Acoustic impact detection and monitoring system
First Claim
1. A system for detecting and locating impacts to a pipeline, the system comprising:
- a plurality of sensors attached to the pipeline along a length of the pipeline,a plurality of sensor stations positioned along the length of the pipeline, each sensor station corresponding to one of the plurality of sensors,a monitoring station remote from the plurality of sensors and sensor stations, anda bidirectional communications link between the remote monitoring station and each of the sensor stations,each of the sensor stations performing data acquisition and signal processing functions for collecting data from the corresponding sensor and processing the data to autonomously determine whether the pipeline has been impacted and the time at which the impact occurred,each of the sensor stations being programmed to autonomously vary its detection threshold for determining that the pipeline has been impacted.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A system is disclosed for detecting and locating harmful impacts to pipelines using sensors placed along the pipeline. The exact spacing of sensors is site specific and is set with the goal of maximizing sensor spacing without reducing system performance and reliability. At each sensor location, preferably there are four basic components, i.e., a hydrophone, solar power components, and data processing and communications equipment. Each hydrophone directly measures the acoustic noise fluctuation in a pipe section, which propagates at long distances in the pipeline at the specific speed of sound for the particular type of pipe. If specific signal parameters exceed a programmed threshold, a detection message is generated and transmitted via a communications link to a central monitoring and diagnostic center.
118 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A system for detecting and locating impacts to a pipeline, the system comprising:
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a plurality of sensors attached to the pipeline along a length of the pipeline, a plurality of sensor stations positioned along the length of the pipeline, each sensor station corresponding to one of the plurality of sensors, a monitoring station remote from the plurality of sensors and sensor stations, and a bidirectional communications link between the remote monitoring station and each of the sensor stations, each of the sensor stations performing data acquisition and signal processing functions for collecting data from the corresponding sensor and processing the data to autonomously determine whether the pipeline has been impacted and the time at which the impact occurred, each of the sensor stations being programmed to autonomously vary its detection threshold for determining that the pipeline has been impacted. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 23)
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18. A system for detecting and locating strikes to a pipeline, the system comprising:
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a plurality of sensors attached to the pipeline along a length of the pipeline, each of the sensors measuring acoustic noise fluctuation in the pipeline, a plurality of sensor stations positioned along the length of the pipeline, each sensor station being linked to a corresponding one of the plurality of sensors, each of the sensor stations collecting data from the corresponding sensor and processing the data collected from the corresponding sensor to autonomously determine whether the pipeline has been impacted and the time at which the impact occurred, each of the sensor stations being programmable to vary its detection threshold for determining that the pipeline has been impacted, a monitoring and diagnostic center remote from the plurality of sensors and sensor stations, and a bidirectional communications link between the remote monitoring and diagnostic center and each of the sensor stations, the monitoring and diagnostic center monitoring communications from the plurality of sensor stations for detecting pipeline strikes and calculating a position of the detected pipeline strikes that are determined to present a threat to the pipeline. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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21. A system for detecting and locating impacts to a pipeline, the system comprising:
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a plurality of hydrophones attached to the pipeline along a length of the pipeline, each of the hydrophones measuring acoustic noise fluctuation in the pipeline, a plurality of sensor stations positioned along the length of the pipeline, each sensor station being linked to a corresponding one of the plurality of hydrophones, each of the sensor stations including a communications module and data acquisition and processing modules to autonomously determine whether the pipeline has been impacted and the time at which the impact occurred, each of the processing modules being programmed to autonomously vary its detection threshold for determining that the pipeline has been impacted, a remote monitoring and diagnostic center for receiving communications from the plurality of sensor stations indicating that the pipeline has been impacted, and a bidirectional communications link between the remote monitoring and diagnostic center and each of the sensor stations, the bidirectional communications link including a low earth orbit satellite link, the remote monitoring and diagnostic center determining whether the communications from the plurality of sensor stations indicating pipeline impacts are false alarms, and if not, calculating a position of a detected pipeline impact. - View Dependent Claims (22, 24)
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Specification