Auomatica,Vol.23, No. 3, pp. 381 385.1987 Printed in Great Britain.

PergamonJournalsLtd. 1987InternationalFederationof AutomaticControl

0005-1098/87 83.00+0.00

Brief Paper

Leak Detection Methods for Pipelines*

L. B I L L M A N N t and R. I S E R M A N N t
Key Words--Failure detection; state estimation; correlation methods; models; liquid and gas pipelines.

Abstract--For the early detection and localization of small leaks in pipelines a nonlinear adaptive state observer and a special correlation technique were developed, based on pressure and flow measurements at the pipeline inlet and outlet. Simulations and experiments show the results for a gas and a liquid pipeline. Introduction As PIPELINESfor the transportation of liquids or gases usually are only instrumented at the beginning and the end, the information on a leak along the pipeline during normal operation can only be based on these available measurements. Mostly just the input and output flows are balanced. However, according to the inherent flow dynamics and the superimposed noise, only leaks can be detected with this simple method which are about >2% for liquid and >10% for gas pipelines. This contribution now discusses and proposes leak detection methods which are able to detect considerably smaller leaks. It summarizes research activities during the last years. The improvements are made by using nonlinear adaptive state observers for the pipeline dynamics and by using a special correlation technique for the fault detection. The obtained results are shown for leak experiments with a gasoline pipeline and simulations of a gas pipeline, which are verified by measured signals. Mathematical pipeline models A mathematical description of the pipeline dynamics was derived by theoretical modelling for gas pipelines (Weimann, 1978; Billmaun, 1982) and liquid pipelines (Krass et al., 1979). Simplifying assumptions such as a constant diameter da (respectively a constant sectional area A), a turbulent flow and isothermic condition result in a common description for the gas and liquid flow dynamics. For a pipe element of length dz the mass and momentum balances are

Pl
i I

P3
I

~ , I I qo q2 q,-z Ch ,a LR q> Flo. 1. Discrete state representation of the pipeline.

....

P,-3 I

Pa-t I I

Introducing the flowrate q = Apw and the isothermic speed of sound b = x/~ (3) (2)

the pipeline model can now be simplified by assuming --the isothermic speed of sound is constant, --the velocity of flow is small in comparison to the speed of sound --elastic effects of the pipe wall can be neglected. Then the "long pipeline model" results in A 8p 0q b2at +~z = 0 1 8q Op A at + az with ,l [ - ]
a [o]

gb2 qlql gsina 2daA 2 p ''-'-~p b

(4)

Op Opw
Ot

o-7+-~F=o
I Opw2
0z = - F - H

Opw

ffi friction coefficient, = angle of inclination, g [In s- 2] = gravity. This pipeline model is a partial differential equation system of hyperbolic type. If the usually used simplification that the speed of sound is constant is not acceptable, but changes according to Ob ~-pfficonst., (5)

Op

+ ~z + 2

(1)

where p [kg m- 3] w[ms- 1] p [N m- 2] z [m] t [s]

= density, = velocity of flow, = pressure, = length coordinate, = time coordinate.

this can be taken into account, as shown by Billmann (1982), by enlarging the mass balance with the correction factor e: e b--]~" + ~z = 0.

a ap

0q

(6)

The influence of the friction is represented by F and the geometric height influence by H (see below). * Received 24 July 1984; revised 14 April 1986; revised 2 November 1986. The original version of this paper was presented at the 9th IFAC World Congress which was held in Budapest, Hungary during July 1984. The pubfished proceedings of this IFAC Meeting may be ordered from: Pergamon Books Limited, Headington Hill Hall, Oxford OX3 0BW, England. This paper was recommended for publication in revised form by Associate Editor A. van Cauwenberghe under the direction of Editor H. Austin Spang, III. t lnstitut fiir Regelungstechnik, Technische Hochschule Darmstadt, Schlossgraben 1, D-6100 Darmstadt, F.R.G. 381

To solve this equation system (4) numerically (solution for discrete time t = k At with the time interval At), the pipline is divided into N sections of the length A r f L~z as shown in Fig. 1. Bilimann (1982} introduced a centered difference scheme ax]

(7)

Ot,~ ffi
O'zl,~

3 ~ 1 - ~ + ~ - 1

2At

4Az

(8)

382
with k = discrete time, At = time interval, Az = length interval. Then the following "linear" equation system results

Brief Paper

O S R! B Eii

Ax k +

i =

f(xk, x k - i,,i,,h) + s(p~+ ', p~v+ i)

(9)

with the state vector

Xk k k = [qo,q2~ ..... qkN,Pi,P3k . . . . .

