Pipeline integrity monitoring system (PIMS) for oil, gas and other pipelines

A monitoring system for a pipeline system, wherein the pipeline system includes a plurality of elements, the elements thereof including:

• any one of more of a well, a field, a platform, a derrick, extraction equipment, a plant, a storage tank, a refinery, a chemical plant, a manufacturing facility, as well as associated pipes, pipelines, pumps, pumping stations, valves, conduits, storage containers, and combinations thereof;
• the monitoring system comprising:
• a multiplicity of thickness sensors disposed adjacent tops and/or bottoms of elements of the pipeline system, including bottoms of storage containers, for measuring the thickness of walls of the pipeline elements, including storage containers, over periods of time;
• a multiplicity of vibration sensors disposed adjacent elements of the pipeline system for measuring vibration data at the pipeline elements over periods of time, the vibration data including frequency domain data and time domain data;
• plural controller processors wherein each one thereof is coupled to a respective group of sensors, each group of sensors including ones of the multiplicity of thickness sensors and ones of the multiplicity of vibration sensors, each controller processor being configured to receive data sensed by the respective group of sensors coupled thereto;
• plural location devices wherein each one thereof is coupled to a respective one of the plural controller processors for providing location data representative of the location thereof and date-time data;
• wherein each of the plural controller processors associates the location data and the date-time data thereof with data sensed by the ones of the multiplicity of thickness sensors and the ones of the multiplicity of vibration sensors of its respective group of sensors, whereby the data sensed by the ones of the multiplicity of thickness sensors and the ones of the multiplicity of vibration sensors is geo-tagged;
• plural communication devices wherein each one thereof is coupled to a respective one of the plural controllers processors for transmitting the geo-tagged data sensed by the ones of the multiplicity of thickness sensors and the ones of the multiplicity of vibration sensors associated therewith and for receiving control commands;
• and
• a central facility comprising:
• a communication device for receiving the geo-tagged data from the multiplicity of thickness sensors and from the multiplicity of vibration sensors that is transmitted by the plural communication devices and for transmitting control commands thereto;
• one or more servers configured to process the received geo-tagged data from the multiplicity of thickness sensors and from the multiplicity of vibration sensors and to store the received geo-tagged data from the multiplicity of thickness sensors and from the multiplicity of vibration sensors in a relational database;
• wherein memory associated with the one or more servers contains the relational database and the geo-tagged sensor data from the multiplicity of thickness sensors and from the multiplicity of vibration sensors stored therein, the memory further containing standardized exception data relating to safe operation of the pipeline system;
• wherein the one or more servers are configured to process the geo-tagged data from the multiplicity of thickness sensors and from the multiplicity of vibration sensors to:
• analyze data from each of the thickness sensors to determine the thickness of the wall of the element and the rate of change in the thickness thereof as a function of time, and to compare the determined thickness of the wall and the rate of change thereof to standardized thickness exception data therefor;
• analyze data from each of the vibration sensors to determine the magnitudes and frequencies and times of vibration at the element and to compare the determined magnitudes and frequencies of the vibration in the frequency domain and/or the determined magnitudes and times thereof in the time domain to standardized vibration exception data therefor;
• wherein the one or more servers are configured to process results of comparing the determined data to standardized exception data to determine when an exception exists, and
• a display and/or human interface device, wherein when an exception exists, the one or more servers generate an alert therefrom and communicate the alert via the display, the human interface device and/or the communication device of the central facility.