Every day, 2,924 million litres of water leak from Britain’s ageing buried pipes—roughly 80 years old on average—and existing sensors cannot find most of these hidden losses. This project aims to build tiny, biologically-inspired sensors, called neuromasts, modelled on the vibration-detecting organs of aquatic animals, and mount them on autonomous robots that crawl through pipes to detect leaks and structural damage in real time. The core challenge is that current inspection technologies require heavy human intervention, work only over short distances, and miss the subtle acoustic signals of background leaks. If successful, the robots could patrol the UK’s 350,000 km of water pipes continuously, allowing water companies to triple their leak-reduction rate by 2030 and halve it by 2050 without digging up roads. The sensors would measure rarely-used mathematical properties of sound waves inside pipes, requiring a new theoretical framework for how acoustic pressure derivatives behave in imperfect waveguides. Originally designed for clean water and wastewater pipes, the technology could later be adapted for petrochemical and nuclear pipelines.
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Context The average age of water supply pipes in the UK is around 80 years and their length is ~350,000km. We have no idea of the condition of this infrastructure. Buried pipes continue to lose water at 2,924M litres every day. The majority of water loss is through so-called hidden or background leaks which are impossible to detect through the existing sensor network and signal analysis. The UK Water sector has committed to triple the rate of sector-wide leakage reduction by 2030 and half leakage by 2050 but lacks technology to reliably detect these leaks and onset of critical changes that lead to water losses. In response to this we propose to develop new biologically-inspired miniature devices called neuromasts that are incredibly sensitive and capable of detecting hidden leaks and damage leading to failures. We will integrate these devices with autonomous robots to make searching for leaks pervasive and in real time. This idea is inspired by sensing mechanisms found in aquatic animals. It will require a new theoretical basis to revolutionise the way buried water supply pipes are inspected and rehabilitated. The challenge the project addresses There is a lack of science to explain: (i) how to make the bio-inspired sensors to measure mathematical quantities that are rarely measured; (ii) how to interpret signals from bio-inspired sensors; (iii) how to deploy these sensors to maximise the probability of pipe failure detection and to minimise the effect of the sensor's shape; (iv) how to use this technology to make pipes failure-free. Aims and objectives The aim is to develop a world lead in acoustic sensing for condition detection of buried water supply pipes. The objectives are: To develop a new theory for the behaviour of high-order acoustic pressure derivatives in waveguides with imperfections. To develop new micro-electromechanical sensors (MEMS) to measure high-order acoustic pressure derivatives. To deploy the new sensors on board a robot, configured for measurements in water in a pipe; to validate the new theory and the implementations via experiments and simulations. To engage with end users to iteratively develop and demonstrate the benefits of the new science and technology. Potential applications and benefits This work is timely. Despite considerable investment from both government and industry to improve traditional technologies for inspecting buried water pipes, these technologies continue to require significant human intervention. They work over a relatively short pipe length, limited resolution, are specific to the wall materials and are usually static or relatively slow to meet the future challenges, e.g. pipe network resilience, zero-failures, ‘No Dig’ and climate change. None of them is bio-inspired or supported by crafted sensor technologies. The need for a radical new solution is reflected in the message from major end-users that bio-inspired sensors delivered by smart robots are the future of inspection of their buried pipe infrastructure. This is a main application of the science and technology this project proposes to develop. This solution can be deployed dynamically and pervasively in the buried pipes supporting the UK’s water industry initiative for zero failures and ‘No Dig’. Originally intended for clean water and pressurised wastewater pipes, these sensors can be adapted to work in other pipes, e.g. petrochemical and nuclear. A number of industrial foundries are well placed to develop the new sensor technology into a successful product to be marketed globally.
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