Experimental platform for blockage detection and investigation using propagation of pressure pulse waves in a pipeline

Abstract In this work, a pressure-pulse-wave blockage detection experimental system (PBDES) was developed for blockage detection and investigation using propagation of pressure pulse waves in laboratory. The length of the pipeline is 220m, it is arranged in a spiral layout to save space. A pressure pulse wave is generated by a fast-acting solenoid valve, the range of the pulse width of the incident wave is 8-50ms, the generated signal is received by three dynamic pressure transducers. This system have several advantages: it is physically compact and thus applicable in a laboratory setting, it is simple to operate, it employs a high frequency to receive dynamic pressure signal, and it makes it possible to detect blockages experimentally. Experiments were performed to verify that the PBDES will allow practical applied application in experimental investigations of blockage detection and the propagation of pressure pulse wave, the experimental results prove itself useful for practical application.