A sound wave based balloon indicator device and method

Abstract

The application discloses a pigging indication algorithm using a pigging indication device based on sound waves, comprising a data acquisition and processing unit, an explosion-proof box and a pigging indication algorithm module; the data acquisition and processing unit comprises an acceleration sensor group, a safety grid group, an A / D conversion unit, a control unit, a WiFi transmission unit, a data storage unit and a battery group. The application designs an explosion-proof structure for the potential explosion of oil and gas pipelines; on the other hand, the sound wave signals in the pipeline are preprocessed and the pigging time is calculated. Among them, for various working condition interference sound wave signals in the pipeline, IIR filtering, data scaling and feature extraction are adopted to suppress the interference signals; for the processed pipeline sound wave signals, the time corresponding to the maximum value of two features is extracted, and weighted summation is carried out to realize pigging alarm and pigging time calculation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of ball-passing indicator alarm in pipelines under explosion-proof conditions, and particularly to a ball-passing indicator device and method based on sound waves. Background Technology

[0002] Pipeline cleaning using a pipeline cleaning pig is a standard pipeline maintenance method. Furthermore, pipelines operate in harsh environments, making them susceptible to corrosion, fatigue damage, or the development of latent internal defects that can lead to leaks. Therefore, to extend pipeline lifespan and prevent leaks, it is essential to use in-pipe detectors for effective inspection and maintenance.

[0003] Once a "ball" or internal detector, which operates inside a pipeline, enters the pipeline, there is no way for outsiders to accurately know its location. Therefore, it is essential to install a ball-passing indicator at key pipeline nodes to monitor whether the "ball" passes through that node and the time it takes to pass.

[0004] Existing pipe ball-passing indicators generally employ two methods: mechanical insertion-type ball-passing indicators and electromagnetic non-insertion-type ball-passing indicators. Mechanical insertion-type ball-passing indicators need to be inserted into the pipe. When the "ball" traveling inside the pipe passes the indicator, they collide, triggering an alarm signal through mechanical contact. This method provides accurate ball-passing alarms, but because it requires openings in the pipe, it poses operational risks and is difficult to maintain or replace. Electromagnetic non-insertion-type ball-passing indicators are based on Faraday's law of electromagnetic induction. This method requires a permanent magnet to be installed on the "ball" traveling inside the pipe, and a magnetic field induction device to be added outside the pipe. It is safe to use, easy to install and replace, but has a certain probability of false alarms and missed alarms, and is limited by the size of the mechanical and magnetic induction devices. Neither of these methods is suitable for small-diameter pipes. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, this invention proposes a sound wave-based ball-passing indicator device and method. It collects and processes sound wave vibration signals caused by a ball passing through a pipeline in real time. Utilizing the characteristics of extremely high propagation speeds (up to 5000 m / s) of interference signals along the pipe wall, and the limited speed (1-5 m / s) of the ball passing through the sensor monitoring point, this invention extracts signal features such as short-time energy and short-time zero-crossing rate, calculates the time differences of multi-channel ball-passing signals, and achieves the identification of interference signals and ball-passing signals. This improves the accuracy of ball-passing signal discrimination and the precision of ball-passing time calculation. This method is safe and without hidden dangers, easy to install and replace, significantly reduces false alarm and missed alarm rates, and is applicable to pipelines of all diameters.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention: A sound wave-based ball-passing indicator device and method include a data acquisition and processing unit, an explosion-proof enclosure, and a ball-passing indicator algorithm module. The data acquisition and processing unit includes an accelerometer sensor group, a safety barrier group, an A / D conversion unit, a control unit, a WiFi transmission unit, a data storage unit, and a battery pack. The accelerometer sensor group is electrically connected to the safety barrier group, the safety barrier group is electrically connected to the A / D conversion unit, the A / D conversion unit is electrically connected to the control unit, and the control unit is electrically connected to the WiFi transmission unit, the data storage unit, and the battery pack, respectively. The explosion-proof enclosure includes an explosion-proof shell, an explosion-proof cover, a switch, an indicator light, a mounting bracket, and hexagonal head screws. An explosion-proof cover plate is fixedly installed at the top of the explosion-proof housing, and the corners of the top of the explosion-proof cover plate are fixedly connected to the explosion-proof housing by multiple sets of hexagonal head screws. A fixed bracket is fixedly installed inside the explosion-proof housing. The fixed bracket is provided with the safety barrier group, A / D conversion unit, control unit, WiFi transmission unit, data storage unit and battery pack in sequence from bottom to top. The switch and the indicator light are fixedly installed on the explosion-proof cover plate and are electrically connected to the control unit.

[0007] The aforementioned ball-passing indicator device has a wire hole in its explosion-proof housing for threading cables that connect the safety barrier assembly and the acceleration sensor assembly.

