A New Approach to Pipeline Leak Detection Using Electromagnetic Sensing

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Dawson ◽  
Stuart Inkpen ◽  
Chris Nolan ◽  
David Bonnell
Keyword(s):  
Leak Detection ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Detection Accuracy ◽  
Minimal Risk ◽  
Detection Systems ◽  
Acoustic Signatures ◽  
Cost System ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
In Situ Sensors ◽  
Operational Range

Many different approaches have been adopted for identifying leaks in pipelines. Leak detection systems, however, generally suffer from a number of difficulties and limitations. For existing and new pipelines, these inevitably force significant trade-offs to be made between detection accuracy, operational range, responsiveness, deployment cost, system reliability, and overall effectiveness. Existing leak detection systems frequently rely on the measurement of secondary effects such as temperature changes, acoustic signatures or flow differences to infer the existence of a leak. This paper presents an alternative approach to leak detection employing electromagnetic measurements of the material in the vicinity of the pipeline that can potentially overcome some of the difficulties encountered with existing approaches. This sensing technique makes direct measurements of the material near the pipeline resulting in reliable detection and minimal risk of false alarms. The technology has been used successfully in other industries to make critical measurements of materials under challenging circumstances. A number of prototype sensors were constructed using this technology and they were tested by an independent research laboratory. The test results show that sensors based on this technique exhibit a strong capability to detect oil, and to distinguish oil from water (a key challenge with in-situ sensors).

A Novel Approach to Evaluating Leak Detection CPM System Sensitivity/Reliability Performance Trade-Offs

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shyam Chadha ◽  
Daniel Hung ◽  
Samir Rashid
Keyword(s):  
False Alarm ◽  
Capital Investment ◽  
Performance Metrics ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
American Petroleum Institute ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Good Reliability ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Reliability Performance

As defined in American Petroleum Institute Recommended Practice 1130 (API RP 1130), CPM system leak detection performance is evaluated on the basis of four distinct but interrelated metrics: sensitivity, reliability, accuracy and robustness. These performance metrics are captured to evaluate performance, manage risk and prioritize mitigation efforts. Evaluating and quantifying sensitivity performance of a CPM system is paramount to ensure the performance of the CPM system is acceptable based on a company’s risk profile for detecting leaks. Employing API RP 1130 recommended testing methodologies including parameter manipulation techniques, software simulated leak tests and/or removal of test quantities of commodity from the pipeline are excellent approaches to understanding the leak sensitivity metric. Good reliability (false alarm) performance is critical to ensure that control center operator desensitization does not occur through long term exposure to false alarms. Continuous tracking and analyzing of root causes of leak alarms ensures that the effects of seasonal variations or changes to operation on CPM system performance are managed appropriately. The complexity of quantifying this metric includes qualitatively evaluating the relevance of false alarms. The interrelated nature of the above performance metrics imposes conflicting requirements and results in inherent trade-offs. Optimizing the trade-off between reliability and sensitivity involves identifying the point that thresholds must be set to obtain a balance of a desired sensitivity and false alarm rate. This paper presents an approach to illustrate the combined sensitivity/reliability performance for an example pipeline. The paper discusses considerations addressed while determining the methodology such as stakeholder input, ongoing CPM system enhancements, sensitivity/reliability trade-off, risk based capital investment and graphing techniques. The paper also elaborates on a number of identified benefits of the selected overall methodology.

Real Time Statistical Leak Detection on the RRP Crude Oil Network, Holland

2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joep Hoeijmakers ◽  
John Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Detection System ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Field Application ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Pipeline Network ◽  
Oil Pipeline ◽  
Detection Systems

Prior to the year 2000, the RRP crude oil pipeline network in Holland and Germany was monitored using a dynamic leak detection system based on a dynamic model. The system produced some false alarms during normal operation; prompting RRP to investigate what advances had been made in the leak detection field before committing to upgrade the existing system for Y2K compliance. RRP studied the available leak detection systems and decided to install a statistics-based system. This paper examines the field application of the statistics based leak detection system on the three crude oil pipelines operated by RRP. They are the 177 km Dutch line, the 103 km South line, and the 86 km North line. The results of actual field leak trials are reported. Leak detection systems should maintain high sensitivity with the minimum of false alarms over the long term; thus this paper also outlines the performance of the statistical leak detection system over the last year from the User’s perspective. The leak detection experiences documented on this crude oil pipeline network demonstrate that it is possible to have a reliable real-time leak detection system with minimal maintenance costs and without the costs and inconvenience of false alarms.

Evaluating the Reliability and Sensitivity of a Leak Detection System on a Liquid Pipeline

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Twomey
Keyword(s):  
Detection System ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Detection Systems ◽  
Number Of False Alarms ◽  
Main Challenge ◽  
Bid Evaluation ◽  
Performance Limitations

Detecting leaks in a liquid pipeline is not the most difficult task for a leak detection system (LDS); detecting leaks without giving false leak alarms is the main challenge. An operator will have trouble identifying a real leak if he has to sift through many false alarms. Therefore pipeline leak trials should test the reliability (number of false alarms) of a leak detection system as well as its ability to detect real leaks. This paper reviews how a number of pipeline operators tested their leak detection systems with simulated leaks, verifying the reliability as well as the sensitivity of their new leak detection systems. These simulated leaks were introduced by removing product from the pipeline by bleeding. The paper also outlines a simple table based on the API 1155 guidelines to evaluate software based leak detection systems that can be used as part of the bid evaluation process to hold the leak detection vendor accountable to deliver the performance promised in his bid proposal. This paper high-lights some of the performance limitations to watch for when selecting and testing an LDS, For example; will a pipeline leak detection system detect the quoted minimum leak if the normal operations include transients? Does the system block leak alarms to reduce frequent false alarms? Are the leak detection times based on the time it takes to declare a “Leak Warning” or on the time it takes to declare a “Leak Alarm”? Finally, the paper discusses how to perform more realistic leak tests.

