Leakage Isolation using Pressure Sensitivity Analysis in Water Distribution Networks: Application to the Barcelona case study

Leaks are present to some extent in all water-distribution systems. This paper proposes a leakage localisation method based on the pressure measurements and pressure sensitivity analysis of nodes in a network. The sensitivity analysis using analytical tools is not a trivial job in a real network because the huge non-explicit non-línear systems of equation that describe its dynamics. Simulations of the network in presence and absence of leakage may provide an approximation of this sensitivity. This matrix is binarised using a threshold independent of the node. The binary matrix is assumed as a signature matrix for leakages. However, there is a trade-off between the resolution of the leakage isolation procedure and the number of available pressure sensors. In order to maximise the isolability with a reasonable number of sensors, an optimal sensor placement methodology, based on genetic algorithms, is also proposed. This methodology has been developed for Barcelona Network using Piccolo simulator. The sensor placement and the leakage detection and localization methodologies are applied to district management areas (DMA).