Pipeline Leakage Detection by Means of Acoustic Emission Technique Using Cross-Correlation Function

There are many difficulties and constraints when carrying out the inspection and maintenance of underground technological pipes. Accidental leakage occurs invariably and can represent a matter of great concern for the environment and the economy. In addition, during the last decade, reliable and secure systems are required for detecting leaks, due to stricter legal rules implemented in developed countries; the acoustic emission (AE) technique, which was widely used as a non-destructive testing (NDT) technique for detecting leakage in pipe lines, heat exchangers or pressure vessel structures, can be used for their inspection, although these structures are relatively large. The system for leak detection presented in this paper is based on the principle of leak location by means of the cross-correlation method using a data acquisition system, acoustic sensors and software application developed in LabVIEW programming environment. The system performs the following functions: storing in a database the image of the cross-correlation function graph of the pipeline leakage detection and generating automated reports of the pipeline leakage detection process. This method was tested successfully.