LEAK DETECTION BY ACOUSTIC EMISSIONS MONITORING

A BENCH SCALE TESTING PROGRAM IS PROPOSED TO EVALUATE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A PORTABLE SYSTEM FOR THE PASSIVE ACOUSTIC DETECTION OF LEAKS FROM UNDERGROUND PIPES AND STORAGE TANKS. THE WORK WILL EMPLOY THE USE OF PIEZOELECTRIC FILM IN A NOVEL SENSOR DESIGN FOR THE DETECTION OF ACOUSTIC WAVES IN SOILS AND MATERIALS HAVING IRREGULAR SURFACES. EMPHASIS WILL BE PLACED ON EVALUATING THE EFFECTS OF VARYING SOIL CONDITIONS, SOURCE/SENSOR GEOMETRY, AND LEAK EMISSION CHARACTERISTICS. THE GOAL OF THE WORK IS THE CREATION OF AN ACOUSTIC SIGNATURE DATA BASE FOR A PORTABLE, SURFACE OPERATED, INTELLIGENT, MICROCOMPUTER-BASED SYSTEM FOR DETECTION OF UNDERGROUND LEAKS.