A novel leak localization method using forward and backward transient characteristics

A novel leak localization method is presented based on the forward and backward transient analysis. The approach applies discrepancies between results from the forward and backward transient simulations by the Method of Characteristics (MOC) to locate potential leaks along a pipeline. This method is supposed to provide high localization efficiency because it does not need to perform any inverse calibration procedure, as demonstrated in leak exercises in both elastic and viscoelastic pipelines. The performance of the developed method is then validated through a simulated oil conveyance pipeline system in a noisy environment. The extensive applications and analyses reveal that the noise in the viscoelastic pipe is amplified gradually in the forward and backward MOC due to the numerical computation of the convolution integral terms, which thus could affect to a certain extent the accuracy of the developed method in practical applications.