Application of Distributed Sensor Arrays for Monitoring Multiphase Processes

2003 ◽  
Vol 125 (4) ◽  
pp. 258-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Artur J. Jaworski ◽  
Tomasz Dyakowski ◽  
Graham A. Davies

This paper presents a novel approach to designing sensors and instrumentation for monitoring and controlling multiphase processes. It is based on the use of distributed sensor arrays, embedded within vital plant components, which provides an enhanced method of monitoring multiphase phenomena in both the spatial and temporal sense. This can be of particular importance for a more efficient extraction of fossil fuels and improved energy management in manufacturing sector. Two case studies are provided. First example shows the use of the concept in the separation processes in oil and gas extraction sector, while the second relates to nylon polymerization in the chemical industry.

Author(s):  
Artur J. Jaworski ◽  
Tomasz Dyakowski ◽  
Graham A. Davies

Abstract In this paper we present a novel approach to designing sensors and instrumentation for monitoring and controlling multiphase processes. Our concept is based on using distributed sensor arrays, embedded within the vital plant components and thus forming smart structures. Distributed information obtained from such devices, coupled with appropriate data processing, could improve our understanding of the nature of multiphase processes and hence improve plant operation. We discuss the requirements for such sensors and, in the experimental part of this paper, present a short case study, conducted at UMIST Pilot Plant facility, to highlight the benefits of using smart sensing techniques in a process environment. We hope that this paper will open a general discussion on sensing multiphase flows.


Sensors ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 179
Author(s):  
Robert Neubeck ◽  
Mareike Stephan ◽  
Tobias Gaul ◽  
Bianca Weihnacht ◽  
Lars Schubert ◽  
...  

The operation efficiency and safety of pressure vessels in the oil and gas industry profits from an accurate knowledge about the inner filling distribution. However, an accurate and reliable estimation of the multi-phase height levels in such objects is a challenging task, especially when considering the high demands in practicability, robustness in harsh environments and safety regulations. Most common systems rely on impractical instrumentation, lack the ability to measure solid phases or require additional safety precautions due to their working principle. In this work, another possibility to determine height levels by attenuation tomography with guided elastic waves is proposed. The method uses a complete instrumentation on the outer vessel shell and is based on the energy conversion rates along the travel path of the guided waves. Noisy data and multiple measurements from sparsely distributed sensor networks are translated into filling levels with accuracies in the centimeter range by solving a constrained optimization problem. It was possible to simultaneously determine sand, water, and oil phases on a mock-up scale experiment, even for artificially created sand slopes. The accuracy was validated by artificial benchmarking for a horizontal vessel, giving references for constructing an affordable prototype system.


2018 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 557
Author(s):  
Barry A. Goldstein

Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passion, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence (Adams 1770). Some people unfamiliar with upstream petroleum operations, some enterprises keen to sustain uncontested land use, and some people against the use of fossil fuels have and will voice opposition to land access for oil and gas exploration and production. Social and economic concerns have also arisen with Australian domestic gas prices tending towards parity with netbacks from liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. No doubt, natural gas, LNG and crude-oil prices will vary with local-to-international supply-side and demand-side competition. Hence, well run Australian oil and gas producers deploy stress-tested exploration, delineation and development budgets. With these challenges in mind, successive governments in South Australia have implemented leading-practice legislation, regulation, policies and programs to simultaneously gain and sustain trust with the public and investors with regard to land access for trustworthy oil and gas operations. South Australia’s most recent initiatives to foster reserve growth through welcomed investment in responsible oil and gas operations include the following: a Roundtable for Oil and Gas; evergreen answers to frequently asked questions, grouped retention licences that accelerate investment in the best of play trends; the Plan for ACcelerating Exploration (PACE) Gas Program; and the Oil and Gas Royalty Return Program. Intended and actual outcomes from these initiatives are addressed in this extended abstract.


Symmetry ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 757
Author(s):  
Yongke Pan ◽  
Kewen Xia ◽  
Li Wang ◽  
Ziping He

The dataset distribution of actual logging is asymmetric, as most logging data are unlabeled. With the traditional classification model, it is hard to predict the oil and gas reservoir accurately. Therefore, a novel approach to the oil layer recognition model using the improved whale swarm algorithm (WOA) and semi-supervised support vector machine (S3VM) is proposed in this paper. At first, in order to overcome the shortcomings of the Whale Optimization Algorithm applied in the parameter-optimization of the S3VM model, such as falling into a local optimization and low convergence precision, an improved WOA was proposed according to the adaptive cloud strategy and the catfish effect. Then, the improved WOA was used to optimize the kernel parameters of S3VM for oil layer recognition. In this paper, the improved WOA is used to test 15 benchmark functions of CEC2005 compared with five other algorithms. The IWOA–S3VM model is used to classify the five kinds of UCI datasets compared with the other two algorithms. Finally, the IWOA–S3VM model is used for oil layer recognition. The result shows that (1) the improved WOA has better convergence speed and optimization ability than the other five algorithms, and (2) the IWOA–S3VM model has better recognition precision when the dataset contains a labeled and unlabeled dataset in oil layer recognition.


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