Algorithms for Digital Processing of Correlation Functions in Leak Detectors

Abstract

The article is devoted to the processing of cross-correlation functions. The need for this processing is due to a wide variety of interference conditions for searching for leaks in underground pipelines. Interference often significantly distorts the appearance of correlation functions and makes it difficult to accurately determine the coordinates of damage for pipeline repairs. Various approaches to combating these distortions are considered, depending on the available information about the characteristics of interference and leakage noise. Such features as the characteristic delay of the correlation function, which often corresponds to an interference burst and features of the frequency distributions of interference and leakage noise. An algorithm for extracting the leak coordinate from the correlation function as the coordinate of the source of a broadband signal by orthogonal decomposition of the CCF is considered. This problem is solved on the basis of classical approaches to the synthesis of shaping and synthesis of matched filters. The connection between the results obtained is shown. Thus, two approaches were used: one has the main goal of suppressing interference, without directly determining the coordinates of leaks, the other, on the contrary, is focused primarily on the selection of useful correlation of leak noises. In real-life conditions, it is advisable to combine both approaches due to the variety of acoustic environments encountered.