Blockage location in pipelines using an implicit nonlinear finite-difference model optimization

Abstract In this paper, a new approach for punctual blockage location in pipelines is proposed. This approach is based on an implicit finite-difference modeling of pipeline dynamics including the effect of punctual blockage under study, and on a related optimization: using measurements at both ends of the pipeline, together with an appropriate excitation, the parameters of the blockage are directly identified from a bank of simulators. This methodology is shown to be pretty efficient via simulation results, even in the presence of additive measurement noise.