The search for water leaks is now more efficient, thanks to cosmic rays
Focus
Focus
Category Facet
Custom Facet
Search Results
-
Web Content Article on-date Jan 20, 2022 3:57 PM
SI A story that looks to the future, enclosed in a sign Important anniversaries are celebrated with a memorable symbol: and to celebrate Hera Group’s 20th anniversary, we have created a brand...
-
Web Content Article on-date Jan 20, 2022 3:55 PM
Si #00A19B Twenty years together Bianco Si GRUPPO
-
Web Content Article on-date Jan 20, 2022 9:34 AM
2022-01-20 Once again among Italy’s highest ranked employers, this year second place overall among companies nationwide for outstanding human resource management, Hera has reached its first...
Comunicati stampa: Price sensitive Other press releases -
Web Content Article on-date Jan 20, 2022 11:45 AM
Top Employer Italy 2022 The start of a new year is always an occasion to look back in time, but even more so to look forward, taking a look at results and focusing on new objectives. 2022 marks the...
-
Web Content Article on-date Jan 20, 2022 1:53 PM
20 Top Employer Italy 2022 The start of a new year is always an occasion to look back in time, but even more so to look forward, taking a look at results and focusing on new objectives. 2022 marks...
-
Web Content Article on-date Jan 12, 2022 9:31 AM
The meeting of the BoD to approve the Business Plan 2021-2025 will be held on January 27, 2022. The BoD will meet in Bologna - Viale Berti Pichat 2/4 40127 Bologna. A press release on the board's...
Tipologia Evento: Price sensitive -
Web Content Article on-date Jan 4, 2022 10:14 AM
null null null No Read our updated Articles of Association In search of the Purpose: visit the webpage of the workshop Heracademy Sustainability for us: visit the section null null null
-
Web Content Article · written-by Palvi Andrea Tonziello on-date Jan 4, 2022 10:12 AM
The purpose of the Hera Group in its Articles of Association
-
Web Content Article on-date Jan 4, 2022 10:10 AM
Si Our purpose Bianco Si GRUPPO
-
Web Content Article on-date Jan 4, 2022 10:06 AM
2022-01-04 (drafted pursuant to article 85-bis, paragraph 4-bis, of Consob Regulation 11971 / 14 May 1999) Communication of the overall amount of voting rights Bologna, 4 January 2022 - The...
Comunicati stampa: Shareholders’ meeting Price sensitive -
Web Content Article on-date Dec 30, 2021 12:59 PM
SI OUR CAREERS WEBSITE GETS AN UPGRADE! We are working on improving the job applications experience, making it even easier and more effective! This is why our website is currently undergoing...
-
Web Content Article on-date Dec 21, 2021 3:33 PM
null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null...
-
Web Content Article on-date Dec 22, 2021 3:46 PM
null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null...
-
Web Content Article · written-by THOMAS CECCONI on-date Dec 20, 2023 3:24 PM
null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null...
-
Web Content Article · written-by THOMAS CECCONI on-date Dec 20, 2023 4:19 PM
null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null null...
-
Web Content Article on-date Dec 21, 2021 3:33 PM
SI The evolution of social and relational dynamics for the “regeneration” of work Click here to view the best pictures from the Conference “The evolution of social and relational dynamics for the...
-
Web Content Article · written-by THOMAS CECCONI on-date Dec 20, 2023 3:22 PM
SI Procurements: rethinking value chains to address global crises In this section, you can find some images of the Workshop “Procurements: rethinking value chains to address global crises”, held in...
-
Web Content Article · written-by LUCIA ALGISI on-date Dec 20, 2023 4:18 PM
SI Intelligence of the future: new horizons to guide the relationship between human and artificial intelligence In this section, you can find some images of the Workshop “Intelligence of the...
-
Web Content Article on-date Dec 13, 2021 4:13 PM
Find out more img_inquinamento@2x.jpg Against plastic pollution Hera participates in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's New Plastics Economy Global Commitment, an international network for the...
-
Web Content Article on-date Dec 13, 2021 4:12 PM
Find out more img_obiettivi_europei@2x.jpg Circular economy: Hera's position The area served by Hera is well ahead of the European recycling targets.
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