Detecting leakage of fluid from a conduit
First Claim
1. A method to detect leakage from a conduit through which a stream of fluid flows and to indicate when there is a leakage condition or a no leakage condition on the conduit, comprising:
- measuring at least one variable of a group consisting of fluid pressure and fluid flow rate between a first and a second time and at a location of the stream flowing through the conduit to provide a data set representing the variable at said location and between said first and second times;
determining a statistical probability of obtaining said data set from the measurement under a first hypothesis that no leakage occurs from the conduit and a statistical probability of obtaining said data set from the measurement under a second hypothesis that leakage occurs from the conduit;
selecting one of said hypotheses as being true if the probability of obtaining said data set from the measurement under said selected hypothesis is larger than the probability of obtaining said data set from the measurement under the other hypothesis; and
creating a signal indicative of said selected hypothesis, wherein the signal initiates an alarm when the second hypothesis is selected to indicate the leakage condition on the conduit or said signal initiates a notice of normal operation for the conduit when the first hypothesis is selected to indicate the no leakage condition.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method is provided to detect leakage from a conduit through which a stream of fluid flows and to indicate when there is a leakage condition or a no leakage condition. The method includes measuring at least one variable of a group consisting of fluid pressure and fluid flow rate over a period of time and at least one location of the stream to provide a data set representing the variable at the location and over the period of time. A statistical probability of obtaining the data set from the measurement under a first hypothesis that no leakage occurs is determined and a statistical probability of obtaining the data set from the measurement under a second hypothesis that leakage occurs is determined. One of the hypotheses is selected as being true if the probability of obtaining the data set from the measurement under the selected hypothesis is larger than the probability of obtaining the data set from the measurement under the other hypothesis. Should the second hypothesis be selected, a signal is initiated which provides an alarm to indicate that a leakage condition exists. Should the first hypothesis be selected a signal is initiated which indicates that a no leakage condition exists. In some embodiments of the invention, sequential probability ratio tests are used to determine the selected hypothesis.
17 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A method to detect leakage from a conduit through which a stream of fluid flows and to indicate when there is a leakage condition or a no leakage condition on the conduit, comprising:
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measuring at least one variable of a group consisting of fluid pressure and fluid flow rate between a first and a second time and at a location of the stream flowing through the conduit to provide a data set representing the variable at said location and between said first and second times; determining a statistical probability of obtaining said data set from the measurement under a first hypothesis that no leakage occurs from the conduit and a statistical probability of obtaining said data set from the measurement under a second hypothesis that leakage occurs from the conduit; selecting one of said hypotheses as being true if the probability of obtaining said data set from the measurement under said selected hypothesis is larger than the probability of obtaining said data set from the measurement under the other hypothesis; and creating a signal indicative of said selected hypothesis, wherein the signal initiates an alarm when the second hypothesis is selected to indicate the leakage condition on the conduit or said signal initiates a notice of normal operation for the conduit when the first hypothesis is selected to indicate the no leakage condition. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification