Active remote detection of natural gas pipeline leaks
Document ID: 175
Stearns, Steven V.1
Lines, Raymond Todd1
Grund, Christian J.2
Philbrick, C. Russell3
1 Eastman Kodak Company, Commercial and Government Systems, Rochester, NY, U.S.A.
2 Coherent Technologies Inc., Louisville, CO, U.S.A.
3 The Pennsylvania State University, Department of Electrical Engineering, University Park, PA, U.S.A.
Abstract
Active remote sensing technology and hardware is now becoming sufficiently advanced for true commercial implementation beyond the purely laboratory R&D applications that have been developed over the past two decades. Optical remote sensing technologies using active techniques for the detection of natural gas leaks have recently attracted a great deal of attention throughout the natural gas pipeline industry. Funding over the past several years from both private industry and various government agencies has supported the development of a range of active remote sensing techniques for a variety of applications including the measurement of weather parameters, measurement of chemical species, and remote sensing techniques which involve mapping of terrain. Active sensing techniques provide a number of advantages in the areas of sensitivity, specificity, rapid response, large area coverage, and efficiency, combined with the ability to achieve extremely low false alarm rates. Here we provide a brief overview of the science behind the various active sensor technologies, and discuss the additional hardware components required to create an integrated system designed to monitor leaks in natural gas pipelines to meet the requirements for pipeline integrity, safety, and security.