Experimental investigation of water pipeline leakage monitoring utilizing piezoelectric distributed acoustic sensing technology

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

In the context of escalating global water security concerns, effective monitoring of water pipeline leakages remains a critical challenge, with existing distributed sensing technologies falling short in sensitivity and accuracy. This study introduces a novel application of piezoelectric-distributed acoustic sensing (PDAS) technology using sensor-enabled piezoelectric geocable (SPGC) to address these limitations. Our approach enhances both the sensitivity and the positional accuracy of leakage detection. Through a series of controlled experiments, we demonstrate that the SPGC technology can discern leakage signals with high precision, with a remarkable increase in effective voltage from 2.263 to 19.636 mV, marking an 867% increase. This advancement allows for the accurate location of leakage points and the derivation of a voltage–pressure leakage equation. The research results not only validate the effectiveness of SPGC in monitoring pipeline leakages but also contribute to the development of a new distributed monitoring method, offering significant potential for long-term operation and maintenance of water pipelines. Combined with the voltage vibration signal of the SPGC, a method for pipeline leak identification and location based on the flow velocity equation was proposed. The research results are expected to provide a new distributed monitoring method for long-term operation and maintenance of water pipelines.