A fluid pipe 1 is monitored using a distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) fibre 10 provided within pipe 1. The DAS fibre 10 is coupled at one end to a light emitter 101 and a light detector 102. The light emitter 101 emits light pulses into the DAS fibre. The light detector 102 detects backscattered light so as to provide an indication of the vibration experienced by each section of the DAS fibre 10 and thus of vibration characteristic of particular pipe events including leaks of the pipe 1. The DAS fibre 10 in a pipe 1 can also be used to locate the route of a buried pipe 1 by successively tamping the ground surface at a number of locations A-E in the vicinity of the suspected route of the pipe 1 and comparing the tamping vibrations detected from each location A-E.

Systems and methods for predicting, detecting, and/or mitigating a pipe freeze are provided. A system for analyzing water in a plumbing system includes a sensor that is configured to measure pressure within a pipe in the plumbing system as a function of time, and a processor that is configured to determine a state of water within the pipe by analyzing the pressure within the pipe as a function of time. The state of the water includes a prediction that the water within the pipe will freeze and/or a determination that the water within the pipe has frozen. The sensor is arranged at a first location within the plumbing system that is remote from a second location within the plumbing system that corresponds to the state of the water.

Disclosed herein are components, systems, and methods to monitor acoustic emissions of a high pressure system to predict failure of the high pressure system. Further disclosed herein are components, systems, and methods to monitor acoustic emissions of a high pressure system to identify characteristics of one or more defects as they form and grow within components of the high pressure system. Characteristics of the defects include type, size, growth, and location.

A piping diagnostic device according to an exemplary aspect of the present invention includes: criteria distribution generating means for generating a criteria distribution that is statistical data of criteria data of piping based on construction information about the piping, design information about the piping, and material information about the piping; changed-state distribution generating means for generating a changed-state distribution that is statistical data of changed-state data of the piping that have changed due to aging based on at least either vibration or dynamic pressure of the piping that have changed due to aging; measurement means for measuring at least either vibration or dynamic pressure of the piping; and determining means for determining deterioration of the piping based on the criteria distribution, the changed-state distribution, and at least either vibration or dynamic pressure of the piping.

Systems and methods for monitoring pressure transients and pipe bursts in a pipeline network are provided. The system can include a pressure sensor for measuring pressure in a pipe and generating a pressure signal, and a hydrophone for detecting a change of the pressure and generating a hydrophone signal. The system can include a high pass filter that can filter a portion of the hydrophone signal corresponding to a particular frequency. The system can include a comparator that generates an interrupt signal when the hydrophone signal satisfies a threshold value. The system can include a microcontroller which stays in a sleep mode until receiving the interrupt signal. The microcontroller can switch on the pressure sensor to record the pressure signal generated by the pressure sensor after being woken up.

A method for acoustic leakage detection in a fluid pipe network (1) uses at least one ultrasonic flow meter (13) installed at a pipe (15, 17). The pipe connects a consumer site (3) to the fluid pipe network. The method includes detecting at least one sound wave traveling along the pipe and/or along fluid within the pipe from a sound source to the at least one ultrasonic flow meter, determining the traveling direction of at least one of the at least one sound wave, interpreting a sound wave of the at least one sound wave as a leakage sound candidate if the determined traveling direction of said sound wave is towards the consumer site, and interpreting a sound wave of the at least one sound wave as a background noise if the determined traveling direction of said sound wave is away from the consumer site.

A sensor system can include a sensor module including a vibration sensor; a processor module including a power supply and a processor PCB, the processor module connected in electrical communication with the sensor module by a first cable; and an antenna module including an antenna, the antenna module connected in electrical communication with the processor module by a second cable.

Methods of detecting pipeline weakening are described herein. The methods include creating a pressure wave in a fluid flowing in a pipeline using an input transducer located at a first position along the pipeline; measuring the pressure wave using an output transducer positioned at a second position along the pipeline that is spaced from the first position, and generating an output signal based on the pressure wave; analyzing the output signal to determine a stiffness of a sidewall of the pipeline positioned between the input transducer and output transducer; and determining if the sidewall includes a defect based on the stiffness of the sidewall, including analyzing a frequency response of the output signal to detect the defect.

A system includes: an acoustic detection device comprising a plurality of microphones; an output or communication means for sending a signal or a message; a memory for storing a location of at least one region of interest and an associated threshold value; a processing circuit for detecting a location and a sound pressure level of a potential sound source; and for testing if the detected sound source is situated in a Region of Interest, and for testing if the detected Sound Pressure Level is higher than the threshold, and if an outcome of these tests is true, sending a signal or a message for operating a component, such as an audio-visual component or a valve or the like. An acoustic detection device includes Regions of Interest support.

An internal failure detection method of an external failure detection system for industrial equipment, the external failure detection system including an array of transducers, the method including: (a) receiving a plurality of signals, each signal being measured by a corresponding transducer of the transducers array; (b) for each pair of transducers among a number of pairs of transducers, calculating at least one value of a correlation parameter between the pair of signals received at step (a) at the pair of transducers, by correlating at least part of the signals or of invertible transforms thereof; (c) for at least one transducer among the number of pairs of transducers, estimating from the values of the correlation parameters calculated at step (b) if the transducer is working properly.