The search for water leaks is now more efficient, thanks to cosmic rays
Focus
Focus
Category Facet
Custom Facet
Search Results
-
Web Content Article · written-by Mario Egidio on-date May 26, 2024 12:32 PM
-
Web Content Article on-date Nov 9, 2021 12:04 PM
On 2 December Hera Group will take part in the fourth edition of the “Southern European Infrastructure Conference”, organized by Mediobanca in Australia. This year's edition will be virtual. ...
Tipologia Evento: Fairs and conventions -
Web Content Article on-date Oct 21, 2021 9:45 AM
From 26 to 29 October 2021, Ecomondo, the leading event in Europe regarding technological and industrial innovation in environmental services and the green economy (especially waste and resources,...
Tipologia Evento: Fairs and conventions -
Web Content Article on-date Sep 1, 2017 11:55 AM
Herambiente's Decontamination division will, once again this year, play a pivotal role at the Ferrara-based fair - Italy's most specialised event on decontamination of polluted sites and...
Tipologia Evento: Fairs and conventions -
Web Content Article on-date Sep 1, 2017 11:55 AM
Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th September 2017 will see the fifth edition of FARETE take place at the Bologna trade fair centre. This initiative has been organised by Unindustria Bologna to promote...
Tipologia Evento: Fairs and conventions -
Web Content Article on-date Oct 28, 2016 4:08 PM
Once again it is time for Ecomondo, the much anticipated meeting that brings together national and international operators in the industry revolving around the world of environmental services and...
Tipologia Evento: Fairs and conventions -
Web Content Article on-date Aug 26, 2016 10:20 AM
From 21 to 23 September 2016, Herambiente's Reclamation division will once again take centre stage with an updated stand at the Ferrara trade fair during the Italian event specialised in the...
Tipologia Evento: Fairs and conventions -
Web Content Article on-date Sep 6, 2016 5:08 PM
From 21 to 23 September 2016, Herambiente's Reclamation division will once again take centre stage with an updated stand at the Ferrara trade fair during the Italian event specialised in the...
Tipologia Evento: Culture and leisure -
Web Content Article on-date Aug 26, 2016 10:10 AM
On 5 and 6 September 2016, the fifth edition of FARETE will be held at the Bologna trade fair. This initiative is organised by Unindustria Bologna to promote visibility and networking opportunities...
Tipologia Evento: Fairs and conventions -
Web Content Article on-date May 10, 2016 12:09 PM
MIAC Recovery and Recycling 2016, the international event dedicated to paper for recycling sponsored by COMIECO, will take place from 19 to 20 May in Lucca. Herambiente will be one of the main...
Tipologia Evento: Fairs and conventions -
Web Content Article on-date Apr 6, 2016 9:31 AM
On 20 April, during the training seminar organised by RemTech Expo and Assoporti, Herambiente will report on "The Green Economy Decree and dredging sediment. Operational aspects of refining and...
Tipologia Evento: Fairs and conventions -
Web Content Article on-date Mar 4, 2016 11:54 AM
The Renewable Energy Mediterranean Conference and Exhibition has reached its third edition (in Ravenna on 9 and 10 March). REM represents a link between the WTO biennial editions (The Offshore...
Tipologia Evento: Fairs and conventions -
Web Content Article on-date May 22, 2015 11:10 AM
Genus Bononiae and the Fondazione Cassa di risparmio in Bologna are organising a conference on "Public services in local authority organisation and in the market" at the Biblioteca d'Arte e di...
Tipologia Evento: Fairs and conventions -
Web Content Article on-date Mar 12, 2015 5:22 PM
The Conference will be held at the Polytechnic University of Milan - Piacenza Campus - Room A - via Scalabrini 76 - Piacenza. The fundamental goal of MatER is to provide an in-depth portrayal of...
Tipologia Evento: Fairs and conventions -
Web Content Article on-date Apr 14, 2015 11:10 AM
The conference will take place on Thursday 23 April, at the Hotel Melià, via Masaccio 19, Milan. Tiziano Mazzoni, Hera Group Environmental Services Director, will be attending. Sign up to...
Tipologia Evento: Fairs and conventions -
Web Content Article on-date Jun 24, 2015 11:41 AM
Marco Beccati 2015-02-01 Marco Beccati sede_hera_110.1592477872.1603377620.jpg 630 00:00:00 00:00:00 From 1 February to 14 June 2015, Hera will be a partner of the "Boldini: lo spettacolo della...
Tipologia Evento: Culture and leisure
Asset Publisher
Hera continues experimentation of the innovative, fast and low-cost contactless system that uses space technology to detect water leaks in the network more quickly and productively
So far, the method used to find leaks in the water mains that run under our streets has been acoustic detection: technicians walk the kilometres of asphalt above the mains and use special devices to locate leakage points.
Now, however, thanks to a system that uses cosmic rays, detection can also be carried out while following the network path in a car, thus proving faster and more profitable.
Cosmic rays: what are they and how can they be used?
Cosmic rays are an innovative method for water leak detection, based on the analysis of neutrons derived from secondary cosmic rays. It follows the same principle used to test whether there is water on Mars, but it can have different applications; for example, it is used in agriculture in the US for targeted irrigation.
In short, this technology exploits non-damaging particles, the neutrons, from space. These continuously impact Earth, generating collisions between secondary beams, the energy of which decreases according to the material that is passed through. In particular, hydrogen in water interacts with neutrons by slowing them down or absorbing them. The amount of water in the ground can therefore be assessed by monitoring neutrons in the air: ground where water is present in a higher percentage will have a greater moderating/absorbing effect on cosmic rays than a drier area.
By analysing the concentration of free cosmic rays, the presence of a water leak can be determined quickly and accurately, saving considerable time compared to traditional methods of investigation. In fact, this system can control a considerably larger network area, because it can travel on any vehicle on which it is mounted.
The search can be carried out by real-time identification, i.e. simply by the passage of the device over the tube and immediate verification of the leakage as soon as the sensor signals a decrease in the number of neutrons, or by deferred search, when the sensor placed on a moving vehicle passes over the area several times and then indicates the wettest spots.
The operator will no longer need to walk the entire water network with the geophone, but can go directly to the points identified on the map.
Experimentation and results
Together with the Department of Nuclear Physics at the University of Padua, we have developed a device that, mounted on a car, allows operators to travel along the network and monitor the concentration of neutrons on the road surface.
The vehicle moves at a speed of 40-50 km/h along the road under which the water network runs and, using cosmic ray analysis, the levels of detected neutrons are shown on a display. When the concentration drops, it is a sign that the neutrons have been retained under the soil by a cluster of water. When this happens, it means that there may be a water leak in that very spot, underground, and technicians can promptly intervene for repairs.
The testing of this technology, which we have been conducting since 2021, has confirmed the scientific soundness of the method: out of several thousand kilometres investigated, the same number of ruptures were found as with the traditional acoustic method, but with the advantage that the cosmic ray method is more productive, since the operator moves around in a car rather than on foot.
With a network of some 30,000 kilometres to check, having this tool allows us to make great strides. In addition, cosmic rays are sensitive to even modest leaks, such as those from pipe joints, which are more difficult to detect accurately.
This technology, which we have implemented thanks to a partnership with the start-up Cosmic and the team at Neptune Srl, is based on an isotope of lithium, lithium-6, which is the element that allows us to detect neutrons. We will continue to use it alongside the classic acoustic method, to locate all possible leaks and increase the level of effectiveness of interventions.
Search Bar
Search Results
Asset Publisher