Development of an Impact Monitoring System for Petroleum Pipelines
Keywords:
Petroleum pipeline, third party damage, impact, event location, pulse propagationAbstract
Third party damage to petroleum pipelines can be catastrophic if undetected. This damage results in financial losses, environmental pollution and frequent loss of life as a result of explosion. Therefore the timely detection and location of damages along petroleum pipelines will play a key role in the overall integrity management of a pipeline system.
This paper presents the development and testing of mathematical techniques for locating an impulsive event on a pipeline using the pressure pulse caused by it from measurements made remotely. An impulsive event occurring along a pipeline generates pressure pulses which propagate in both directions and this can be detected and
measured by sensors located at different positions along the pipeline. From these measurements the location of the event can be determined.
The theoretical work was validated by experiments using a simulated pipeline.
The experimental work was carried out using an experimental test rig comprising a flexible hose pipe 23 m long and 19 mm diameter with four pressure sensors distributed along the pipe and connected to a data acquisition system.
The experiments were tested using static air in the pipe, and were found to give good results.
