Seal assembly with leak monitoring

A method for testing a leak rate of a seal assembly for a joint between a first pipe segment having a first flange and a second pipe segment having a second flange, the method comprising:

• forming a plurality of sealed containment areas by compressing the first and second flanges together, each of the sealed containment areas being formed by a surface of the first flange and a surface of the second flange;
• pressurizing one of the plurality of sealed containment areas by supplying a fluid to the one of the plurality of sealed containment areas via a supply conduit formed in the first flange;
• and
• creating a pressure differential between the pressurized sealed containment area and another sealed containment area to draw fluid from the pressurized sealed containment area to the another sealed containment area.

A method for testing a leak rate of a seal assembly for a joint between a first pipe segment having a first flange and a second pipe segment having a second flange, the method comprising:

• forming a plurality of sealed containment areas by compressing the first and second flanges together;
• pressurizing one of the plurality of sealed containment areas by supplying a fluid to the one of the plurality of sealed containment areas via a supply conduit formed in the first flange;
• creating a pressure differential between the pressurized sealed containment area and another sealed containment area to draw fluid from the pressurized sealed containment area to the another sealed containment area;
• and
• supplying fluid to the plurality of sealed containment areas via supply grooves formed on a surface of the second flange, each of the supply grooves being fluidly connected to a corresponding supply conduit formed in the first flange.

A pipe assembly for transporting a fluid, the pipe assembly comprising:

• a plurality of pipe segments, each pipe segment including:
• a first flange located at a first end of the pipe segment;
• a second flange located at a second end of the pipe segment;
• and
• a seal assembly, the seal assembly including:
• at least one primary sealing member mounted on the first flange and forming a loop around the first pipe segment;
• at least one supplemental sealing member mounted on the first flange between the first pipe segment and the at least one primary sealing member, the at least one supplemental sealing member forming a loop around the first pipe segment;
• a first sealed containment area that is formed between the at least one primary and at least one supplemental sealing members when the at least one primary and at least one supplemental sealing members are compressed;
• a first supply conduit located between the at least one primary sealing member and the at least one supplemental sealing member, wherein the first supply conduit is formed in the first flange and extends from a first face of the first flange oriented away from the second flange to a second face of the first flange oriented toward the second flange;
• and
• a return conduit located so that the at least one primary sealing member is positioned between the supply conduit and the return conduit formed in the first flange, wherein the return conduit extends from the first face of the first flange to the second face of the first flange.