Pipeline Management Solution

Leak Hunter

LEAK HUNTER is a stationary pipeline management solution (PMS) specifically tailored for liquid transmission pipelines. Superimposed on a SCADA system, Leak Hunter allows the engineers and operators at the control center to supervise and control the operation. 

For normal operation, Leak Hunter requires an Intel-based personal computer or a server running a version of MS Windows operating system, and a reliable network connection. An existing computing infrastructure can be reused, thus minimizing system installation and maintenance costs. Leak Hunter is also installed and interfaced to the existing systems with none or very minimal disruption to the normal pipeline operations. 

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It comprises three main applications:

• Supervisory Control System 
• Leak Detection (& Location) System
• Batch Tracking System

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Supervisory Control System

• Real-time monitoring (Liquid pressure, density, flow, speed, temperature, viscosity, & apparatus status(valve, pump, etc.)) 
• Pipeline performance simulation (using a virtual model based on pipe geometry and material properties, ground elevation, rout, pipe cross-section profile)
• User-Friendly HMI
• Standalone Operation
• Easy to integrate into an existing telemetry system (if required)
• Real-time & Historical data presentation, e.g. node pressure history, etc.
• Programmer Interface
• High-resolution data storage buffer for all the pipeline measurements in the immediate past (the data is also used for the real-time calculations in the leak detection algorithms).
• Remote Control
• User defined measured data inspection enable/ disable 

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Leak Detection & Leak Location System  

Early detection and locating of leakage in liquid pipelines is a serious challenge for the pipeline operators, shareholders, and owners of the lost commodity. Official statistics show considerable property (and environmental) losses each year due to pipe leakage, and in all cases, the absence of an effective leak detection system is imminent.

Pipeline companies, therefore, would rather invest in a reliable leak detection system to reduce their risks. Such a system must be able to generate the quickest possible alarm when a leakage occurs. In addition, it must provide accurate information related to the location of the leakage. And last but not least, it must not generate false alarms.

Leak Hunter Leak Detection System (LDS) can alert, quickly detect, and pinpoint the location of a crack (or multiple cracks) in liquid transmission pipelines, enabling companies to avoid huge financial losses and save the environment.  

Thanks to its hybrid structure with multiple parallel algorithms and sub-algorithms and multiple checks, the leak detection application produces reliable high accuracy outputs in an incredibly short time. One or multiple leakages are detected in a few seconds to a few minutes depending on the situation. The time they occured, their location, and the spilled material quantity are given by the application.        

Basic Methods

Leak Hunter works based on three main algorithms:

• PRESSURE WAVE PROPAGATION
• MASS BALANCE 
• PIPELINE SIMULATION (STATE MACHINE)

There are of course more algorithms to handle specific and unusual conditions.   

Pressure wave propagation method 

A spontaneous leak will cause a negative pressure wave in the pipeline, simply because the liquid is leaking out. This pressure wave will travel through the pipeline at the speed of sound in the liquid flowing through the pipeline. Depending on the location of the leak, the pressure wave will arrive at some pressure measurement points before it arrives at the others. The l

eak position can be calculated from the difference in these arrival times. The calculation is adjusted through various measured or simulated parameters that can influence propagation speed and compensate for measurement equipment imprecision. The results are secured in many different ways:

• Two or multiple pressure propagation algorithms work in parallel
• A number of different sub-algorithms types, parameters, alarm triggering limits, etc enables detection of different leak types and allows for different levels of alarm sensitivity and alarm response times
• pressure propagation algorithm is coupled with its own mass balance algorithm which enables better alarm triggering and leakage quantity calculations in cases of the not “packed” pipelines
• pressure propagation algorithms detect the leak, its precise geographical location, leak start and end times, real-time fluid loss, and total loss of fluid when the leak has stopped

Mass balance method

• Mass balance algorithms can detect the leak, leak segment location (in between two flow meters), leak start and end times, and real-time fluid loss
• Leak Hunter runs multiple mass balance algorithms in parallel

Pipeline simulation (State machine)

Leak Hunter supports a pipeline state machine (stable stationary, transit-transient, stable transport)

decision-making algorithm. Pipeline state can be also changed/forced by the user at any time. Pipeline state is changed based on the monitoring of valve and pump statuses. Current pipeline state is used for leakage decision making and elimination of false alarms.

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Batch Tracking System