Method of estimating location of abnormality in fluid feed pipeline network

• US 6,912,472 B2
• Filed: 05/07/2003
• Issued: 06/28/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Enegene Co., Ltd. (Hamanen Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Enegene Co., Ltd. (Hamanen Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Fujiwara, Takahiro, Mizushina, Shizuo, Adachi, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Bui, Bryan
• Assistant Examiner(s): Washburn, Douglas N
• Application Number:
  US10/430,434
• Publication Number:
  US 20040093172A1
• Time in Patent Office: 783 Days
• Field of Search: 73/37, 73/40, 73/405.R, 73/491, 738/614.9, 73/49, 702/33, 702/35, 702/36, 702/45, 702/50, 702/51, 702/113, 702/127, 702/138, 702/1, 137/14, 137/15.11, 175/48
• US Class Current: 702/51
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 3/2807 for pipes G01M3/2892, G01M3/30 take precedence

Abstract

A method of detecting the location of a failure (e.g., a sudden leak) in a fluid pipeline network, which can be suitably used for estimation of the location of a failure in a water pipeline network, includes the steps of periodically measuring a flow rate or fluid pressure with sensors arranged at a plurality of measuring points along a pipeline in a water pipeline network; comparing a latest measured amount and a previous measured amount at each measuring point to determine if an amount of change at an arbitrary point has exceeded a predetermined value; and calculating a position at which an amount of change becomes maximum, the position being calculated from the magnitudes of the amounts of changes in respective measured values at the time of the detection. The pipeline network may be a water supply and distribution pipeline network which includes a trunk pipeline and branch pipelines.

Claims

1. A method of estimating the location of a sudden leak in either a trunk line or locating the junction of a branch line containing a sudden leak in a water feed pipe line network, comprising the steps of:

(a) detecting a leak by comparing a measured pressure and previous measured pressure at each sensor location to determine if the amount of pressure difference at any arbitrary sensor exceeds a predetermined value;

(b) calculating an upstream fitting curve based on the pressure differences measured by a plurality of sensors, where the amount of pressure difference between the source and the leak gradually increases when measured from a water supply source;

(c) calculating a downstream fitting curve based on the pressure differences measured by a plurality of sensors, where the amount of pressure difference between the leak and the end of the trunk line gradually decreases when measured from a water supply source; and

(d) estimating the location of the sudden leak in the trunk line or the branch line by calculating a point of intersection of the two fitting curves.

2. A method of estimating the location of the leak in the water feed pipeline network according to claim 1, wherein in a case that a leak at a junction section of a branch pipeline or a leak in a part downstream of the junction section of the branch pipeline is estimated from the position at which the amount of a pressure difference becomes the maximum, the method identifies one or more branch pipelines in the order of being closer to the estimated distance at which the amount of the difference becomes the maximum.

3. A method of estimating the location of the leak in the water feed pipeline network according to claim 1, wherein in a case that a leak of a trunk line is estimated from the position at which the amount of a pressure difference becomes the maximum, the position at which the amount of the difference becomes the maximum is estimated to be the position of a leak of the trunk line.

4. A method of estimating the location of the leak in the water feed pipeline network according to claim 1, wherein each sensor is located at a position at which an air valve or a fire hydrant is provided in the water supply and distribution pipeline network.

5. A method of estimating the location of the leak in the water feed pipeline network according to claim 1, wherein data at a point at which the amount of the difference at each measuring point becomes the maximum is used as data that forms either the fitting curve for the region where the amount of the difference gradually increases from the supply source of the water or the fitting curve for the region where the amount of the difference gradually decreases to the end of trunk line.

6. A method of estimating the location of the leak in the water feed pipeline network according to claim 1, comprising the steps of:

calculating a first value of pressure difference, the first value of pressure difference being obtained from a point of intersection of the fitting curve for the region where the amount of the difference gradually increases from the supply source of the water, wherein the data at a point at which the amount of the difference at each measuring point becomes the maximum is used as data to determine the fitting curve for the region where the amount of the difference increases, and the other fitting curve;

calculating a second value of pressure difference, the second value of pressure difference being obtained from a point of intersection of the fitting curve for the region where the amount of the difference gradually decreases from the supply source of the water, wherein the data at the point at which the amount of the difference at each measuring point becomes the maximum is used as data to determine the fitting curve for the region where the amount of the difference decreases, and the other fitting curve;

calculating a third value of pressure difference, the third value of pressure difference being obtained from a point of intersection of the two fitting curves, wherein the data at the point at which the amount of the difference at each measuring point becomes the maximum is used as both data to form the fitting curve for the region where the amount of the difference gradually increases from the supply source of the water and data to form the fitting curve for the region where the amount of the difference gradually decreases to the end of trunk line;

comparing the first, the second, and the third values of pressure difference and selecting a distance at which pressure difference is greatest; and

determining the distance at which pressure difference is greatest as the location of the leak.

7. A method of estimating the location of the leak in a water feed pipeline network according to claim 6, further comprising the step of:

calculating a pipe pressure that corresponds to the distance at which pressure difference is greatest, wherein the pipe pressure is calculated from the distance, and the distance corresponds to the point of intersection of the two fitting curves in the case of claim 6.