ANALYSIS OF FIRST TRANSIENT PRESSURE OSCILLATION FOR LEAKDETECTION IN A SINGLE PIPELINE

The leak detection is of great importance in the reliable operation and management of a pipeline system. Recently,attention is shifted to the use of the time domain or frequency domain methods based on the transient analysis. These methodssometimes require accurate pressure signals obtained during the transient period or by creating ideal conditions in testing. This paperproposes a method that does not require transient simulations over the whole or an extended period of time, but uses the first transientpressure oscillation to detect leaks. The method considers the propagation of the pressure oscillation wave created from a fast valveclosure and the reflected damp wave from the leak. A leak in the pipe gives rise to reflected waves which in turn creatediscontinuities in the observed signal at the measurement section. The timing of the reflected damp wave and the magnituderepresent the location and the size of the leak, respectively. An analytical expression is derived based on the Method OfCharacteristic (MOC) for the relationship between the leakage and the reflected magnitude. The leak detection procedure based onthe method is also given. Then the reliability of the method is tested on numerically simulated pressure signals and experimentalpressure signals with calibrated leak parameters, and the results indicate a successful application and the promising features of themethod.