A new leak location method based on leakage acoustic waves for oil and gas pipelines

In order to study a new leak detection and location method for oil and natural gas pipelines based on acoustic waves, the propagation model is established and modified. Firstly, the propagation law in theory is obtained by analyzing the damping impact factors which cause the attenuation. Then, the dominant-energy frequency bands of leakage acoustic waves are obtained through experiments by wavelet transform analysis. Thirdly, the actual propagation model is modified by the correction factor based on the dominant-energy frequency bands. Then a new leak detection and location method is proposed based on the propagation law which is validated by the experiments for oil pipelines. Finally, the conclusions and the method are applied to the gas pipelines in experiments. The results indicate: the modified propagation model can be established by the experimental method; the new leak location method is effective and can be applied to both oil and gas pipelines and it has advantages over the traditional location method based on the velocity and the time difference. Conclusions can be drawn that the new leak detection and location method can effectively and accurately detect and locate the leakages in oil and natural gas pipelines.     

A dual-sensor-based method to recognize pipeline leakage and interference signals

During the detection of pipeline leakages, false alarms of leak detection could be markedly reduced if the interference signals resulting from pressure regulating, pump regulating or valve movements could be accurately distinguished. A digital recognition method for interference signals and leakage signals based on a dual-sensor system is proposed in this paper. It is demonstrated that the direction of the signal can be recognized by a cross-correlation calculation between two signals from the dual-sensor, one of which undergoes forward linear interpolation and backward linear interpolation. Based on this theory, the interference signal and the leak signal can be discriminated exactly, and the distance between the two sensors in the dual-sensor system can be considerably reduced without needing to increase the sampling frequency. The monotonicity of the cross-correlation function is demonstrated, and a fast discrimination algorithm based on a binary extreme search method, which decreases the computational load and maintains global optimization, is also proposed. A pre-processing method of the actual signal is proposed to decrease the identity requirement for the two sensors in a dual-sensor system. In the experiment based on artificial signals, the proposed discrimination algorithm could achieve accurate recognition of the abnormal signal, and as such, the theory and application of pipeline leak detection based on dual-sensor systems are extended.     

Altered toxicity of organic pollutants in water originated from simultaneous exposure to UV photolysis and CdSe/ZnS quantum dots

The paper reports unforeseen results of increased toxicity of water, subsequent to interactions between CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs), phenol and toluene under UV irradiation. The consistent pattern of changes in measured toxicity (TU) was observed and correlated with degradation of phenol and/or toluene. Spearman rank coefficients (SRCs) for data pairs sum-parameters vs. TU were calculated. The highest correlation between toxicity and degradation by-products was observed for hydroquinone (0.86) and catechol (0.89). The presence of QDs in tested concentration range in the absence of UV has shown low toxicity and no interactions with phenol and/or toluene. The leak of constituent core and shell metal ions was observed. The minor differences in physical characteristics of tested QDs of the same chemical composition led to rather different degradation patterns of phenol and toluene, and the amount of leak of the metal ions as well.     

Leak location of pipelines based on characteristic entropy

The leakage of oil/gas pipelines is one of the major factors to influence the safe operation of pipelines. So it is significant to detect and locate the exact pipeline leakage. A novel leak location method based on characteristic entropy is proposed to extract the input feature vectors. In this approach, the combination of wavelet packet and information entropy is called “wavelet packet characteristic entropy” (WP-CE). The combination of empirical mode decomposition and information entropy is called “empirical mode decomposition characteristic entropy” (EMD-CE). Both pressure signal and flow signal of low noise and high noise of pipeline leakage are decomposed to extract the characteristic entropy. The location of pipeline leak is determined by the combination of the characteristic entropy as the input vector and particle swarm optimization and support vector machine method (PSO-SVM). The results of proposed leak location method are compared with those of PSO-SVM based on physical parameters. Under the condition of high noise, the results of proposed leak location method are better than those of PSO-SVM based on physical parameters.     

Risk assessment of offshore crude oil pipeline failure

Failure of Leak Detection System (LDS) to detect pipeline leakages or ruptures may result in drastic consequences that could lead to excessive financial losses. To minimize the occurrence of such failure, the functionality of the LDS and the integrity of the pipeline should be assessed on a priority basis. This paper presents an integrated risk-based assessment scheme to predict the failure and the failure consequences of offshore crude oil pipelines. To estimate risk, two important quantities have to be determined, the joint probability of failure of the pipeline and its LDS and the consequences of failure. Consequences incorporate the financial losses associated with environmental damage, oil spill cleanup and lost production. The assessment provides an estimate of the risk in monetary value and determines whether the estimated risk exceeds a predefined target risk. Moreover, the critical year for the asset can be determined. In essence, the outcome of the assessment facilitates an informed decision-making about the future of the asset.     

铁合金矿热炉CO泄漏点的自控检测及报警系统

介绍了CO泄漏点的自控检测及报警系统的原理、硬件电路设计、系统软件设计及主要技术指标。并就其在铁合金矿热炉CO泄漏点上的应用与美、德国家产品进行了经济对比,在性能一样的情况下,优于国外产品,应用前景很好。     

化学毒物泄漏灾害宏观控制技术的研究

系统阐述了宏观控制化学毒物泄漏的主要技术问题，包括泄漏危险源的探讨；预警系统的设计；泄漏的预防以及应急救援等。     

A Profile and Management of the US Army's underground storage tanks

The US Army owns more than 10,000 underground storage tanks (USTs), many of which are old and may be leaking. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 required tank owners to collect and report data on them by May 1986. In order to manage the large amounts of information on its USTs, the Army developed a microcomputer-based data base system. The data base system is user friendly and allows the user to store, organize, and manipulate the UST data. A leak potential index (LPI) was also developed and calculated for each of the Army's USTs. The LPI is used to prioritize USTs so that those with higher LPIs can be monitored closely. A characteristic profile of Army USTs according to construction material, capacity, age, content, and LPI is presented in this paper.The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the US Department of the Army, nor does the mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.     

Two leaks detection in viscoelastic pipeline systems by means of transient

This paper presents a technique for detecting and locating leaks in a single viscoelastic pipe, by means of transient analysis. The system studied is a reservoir-pipe-valve structure. The viscoelastic behavior of the pipe wall material is modeled by a generalized KelvinVoigt model. To determine the leak location, the mathematical formulation has been solved by the method of characteristics. The approach by the method of characteristics is often chosen because it is based on the concept of acoustic wave propagation which is the main mechanism of all transient events considered. The presence of the two leaks in a pipe partially reflects pressure waves initiated by the sudden closure of a downstream shut-off valve. These waves affect the shape and the amplitude of the time-history-pressure. The computed results describe the influence of the presence of two leaks on pressure time-history and the effect of leaks locations and sizes on the pressure signal behavior. The effect of the pipe wall viscoelasticity on the two leaks detection and sizing is also discussed. The leaks discharges are determined by resolving two independent equations derived from literatures and based on transient analysis. The friction and leaks depths effects on two leaks locations and sizing are involved.