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Integrated design project
on
acoustic leak detection in oil pipelines
Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Information And Communication Technology
Near Indroda Circle, Gandhinagar 382009
The Team
_____________
c=ÖE/m
Ashish Kumar
Prabhat Kumar Saraswat
c=ÖE/m
Acknowledgement
Whilst we were at work, shaping an idea into a full fledged project, we were egged on by various elements, which helped us in realizing our potential. Our professors were the greatest source of guidance and encouragement and backed us all the way. A measure of their support cannot even be conceived, lest it undermine their benevolence, and our gratitude.
We are very thankful to Prof. Binita Desai and to Prof. Kuntal De for their advice on the design process, on which the entire project hinges. Prof. V.P.Sinha and Prof. Sanjeeva Gupta were very helpful and we thank them for their aid in circuitry and transmission techniques.
In addition to the aforementioned, we are obliged to the services of various websites that we sought, and the books, all of which proved to be immensely beneficial.
Our team is also appreciative of our peers who provided us with the much-needed moral support, and all the people who stood by us and placed their faith in our venture.
WHEN WE CAME TOGETHER
It was on 24th April 2003, that we were first assigned to take up a Design Project at our “Introduction to Design” Lecture. We were to design a simple energy saving device that could sense a condition and take an appropriate action to save in the Power, whenever possible. We also had to specify a typical situation where the use of the product would be appropriate and could be prevalent. User and manufactures’ requirements were also to be investigated and identified. The product was required to be a simple device, which could be sold as a product on its own in the market. The product had also to be suitable for use in Indian conditions, which meant that we had to work in Indian perspective. After the lecture was over, there was a hurl in the class and there was an entire atmosphere of discussions, just as asteroids move around before coming together to form celestial bodies. We, Ashish, Prabhat, Vivek, Manu and Harshit too met each other and decided to come together to work on this Project. 25th April was the last date for the registrations, wherein we were required to submit the Group’s Name, along with the Names of the Members, but as it always happens, we had not done that, unless the time drew close. We had the First Official meeting of the Group on the 25th Evening, the motive was to come out with a name for the Group. Soon, our ‘creativity’ started to show up, and several names like viz. ‘Joule bank’, ‘Hoodibaba’, ‘Urjamaan’, coming from Spiderman were out on our discussion chart. But, none of them was appealing too much to us. Then after a hault, we thought to come out with a symbolic name, which would be a little abstract. With Energy conservation, came in Energy, and alongwith came in our minds, the widely known Einstein Energy Equation of Relativity: E=mc2. At first, we decided to name the Group as such, but subsequently, decided to change the perspective, and made it mc2=E. Going Further, we decided to modify it to c2=E/m, finally to stop at
c=ÖE/m. This was the first step in the process of what we have experienced to be a highly
knowledgeable process. The Birth of c=ÖE/m:
PROJECT SELECTION
With our identity created, the next task before us was to decide on the domain in which we would be working with Energy Conservation as our goal. At this stage, we were required to come up with atleast three Ideas on which we could develop in subsequent time. In our very first meeting, we asked ourselves as whether our aim was just to submit an assignment or to design something really big, Pat came the reply, we were unanimous that we would innovate and try to “create” a really nice energy saving device, which could prove to be a milestone in itself. We were conscious of our Technological and Economical constraints, but the ideology, which was central to our thinking, was that “At times, a Pin can do a task, which even a Sword cannot”. Thereafter we discussed a few ideas, which could be our target fields. After considering the pros and cons of those ideas and also keeping in mind limitations of our knowledge we short listed following three ideas: -
1. To develop a method for detection of leak in pipelines and their repair.
Pipelines are today being used to transport some of the costliest and rarest Fossil Fuels over long distances. It is on these resources that we largely depend today for most of our Power Generation technologies. Due to wear and tear, the material of the Pipelines depletes, which eventually lead into a fissure. A large quantity of the Fluid being transported is wasted due to these leakages, and we felt that if were able to devise a method to Detect and Repair such leaks, we could succeed in conserving large amount of energy at the source itself.
2. To develop a method to switch over the fuel source of an idling vehicle from Petrol/Diesel to some cheaper source.
It has been our common experience that vehicles are left idling quite often at Traffic signals, Railway Crossings or Jams. This leads not only to wastage of the Fuel, but also amounts to a considerable amount of Pollution. We felt that if were able to come up with something here, we could address both of these concerns simultaneously. We decided to have two fuel sources in a vehicle one of which would be a regular Petrol/Diesel supply, while the other would be some cheap and abundant source like Solar Energy or Hydrogen. We had planned to develop some technique by which, if the vehicle did not move for some minimum fixed duration of time while the engine was on, the fuel source would switch from Petrol to the cheaper source .We decided to switch over the fuel source and not shut down the engine because restarting the engine requires a greater amount of fuel.
