Ageing Water Pipes Project Wins National Research Innovation Award

UTS and its research partners are the winners of the Australian Water Association’s 2016 National Research Innovation Award.

The collaborative work of UTS, Monash University and the University of Newcastle is acknowledged for its unique approach to assessing conditions of large water pipe mains and preventing their failure. This project is developing tools to model corrosion, improve condition assessment and predict failure in the critical – but ageing – pipes that distribute fresh water throughout our towns and cities.

The aim is to identify and replace pipes in poor condition before failure occurs.

A key component of the research conducted at UTS used innovative machine learning approaches to enhance the effectiveness of more conventional condition assessment technologies.

“The scope of this project is large because there are so many factors that can influence why a pipe breaks – various pressures inside the pipe, soil conditions, the actual materials that are being used,” says Associate Professor and project lead Jaime Valls Miro, from the UTS Centre for Autonomous Systems.

“The research has a direct benefit to industry as it provides specific tools to prevent critical pipe failures, protecting freshwater supply for utilities and their customers.”