Location Method of Buried Polyethylene Gas Pipeline Based on Acoustic Signal Ellipse Method

Abstract

This study proposes a buried PE gas pipeline positioning method based on the elliptical method of an acoustic signal analysis. The cross-correlation time delay positioning technology is combined with the elliptical equation, forming an effective mechanism for pipeline depth positioning. First, a dual-tree complex wavelet transform is employed to denoise the collected signals, enhancing the quality and accuracy of the data. Subsequently, the cross-correlation function is utilized to extract the delay times between the signals. The obtained delay times are then substituted into the elliptical equation to calculate the depth of the buried PE pipeline. Based on this theoretical framework, a simulation model is established in COMSOL, and positioning simulation analyses are conducted under three different conditions: pipeline depth, relative sensor positions, and distances between sensors and excitation points. The simulation results indicate that a clear correlation exists between the signal delay time and the pipeline position, with simulation errors controlled within 5%, thus validating the theoretical feasibility of the method. To further assess the effectiveness of this approach, an experimental testing system is constructed. The experimental study was carried out under four different conditions: pipeline burial depth, relative sensor positions, distances between sensors and excitation points, and excitation frequencies. The experimental results demonstrate that these factors significantly affect the pipeline depth positioning. The comparison results show that the method has a high accuracy in depth positioning, with experimental errors controlled within 10%. This study proves that accurate positioning of pipeline depth could be achieved by substituting signal delay times into the elliptical equation, thereby validating the method’s feasibility in practical applications. The proposed method effectively addressed the shortcomings of existing pipeline depth positioning technologies, providing important theoretical support and a practical reference for future pipeline positioning research.