Smart Leakage Detection Pipes

This project will develop an easy to install leak detection system for existing and new water pipes. Based on self-contained sensor nodes located on the outside of the pipe the system will detect changes in pressure and vibration to indicate the formation of leaks and their location as they occur. The innovative features of the system include the fact that internal conditions are monitored from the outside of the pipe using sensors not used before due to their need for a power source, which now will be supplied by a novel radioisotopic battery lasting the lifetime of the pipes themselves. These features together develop a low cost, easy to install system which will last the lifetime of the pipes. This allows these sensors to be installed along pipes such that all water distribution pipes can be monitored in real time, eliminating location errors and the current delay in identifying leaks due to the need for the leak flow to grow to a size where it can be identified on a district flow meter.