Pipeline Condition Assessment by Instantaneous Frequency Response over Hydroinformatics Based Technique—An Experimental and Field Analysis

A common issue in water infrastructure is that it suffers from leakage. The hydroinformatics technique for recognizing the presence of leaks in the pipeline system by means of pressure transient analysis was briefly explored in this study. Various studies have been done of improvised leak detection methods, and Hilbert Huang Transform has the potential to overcome the concern. The HHT processing algorithm has been successfully proven through simulation and experimentally tested to evaluate the ability of pressure transient analysis to predict and locate the leakage in the pipeline system. However, HHT relies on the selection of the suitable IMF in the pre-processing phase which will determine the precision of the estimated leak location. This paper introduces a NIKAZ filter technique for automatic selector of Intrinsic Mode Function (IMF). A laboratory-scale experimental test platform was constructed with a 68-metre long Medium Polyethylene (MDPE) pipe with 63 mm in diameter used for this study and equipped with a circular orifice as an artificial leak in varying sizes with a system of 2 bar to 4 bar water pressure. The results showed that, although with a low ratio of signal-to-noise, the proposed method could be used as an automatic selector for Intrinsic Mode Function (IMF). Experimental tests showed the efficiency, and the work method was successful as an automatic selector of IMF. The proposed mathematical algorithm was then finally evaluated on field measurement tested on-site of a real pipeline system. The results recommended NIKAZ as an automatic selector of IMF to increase the degree of automation of HHT technique, subsequently enhancing the detection and identification of water pipeline leakage.