Force main monitoring
Brand new learnings from pressure monitoring on force main wastewater networks
It is estimated in the US that 20% of water gathered, cleaned, and treated is then lost through leakage and bursts.
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Leakage often occurs through joints and fittings on the pipeline, or in the case of pipeline wall failures, where the walls become thinner or fatigued by stresses exerted upon them.
A number of contributing factors cause this pipeline stress for example - ground movement due to traffic loading, erosion, and soil moisture deficit, but also pressure surges, or 'transients' on a pipeline.
Water network calming can be realised by spotting pressure transients and acting on the causes, ultimately limiting damage to infrastructure.
What are pressure transients?
Commonly known as ‘water hammer’, transients are short-lived pressure waves delivering fast changes in the pressure of a pipe in water networks.
Regular transient activity within pipelines can lead to ‘pipeline fatigue’ and a weakening of infrastructure which becomes a pre-cursor to leaks and bursts.
Realising a calm water network
If transients can be detected and identified, the operational activity can be changed to calm the water network.
If valves can be closed more carefully and pump shutdowns can be modified, these actions all help to reduce transient activity and in turn, reduce damage to assets.
It has been proved that a 10% reduction in pressure can deliver a 10% leak reduction and 14% burst rate reduction.
A structured approach to water network calming will reduce the number of asset failures.
How can Syrinix help?
A structured approach to monitoring identifies the sources of pressure transients. They can be reduced or removed completely and water network calming is realised.
Our PIPEMINDER-ONE high-resolution pressure loggers collect at 128 s/s. This means transients causing problematic activity, that would otherwise go unnoticed, can be spotted.
PIPEMINDER sends data to RADAR, Syrinix's cloud data platform, where all activity can be tracked and alerted and problem states flagged.
Working together, PIPEMINDER devices can also locate the direct source of the transient. This is termed Triangulation.
With up to the minute network insight, operational behaviour can now be changed with confidence.
Talk to us about how we can help you achieve calm water networks.
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