3. To develop a household energy saving product.
We felt that that we should look into the day-to-day life and identify possibilities of saving Energy there as cumulatively, this could result into saving considerable amount of Energy. We had planned to undertake a survey among the Domestic Households in Gandhinagar to have an idea as to where did the citizens feel much of Energy wasted at Homes. We would then try to develop a product that would help prevent unnecessary energy losses in ordinary households that occur mainly due to the forgetfulness of occupants or some meager technical snag in the domestic appliances.
With the track decided, we had now begun to have an idea as to where were we heading. We intimated Binita ma’m, Kuntal sir and Dinesh Korjan sir about our decision and other proceedings via e-mail.
Next day, we received the reply from Dinesh Korjan sir in which he asked us to work on the First idea i.e. Leak Detection in Oil Pipelines. When we approached Binita ma’m for an appointment, she also advised the same. We ourselves were slightly inclined towards the first idea, as we thought that it was the one which was the most challenging, having a wide perspective. It also appeared to be the most flexible and allowing for greater innovative efforts, and with similar suggestions coming in both from the faculty as well as friends, we decided to have it as our ultimate target. Thus ‘Leak Detection in Oil Pipelines’ finally became our “ITD Design Project 2003”.
This was a careful choice by us, which was made only after considering several criteria like economic, environmental and social concerns. However, the basic thing, which was driving all of us was that, this idea to begin with seemed quite challenging. The reason being that it was not a regular hobby project dealing with small and big circuitry, but it was to address a problem faced by the Oil companies using Pipeline transport soon after they started using pipelines. The experience would not only make us familiar with some electronics and circuitry, but it was a kind of social and economical problem that needed to be dealt technically –A job an engineer would and should always be eager to undertake.
The project was tough because the problem on which we had decided to work on was not a new one. But it was a problem that the Oil and Gas companies were struggling to solve since years. Many eminent scientists and researchers are working in this direction since years and have made several significant breakthroughs. Thus we, at our own level of knowledge and resources were trying to join this mammoth project. It was our opportunity to address to the issues concerning design, technology, economy, society and environment and also to know something new and important and to spread this knowledge.
Before carrying the story any further, let us detour a little, and look into what has made it so important to pay a greater attention to a Project of such a kind. We would look as to what has been the reason behind such wide acceptance of this technology across the globe. Let us also examine as to what have been the causes, which demand for greater innovation in such a work like Leak Detection. We would also study as to where does our country stand vis-à-vis the networked transportation of Oil through Pipelines.
PIPELINES: THE LIQUID GOLD MOVERS
Today, Pipeline Transport of Fluids is being accepted as the best and most popular technology for the cause. Lets look as to what has caused the great success of this technology, and led it to be such widely accepted. This technique, right from the time it came into the play in the Oil Sector has proved to be a much cheaper one as compared to all the other traditional methods viz. Trolley and Truck transport. The one time installation cost could be higher, but once a Pipeline Network is created, it provides for the Transport at really minimal costs. The maintenance costs for this particular technique is also far less than the others.
Moreover, the entire workforce involved in the transportation process is no more required, which could help the organization to cut down on its permanent work force, thus saving itself from related concerns like Salary Payments, Strikes, etc. Not only this, they provide for a very efficient means of transportation. Pipelines have a lower spill rate per barrel of oil transported than competing modes of transportation, namely trucks and barges. Oil pipeline spills amount to about 1 gallon per million barrel-miles. (One barrel, transported one mile equals one barrel-mile) In household terms, this is less than one teaspoon per thousand barrel-miles. In addition to their efficiency, pipelines also come in as a nice friend when it comes down to environmental concerns. They do not cause Air Pollution, may be with negligible Soil Pollution in some cases, while all the other methods of transport visibly cause comprehensive amount of pollution.
Pipelines are extremely safe. They generally have a better safety record in terms of deaths, injuries, fire or explosions as compared to all the other modes of Oil transportation. And it does not end with transmission, pipelines can run directly into the Refineries, and the entire process of unloading can be skipped, thus saving a considerable amount of time, which can speed up all our developmental processes. With the traditional methods, a strict manual vigil had to be kept on this entire process, as it is at these interfaces, where much of the theft of the fuel takes place.
When compared with the other inland transport modes, pipelines do not crowd our highways, cities or rivers for the transportation of the Petroleum fuels, and thus lead us to a more organized and civilized culture. Delivery by pipelines is inexpensive, reliable and in large volume. It is safe to say that a very significant percentage of the economic benefits from core national industry sectors could not have taken place without the Oil and Oil-based raw materials made possible by the Oil pipeline industry. Almost all the resins and other compounds used to manufacture plastics are made from oil feed stocks. Many medicines are manufactured from petroleum products. Our farmers depend on petroleum-based agricultural fertilizers. None of these would be possible or be so inexpensive without a safe and efficient oil pipeline delivery system.
