Study of Non-Intrusive Gas Pipeline Leak Detection with Acoustic Sensor

A new non-intrusive gas pipeline leak detection method is proposed. Piezoelectric acoustic sensor is pasted on the outer wall of the metal gas pipe to measure the low-frequency acoustic leak signals which propagate through the gas in the pipeline. The feasibility of the non-intrusive gas pipeline leak detection is validated. Features of transient and continuous leak signals sampled with non-intrusive method at different leakage rates are analyzed. It illustrates that not only transient but also continuous leak signal can be detected with the proposed detection method. The method can be applied into both permanent leak monitoring and temporary safety assessments.