A Touch of Class for Leak Pinpointing
Water Lost, Water Wasted
Every day huge volumes of potable water are lost through leakage; water that has already been sourced, treated and cleaned for drinking – literally pouring time, money and valuable resources down the drain.
Finding leaks in underground systems can be a very expensive and time consuming process. Many leaks disperse into the ground before water reaches the surface, and even when water does become visible above ground it may be nowhere near the actual leak. If left undetected, leaks can quickly become highly destructive and very costly to repair.
Leak noise correlation is a proven method to pinpoint leaks on underground water pipes. The correlator measures the time difference at which leak noise is received by sensors deployed at either side of the suspected leak. Leak noise travels at a constant velocity, which depends on the material and diameter of the pipe. As a result, the time difference between the arrival time of the leak noise at each sensor, combined with the velocity, enables the location of the leak to be accurately pinpointed – often to within a few centimetres.
The Palmer Pedigree
The Palmer Environmental range of leak detection equipment from HWM has enjoyed a world-wide reputation for quality, reliability and results ever since the company designed the first leak noise correlator over thirty years ago. The company’s latest correlator, MicroCorr Touch, builds on the HWM’s considerable reserves of expertise to set new levels of performance and usability – enabling operators in the field to find more leaks accurately, easily and quickly.
Innovative Design = Ease of Use
MicroCorr Touch is the world’s first standalone correlator to feature a high visibility colour touch screen. This makes entering data on the large screen easy, even when wearing gloves. An intuitive menu system quickly guides operators, step-by-step, through the correlation process and displays clear results. A convenient high-contrast mode is also available to enable clear viewing in bright sunlight.
Another key innovation is the compact, purpose-designed charging case that not only carries and protects all components, but also enables the base station and outstations to be charged from the mains or a vehicle via a single power lead. The charging status of each component is displayed on a panel inside the case, and units can be stowed with the sensors still connected. This means that a leak finding team can simply stow the kit safely in the case between jobs for it to be charged and ready for immediate deployment upon arrival.
Innovative Features = High Performance
MicroCorr Touch incorporates the unique Automated Filtering Intelligence System (AFIS) which effectively builds an ‘expert user’ into the unit. AFIS works by automatically applying multiple filter settings to determine the best possible correlation result every time. Like most traditional correlators, the MicroCorr Touch provides default filter settings for a wide range of different pipe materials and sizes. However, due to the number of unknown variables that can change the frequency of leak noise, default filter settings will never be optimised for every leak situation. Experienced users can manually change the filter settings to find the leak, but this is often a time consuming process involving multiple correlations. Even then it can be “hit or miss” to successfully locate the leak.
AFIS runs 55 different filter combinations on the correlation data, checking the quality of the result and optimising the filter settings as required, until the clearest and most accurate result can be presented. Working on live or pre-recorded data, tests have shown
Software alone is not enough to pinpoint a leak though, and for the MicroCorr Touch HWM has developed accelerometer sensors of unparalleled sensitivity in the marketplace. In a recent project in Shandong, China, the local water company had visibly identified a leak presence, but correlators from three different companies were unable to even detect a leak signal – let alone pinpoint where it was on the pipe. When the MicroCorr Touch was deployed it immediately identified the leak and then determined its position to within 0.1m, confirmed by ground microphone and subsequent excavation.
The Finishing Touch
MicroCorr Touch has been designed from the ground up by experts in both the technology and its application in the field. The result is a correlator that combines cutting edge design and highly innovative functionality to deliver outstanding results with the minimum amount of effort required from the operator.
