Critical Infrastructure Pipeline Protection Systems (CIPPS)

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"Beyond households, most economic activities, from hospitals and schools to factories and farms, depend on reliable access to clean water. This makes the integrity of the pipeline infrastructure which delivers that water significantly important. Over 6 million kilometres of water pipes exist in the UK, Europe and US, of which up to 65% are over 70 years old. The inability to adequately monitor the structural integrity of these pipes has led to water losses in some countries to be as high as 50% of the total water supply. Water leakage is largely the effect of pipeline and joint failure, corrosion, and other external factors such as subsidence ground movement and accidental damage.Existing solutions employed by the industry fail to detect such effects. Acoustic 'noise loggers' are the most common mechanism but, with limited range due to poor sound transmittance in plastic pipes, they are too expensive to provide comprehensive wide-area coverage. The industry requires predictive systems but current sensors are unable to provide this due to high cost and poor long-distance coverage. As a result, utilities are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain their infrastructure: suffering from repeated pipe bursts, incurring costly fines and missing water leakage reduction targets set by the national regulator, Ofwat.To address this problem, we have developed ""Critical Infrastructure Pipeline Protection Systems"" (CIPPS). CIPPS is a ground-breaking protection system which uses the power of ultra-low-cost, Printed Electronics to provide predictive failure detection and continuous monitoring of pipeline operation cost-effectively. Our solution revolutionizes the potential of pipeline infrastructure by embedding sensors to measure pipeline health over long distances. Crucially, CIPPS is easy to install and manufacture. The system is based on extensive R&D work and prototypes developed using previous Innovate UK grant funding as well as through the Birmingham City Council's 'Regional Growth Fund'.This project will be a step-change in the water industry, in particular asset management control. Predictive failure detection allows for significant reduction in water losses, extending asset lifetimes and lowered health and safety risks by reductions in bursts. Equally importantly, CIPPS will enable water utilities to achieve Zero Leakage targets, avoid costly penalties and reduce CO2 emissions from additional water treatment and pumping activities."