FEATURES
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i2O’s proprietary software runs the data it has gathered
through the entire system to understand patterns of demand
and supply, and their relationship to pressure and flow —
two critical factors for causing leaks and burst pipes.
“We use artificial intelligence to learn these relationships,
enabling us to create control models. These are then sent
down to battery-powered controllers, which autonomously
use this model to continuously adjust the [pressure] valves
to account for changes in demand,” a spokesperson says.
Similar technology also autonomously controls pump
stations. Again, the idea is to optimise water pressure
in line with consumer demand. In the areas where this
technology has been tested, Anglian Water’s losses due
to burst pipes and leaks have been reduced by 56% and
40%, respectively.
“These smart controls enable us to control our network
to much finer degrees than any manually controlled
system previously could,” says David Ward, Anglian
Water’s head of water networks.
Way back in 2007 in the UK, Southern Water
started using a SmartBall device developed by Pure
Technologies, which is inserted into water pipes, travels
along them, and can detect weakened pipes before they
become bursts. The ball contains a series of sensors,
which provide data that is then transmitted to surface
stations placed along the pipe’s path or downloaded
once the ball is recovered. The latest iterations of the ball
contain an acoustic sensor that listens for leaks and gas
pockets, while an accelerometer and gyroscope measure
the SmartBall's movement, which can later be used
for pipeline mapping. A magnetometer measures the
magnetic field coming off the pipe wall — data that can
be used to find joints and other pipeline features.
But monitoring water, analysing pipes, and preventing
leaks is only the first step. A company called Qinov8
www.plumbingafrica.co.za
Never clean your toilet again: the self-cleaning SpinX boasts a robotic brush inside the toilet lid.
The ramifications of this style of system are immense.
Anglian Water in Britain has already been using a similar
system to cover municipal water supply in conjunction
with an engineering firm called i2O.
system to open the valve that is normally closed and
allow for the delivery of water. However, when the system
detects a loss in water pressure without sensing any
need for water, a leak or other malfunction is detected,
activating the alarm. With the BrainPipes app, the home
or business owner is instantly alerted that a specific
device needs immediate attention. In the meantime, the
main water shut off in the home remains closed so any
potentially disastrous water incident is avoided.
has a system called AquaNav, which is essentially a
transmitter enclosed in a buoyant spherical carrier
around the size of a tennis ball. It free-flows through
municipal pipes, drawn by the force of the escaping
water. Once the AquaNav reaches the source of the leak,
the device is drawn to and plugs the hole. As there is no
moving water, it is held in place and sends a signal to the
receiver to notify the operator so a repair can be made.
The U is operated via its
digital controller or from an
app on your smartphone.
Qinov8’s AquaPea system, meanwhile, works on a
similar principle but is designed to repair leaks in smaller,
domestic water pipes. When the AquaPea is drawn to the
hole, the material spreads, hardens, and repairs the crack
from the inside. It has been tested on copper, lead, and
polyethylene pipes between 15mm and 90mm and the
company is working on using it on larger-diameter mains.
And this is just the beginning. The VTT Technical
Research Centre of Finland has recently released a paper
on smart cities of the future, which states that within the
next few decades, the current analysing and detection
systems in plumbing will be paired with pipes capable
of repairing themselves completely, needing no outside
human aid at all. It’s a bold new world of plumbing
and it’s just around the corner, requiring plumbers
themselves to adapt firstly into the world of electrician,
and then, in the longer term, into IT, electronics, Big Data,
and software engineering. A change is coming. PA
February 2019 Volume 24 I Number 12