THE MAGAZINE FOR THE DRAINAGE, WATER & WASTEWATER INDUSTRIES
PRODUCT NEWS
Dr Dario Chiantello (centre) and supervisor Professor Bamidele Adebisi (l) with Paul Carrington, managing director of Aquacheck
Engineering, during development of the Smart Standpipe technology.
Smart Standpipe KTP supports PHD first for Aquacheck
Aquacheck Engineering is celebrating the graduation of the first student to be awarded a PhD via its partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University and Innovate UK’s Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN).
Dr Dario Chiantello research initially aimed to develop an acoustic modelling device to detect potential transient surges generated from standpipe valves, but became more focussed on the potential to train models from the data collated. He took part in a graduation ceremony on 24 July 2023.
Transient surges give out distinct sounds, which help engineers identify and locate them using specialist equipment. Capturing these acoustic footprints helps indicate and classify events on the network, including leaks and bursts, illegal connections, and devices connecting to pipes.
However, gathering audio data from buried infrastructure, private premises and harsh environments can be difficult and expensive. Machine learning (ML) provides many opportunities to speed up the process and make it more efficient and effective, but developing new ML algorithms depends on the availability of training and test data.
Through his research, Dr Chiantello sought FOLLOW US
to maximise the data yielded from small sets of real recordings and demonstrate how to extract useful features for machine learning. His research was completed alongside his work with Aquacheck on the commercialisation of the smart standpipe.
Aquacheck Engineering has manufactured high quality mechanical standpipes, used by most UK water companies, over decades. The equipment connects to the water network for temporary water uses like street cleaning operators and construction companies, as well as the utilities themselves for certain operational works.
The Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) has helped create a new internet-of-things (IoT) connected standpipe to address multiple industry-wide water network issues through the integration of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). This enables water companies to monitor real-time data for the location, volume, flow and pressure readings for every standpipe in use.
Multiple benefits include better network management, faster location and detection of leaks, and accurate billing of third party users of the network. The initiative won Innovate UK KTP Awards’ Best of the Best category for the Smart Standpipe technology in 2020.
Dr Chiantello said, “This was a new experience for Aquacheck and for me, as this was their first PhD too, so it has been a learning path for everyone.
“It has been especially challenging to do my research whilst working on the commercialisation of the Smart Standpipe as often the goals are very different. For academia, there is a need to create new knowledge, which might not be immediately relevant to industry, so balance has to be found.
“For anyone else intending to combine research with a role in industry, I would recommend putting a lot of thought into planning ways to align research priorities and industry outcomes right from the start.”
Chiantello was initially employed by Manchester Met as a KTP associate in 2016, joining Aquacheck Engineering in 2019. He said the pandemic gave him an unexpected opportunity to focus more keenly on his doctoral research, which was completed in March 2023.
He is now finalising preparations for the production of the Smart Standpipe and rollout to the global water industry, before setting out on a 2,500km bike journey from Manchester to his native Sicily.
Dr Chiantello’s supervisor, Professor Bamidele Adebisi is head of the smart
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