Overview

This presentation will review leak detection technology developed at Air Products that is currently used for real-time monitoring of carbon monoxide and hydrogen pipelines.

As gas pipelines are rarely steady, accurate predictions of pipeline dynamics are required to quickly discriminate changes caused by small leaks from normal operational fluctuations. Starting from general equations of gas dynamics, a simplification for long pipes is derived to yield a single partial differential equation for gas density that is solved by a finite element method. The resulting pipeline simulator predicts the evolution of density throughout the pipeline network as well as flow at select points. Using data only at boundaries, leaks are identified and located from differences between simulated and measured flows. Operating tests indicate that a leak from a quarter-inch hole is reliably detected using data measured miles away.

Speaker

Dr George Harriott, Air Products Expert

Dr. George Harriott is a recognised expert at Air Products where he has worked for 35 years on a wide range of technologies: pipeline dynamics, gas separation, process design, equilibrium instabilities and applied cryogenics. He received a BSE from Princeton University and a PhD from MIT, both in chemical engineering.

The material presented has not been peer-reviewed. Any opinions are the presenters' own and do not necessarily represent those of IChemE or the US Gulf Coast Member Group. The information is given in good faith but without any liability on the part of IChemE.