TRENDS IN PIPELINE LEAK DETECTION SYSTEMS USING SONIC TECHNOLOGY

2008 ◽  
Vol 2008 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-215
Author(s):  
Jairo A. Prezzi
Keyword(s):  
New Technology ◽  
Digital Signal ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Hydraulic Modeling ◽  
Detection Systems ◽  
Acoustic Signatures ◽  
Physical Forces ◽  
Multivariate Systems ◽  
Software Filtering ◽  
New Generation

ABSTRACT Acoustic sensing is a relatively well known method for detecting leaks, particularly in transport pipelines. This methodology is based on the rarefaction phenomenon which occurs around the leak spot as a result of a sudden rupture of the pipe wall. The physical forces involved in the phenomenon generate a pressure disturbance that propagates through the fluid, upstream and downstream the pipe. The key feature behind acoustic technology, when applied to LDS, is the systems capability to monitor pressure disturbances and accurately recognize and pinpoint characteristic “leak waveforms” superimposed on the background noise. This is usually achieved by a combination of mechanical, hardware and software filtering techniques. Although real applications have demonstrated the effectiveness of acoustic technology over a quite broad range of scenarios, it has experienced few innovations along the past years. The relative technological stagnation and the experience achieved in several LDS installations in Brazil, encouraged Aselco, a Brazilian company focused on LDS applications, to invest in developing new strategies around the classical acoustic concept. The R&D project started in early 2006 jointly with NETeF, Thermal and Fluids Engineering Centre, at University of São Paulo at São Carlos. A 1. 2Km pipeline was built at NETeF'S lab in order to simulate leaks under mono or multiphase flow conditions. Among the project goals was the development of a new generation of systems dedicated to leak detection encompassing more elaborated algorithms to identify leak acoustic signatures. The core R&D is still centered on the acoustic concept, but under a different approach such as DSP-Digital Signal Processing, pattern recognition through neural network analysis. Another line of development is toward multivariate systems, which bring together both acoustic and hydraulic modeling algorithms running on the same platform. The experimental data obtained, proposed system architecture and characteristics are hereby discussed. Also, the prospective aspects and application of the new technology are objects of analysis.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF WATER LEAK DETECTION SYSTEMS AND METHODOLOGIES

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 2063-2074
Author(s):  
Pedro Rosas Quiterio ◽  
Florencio Sanchez Silva ◽  
Ignacio Carvajal Mariscal ◽  
Jesus Alberto Meda Campana
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Detection Systems ◽  
Water Leak

scholarly journals A Feasibility Study of the Use of Smartwatches in Wearable Fall Detection Systems

Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 2254
Author(s):  
Francisco Javier González-Cañete ◽  
Eduardo Casilari
Keyword(s):  
Low Cost ◽  
Fall Detection ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
False Alarms ◽  
Battery Life ◽  
Area Network ◽  
Battery Lifetime ◽  
Detection Systems ◽  
Operational Aspects

Over the last few years, the use of smartwatches in automatic Fall Detection Systems (FDSs) has aroused great interest in the research of new wearable telemonitoring systems for the elderly. In contrast with other approaches to the problem of fall detection, smartwatch-based FDSs can benefit from the widespread acceptance, ergonomics, low cost, networking interfaces, and sensors that these devices provide. However, the scientific literature has shown that, due to the freedom of movement of the arms, the wrist is usually not the most appropriate position to unambiguously characterize the dynamics of the human body during falls, as many conventional activities of daily living that involve a vigorous motion of the hands may be easily misinterpreted as falls. As also stated by the literature, sensor-fusion and multi-point measurements are required to define a robust and reliable method for a wearable FDS. Thus, to avoid false alarms, it may be necessary to combine the analysis of the signals captured by the smartwatch with those collected by some other low-power sensor placed at a point closer to the body’s center of gravity (e.g., on the waist). Under this architecture of Body Area Network (BAN), these external sensing nodes must be wirelessly connected to the smartwatch to transmit their measurements. Nonetheless, the deployment of this networking solution, in which the smartwatch is in charge of processing the sensed data and generating the alarm in case of detecting a fall, may severely impact on the performance of the wearable. Unlike many other works (which often neglect the operational aspects of real fall detectors), this paper analyzes the actual feasibility of putting into effect a BAN intended for fall detection on present commercial smartwatches. In particular, the study is focused on evaluating the reduction of the battery life may cause in the watch that works as the core of the BAN. To this end, we thoroughly assess the energy drain in a prototype of an FDS consisting of a smartwatch and several external Bluetooth-enabled sensing units. In order to identify those scenarios in which the use of the smartwatch could be viable from a practical point of view, the testbed is studied with diverse commercial devices and under different configurations of those elements that may significantly hamper the battery lifetime.

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