Efficient Detection of Underwater Natural Gas Pipeline Leak Based on Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS) Systems

Nahid Nadimi,Kamran Layeghi,Reza Javidan

doi:10.3390/jmse9111273

Abstract

Natural gas is an important source of energy. Underwater gas pipeline leaks, on the other hand, have a serious impact on the marine environment; hence, the need for a reliable and preferably automated inspection method is essential. Due to the high impedance difference and strong scattering properties of gas bubbles in the marine environment, sonar systems are recognized as excellent tools for leak detection. In this paper, a new method for gas leak detection is proposed based on gas bubble acoustic scattering modeling using Synthetic Aperture Sonar (SAS) technology, in which a coherent combination of gas bubble and pipeline scattering fields at different angles along synthetic apertures is used for leak detection. The proposed method can distinguish leak signals from the background noise using coherent processing in SAS range migration. SAS as an active sonar can collect accurate information at wide area coverage rate, independent of operating range and frequency, which can potentially reduce the time and cost of pipeline inspection. The simulation and comparison results of the proposed method based on coherent processing of synthetic aperture technology and the real aperture system show that the proposed method can effectively distinguish gas bubble signals at different ranges even in a single pass and improves pipeline leak detection operations.

Highlights

The oil and gas industry is one of the largest economic activities globally, which is known as the world’s largest energy producer
Due to the potential risk of the gas pipelines polluting leaks into marine environments, the continuous inspection of pipelines and the ability to determine the exact gas leak is of particular importance
The impact of factors varies in different areas, and severe consequences can be influenced by several factors

Summary

Introduction

The oil and gas industry is one of the largest economic activities globally, which is known as the world’s largest energy producer. The vast and complex networks of offshore pipelines are used to transport oil and gas to different areas. With the growth and aging pipeline network, corrosion and leakage are more likely to occur, and the frequency of leaks reported in recent years is more than twice the previous rate [2]. Due to the potential risk of the gas pipelines polluting leaks into marine environments, the continuous inspection of pipelines and the ability to determine the exact gas leak is of particular importance. The most important purpose of underwater pipeline leak detection is to reduce environmental pollution, conserve valuable energy resources, prevent unpleasant disasters, and ensure safe operation of the pipeline.

Methods

Results

Conclusion