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 Palvi Andrea Tonziello on-date Aug 31, 2023 10:21 AM
Following its recent reconfirmation for the third consecutive year in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, World and Europe, the Hera Group once again ranks among the most internationally focused on...
-
Web Content Article · written-by Palvi Andrea Tonziello on-date Dec 19, 2022 12:05 PM
We once again rank among the companies that pay the most attention to sustainability and ESG aspects internationally. Our latest ESG Evaluation, carried out by the Sustainable Finance analysts of...
-
Web Content Article · written-by Palvi Andrea Tonziello on-date Dec 19, 2022 11:58 AM
We once again rank among the companies that pay the most attention to sustainability and ESG aspects internationally. Our latest ESG Evaluation, carried out by the Sustainable Finance analysts of...
-
Web Content Article · written-by Palvi Andrea Tonziello on-date Dec 15, 2022 3:20 PM
2022-12-19 The Group is among the top positions in the international ranking of Utility Networks assessed by S&P Global for its focus on sustainability and its ability to create shared value by...
Comunicati stampa: Hera Spa Other press releases -
Web Content Article · written-by Palvi Andrea Tonziello on-date Dec 15, 2022 2:59 PM
immagine canvas desktop nl insieme immagine canvas mobile nl insieme Largo For sharing stories and ideas No Together Newsletter
-
Web Content Article · written-by Palvi Andrea Tonziello on-date Dec 14, 2022 11:33 AM
No Find out more about the historic buildings of the Lego model The MAN Gasometer is the only one left of the 5 gasometers of the Bologna Gas Workshop in which the gas was stored before being...
-
Web Content Article · written-by Palvi Andrea Tonziello on-date Aug 31, 2023 10:24 AM
The Hera Group is confirmed in 2022, for the third year in a row, to be ranked first in the Multi-Utility&Water sector of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for sustainability performance in...
-
Web Content Article · written-by Palvi Andrea Tonziello on-date Dec 7, 2022 3:14 PM
2022-12-10 For the third year in a row, Hera has been confirmed as world leader in the Multi-Utility & Water sector, providing further recognition of the Group’s twenty-year strategy that combines...
Comunicati stampa: Hera Spa Other press releases -
Web Content Article · written-by Palvi Andrea Tonziello on-date Dec 12, 2022 11:22 AM
For the third consecutive year, we are the top-ranking company in the Multi-Utility & Water sector of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for sustainability performance in all three...
-
Web Content Article · written-by Palvi Andrea Tonziello on-date Dec 12, 2022 11:28 AM
For the third consecutive year, we are the top-ranking company in the Multi-Utility & Water sector of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index for sustainability performance in all three...
-
Web Content Article · written-by Palvi Andrea Tonziello on-date Dec 1, 2022 12:02 PM
2022-12-01 Ascopiave partially exercised the put option on its investment in EstEnergy, selling 8% of the capital to Hera Comm, the majority shareholder. Subsequent to the transaction, the Hera...
Comunicati stampa: Price sensitive M&A Hera Spa -
Web Content Article · written-by Palvi Andrea Tonziello on-date Aug 31, 2023 10:25 AM
Increasingly sustainable trade fair events for Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), which, among the first Companies in the sector at the European level, has managed to add ISO 20121 certification to...
-
Web Content Article · written-by Davide Donnarumma on-date Nov 29, 2022 3:27 PM
2022-11-29 The partnership between the two companies, which won the public tender called by Asco Holding, is a strategic milestone in the evolution of the business portfolio of the two groups in...
Comunicati stampa: Price sensitive M&A Hera Spa -
Web Content Article · written-by Palvi Andrea Tonziello on-date Nov 10, 2022 11:15 AM
HerAcademy Workshop 2022 Programme.pdf
-
Web Content Article · written-by Palvi Andrea Tonziello on-date Nov 10, 2022 11:05 AM
SI Workshop - Procurements: rethinking value chains to address global crises SPAZIOHERA at the Hera Group premises Viale Carlo Berti Pichat no. 2/4, Bologna, 5th December 2022 THE PROGRAMME 2.30 pm...
-
Web Content Article on-date Nov 10, 2022 10:59 AM
Grande Nero Workshop - Procurements: rethinking value chains to address global crises SPAZIOHERA at the Hera Group premises Viale Carlo Berti Pichat no. 2/4, Bologna, 5<sup>th</sup> December 2022...
-
Web Content Article · written-by LUCIA ALGISI on-date Sep 29, 2023 12:45 PM
SI Workshop - Intelligence of the future: new horizons to guide the relationship between human and artificial intelligence SPAZIOHERA at the Hera Group premises Viale Carlo Berti Pichat no. 2/4,...
-
Web Content Article · written-by LUCIA ALGISI on-date Nov 3, 2023 11:23 AM
HerAcademy Workshop 2023 Programme.pdf Background Paper ENG_Rita Cucchiara.pdf
-
-
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
Tag Facet
Search Results
Asset Publisher