Pipeline Leak Detection Under Four Extreme Conditions

Many pipelines previously identified as unsuitable applications for leak detection — due to any one of a variety of “extreme” operating conditions — are now becoming subject to new regulations. As the trend toward more stringent regulation continues, more seemingly unsuitable lines will be effected. What constitutes an “extreme condition” to one may differ significantly from another, but a common thread connects them — the overwhelming sense of confronting the impossible. This paper examines leak detection performance under some of the most common extremes, those of temperature, operating conditions, products with difficult rheology, and situations in which a release poses immediate danger to life or the environment. The four case studies presented here demonstrate the effectiveness of combining static monitoring, “event detection” (monitoring for subtle changes in the energy and momentum of the product in the pipeline), and dynamic line-pack-compensated meter balance.