and effective in locating the leaky pipe and improving the utilization rate of water resources.