Abstract
Pipelines can deliver water quickly and appropriately to consumers in the amount needed. While they are a growing trend in irrigation water use systems, pipelines are difficult to maintain because they are mostly buried underground. In recent years, the number of sudden accidents (loss of facility function due to causes other than disasters) has been increasing in Japan as the number of aging irrigation water use facilities increases, with agricultural pipeline leakage accidents accounting for 70% of all accidents. It is necessary to detect the presence, and location of leaks quickly and accurately before damage escalates to reduce such sudden accidents. In this study, a leak detection method using pressure transients, which is expected to be a low-cost, low-effort, and highly accurate method, was tested on an agricultural pipeline system to verify the effectiveness of the method. As a result, it was found that the leak location can be estimated with an error of less than 2 to 3% of the total pipe length. It was also shown that it is essential to accumulate periodic pressure transient data with the same change in pressure head during valve closure, and that the scope of application of this method can be expanded and its accuracy improved by developing suitable water utilization facilities. This method can be easily incorporated into functional diagnosis in pipeline asset management and is expected to save labor and improve the sophistication of leak location identification.
Key words: Irrigation water, Pipeline, Leak detection method, Pressure transients