[0008] The aforementioned ball-passing indicator device has a sealing gasket at the wire hole.

[0009] The aforementioned ball-passing indicator device includes a data acquisition and processing unit comprising an acceleration sensor group, which consists of one or more acceleration sensors spaced at a certain distance. The acceleration sensor group is used to monitor acoustic wave data and is electrically connected to the safety barrier group.

[0010] The aforementioned ball-passing indicator device, the data acquisition and processing unit further includes a safety barrier group, which is used to power the acceleration sensor group and isolate the signal. The safety barrier group is electrically connected to the A / D conversion unit.

[0011] A ball-passing indication algorithm, characterized by comprising the following steps: Step 1: Set the sampling frequency Fs, time threshold T, and main frequency band F of the pipe acoustic signal of the ball-passing indicator device as given values, where the time threshold T is a constant value determined by the speed of the equipment running in the pipe, and the main frequency band F of the pipe acoustic signal is a constant value determined by the pipe material. Step 2: Design an IIR filter based on the main frequency band F of the pipe acoustic signal; Step 3: Filter the accelerometer group data using an IIR filter; Step 4: Segment the data and calculate the average amplitude of each segment. For the accelerometer sensor group data... ,in Let i be the data collected by the i-th sensor, i = 1, 2, ..., j, where j is the total number of sensors in the accelerometer sensor group. The data from each sensor after segmentation are as follows: ,in For the k-th segment of data after segmentation from the i-th sensor, k=1,2,...n, calculate... The average amplitude of the absolute values ​​of each sampled value Calculate the average amplitude of the k-th segment of data from each sensor. The expression is: ; Step 5: Calculate the scaling factor. Calculate the scaling factor for each data segment from each sensor, starting with the k-th data segment from the i-th sensor. The scaling factor is The expression is: ; Step 6: Normalize the scaling factor. Calculate the normalized scaling factor for each segment of data from each sensor. For the k-th segment of data from the i-th sensor... The normalized scaling factor is The expression is: ,in Let the minimum value be the scaling factor of the i-th sensor. The maximum value among the scaling factors of the i-th sensor; Step 7: Scale the data and calculate the short-time energy and short-time zero-crossing rate, let Y = ,in Let i = 1, 2, ..., j, k = 1, 2, ..., n, where j is the total number of accelerometers in the accelerometer sensor group, q is the data length, and 1 is the step size. All data are grouped and processed as follows: ① Sum the squares of the data in each group, and denote the sum as the short-time energy. ② Calculate the total number of times that two adjacent data points in each group have opposite signs, and record it as the short-time zero-crossing rate. ;③ , ; Step 8: Calculate the time difference Statistical analysis and The time corresponding to the maximum value in ,but Calculate the time difference separately and then average it as the time difference. Its expression is: ; Step 9: Signal category determination, time difference Compare with a time threshold T to determine if it is a passing device operating within the pipe: if the time difference... If the time threshold T is greater than the time limit, it is determined that the equipment in the pipeline has passed through, and step 10 is executed; otherwise, it is determined that the equipment in the pipeline has not passed through, and the process returns to step 4. Step 10: Calculate the transit time of the equipment running inside the pipe, and calculate the transit time of the equipment passing each sensor separately. ,in The time it takes for the equipment running inside the pipe to pass the position of the i-th sensor is expressed as: ,in The time is a constant determined by the operating speed of the equipment running within the pipe. Repeat steps 4 through 10, always recording the time it takes for the equipment to pass through the pipe.

[0012] Beneficial effects: Compared with the prior art, the sound wave-based ball-passing indicator device and method of the present invention have the following advantages: This invention addresses the potential explosiveness of oil and gas pipelines by designing an explosion-proof structure. Furthermore, it preprocesses the acoustic signals within the pipeline and calculates the "ball" passage time. Specifically, for various interfering acoustic signals under different operating conditions within the pipeline, IIR filtering, data scaling, and feature extraction are employed to suppress interference signals. For the processed pipeline acoustic signals, the times corresponding to the maximum values ​​of two features are extracted, weighted, and summed to achieve both "ball" passage alarm and "ball" passage time calculation. Attached Figure Description

[0013] Figure 1 This is a functional block diagram of the data acquisition and processing unit of the ball-passing indicator device and method based on sound waves of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a top view of an explosion-proof box containing a ball-passing indicator device and method based on sound waves according to the present invention. Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of a ball-passing indicator device and method based on sound waves according to the present invention. Figure 4 This is a flowchart of the ball-passing indicator algorithm for a ball-passing indicator device and method based on sound waves according to the present invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a ball-passing indicator device based on sound waves according to the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0014] The specific embodiments of the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Identical components are indicated by the same reference numerals.

[0015] It should be noted that the terms “front,” “back,” “left,” “right,” “up,” and “down” used in the following description refer to the directions shown in the attached diagram, while the terms “inside” and “outside” refer to the directions toward or away from the geometric center of a specific component, respectively.

