Enhancing Liquid Hydrocarbon Pipeline Leak Detection Using Instrumented Aerial Surveillance

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Banica ◽  
Doug Waslen ◽  
Boyd T. Tolton
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Liquid Hydrocarbon ◽  
Aerial Surveillance ◽  
Natural Gas Pipelines ◽  
Test Methodology ◽  
Detection Technology

Suncor Energy Inc. contacted Synodon as part of an effort to enhance pipeline leak detection. Ideally, Suncor needed a technology that could detect natural gas as well as liquid hydrocarbon releases. Synodon’s new technology is an aircraft mounted gas remote sensing instrument that has been used for detecting leaks from natural gas pipelines for over four (4) years and was expanding their capability to include liquid hydrocarbons. This paper will describe the steps that Suncor and Synodon have taken over the last two years to develop and validate this detection technology. Synodon completed a number of studies including laboratory and field tests that demonstrated the ability of Synodon’s technology to remotely detect ground-level plumes of vapours released from a liquid hydrocarbon pipeline. Synodon conducted full atmospheric analytic modeling followed by laboratory measurements to determine the level of sensitivity of its instrument measurement to both methane and various liquid hydrocarbon vapors including gasoline, condensates and synthetic crude oil. Suncor participated in the development of test methodology and field execution in order to witness and validate the results. Based on this work, Suncor has determined an optimum inspection frequency based on theoretical spill size, SCADA leak detection thresholds and conventional aerial patrol constraints. The results and conclusions of this work will be presented.

Results of Field Trials of Realsens™, An Airborne Natural Gas Leak Detection Technology

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Banica ◽  
Doug Miller ◽  
Boyd T. Tolton
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Infrared Band ◽  
Detection Technology ◽  
Gas Leak ◽  
Gas Leaks

Detecting natural gas leaks from the worlds nearly 5 million kilometers of underground pipelines is a difficult and costly challenge. Existing technologies are limited to ground deployment and have a number of limitations such as slow response, false leak readings and high costs. Various remote sensing solutions have been proposed in the past and a few are currently being developed. This paper starts by describing the remote sensing concept and then will focus on a new technology developed by Synodon scientists. This airborne instrument is a passive Gas Filter Correlation Radiometer (GFCR) that is tuned to measure ethane in the 3.3 microns near-infrared band. The paper will then present the results of the first airborne field tests and conclude with a description of the service which Synodon will be offering to the transmission and distribution pipeline operators using the new technology.

Research and Outlook on Leak Detection Technology of Natural Gas Pipelines

ICPTT 2012 ◽  
2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuli Wang ◽  
Mingming Lian ◽  
Shidong Zhou ◽  
Jianguo Feng ◽  
Yongchao Rao
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Gas Pipelines ◽  
Natural Gas Pipelines ◽  
Detection Technology

RealSens™: An Advanced Passive Airborne Natural Gas Leak Detection Technology

2006 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Banica ◽  
Chris K. Sheard ◽  
Boyd T. Tolton
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Infrared Band ◽  
Underground Pipelines ◽  
Detection Technology ◽  
Gas Leak ◽  
Gas Leaks ◽  
Transmission And Distribution

Detecting natural gas leaks from the worlds nearly 5 million kilometers of underground pipelines is a difficult and costly challenge. Existing technologies are limited to ground deployment and have a number of limitations such as slow response, false leak readings and high costs. Various remote sensing solutions have been proposed in the past and a few are currently being developed. This paper starts by describing the remote sensing concept and then will focus on a new technology developed by Synodon scientists. This airborne instrument is a passive Gas Filter Correlation Radiometer (GFCR) that is tuned to measure ethane in the 3.3 microns near-infrared band. With its target natural gas column sensitivity of 50 μm, the instrument is capable of detecting very small leaks in the range of 5–10 cuft/hr in winds that exceed 6 miles/hr. The paper concludes with a description of the service which Synodon will be offering to the transmission and distribution pipeline operators using the new technology.

scholarly journals A Small Leak Detection Method Based on VMD Adaptive De-Noising and Ambiguity Correlation Classification Intended for Natural Gas Pipelines

Sensors ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 2116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiyang Xiao ◽  
Jian Li ◽  
Zhiliang Bai ◽  
Jiedi Sun ◽  
Nan Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Detection Method ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Gas Pipelines ◽  
Natural Gas Pipelines ◽  
Small Leak

Prediction of Gas Transport Through Ground and Atmosphere to Determine the Ability of Airborne Leak Detection Methods to Detect Pin-Hole Leaks From Buried Gas Pipelines

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. K. Botros ◽  
C. J. Ennis ◽  
J. Zhou ◽  
B. Watson
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Gas Transport ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Leak Rate ◽  
Detection Methods ◽  
Atmospheric Conditions ◽  
Governing Equations ◽  
Solution Techniques