P%-l] T

(10)

L I EI E rr1 O P L - o4T R PN l i
FIG. 2. Pipeline supervision structure. An additional drawback of the two last state variable methods is that the pipeline model (12) has to be linearized. Therefore they are suitable only for constant operating conditions. Improved leak detection methods In order to detect leaks also for wide ranges of operating conditions, nonlinear pipeline models have to be used. This leads to nonlinear state observers. An additional requirement is that the information on the leak should not vanish with time. Looking at the pipeline model (11), most of the coefficients are known with good accuracy, except the friction coefficient ,~, which may also change with time. Therefore this coefficient will be estimated (on-line) by the least-squares method. This leads to an adaptive (nonlinear) state observer. An advantage of this approach is furthermore that the estimated friction coefficient does not change the steady state solution of the mass balance in (4), so that leak effects will not be compensated by the observer. Figure 2 shows the resulting leak supervision structure including the pipeline observer and the leak monitor, where both differences x and y act as residuals. The corresponding equations are pipeline: x i+l -- A-l[llxi, xt- 1,2,h) + S(fo+l,P~N+l)] + IqL f + 1 _ I-1,0..... 1,0, .... 0]Xk+ 1; observer: (14)

and the height correction vector h. As the system matrix is constant, the linear equation system (9) is solved by the following algorithms: Xk+ 1 = A - 1[f(xk, x ~- l,/t., h) + s(p~l+ l, pkn+1)]

:+,

= Lq~+,_ j = [ 1 , o . . . . . 1 , o . . . . . O ] x l<' '.

(ll)

This solution needs only small computational effort by multiplying the inverse matrix with a vector including a nonlinear function of the two last states, of the friction coefficient, of the height correction vector and of the two input pressure signals Po and p~. The output signals qo and qN are elements of the state vector. Tests with more complex solution methods (nonlinear, great computational effort) gave rather similar results for the achieved application. Modelling of leaks It is assumed that a small leak (flowrate qL) o c c u r s at location ZL. This effect is taken into account by introducing this loss in the mass balance for this section. This leads to an enlarged pipeline model with the leak influence vector I (dependant on the leak location):
Xk + i = A- i [f{xtC,xk- I,~.,h) -I-S~o+ i,l~N+ i)] + lqL . (12)

Equation (12) can now be used as the basic relation for several leak detection methods. Known leak detection methods Balancing. The balancing method directly estimates the present leak flowrate SBL(k) = E{q~ -- qkN} = qL(k). (13)

However, this simple method is rather sensitive to any disturbances and to inherent pipeline dynamics. Therefore, only large leaks can be detected. A localization of the leak is not possible. Shockwave based methods. In the case of laxge leaks (liquids qL > 5%, gases qL > 12%) which occur suddenly, shockwaves cross the pipe up to both ends. The resulting pressure gradients are then used for leak detection and the leak location is estimated by the speed of propagation (Krass et al., 1979). Further developed methods, using a model of the pipeline dynamics, try to increase the sensitivity to a leak and to decrease the measurement effort. Fault model filters. If a model of the complete pipeline (12) including the leak influence is used, one can try to estimate the leak influence vector I by state reconstruction or by discrete state variable filters. To extract this information under noisy conditions, a "bank of filters" can be used, assuming different locations for a leak (Digernes, 1980). However, the computational effort seems to be very large. Fault sensitive filters. Different from the fault model filters, fault sensitive filters monitor the residuals (difference between measured and estimated flowrates) qo - ~o and qN -- ~N (Isermann, 1982). If a leak occurs, the residuals change in predetermined directions. However, the alarm is lost after a while, because the state variable filter compensates the leak influence.

f<+' = A-'rfoi". f ' - ' . Li,) + ,@o+'.~+')7

~ + 1 = [1,0 . . . . . 1,0 . . . . . 0]~k+l; residuals:

(15)

Ly~k)_l

(16)

To show the effects of a suddenly appearing leak, a gas pipeline was simulated with qL = 0.35 kg s - t and ZL/LR = 0.5 (some data are given later). The flowratvs at the beginning and the end of the pipeline change in predetermined directions depending on the leak flowrate and the leak location, see Figs 3 and 4. A sensitive decision algorithm for "leak" or "no leak" was found by the cross-correlation-function (Siebert and Isermann, 1977; Isermann and Siebert, 1976) dpxy() = E{x(k)'y(k + z)}
which rcsults (theoretical) in

(17)

~y(t)---

IO --f(qL,ZL)

no leak withleak

(18)

Brief Paper
flow ( k f / s )
3"9 1
3.7
I

383
h (ml

450

I
teaJk
I

300 150

3 3.3.
3.1

~
~ct,

IC~

z (kml

150
FIG. 5. Approximation for the geographic height profile.

I I I

s 1o 15 25 30 (hi F]o. 3. Reaction at the beginning of the pipeline after a leak occurs (simulation).
flow Ikg/s]

! 20

t;mo pressure (bgr]

33-

31 ~-~ leaU

3.7 3"~ I

I (

~ t l m o 27 0 10 2o 30 40 So 60 Ihl FIG. 6. Measured input and output pressurefor a gas pipeline.