[0016] To make the content of this invention easier to understand, the technical solutions in the embodiments of this invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0017] The data acquisition and processing unit of this embodiment, such as Figure 1 and Figure 5 As shown, it includes: an acceleration sensor group, a safety barrier group, an A / D conversion unit, a control unit, a WiFi transmission unit, a data storage unit, and a battery pack; An accelerometer array is attached to the outer wall of the pipe at certain intervals to collect the pipe's acoustic signals. After the acoustic signal from the pipeline is isolated by a safety barrier, the voltage signal is filtered by capacitors, resistors and operational amplifiers. The signal is then acquired, stored and transmitted via WiFi by an A / D conversion unit and an STM microcontroller (control unit). The explosion-proof box in this embodiment, such as Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, it includes an explosion-proof housing, an explosion-proof cover, a switch, an indicator light, a mounting bracket, hexagonal head screws, and wire holes; An explosion-proof cover plate is fixedly installed at the top of the explosion-proof housing, and the corners of the top of the explosion-proof cover plate are fixedly connected to the explosion-proof housing by multiple sets of internal hexagonal head screws. The explosion-proof housing is equipped with a fixed bracket, which, from bottom to top, contains a safety barrier assembly, an A / D conversion unit, a control unit, a WiFi transmission unit, a data storage unit, and a battery pack. The switch and indicator light are fixedly installed on the explosion-proof cover and electrically connected to the control unit; The explosion-proof housing has wire holes for threading cables connecting the safety barrier assembly and the acceleration sensor assembly, and the wire holes are equipped with sealing gaskets.

[0018] This implementation uses a ball-passing indication algorithm, such as Figure 4 As shown, it includes the following steps: Step 1: Set the sampling frequency Fs, time threshold T, and main frequency band F of the pipe acoustic signal of the ball-passing indicator device as given values, where the time threshold T is a constant value determined by the speed of the equipment running in the pipe, and the main frequency band F of the pipe acoustic signal is a constant value determined by the pipe material. Step 2: Design an IIR filter based on the main frequency band F of the pipe acoustic signal; Step 3: Filter the accelerometer group data using an IIR filter; Step 4: Segment the data and calculate the average amplitude of each segment. For the accelerometer sensor group data... ,in Let i be the data collected by the i-th sensor, i = 1, 2, ..., j, where j is the total number of sensors in the accelerometer sensor group. The data from each sensor after segmentation are as follows: ,in For the k-th segment of data after segmentation from the i-th sensor, k=1,2,...n, calculate... The average amplitude of the absolute values ​​of each sampled value Calculate the average amplitude of the k-th segment of data from each sensor. The expression is: ; Step 5: Calculate the scaling factor. Calculate the scaling factor for each data segment from each sensor, starting with the k-th data segment from the i-th sensor. The scaling factor is The expression is: ; Step 6: Normalize the scaling factor. Calculate the normalized scaling factor for each segment of data from each sensor. For the k-th segment of data from the i-th sensor... The normalized scaling factor is The expression is: ,in Let the minimum value be the scaling factor of the i-th sensor. The maximum value among the scaling factors of the i-th sensor; Step 7: Scale the data and calculate the short-time energy and short-time zero-crossing rate, let Y = ,in Let i = 1, 2, ..., j, k = 1, 2, ..., n, where j is the total number of accelerometers in the accelerometer sensor group, q is the data length, and 1 is the step size. All data are grouped and processed as follows: ① Sum the squares of the data in each group, and denote the sum as the short-time energy. ② Calculate the total number of times that two adjacent data points in each group have opposite signs, and record it as the short-time zero-crossing rate. ;③ , ; Step 8: Calculate the time difference Statistical analysis and The time corresponding to the maximum value in ,but Calculate the time difference separately and then average it as the time difference. Its expression is: ; Step 9: Signal category determination, time difference Compare with a time threshold T to determine if it is a passing device operating within the pipe: if the time difference... If the time threshold T is greater than the time limit, it is determined that the equipment in the pipeline has passed through, and step 10 is executed; otherwise, it is determined that the equipment in the pipeline has not passed through, and the process returns to step 4. Step 10: Calculate the transit time of the equipment running inside the pipe, and calculate the transit time of the equipment passing each sensor separately. ,in The time it takes for the equipment running inside the pipe to pass the position of the i-th sensor is expressed as: ,in The time is a constant determined by the operating speed of the equipment running within the pipe. Repeat steps 4 through 10, always recording the time it takes for the equipment to pass through the pipe.

