Modelling of ERT for household underground pipe detection using COMSOL multiphysics

Abstract

Electrical resistance tomography (ERT) is a widely used in geophysical application. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the possibility of ERT systems to detect leakage or cracking of houehold underground pipe. A COMSOL Multiphysics software is implemented as the main tool for modelling ERT systems. 8 electrodes were modelled in 2 dimensions. At the same time, tomograms were also obtained and analyzed using MATLAB software. A linear back projection algorithm is implemented to reconstruct the image of the attractive area. Several different size and positions of underground leaking were analysed. The average value of MSSIM for all results in 0.01. This is because the smearing effect occurred when the linear back projection was implemented. In summary, a non-invasive strategy based on ERT is projected to be deployed for detecting leaks or cracks in underground pipes, but more research is required.