Newton Fund - Innovative monitoring system for early leak detection in water distribution systems - HiLeak

世界经济论坛预测，未来十年，水资源短缺将成为一个日益严重的全球风险。无收益水（NRW）是适合使用但从分配网络中流失的水。在马来西亚，据估计，NRW占分配水的39%，其中大部分损失（占NRW总量的26%）是由于水管损坏造成的泄漏。尽管马来西亚拥有丰富的水资源，但近年来，由于气候变化、人口爆炸、工业化、快速城市化和旅游业的发展，马来西亚面临着供水问题。减少无收益水是第11个马来西亚计划（2016-2020年）的重要组成部分，该计划旨在将无收益水减少到25%。数千公里长的水泥石棉管道正在被聚乙烯（PE）取代，但泄漏检测和响应仍然效率低下且劳动密集型。STL的HiLeak项目将提供一个自动化的物联网系统，用于对充水PE管道进行连续泄漏检测和结构健康评估。HiLeak将在管道上沿着间隔使用一系列套环，这些套环使用声发射和基于超声波的传感来“倾听”裂缝的发展。无线传感器网络将由基于云的数据收集/存储和人工智能（AI）驱动的数据分析提供支持。HiLeak将彻底改变马来西亚的供水网络，允许预防性维护，并在已知泄漏发生时立即分配人力资源。HiLeak是一个合作项目，包括焊接研究所（TWI）有限公司和伦敦布鲁内尔大学，以及马来西亚的工业和研究机构。HiLeak的发展将有助于实现多个可持续发展目标，其中最重要的是目标11 -可持续城市和社区。HiLeak将使马来西亚能够更有效地利用人力资源来应对泄漏。更快的响应时间将有助于马来西亚实现其减少NRW的目标，正如第11个马来西亚计划所详述的那样。减少NRW将确保更可靠地将水输送到人们的家中，这对于城市化和其他压力因素的增加至关重要。

'The World Economic Forum predicts water scarcity will become an increasingly major global risk over the next decade. Non-revenue water (NRW) is water that is fit for use but is lost from distribution networks. In Malaysia, NRW is estimated to account for 39% of distributed water and much of this loss (26% of total NRW) is attributable to leaks from damaged water pipes. Despite the country's abundant water resource, Malaysia has experienced water supply problems in recent years due to climate change, population explosion, industrialization, rapid urbanization and tourism.Reducing NRW is a crucial component of the 11th Malaysia Plan (2016-2020), which aims to reduce NRW to 25%. Thousands of kilometres of cement-asbestos pipes are being replaced with polyethylene (PE), but detection and response to leaks remain inefficient and labour intensive.STL's HiLeak project will deliver an automatic, Internet of Things-enabled system for continuous leak detection and structural health assessment of water-filled PE pipes. HiLeak will use a series of collars at intervals along pipes, which 'listen' for cracks developing using acoustic emission and ultrasound-based sensing. The wireless sensor network will be supported by cloud-based data collection/storage and artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven data analysis. HiLeak will revolutionise Malaysia's water distribution network, allowing for preventive maintenance and the allocation of human resource to sites of known leaks as soon as they occur.HiLeak is a collaborative project which includes The Welding Institute (TWI) Ltd and Brunel University, London, in addition to Malaysian industry and research organisations. The development of HiLeak will contribute to several Sustainable Development Goals, most importantly goal 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities. HiLeak will enable Malaysia to more effectively use human resources to respond to leaks. Quicker response times will help Malaysia deliver its goal of reducing NRW, as detailed in the 11th Malaysia Plan. Reducing NRW will ensure more reliable delivery of water to people's homes, which is essential as urbanisation and other stressors increase.