Non-stationary signal analysis in water pipes monitoring

In order to develop early failure detection tools for hydro-power plants, “Electricite de France” (EDF) has equipped its high pressure pipes with sensors which monitor the pressure surge transients, the position of the intake and overpressure valves. The control valves are constructed so that the pressure will not exceed a maximum threshold called the Maximum Guaranteed Pressure (MGP). Modifications in the normal behavior of these control valves can generate high pressure surges over passing the MGP. In this paper, several methods which allow predicting the anomalies in the normal behavior of the hydro-power plant system will be presented.