Automated leak localization performance without detailed demand distribution data

Abstract

Automatic leak localization has been suggested to reduce the time and personnel efforts needed to localize (small) leaks. Yet, the available methods require a detailed demand distribution model for successful calibration and good leak localization performance. The main aim of this work was to analyze whether such a detailed demand distribution is needed. Two demand distributions were used: a factorized distribution that distributes the inflow demand proportionally across the consumption nodes according to individual billing data, and a uniform distribution that equally distributes demand across all consumption nodes. The performance of the automatic leak localization method, using both demand distribution models, was compared. A new measure for leak localization performance that is based on the percentage of false positive nodes is proposed. It was possible to localize the leaks with both demand distribution models, although performance varied depending on the timing and duration of the measurement.