A ground-breaking venture that’s enabling steady distant monitoring of a 16km trunk most important has been recognised on the Water Business Awards.
The Blairlinnans SoundPrint Acoustic Fibre Optic System, a joint venture between Xylem and Scottish Water – and described as a European first, was named Asset Administration Initiative of the Yr on the awards ceremony on 4 July 2024.
The Blairlinnans water most important is a 42 inch (1,067mm) pre-stressed concrete (PSC) pipeline that runs from the Blairlinnans Water Remedy Works to a service reservoir in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. The pipeline was put in in 1974 and is crucial to the continued operation of Scottish Water’s provide community.
Scottish Water recognized the primary as a high-risk asset, which prompted a whole engineering evaluation to know its true situation and forestall an surprising burst.
Inspections utilizing Xylem’s SmartBall and PipeDiver applied sciences offered the information essential to conduct an intensive engineering evaluation. The insights confirmed whereas a lot of the pipeline was in good situation, a number of sections had damaged pre-stressed wires, that are crucial to help operational pressures. If the wires break, a trunk most important can lose its structural integrity, with a danger of failure.
Within the first venture of its variety in Europe, Scottish Water chosen Xylem’s SoundPrint Acoustic Fibre Optic (AFO) system to repeatedly monitor sections of the pipeline. SoundPrint AFO detects breaks within the pre-stressing wire that maintain PSC pipelines collectively.
The system set-up contains bundled, strengthened fibre-optic cable fed although the water most important, which is related to an information acquisition system to observe the acoustic exercise in close to real-time. If a wire break happens, it’s detected by the AFO system, which is related to Xylem’s AFO analysts through the mobile community.
Wire break occasions are investigated by the analysts and with the assistance of machine studying, the break location is pinpointed. An electronic mail notification is shipped to the client and the outcomes posted on a cloud-based system, which shows the pipeline standing on colour-coded dashboards.
The monitoring, mixed with additional evaluation by Xylem’s engineering service, allows utilities to make proactive choices about which sections of pipe should be changed or repaired as deterioration continues over time.
Ian Dunsmore, workforce chief – strategic water infrastructure at Scottish Water, stated: “Substitute of main pipelines is usually value prohibitive, extraordinarily complicated and causes main disruption – nonetheless it’s uncommon that your complete pipeline must be changed.
“Leveraging Xylem’s AFO system and engineering experience enabled us to understand the true condition of the Blairlinnans water main at a single point in time and have confidence that the pipeline is being continuously monitored for any further deterioration. It is great news that the success of this joint initiative has been recognised by the sector.”
Andrew Welsh, water utility director at Xylem stated: “Xylem is extraordinarily proud that this progressive partnership with Scottish Water has been recognised by the Water Business Awards.
“The AFO system has enabled Scottish Water to reduce the risk of failure by pre-emptively repairing areas known to be in poor condition, make significant cost savings by extending the life of remaining pipe sections and minimise disruptions to customers, while maintaining the utility’s reputation as a forward-thinking, reliable service provider.”
