Pipeline Management

LEAK HUNTER is a stationary pipeline management system specifically tailored for liquid transmission pipelines. Superimposed on an SCADA system, Leak Hunter alIows the engineers and operators at the control center to superwise and control the operation. It comprises three main functions: Supervisory Control, Leak Detection, and Batch Tracking.   It watches and displays the pipeline status around the clock, detects and analyzes incidents to discern if they pertain to a normal operation (valve open/close, pump start/stop,...) or a pipe crack has happened. Hitorical data are saved for further access or reports. The Batch Tracking function is specially valuable when batches of liquid are delivered to customers and so the quantities are important.  

Detect leaks & specify location  
Early detection and locating of leakage in liquid pipelines is a serious challenge for the pipeline operators, share holders, and owners of the lost quantity. Official statistics show considerable property (and environmental) damages each year due to pipe leakage, and in all cases, absence of an effective leak detection system is eminent. 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 can alert, quickly detect, pin-point the quantity and the precise location of a leak in oil or water pipelines. This helps in taking decisive action to prevent financial and environmental damages with reduced inspection time.

The Leak Hunter application can function as a stand-alone, independent, alarm system, or it can be integrated with an existing programmable logic controllers, SCADA systems, facility automation-management systems, and distributed control systems.

 
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.
Interfacing with different software and hardware is a common practice in the oil and gas industry, since different equipment and software systems are necessary for normal pipeline operation. Even if your existing system does not support standard integration interfaces, Netico will design and implement an adequate interfacing solution on project basis, in order to maximize the potential of your existing infrastructure.

How does it work?
 

• Pressure Wave Propagation Method
• Mass Balance
• Pipeline State Machine

Pressure wave propagation method 
A spontaneous leak will cause a negative pressure wave in the pipeline, simply because 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 leak position can be calculated from the difference in these arrival times. Calculation is adjusted through various measured or simulated parameters that can influence propagation speed and compensate for measurement equipment imprecision.

 
Leak hunter PWP

• Leak Hunter runs multiple pressure propagation algorithms in parallel (usually two)
• Usage 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 it’s 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 algorithm

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

PIipeline statemachine
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.

 
Main features

• Reliability
• Precision
• Fast Detection
• Easy Integration
• Stand alone Operation
• Adaptable System

 
Reliability
Reliability is achieved through implementation of three independent leak detection algorithms:
•    Pressure & flow disturbance pattern recognition
•    Disturbances propagation pattern recognition
•    Real measurement vs. model prediction.
Leak Hunter allows definition of the pipeline model which consists of pipe geometry and material properties, and includes information such as ground elevation, route, pipe cross-section profile, etc. Based on the model, it is possible to simulate pipeline performance and compare it in real time to the actual, measured, performance.

Precision
Accuracy of the leak position and estimated leak quantities is achieved using following principles and techniques:

• Multi-level statistical analysis on real time Pressure, Flow, Temperature, Viscosity, Density and Speed values
• Simulated, predefined and self learning parameters that can be adjusted to compensate for imprecisions of measurement equipment
• Multiple leak detection algorithms running in parallel and using different parameters. Leak position and quantity is adjusted by comparing output of each of the parallel running algorithms.

Fast detection
Netico Leak Detection System can alert, quickly detect, pinpoint the quantity and the precise location of a leak and help you take decisive action with reduced inspection time before that damage is done.

Easy integration
Leak Hunter can be installed on a personal computer or server based x86 PC running a MS Windows based operating system already owned by the customer or newly acquired, which means that new hardware costs are minimal. Leak Hunter is installed and interfaced without any or with minimal disruption to the pipeline or instrumentation systems operation already running at the site.

Stand-alone operation
Netico Leak Hunter application can function as stand-alone independent alarm system or it can be integrated with existing or newly installed programmable logic controllers, SCADA systems, facility automation-management systems and distributed control systems

Adaptability
Leak Hunter provides an open Application Programmer Interface (API) to facilitate integration to the existing infrastructure, which does not adhere to the supported communication standards, but is used in a concrete customer case.

 
Main functions:
 

• Pipeline Simulation
• Node Pressure History
• Pipeline Monitoring
• Batch Tracking
• High Resolution Data Storage

Pipeline simulation

• Pipeline model
• Pipe geometry and material properties
• Ground elevation, route, pipe cross-section profile
• Pipeline performance simulation

Node pressure story
Leak Hunter provides a high resolution data storage buffer for all the pipeline measurements in immediate past. This data buffer is used for more efficient real time calculations required by the implemented leakage detection algorithms.

PIipeline Monitoring
Real time pipeline monitoring based on tracking pressure, density, mass and volume flow, fluid speed, temperature, viscosity, valve and pump statuses in real time. Possibility for a user to predefine, enable or disable interventions on measurement data.

Batch Tracking
Monitors the head and tail position of each product batch as it enters a pipeline, calculates the Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) of each batch at every delivery point continuously.

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