A LoRaWAN-based IoT System for Leakage Detection in Pipelines

Leakages in a pipeline are an important problem due to the potential economic and environmental hazard they present. In this study, we proposed a LoRaWAN-based approach for detecting and localizing leakages in pipelines. Our study includes an experimental setup that simulates a pipeline network with pressure and flow rate sensors attached. The flow rate and pressure data were transmitted through LoRaWAN to a receiver, which in turn uploads the data to a cloud server using a cellular network. The receiver compares the flow rate reading from all the monitoring nodes attached to the pipeline network. If flow rate reading from successive nodes presents a percentage variation of more than 1.5%, a leak is confirmed to have taken place. The flow rate readings can also be used to localize the leak. The resolution of the leak detection is dependent on the number of monitoring nodes on the pipeline network. In our study, the pressure readings were found to be insufficient to provide reliable evidence of leakages. In our specific situation, due to the relatively short length of the experimental pipeline network, a pressure drop of up to 38.2% was recorded between successive nodes with an overall pressure loss of 62%, making pressure data unsuitable for leak detection in the short pipeline network.