LEAK DETECTION BY ACOUSTIC EMISSION MONITORING

ADVANCED ACOUSTIC EMISSION (AE) MONITORING INSTRUMENTATION AND TESTING METHODS WILL BE APPLIED TO RESEARCH THE FEASIBILITY OF USING EXTERNAL SENSORS FOR DETECTION AND LOCATION OF LEAKS IN UNDERGROUND TANKS AND PIPELINES. THE MAIN TEST VARIABLES ARE: TYPE OF LIQUID; PRESSURE; SOIL TYPE; AND, LEAK SIZE. FIVE DIFFERENT MONITORING METHODS WILL BE APPLIED, INCLUDING LISTENING DIRECTLY ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE TANK/PIPELINES AND REMOTELY MONITORING SENSORS LOCATED ON THE SOIL SURFACE. THE DATA-PROCESSING SYSTEM TO BE USED IS ONE ALREADY IN USE FOR MONITORING FLOOR LEAKAGE IN REFINERY STORAGE TANKS. IT USES DIGITAL CONTROL OF BANDPASS FILTERS AND EXTENSIVE CORRELATION OF TRANSIENT DATA CONTAINED IN LEAK SIGNALS.