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Acoustic Leak Localization Method for Pipelines in High-Noise Environment Using Time-Frequency Signal Segmentation

Many practical applications that involve the transportation of fluid products require the use of pipeline networks. A serious problem that emerges in this kind of networks and compromises their safety and normal operation is the occurrence of leaks. Despite the fact that extensive research has been conducted over the years, relative to the development of reliable and efficient leak detection and localization systems, not so much has been presented about pipelines in high-noise environment. This article aims to contribute to the filling of this gap. To this end, a leak localization method is proposed, based on the propagation of acoustic signals in a pipeline when a leak is present. This method employs the use of accelerometers mounted on the external surface of the monitored pipeline, in order to pick up the acoustic–vibrational leak signals. These signals are segmented both in the time and frequency domains and a time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) algorithm along with statistical analysis is used for the identification of the leak position. The objective of this is to deal with the stochastic nature and the dispersion of the leak acoustic signals and to ensure that the proposed method can easily adapt to different pipelines and can provide efficient localization accuracy even under high-noise conditions. The proposed method was tested experimentally, both in a laboratory setup and in a refinery pipeline with high ambient noise, and the results showed that it can localize leaks efficiently with an average localization error of 4.3%.