Compressed Gas Conveyance for Pipeline Leak Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for checking the tightness of pipeline sections result in significant energy wastage as compressed gas is released into the environment after the leak test, with inefficiencies in energy and time usage.
Innovation Solution
A method and device that utilize the overpressure of gas in the first pipeline section to check the tightness of subsequent sections, employing a low-pressure and high-pressure compressor system with a bypass line and valves to optimize energy use, allowing pre-compressed gas to be reused for subsequent tests, achieving energy savings and time efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If compressed gas is discharged to the environment after the leak test, then the pipeline section can be checked for leaks, but energy is wasted significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of discharging the compressed gas to the environment after the leak test, the patent recovers the compressed gas by routing it through a bypass line back to the compressor inlet. This allows the gas to be reused for subsequent pipeline section tests, thereby recovering the energy that would otherwise be wasted.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent establishes a continuous cycle where compressed gas is continuously circulated from the test section through the bypass line back to the compressor. This continuous circulation eliminates the need to repeatedly compress fresh air for each pipeline section, maintaining useful action and reducing energy consumption.
2Reliability
If compressed gas is discharged after each pipeline section test, then individual sections can be tested, but time is lost due to repeated compression cycles
Solution Approach 1:
The compressed gas that would normally be discharged after each test is instead recovered through the bypass line and reused for the next pipeline section test. This eliminates the time-consuming cycle of compressing fresh air for each section, significantly reducing total testing time.
Solution Approach 2:
The bypass line is pre-configured to enable direct routing of compressed gas from the test section back to the compressor inlet. This preliminary setup allows immediate reuse of the compressed gas without waiting for new compression cycles, saving time across multiple testing operations.
3Loss of energy
If a bypass line is added to recover and reuse compressed gas, then energy efficiency improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The bypass line acts as an intermediary pathway that connects the test section outlet back to the compressor inlet. This simple intermediary structure enables gas recovery and reuse without requiring complex control systems or multiple additional components, achieving energy efficiency with minimal added complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach achieves an energy savings of approximately 1:3 and a time savings of about half compared to traditional methods, ensuring efficient energy use and pressure equalization between pipeline sections.
Implementation Method 1
a first pipeline section is therefore first filled with the compressed gas... the gas, which is usually compressed in the high-pressure area
Implementation Method 2
use can first be made of the overpressure of the gas conveyed into the first pipeline section... after essentially the same pressure level has been set in both pipeline sections
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 1a
Figure 2
AI summary
The invention relates to a method and device for conveying compressed gas into at least two mutually separate pipeline sections (6, 7), wherein gas is compressed and conveyed into a first pipeline section (6), a connection is subsequently produced between the two pipeline sections (6, 7) such that the compressed gas flows from the first pipeline section (6), on account of the excess pressure, into a second pipeline section (7), and gas from the first pipeline section (6) is subsequently compressed and conveyed into the second pipeline section (7).