Modeling and simulation of a pipeline leak detection using smart inspection ball

Abstract

Recently, pipelines have replaced more carbon-intensive transportation methods making them more environmentally friendly for transporting energy and water supplies. However, pipelines can pollute the air, water, soil, and climate when they leak, causing economic, and environmental damage. Pipeline online monitoring provides data analysis and suitable controlling strategies to contain the risk. This paper proposes a three-dimensional numerical model simulation taking advantage of the fluids moving through pipelines at specific speeds. The transport speeds depend on many conditions, such as pipe diameter, the pressure through which the fluid is being transported, and other factors, such as terrain's topography and viscosity of the fluid. Under these conditions, the inspection approach uses a self-charging movable ball. The sensors inside the ball capture data as it travels through the pipe. The simulation focuses on spherical flow and pipe noise with and without leakage based on the COMSOL software platform. The paper shows the effect of several parameters, including leak location, sensor placement, ball diameter, sound pressure level propagation along a pipe and around the sphere, velocity, and temperature distribution that give the background for future smart ball design in a promising practical pipeline test project.