Pressure relief valve monitoring

A method for monitoring a pressure relief valve, comprising:

• obtaining ultrasonic measurements from at least one acoustic sensor located about a pressure relief valve;
• obtaining temperature measurements from one or more temperature sensors located about the pressure relief valve;
• collecting the ultrasonic measurements from the at least one acoustic sensor and the temperature measurements from the one or more temperature sensors;
• transferring the ultrasonic measurements and temperature measurements to a host computer;
• and
• monitoring the measurements with the host computer for detection of a leak about the pressure relief valve, the host computer detecting the presence of the leak as a function of both the ultrasonic measurements and temperature measurements.

A pressure relief valve monitoring system, comprising:

• at least one acoustic sensor located about a pressure relief valve that obtains ultrasonic measurements therefrom;
• one or more temperature sensors located about the pressure relief valve that each obtain temperature measurements therefrom;
• and
• a data acquisition system that receives the ultrasonic measurements from the acoustic sensor and the temperature measurements from the one or more temperature sensors, the data acquisition system detecting for the presence of a leak about the pressure relief valve, the data acquisition system detecting the presence of the leak as a function of the ultrasonic measurements and temperature measurements.