LEAK DETECTION: A MAJOR CONCERN
Next came in the question, that if it were such an all-success saga, where does one need to get in and patch up the glitches. When this system was introduced, it was a giant leap over all the existing technologies. Such were its advantages, which left the industry admiring. To begin with, economies thought it to be an unnecessary affair to engage in an R&D into the detection of leaks in the pipelines, as the spillage was never substantial. But lately, with the wear and tear of the pipelines, and the resulting leaks causing losses, its importance has been recognized over the times. Even we did feel that an innovation in the Field was of utmost importance. There were various facts to support this. Lets have a look as to what has made us to conclude that what we were moving towards was really an important concern:
Pipelines run over remote countryside, mountains, forests and all, places away from our visibility. Unlike the Trolleys and Trucks, where a leak could be visibly noted quickly, a manual detection for the pipelines, running over length of several hundred kilometers becomes pretty difficult. So, it calls for an automated system, which could look for any leak itself, and could intimate the Controlling Center about the same, so that suitable action could be taken in time.
Owing to the high rate of flow of fluid in the Pipelines, if a leak is not detected at an early stage, the fissure proliferates pretty quickly. This could account to a considerable amount of loss both in economic terms as well as in terms of the irreparable loss of the rare Fossil Fuels or Petroleum Products. With the Pipeline technology gaining popularity fast, and its market ever growing, as well as the increased demand for the Petroleum Products in our day-to-day life, we are moving towards increased pipeline network worldwide. So, it is self-demanding that we develop on a technique to maximize the efficiency of the process, specifically looking into the aspect of minimizing transmission losses.
As discussed, pipelines run over remote places. If it develops a leak in such a condition, clearly it would go unnoticed. Then, the flow of the fluid outside the pipeline is not under anyone’s command; it may even reach out to any water body nearby leading to Soil and Water Pollution and thus, evoking all related environmental concerns. This is the fact which calls for an immediate attention, as if such a leak is not fixed immediately, serious damage to Flora and Fauna could be meted.
Leakages may cost even dearer to the concerned organizations. The cost of even a single failure may prove to be a serious blow to them. It could lead to delays in future developmental plans, as the company may have to devote a significant amount of its Man-days on the inspection and maintenance activities. Not only this, it could also have a negative impact on the public image of the company, either due to untimely supplies or related soil pollution. In the case of accidents or explosions, it could be serious and even be violent. One example we have of such a kind is that of the Union Carbide Incorporation, Bhopal after the explosion in their plant. It could even be fatal if it invites restrictions in license to operate or a complete down shuttering for the Organization. After these facts stormed our minds, we were aware of the importance of the task we had undertaken, and decided to be much more devoted to the cause now.
It is an established fact that there is no innovation unless there are vested economic interests. We now examine how important is such an attempt to detect Leakages in Pipelines from the economic point of view.
* WHY IS LEAK DETECTION NECESSARY? – AN ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE
We live in an industrialized world wherein the economy of almost all the nations in the world is dependent on industries .To minimize cost and maximize profits mass production is the trend of the time. Mass production is possible only in factories.
The factories require fuel to function. Major fuel sources are
petrol, diesel, natural gas etc.
However, though oil and gas are required by the industries world over they are not available world over. There is a gross disparity in the geographical distribution of their resources. Some countries have excess of these resources while some countries do not have any of these resources. So the countries having abundance of these oil/gas resources supply them to the needy countries.
All such countries have opted for pipelines as the means for the very long distance transport of oil, gas, water etc. Pipelines are used due to several reasons.
Though laying down of pipelines is very costly, once laid they require little maintenance and hence the variable costs are negligible. Pipelines have a very long life as compared to other means of transport. Transport through pipelines is not hindered due to environmental factors unlike other modes of transport. The manual labor required in pipeline transportation is very less.
All the above mentioned plus points make pipelines a much better choice over other options for the long distance transport of oil, gas as well as water. Hence the number of pipelines is increasing rapidly world over.
Since pipelines are advantageous and the oil /gas transported through them is very costly, rare and fundamental to any country’s economy pipelines are economically very important.
The extent to which pipelines are used is evident from the fact that in 2000,in western Europe alone some 934m illion m3 of oil and oil products were transported through about 40 000 km of pipelines over an average trip length of 250 km.
However the major drawback in the pipeline method of transportation is the leakage problem. The problem has assumed grave dimensions because of pipelines being spread over a very long distance often in territories difficult to penetrate, making manual leak detection almost impossible.
Following facts give an idea of how damaging can a leak be: -
1) A leak of only one liter per minute corresponds to more than 510,000 liters of oil/water per year.
2) A leak of only one drop per second represents a water loss of 10 000 liters of oil/water per year.
3) A water/oil loss > 150 gallons per minute can result from a 1 inch diameter hole at a pressure of 40 psi.
Thus e
