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Volume 16
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Article

Experimental Investigation of Acoustic Signal Characteristics of Blockages in Highway Tunnel Drainage Pipelines Using Distributed Acoustic Sensing

by
Fei Wan
1,
Shuai Li
2,3,
Hongfei Shen
1,*,
Nian Zhang
2,3,*,
Wenjun Xie
2,
Yuchen Yan
1 and
Xuan Zhang
1
1
Research Institute of Highway Ministry of Transport, Beijing 100088, China
2
College of Civil Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024, China
3
Research Center of Tunneling and Underground Engineering of Ministry of Education, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Appl. Sci. 2026, 16(1), 491; https://doi.org/10.3390/app16010491
Submission received: 10 December 2025 / Revised: 29 December 2025 / Accepted: 30 December 2025 / Published: 4 January 2026
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Challenges in Urban Underground Engineering)
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Abstract

This study aims to quantitatively assess blockage conditions in highway tunnel drainage pipelines using acoustic wave signals. A full-scale physical model of a drainage pipeline was constructed to simulate six blockage ratio conditions ranging from 12.5% to 75%. Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) technology was employed to collect acoustic signals along the pipeline. Time-domain analysis and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)-based frequency-domain analysis were conducted to compare the waveform amplitude and dominant frequency components between blocked and unobstructed pipeline sections. The results demonstrate a significant increase in time-domain amplitude at the blockage location, with a maximum enhancement of up to 50% compared to unobstructed sections. In the frequency domain, this phenomenon is particularly pronounced within specific dominant frequency bands (core frequency bands). For instance, the 395–405 Hz band was identified as the core band under the 50% blockage ratio condition. Furthermore, the time-domain amplitude at the blockage shows a positive correlation with the blockage ratio (12.5–75%). The comprehensive analysis indicates that the time-domain characteristics of DAS-based acoustic signals can effectively identify both the location and severity of blockages in highway tunnel drainage pipelines. This research provides fundamental data for evaluating the blockage state of tunnel drainage systems based on acoustic signatures.
Keywords: highway tunnel; drainage pipeline blockage; model experiment; Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS); acoustic signal characteristics highway tunnel; drainage pipeline blockage; model experiment; Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS); acoustic signal characteristics

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MDPI and ACS Style

Wan, F.; Li, S.; Shen, H.; Zhang, N.; Xie, W.; Yan, Y.; Zhang, X. Experimental Investigation of Acoustic Signal Characteristics of Blockages in Highway Tunnel Drainage Pipelines Using Distributed Acoustic Sensing. Appl. Sci. 2026, 16, 491. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16010491

AMA Style

Wan F, Li S, Shen H, Zhang N, Xie W, Yan Y, Zhang X. Experimental Investigation of Acoustic Signal Characteristics of Blockages in Highway Tunnel Drainage Pipelines Using Distributed Acoustic Sensing. Applied Sciences. 2026; 16(1):491. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16010491

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wan, Fei, Shuai Li, Hongfei Shen, Nian Zhang, Wenjun Xie, Yuchen Yan, and Xuan Zhang. 2026. "Experimental Investigation of Acoustic Signal Characteristics of Blockages in Highway Tunnel Drainage Pipelines Using Distributed Acoustic Sensing" Applied Sciences 16, no. 1: 491. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16010491

APA Style

Wan, F., Li, S., Shen, H., Zhang, N., Xie, W., Yan, Y., & Zhang, X. (2026). Experimental Investigation of Acoustic Signal Characteristics of Blockages in Highway Tunnel Drainage Pipelines Using Distributed Acoustic Sensing. Applied Sciences, 16(1), 491. https://doi.org/10.3390/app16010491

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