[0019] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A ball-passing indication algorithm utilizing a sound wave-based ball-passing indication device, the ball-passing indication device comprising a data acquisition and processing unit, an explosion-proof enclosure, and a ball-passing indication algorithm module, wherein the data acquisition and processing unit comprises an accelerometer group consisting of multiple accelerometers, a safety barrier group, an A / D conversion unit, a control unit, a WiFi transmission unit, a data storage unit, and a battery pack, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step 1: Set the sampling frequency Fs, time threshold T, and main frequency band F of the pipe acoustic signal of the ball-passing indicator device as given values, where the time threshold T is a constant value determined by the speed of the equipment running in the pipe, and the main frequency band F of the pipe acoustic signal is a constant value determined by the pipe material. Step 2: Design an IIR filter based on the main frequency band F of the pipe acoustic signal; Step 3: Filter the accelerometer group data using an IIR filter; Step 4: Segment the data and calculate the average amplitude of each segment. For the accelerometer sensor group data... ,in Let i be the data collected by the i-th sensor, i = 1, 2, ..., j, where j is the total number of sensors in the accelerometer sensor group. The data from each sensor after the segmentation are as follows: ,in For the k-th segment of data after segmentation from the i-th sensor, k=1,2,...n, calculate... The average amplitude of the absolute values ​​of each sampled value Calculate the average amplitude of the k-th segment of data from each sensor. The expression is: ; Step 5: Calculate the scaling factor. Calculate the scaling factor for each data segment from each sensor, starting with the k-th data segment from the i-th sensor. The scaling factor is The expression is: ; Step 6: Normalize the scaling factor. Calculate the normalized scaling factor for each segment of data from each sensor. For the k-th segment of data from the i-th sensor... The normalized scaling factor is The expression is: ,in Let the minimum value be the scaling factor of the i-th sensor. The maximum value among the scaling factors of the i-th sensor; Step 7: Scale the data and calculate the short-time energy and short-time zero-crossing rate, let Y = ,in Let i = 1, 2, ..., j, k = 1, 2, ..., n, where j is the total number of accelerometers in the accelerometer sensor group, q is the data length, and 1 is the step size. All data are grouped and processed as follows: ① Sum the squares of the data in each group, and denote the sum as the short-time energy. ② Calculate the total number of times that two adjacent data points in each group have opposite signs, and record it as the short-time zero-crossing rate. ;③ , ; Step 8: Calculate the time difference Statistical analysis and The time corresponding to the maximum value in ,but Calculate the time difference separately and then average it as the time difference. Its expression is: ; Step 9: Signal category determination, time difference Compare with a time threshold T to determine if it is a passing device operating within the pipe: if the time difference... If the time threshold T is greater than the time limit, it is determined that the equipment in the pipeline has passed through, and step 10 is executed; Otherwise, it is determined that it is not a device operating within the pipeline that has passed through, and the process returns to step 4; Step 10: Calculate the transit time of the equipment running inside the pipe, and calculate the transit time of the equipment passing each sensor separately. ,in The time it takes for the equipment running inside the pipe to pass the position of the i-th sensor is expressed as: ,in The time is a constant determined by the operating speed of the equipment running within the pipe. Repeat steps 4 through 10, always recording the time it takes for the equipment to pass through the pipe.

2. The ball-passing indication algorithm of the ball-passing indication device based on sound waves according to claim 1, characterized in that: The acceleration sensor group is electrically connected to the safety barrier group, the safety barrier group is electrically connected to the A / D conversion unit, the A / D conversion unit is electrically connected to the control unit, and the control unit is electrically connected to the WiFi transmission unit, the data storage unit, and the battery pack, respectively. The explosion-proof box includes an explosion-proof shell, an explosion-proof cover, a switch, an indicator light, a fixing bracket, and hexagonal cylindrical head screws; An explosion-proof cover plate is fixedly installed at the top of the explosion-proof housing. The corners of the top of the explosion-proof cover plate are fixedly connected to the explosion-proof housing by multiple sets of hexagonal head screws. A fixed bracket is fixedly installed inside the explosion-proof housing. The fixed bracket has the safety barrier group, A / D conversion unit, control unit, WiFi transmission unit, data storage unit and battery pack arranged sequentially from bottom to top. The switch and the indicator light are fixedly installed on the explosion-proof cover plate. The switch and the indicator light are electrically connected to the control unit. The safety barrier group is used to power the acceleration sensor group and isolate the signal.

3. The ball-passing indication algorithm of the ball-passing indication device based on sound waves according to claim 2, characterized in that: The explosion-proof housing is provided with wire holes.

4. The ball-passing indication algorithm of the ball-passing indication device based on sound waves according to claim 3, characterized in that: A sealing gasket is provided at the wire hole.

5. The ball-passing indication algorithm of the ball-passing indication device based on sound waves according to claim 1, characterized in that: Multiple acceleration sensors are arranged along the pipeline axis at certain intervals, and the acceleration sensor group is used to monitor the acoustic signal of the pipeline wall.

Images