2g

3.11
0

t
5

t
10

t
15

I
20

: 2S

:
30 (hl

Leak detection for gas pipelines

Tests will be described, which are based on measured signals of a gas pipeline. In order to simulate leaks, the observer is enlarged by the leak influence vector I with a negative leak flowrate. This realization (also useful for self test) respects the dynamics of the leak influence and is a good approximation for a real suddenly-appearing leak in the pipeline according to the resulting residuals (Billmann, 1983). The pipeline is 150 km long with a diameter of 0.26 m and a varying speed of sound (depending on the pressure). The four measured signals (q0, Po, qN, PN) were sampled every 3 rain. The observer uses a time interval of 30 s, so that the measured signals have to be interpolated. With the length interval of about 9 km the system order is 17. Furthermore, an approximation of the geographic height profile is included, see Fig. 5. The decision algorithm is modified, substituting x(k) and ~(k) in (19) by ~k) = x(k)- E{y(k)}

F1O. 4. Reaction atthe end ofthe pipefineafter aleakoccurs (simulation).

which means it changes in a predetermined direction. The computation is realized by a recursive filter of first order ~x,(r,k) = r~x,(z,k - 1) + (1 - r)x(k)y(k + O. (19)

To reduce noise effects the alarm criterion is taken as the sum over several time shifts z:
M

~y,z(k)=

~x,(z,k).

(20)

This cross-correlation sum reacts sensitively even to small leaks. An alarm is given when the sum crosses a predefined alarmthreshold. After a leak is detected, the parameter estimation of). is frozen and the estimation of the leak location starts. Introducing the auto-correlation-sums
M

y(k) = y(k) - E{x(k)}.

(25)

dp~xz(k)=
and

3= --.~

Sx~(z,k)

(21)

~by,E(k)= ~
t= --M

~,y(z,k)

(22)

the leak location is estimated by

SL(k) LR

This yields a better sensitivity and is independent of the leak location. Figure 6 shows the measured input and output pressure of the described pipeline during a test period of 65 h. As illustrated in Figs 7 and 8, the pipeline observer describes the dynamic behaviour of the pipeline quite well, so that a sensitive leak detection should be possible. Results from several leak simulations with different leak ratios (leak ratio given relative to a mean flow rate) are given in Fig. 9. Figure 10 shows an example of the leak location estimation for a leak ratio of 5%. Furthermore the time for computation (less than 2 s for a PDP 11/34) is rather small in comparison to the sampling time of 3 rain.

1-

Cxxdk___J
,,dk)

(23)

Leak detection for liquid pipelines

Since the dynamics of a liquid pipeline are very fast in comparison to gas pipelines, the sampling time and the length interval decrease and the computational effort increases, which can be a handicap for the application with micro-computers. Therefore, a simplified model can be used by taking the stationary solution of (4), due to the assumption of stationary (or quasi-stationary) pumping conditions.

where L a is the length of the pipeline (Siebert and Isermann, 1977). The leak flowrate is estimated by the dynamic balance equation

~L(k) = E{x(k)

- -

y(k)}.

(24)

384
flow

BriefPaper
I ko/s ]
pressure 67,2.

I bar

6 5
4

67.0

66. B

3
time
7, I I I I I I

66.6
tlme

66.4 Ih]

lo

20

30

4o

so

60

40

B0

120

160

200

240

Is]

FIG. 7. Measured outlet flow rate for a gas pipeline.

FtG. 11. Measured inpat pressure of a gasoline pipeline.

flow ]m~h] flow

[kg/si

6:

t'

325

o b (t)

3
I I I I I

I time t>

324

323

322
Lime

321

40

80

120

160

200

240

is]

10

20

30

40

50

60

Ih}

Fxo. 12. Measured inlet volume flow of a gasoline pipeline.

FIG. 8. Estimated outlet flowrate by the observer.

With a positive flowrate and a constant density, (4) is reduced

Psum x tO0

leak

rot;o

to -._2 = 0 --+ q0 = qN 0z dp _ c~z 2 2 _ pgsina 2dxA 2p q (26)

2.g~ 5 Z

(27)

-12

PN - Po
-18

lO I;
Lime
I I I ; ,' ,' ~"

~'LR q2 -- pg(hN -- ho) 2dRA 2

(28)

-7,4

where ho is the height of the pipeline at the beginning and hN at the end. This leads to the "pipeline-observer" algorithms

10

15

20

25

30

[hi

FIG. 9. Cross-correlation-sum during leak tests.

