Fluid vessel leak existence system, method and apparatus
OwnerEdward J. Farmerinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A method, system and apparatus for monitoring an environment for the occurrence of an unexpected event, such as monitoring a containment vessel's surroundings for the presence of the contained substance outside of the vessel due to a leak. The method detects the probability that a leak has occurred as opposed to mere natural fluctuations in substance concentration in the surrounding environment. A sensor near the vessel measures substance concentration. The concentrations sensed are transformed into a signal representing substance concentration outside the vessel as a function of time. A statistical analyzer then monitors the signal for specific patterns which indicate that a leak has occurred. Various algorithms are utilizable to determine the probability that a leak has occurred.
Claims26
Means for detecting a change in the presence of a substance in a mixture having other matter present by measuring a proportionate presence of a characteristic of the substance with respect to the other matter present within a sensed environment, comprising in combination:
- a plurality of sensors detecting and making concentration readings of the proportionate presence of said characteristic as a proportion of the other matter present, the concentration readings defining a concentration of the substance within the matter present,
- a signal conditioner operatively coupled to said sensors by communication means having means for compiling said concentration readings taken by said sensors in chronological sequence according to a time corresponding to when each said concentration reading was taken, relative to other said concentration readings, to establish a signal representing magnitudes of changes in the concentration of the substance as a function of time,
- a processor taking as input said signal and means for statistically filtering out anomalous said concentration readings, such that the processor will determine the probability that changes in said signal represent occurrence of an event relating to conditions in the sensed environment rather than an anomaly due to normal fluctuations in said concentration readings by ignoring any single said concentration reading alone, and
- means for outputting the result of analysis by said statistical filter means;
- whereby said event can be accurately distinguished from said anomaly.
A method for detecting changes in the proportionate presence of a substance in an environment representing occurrence of an event outside of expected conditions, including the steps of:
- defining a plurality of monitoring locations in an area to be monitored,
- placing at each monitoring location a sensor detecting the presence of the substance in proportion to all fluid present,
- monitoring at the monitoring locations thus defined for both the presence and prevalence of the substance before occurrence of a triggering event,
- monitoring at the monitoring locations after occurrence of the triggering event,
- establishing a signal from readings taken during both of said monitoring steps by orienting the readings in chronological sequence, the signal representing changes in the readings over time representing changes in magnitude of the substance.
- identifying differences in the prevalence of the substance represented by the signal before and after the occurrence of the triggering event,
- processing the signal statistically to determine if differences discovered in said identifying step represent normal fluctuations in substance prevalence or actual occurrence of the triggering event, and
- outputting the result of said processing step.
A system for secure confinement of a substance having substance leak detecting capabilities comprised of:
- a tank with inlet and outlet means capable of initial confinement of the substance,
- a plurality of sensors located outside said tank detecting the proportionate presence of the substance as a proportion of fluid present,
- a signal generating means taking output from said sensors and establishing a signal representing the proportionate presence of the substance adjacent said sensors at multiple different times,
- a processing means analyzing said signal and statistically filtering out non-indicative portions of said signal and analyzing said signal statistically to determine if said signal represents a leak of the substance from said tank, and
- communication means whereby said sensors can communicate said output to said signal generating means and to said processing means and results of said processing means are communicated to a final output device.
A method of detecting leaks in storage tanks and piping, the steps including:
- defining one or more fluid concentration monitoring locations around the storage tank or tanks,
- monitoring, at one or more of said locations thus defined, for one or more physical characteristics of the fluid stored in the tank prior to the occurrence of a leak to establish baseline values of these physical characteristics,
- continuing to monitor the physical characteristics of matter surrounding the storage tank or tanks until after the occurrence of a leak so that differences between the monitored physical characteristics before and after the occurrence of a leak are identified,
- compiling readings from each monitoring location into a signal representing magnitudes of fluid concentration at various times before and after the occurrence of the leak, and
- processing data representing differences in the monitored physical characteristics that occur to detect the leak using an algorithm that tolerates normal changes in each reading individually in the absence of a leak but responds quickly to changes in the readings resulting from a leak.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.