A noise-based high-resolution time-reversal method for acoustic defect localization in water pipes

Pressurized water supply pipeline systems (PWSPS) are quintessential to human development and sustenance, but suffer a multitude of unresolved defects (i.e., leaks, blockages, etc.) due to aging and inaccessibility. In this paper, the ubiquitous high-frequency background noise in PWSPS is harnessed to introduce a high-resolution, passive defect detection technique. The relation between the acoustic Green's and cross correlation functions for a pressurized water pipe is derived for the case of high frequency waves, i.e., acoustic wavelengths smaller than the pipe diameter. This relation is subsequently used to formulate a time-reversal technique for localizing anomalies such as small variations in pipe wall impedance and through-wall defects (i.e., leaks). It is shown that the derived relationship between the cross correlation and acoustic Green's functions enables very accurate defect detection and localization by measuring the background noise at two locations along a pipe. This is an important result given that (i) there is limited access to buried PWSPS to conduct high-frequency active defect detection, and (ii) traditional methods to actively probe pipes (e.g., valve maneuverer) are low-resolution (tens to hundreds of meters) and often result in pipe overloading and fatigue.