~o = ~ / ~ o + pgho) - ~ = x/(~o + pgho) - ~

+ pgh,,)f,(~o) + pghN)f2('~s)"
(29)

leak l o c a t i o n Ikm]
160 '

leak

17'0.
80

eimuleted ~ed...._
~
I ! 'I

40 00

t
!

~
20

m
I

e
I

lc

IS

2s

30

th~

FIG. 10. Estimation of the leak location.

This formula includes two estimated friction coefficients to compensate measurement errors for the inlet and outlet flow. This method makes it possible to monitor the pipeline during slow changes of operation conditions. The frequently measured volumetric flow ' can also be accepted because of the constant density. The method was tested by Siebert and Klaiber (1980) at a 68 km gasoline pipeline with a diameter of 0.273 m. The three measured signals ~'o, Po and ~', were sampled each 1.7s (the output pressure was atmospheric pressure and therefore it was not necessary to measure it). Leaks could be generated artificially at the branches to intermediate depots. Figures 11, 12 and 13 show the measured signals during one experiment. The corresponding leak alarm criteria (cross-correlation-sum) is shown in Fig. 14 and the estimated leak location in Fig. 15. The results show that it was possible to detect suddenly appearing leaks with a size of 0.2% (111 m i n - 1) in 90 s and to estimate the leak location with an accuracy of 0.9%.

Brief Paper
flo~ Im~h}
References

385

32S
3 2 4 . ~

323. 322,
Llool

321

I
40

I
80

I
120

I
160

I
200

I
240
[81

FIG. 13. Measured outlet volume flow of a gasoline pipeline.

~Peum x 10

' O, -S' -I0'

-15,
-20 l
40

I Ilsrm-thr~hold

look r s t l o
0.19 g

look

J I

Billmann, L. (1982). Studies on improved leak detection methods for gas pipelines. Internal Report. Institut f'ur Regelungstechn i l TH-Darmstadt (in German). Billmann, L. (1983). A method for leak detection and localization in gnspipelines. Conf. on "Appl. Control & Ident.", Copenhagen, Denmark (Proc. publ. by IAESTED). Billmann, L. (1985). Methoden zur Leck/iberwachung und Regelung von Gasfemleitungen. VDI-Fortschr. Bet., Reihe 8, Nr. 85. Digemes, T. (1980). Real-time failure detection and identification applied to supervision of oil transport in pipelines. Modeling, ldent. Control 1, 39--49. Isermann, R. (1982). Process fault detection based on modelling and estimation methods--a survey 6th IFAC Syrup. ldent. Syst. Para. Est., Washington D.C., U.S.A. (Proc. publ. by Pergamon Press, Oxford; (1984). Automatica, 20, 387-404). Isermann, R. and H. Siebert (1976). Verfahren zur Leckerkennung und Leckortung bei Rohffernleitungen. Patent P2603 715.0. (F. R. G.) Krass, W., A. Kittel and A. Uhde (1979). Pipelinetechnik. TUEV Rheinland, K61n. Siebert, H. and R. Isermann (1977). Leckerkennung und -Iokalisierung bei Pipelines durch On-line-Korrelation mit einem Prozessrechner. Regelungstechnik, 25, 69-74. Siebert, H. and Th. Klaiber (1980). Testing a method for leakage monitoring of a gasoline pipeline. In Process Automation, pp. 91-96. Oldenbourg, Miinchen, F.R.G. Weimann, A. (1978). Modellierung und Simulation der Dynamik yon Gasverteilnetzen im Hinblick auf Gasnetzfiihrung und Gasnetziiberwachung. Dissertation an der TU Manchen, Fachbereich ET.
Iosk locetion

Limo

l
120

l
lS0

[8| FIG. 14. Cross-correlation~umduring an experiment.

O0

I 200

l 20

[kml

80 GO

Conclusion Simulations, measurements and leak experiments have shown that the early detection and localization of small leaks in liquid and gas pipelines can be considerably improved. The leak detection methods are based on mathematical dynamic models, nonlinear adaptive state observers and a correlation detection technique. The measured signals are one flowrate and one pressure at each end of a pipeline (section). As the required computational effort is relatively small, micro-computers can be used.

I I i
olmuloLod i

oet;metod ~ d

40 20. 0 0

I
leak

j
I t I l

time
120 160 200 240 [$1

40

80

FiG. 15. Estimation of the leak location.