Tracking vibrations in a pipeline network

• US 20040093174A1
• Filed: 11/12/2002
• Published: 05/13/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Itron, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Flow Metrix, Inc. (Itron, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lander, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 6,957,157 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/56
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 3/243 for pipes

Abstract

Tracking vibrations on a pipeline network includes installing multiple vibration recorders on the pipeline network, with each recorder including a sensor, a timer, a processor, and a digital communication device. At each vibration recorder, vibration signals are received from the sensor at programmed times under the control of the processor of the vibration recorders and processed by the processor. The processed vibration signals are communicated from the vibration recorder to a reader device using the digital communication device. Thereafter, the processed vibration signals from the one or more reader devices are collected at a central computer system. Finally, the collected processed vibrations signals are analyzed at the central computer system to determine abnormal vibration patterns and to obtain measures of any leaks present in the pipeline network.

Claims

1. A method for tracking vibrations on a pipeline network, the method comprising:

installing multiple vibration recorders on the pipeline network, each recorder comprising a sensor, a timer, a processor, and a communication device;

at each vibration recorder;

receiving vibration signals from the sensor at programmed times under the control of the processor of the vibration recorder, and

processing the received vibration signals with the processor of the vibration recorder;

communicating processed vibrations signals from the vibration recorders to one or more reader devices using the communication devices of the vibration recorders;

collecting the processed vibration signals from the one or more reader devices at a central computer system; and

analyzing the collected processed vibration signals at the central computer system to determine abnormal vibration patterns and to obtain measures of any leaks present in the pipeline network.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein a vibration recorder comprises a housing and installing the vibration recorder comprises securing the vibration recorder to a pipe of the pipeline network using one or more O-rings that extend around the pipe and engage the housing.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein a vibration recorder comprises a component of a flow meter.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein a vibration recorder further comprises a housing and a sensor of the vibration recorder comprises a piezo-film sensing element oriented in the housing so as to be at a known orientation to a flow in a pipe when the vibration recorder is installed on the pipe.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein processing the received vibration signals comprises tracking the received vibration signals over time.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein tracking the received vibration signals over time comprises computing a weighted average of the received vibration signals over a first period of time.

7. The method of claim 6 wherein tracking the received vibration signals over time comprises computing a weighted average of the received vibration signals over a second period of time having a duration that differs from a duration of the first period of time.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein processing the received vibration signals comprises determining a distribution of a parameter of the received vibration signals.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein communicating processed vibrations signals from a vibration recorder to a reader device comprises doing so in response to a command sent from the reader device.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein communicating processed vibrations signals from a vibration recorder to a reader device comprises doing so in response to a command from a device to which the vibration recorder is connected.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein communicating processed vibrations signals from a vibration recorder to a reader device comprises doing so using a wireless communications channel.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein:

the pipeline network comprises a water pipeline network, and

a meter reader carries a reader device such that communicating processed vibrations signals from a vibration recorder to a reader device comprises doing so in conjunction with a normal process of having the meter reader read a water meter.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein collecting the processed vibrations signals from a reader device at the central computer system comprises connecting the reader device to the central computer system and downloading the processed vibration signals from the reader device to the central computer system.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein collecting the processed vibrations signals from a reader device at the central computer system comprises communicating between the reader device and the central computer system using a wireless communication channel.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein analyzing the collected processed vibration signals at the central computer system comprises computing a leak index for a vibration recorder using processed vibration signals from the vibration recorder.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein computing the leak index for the vibration recorder comprises using processed vibration signals from one or more additional vibration recorders.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein analyzing the collected processed vibration signals at the central computer system comprises assigning a leak status to a vibration recorder using the leak index computed for the vibration recorder.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein computing the leak index further comprises using known information about the pipeline network.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the known information comprises an estimate of the approximate prevalence of leakage in the pipeline network.

20. The method of claim 15 wherein analyzing the collected processed vibration signals at the central computer system comprises displaying the leak index using a solid color map.

21. The method of claim 17 wherein analyzing the collected processed vibration signals at the central computer system comprises representing the leak status of one or more recorders graphically by using different colors.

22. The method of claim 1 wherein analyzing the collected processed vibration signals at the central computer system comprises generating a graph showing a history of processed vibration signals.

23. The method of claim 1 wherein analyzing the collected processed vibration signals at the central computer system comprises generating a graph showing a statistical or nighttime distribution of processed vibration signals.