Experimental Study Employing EMI-based Piezoelectric Diaphragms to Detect Water Leakages in PVC Pipes

de Oliveira, Mario A. and Pinto, Rodrigo (2024) Experimental Study Employing EMI-based Piezoelectric Diaphragms to Detect Water Leakages in PVC Pipes. In: 11th European Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring (EWSHM 2024), 10th - 13th June 2024, Potsdam, Germany.

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Abstract

Considering the increased demand for using natural resources sustainably, water is an ultra-valuable resource to be preserved. Notwithstanding, Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) pipes, which are mainly used in complex building water distribution systems, are still in use and present a considerable rate of water loss. Unfortunately, the recently developed Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) has not deeply covered leaks in those pipes. To fill this gap, this approach proposes an experimental study to assess the feasibility of using Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) diaphragms to detect water leaks in these structures. Experimental tests were conducted by attaching one PZT diaphragm to a mini-scale water distribution system, where the leakage scenarios were simulated by opening taps. To attest to the effectiveness of the methodology, it calculated statistical metrics between the baseline (without leaks) and unknown conditions. The experimental results are promising and may be extrapolated to detect water losses in a full-scale water-distributing system.

Item Type:	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
Dates:	Date Event 1 July 2024 Accepted 1 July 2024 Published Online
Uncontrolled Keywords:	water distribution, monitoring systems, PZT, impedance signatures
Divisions:	Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment > College of Engineering
Depositing User:	Gemma Tonks
Date Deposited:	24 Jun 2024 14:18
Last Modified:	24 Jun 2024 14:18
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/15563