Proactive Water Network Management

This project is to collect and to analyse new data to estimate independently the accuracy and efficiency of a range sensing technologies in realistic clean water pipe networks that are prone to deterioration and leakages. The student will also study a range of emerging data collection methods and analysis algorithms that can work with minimum human intervention. The student will design and perform new experiments using the Integrated Civil and Infrastructure Research Centre at Sheffield and National Leakage Research and Test Centre run by Northumbrian Water to thoroughly evaluate the capabilities of the emerging technologies to detect structural faults and leaks that are currently hidden. Ultimately, the research will help enable the sustainable delivery of safe clean drinking water through ageing infrastructure. More specifically, the focus of this PhD will be to study how to detect, locate and to characterise leakage and onset of damage in clean water networks using a combination of existing and emerging sensing solutions. The project will explore how these sensing technologies, their combinations and associated data analysis developed to progress up these scales can ultimately enable the proliferation and efficient application of NO DIG technology for buried pipes repair and maintenance.