Computational Mesh Reversed Velocity for Methane Leak Localization
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Methane leaks in natural gas fields pose environmental and safety hazards due to their greenhouse gas potency and flammability, requiring real-time monitoring for effective mitigation.
Innovation Solution
A method involving computational mesh partitioning, reversed velocity vector field generation, and time stepping to precisely locate contaminant sources in flowing fluids, such as methane leaks, within a bounded volume, using sensors and computational fluid dynamics equations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If real-time monitoring of methane concentration is implemented, then environmental and safety risks are mitigated, but system complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The monitoring volume is divided into multiple computational mesh cells, allowing the system to track contaminant sources independently in different spatial zones. This segmentation enables targeted monitoring of specific areas rather than requiring comprehensive coverage of the entire gas field, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining safety.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of tracking the contaminant forward from the source through the flow field, the system reverses the velocity vector field and traces the contaminant location backward to identify the source. This inversion simplifies the computational approach by working from the detected contaminant position back to the source, rather than requiring forward propagation modeling from multiple potential sources.
2Measurement precision
If computational mesh partitioning and reversed velocity vector field methods are used, then contaminant source localization precision is improved, but computational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The three-dimensional monitoring volume is partitioned into discrete computational mesh cells with defined boundaries. This segmentation allows the system to precisely determine which cell contains the contaminant source and to calculate source location by tracing backward through specific mesh boundaries, improving localization precision through structured spatial discretization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the velocity vector field based on real-time flow conditions, reversing the measured velocity vectors to trace contaminant paths. This dynamic approach allows the computational model to adapt to changing flow conditions while maintaining precision in source localization without requiring static, overly complex pre-computed models.
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes: mapping a boundary of a volume of flowing fluid; partitioning the volume by a computational mesh; finding a contaminant location at a first sensor that is disposed within the volume; obtaining a measured velocity of the flowing fluid within the volume; generating a reversed velocity vector field within the mesh, in response to the measured velocity; time stepping the contaminant location from the first sensor along the reversed velocity vector field until the contaminant location intersects the boundary of the volume; and finding a contaminant source at the intersection of the time stepped contaminant location with the boundary of the volume.