New technologies for airborne detection of gas pipeline leaks have been introduced to the pipeline industry and have undergone several field-testing attempts. These technologies are based on an airborne detection device mounted on a small aircraft flying along the right of way (ROW) of the pipeline. It is proposed that during initial commissioning of the pipeline, leak testing is performed by first pressurizing the pipeline section with natural gas, and then launching an airborne leak detection aircraft to fly along the ROW in multiple passes. A delay between the completion of the pipe section pressurization and the launching of the leak detection aircraft is required in order to establish a discernable concentration of methane in the atmosphere. This ‘wait time’ includes the time required for the leak to penetrate upwards through the backfill to the ground surface and to subsequently diffuse into the atmosphere. Accuracy and reliability of these technologies clearly depend on the leak rate (i.e. leak hole size and line pressure), the depth and properties of the backfill, atmospheric conditions, prevailing wind speed and direction, and the properties of air including diffusion parameters of natural gas into air. Additionally, the accuracy of these airborne methods also depends on the altitude at which the aircraft is flying along the pipeline ROW and the degree of offset of the flight path from the centerline of the ROW. The present paper outlines the fundamental governing equations and solution techniques to predict the temporal-spatial-dependent diffusion of gas leakage from a pinhole into the ground. The mechanism of the gas transport through the ground, whether it is advective or diffusive, is dependent on the Pe´clet number, which is predominantly driven by the leak rate. Likewise, the fundamental governing equations along with solution techniques to predict the diffusion of the breakthrough flux of gas at the ground level into the atmosphere are formulated. Results of the time for the gas to break through at ground level, the concentration and gas flux at ground level, and the vertical and lateral concentration profiles of the gas in the atmosphere are all presented to facilitate assessment of the sensitivity of the airborne leak detection methods to the different ground and atmospheric parameters for a given leak rate at a given source depth.

On-Line Monitoring to Detect Third-Party Damage on Underground Natural Gas Pipelines Using Accelerometer

2006 ◽  
Vol 110 ◽  
pp. 123-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jae Young Nam ◽  
S.H. Choi ◽  
Jae Boong Choi ◽  
Young Jin Kim
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Signal Transmission ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Gas Pipelines ◽  
Natural Gas Pipelines ◽  
The Third ◽  
Damage Monitoring ◽  
On Line ◽  
The Third Party

Even though an excavation is not under the direct control of the utility operators, it is the main cause of third-party damage on the underground natural gas pipelines. Since the damage due to third-party excavation may lead to horrible consequences, preventative techniques that can reduce the third-party damage are needed. The purpose of this paper is to introduce an on-line monitoring system using accelerometer to detect a propagating acoustic pressure pulse that is produced from the third-party damage. Also, in order to verify this system, the corresponding field tests were performed considering many third-party damage sources(breaker, hammer drilling, etc.) and signal transmission ratio of each source. From the tests, signals developed by the third-party damage sources were successfully detected with the digital filter, which can distinguish external noises at the distance of 13km. Therefore, it is expected that the system can be used as a useful tool for the third-party damage monitoring of underground natural gas pipelines

An Improved Method of Leak Detection Used in Natural Gas Pipelines

ICPTT 2012 ◽  
2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianhui Xu ◽  
Ping Zhang ◽  
Fuqiang Shan ◽  
Zhongwen Nie ◽  
Yongzhi Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Gas Pipelines ◽  
Improved Method ◽  
Natural Gas Pipelines

A New Focus With Leak Detection for US Pipelines

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Merritt ◽  
Patricia Jasion ◽  
Max Kieba
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
The United States ◽  
Transportation Safety ◽  
Research Information ◽  
Environment Impact ◽  
Natural Gas Pipelines ◽  
Detection Systems ◽  
Natural Gas Pipeline ◽  
The U.S

The United States (U.S.) Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is exploring methods for increasing usage and improving leak detection systems in both hazardous liquid and natural gas pipelines. This is a critical focus for PHMSA in the wake of several recent pipeline incidents where more effective and redundant leak detection systems may have lessened the experienced consequences. The U.S. Congress and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have recommended deploying more leak detection systems into the U.S. pipeline infrastructure to address increasing public safety and environment impact concerns. PHMSA has taken a number of actions to work toward this goal including increased operator guidance, fostering technology research, information gathering, and reports on state of the art technologies. This paper discusses PHMSA’s actions regarding leak detection systems and the progress in advancing the dialogue amongst hazardous liquids and natural gas pipeline operators, other regulators, and the public, so that considerations in deploying systems on vintage and new construction pipelines can be identified.

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