Acoustic Emission-Based Pipeline Leak Detection and Size Identification Using a Customized One-Dimensional DenseNet

Effective leak detection and leak size identification are essential for maintaining the operational safety, integrity, and longevity of industrial pipelines. Traditional methods often suffer from high noise sensitivity, limited adaptability to non-stationary signals, and excessive computational costs, which limits their feasibility for real-time monitoring applications. This study presents a novel acoustic emission (AE)-based pipeline monitoring approach, integrating Empirical Wavelet Transform (EWT) for adaptive frequency decomposition with customized one-dimensional DenseNet architecture to achieve precise leak detection and size classification. The methodology begins with EWT-based signal segmentation, which isolates meaningful frequency bands to enhance leak-related feature extraction. To further improve signal quality, adaptive thresholding and denoising techniques are applied, filtering out low-amplitude noise while preserving critical diagnostic information. The denoised signals are processed using a DenseNet-based deep learning model, which combines convolutional layers and densely connected feature propagation to extract fine-grained temporal dependencies, ensuring the accurate classification of leak presence and severity. Experimental validation was conducted on real-world AE data collected under controlled leak and non-leak conditions at varying pressure levels. The proposed model achieved an exceptional leak detection accuracy of 99.76%, demonstrating its ability to reliably differentiate between normal operation and multiple leak severities. This method effectively reduces computational costs while maintaining robust performance across diverse operating environments.