Pipeline leak location using ultrasonic flowmeters

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9791345-B2
Application number	US-201414445837-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 29, 2014
Priority date	Sep 30, 2010
Publication date	Oct 17, 2017
Grant date	Oct 17, 2017

Abstract

Fluid leaks are identified and located by successively monitoring changes in fluid flow and sound velocities of fluid at a plurality of locations in the pipe with flow meters, such as with ultrasonic flow meters. Preferably the successive monitoring sampling rates are sufficiently high to measure instantaneous velocity changes. A controller coupled to the meters associates changes in monitored fluid flow and sound velocities in two locations along the pipe with a leak event occurring between those locations. The controller identifies the association event at each location and correlates pipe leak location based at least in part on difference in time between the respective location events. The method may be used in liquid and gas pipeline transmission systems.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for fluid leak detection in a pipe, comprising:
successively monitoring changes in fluid flow and sound velocities of fluid at a plurality of locations in the pipe, with pairs of flow meters, each pair comprising a meter controller;
associating changes in monitored fluid flow and sound velocities in two locations along the pipe, with a leak event occurring between the two locations, with a master controller coupled to the meter controllers of the pairs of flow meters; and
identifying the respective association of event sampled at the two locations, with the master controller,
wherein each meter controller gathers samples of both sound velocity and fluid flow velocity, records time of each sample and periodically transmits batches of samples to the master controller, and
wherein the master controller receives time-stamped fluid flow and sound velocities data from each meter controller of the meter pairs and associates changes in the time-stamped fluid flow and sound velocities data with the leak event.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the fluid flow and sound velocities monitoring is performed at each location with pairs of meters that are non-intrusively coupled to the pipe exterior.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the respective pairs of meters are an ultrasonic meter capable of monitoring both flow and sound velocities.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein a time of each identified leak location event is communicated to the master controller, and time clocks at each location are synchronized.

5. A method for fluid leak detection and location in a pipe, comprising:
successively monitoring changes in fluid flow and sound velocities of fluid at a plurality of locations in the pipe, with pairs of flow meters, each pair comprising a meter controller, wherein each meter controller gathers samples of both sound velocity and fluid flow velocity and records time of each sample;
receiving, by a master controller, time-stamped fluid flow and sound velocities data from each meter controller of the pairs of flow meters;
associating changes in monitored fluid flow and sound velocities data gathered by the meter controllers of two adjacent pairs of low meters in two locations along the pipe with a leak event occurring between the two locations, by the master controller coupled to the meter controllers of the pairs of flow meters; and
determining, by the master controller, a location of the leak event by correlating differences in sample time between the two adjacent meter pairs, based upon a shortest time difference upstream and downstream of the leak event, with the changes in the fluid flow and sound velocities data of the two adjacent meter pairs.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the fluid flow and sound velocity monitoring is performed at each location with pairs of meters that are non-intrusively coupled to the pipe exterior.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the respective pairs of meters are ultrasonic meters capable of monitoring both flow and sound velocity.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein a plurality of respective velocity samples are collected by the flow meters and periodically sent to the master controller.

9. The method of claim 5 , wherein a time of each identified location leak event is communicated to the master controller and time clocks at each location are synchronized.

10. The method of claim 5 , wherein the successive monitoring of changes of sound and fluid flow velocities at plural locations comprises monitoring of instantaneous changes in velocities at a sampling update rate of 1 to 50 milliseconds with the respective flow meters.

Assignees

• Siemens Ag

Inventors

• Schaefer Robert
• Diorio Dennis J
• Doorhy James M

Classifications

• G01M3/243 Primary

  for pipes · CPC title

• G01M3/2807

  for pipes (G01M3/2892, G01M3/30 take precedence) · CPC title