Pipe Connection Enclosure for Accurate Gas Emission Measurement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for detecting and quantifying gas emissions from pipelines face challenges such as environmental interference and contamination from other sources, leading to inaccurate assessments.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus that forms an enclosed void around a pipe connection, using a test fluid with a known composition to co-mingle with emitted gases, allowing for accurate measurement of gas emissions by eliminating external environmental and contamination effects through controlled ingress and egress of the fluid.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional open detection methods are used for gas emissions, then the device complexity is low, but measurement precision deteriorates due to environmental interference and contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a test fluid as an intermediary substance that is injected into the enclosed void around the pipe connection. This test fluid co-mingles with the emitted gas and allows for accurate measurement by creating a controlled mixture that can be analyzed, thereby resolving the measurement accuracy issue while maintaining manageable device complexity through the use of standard fluid injection equipment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the gas emission detection process from the open environmental setting by creating an enclosed void around the pipe connection. This enclosure isolates the emission source from environmental interference and contamination, allowing for precise measurement of gas emissions that would otherwise be difficult to obtain in open conditions
2Measurement precision
If an enclosed void is created around the pipe connection, then measurement precision improves by eliminating environmental interference, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible cuff as the enclosure structure that can be wrapped around the pipe connection. This flexible shell creates the necessary enclosed void while being simple to deploy and remove, avoiding complex rigid enclosure structures and reducing overall device complexity despite the improved measurement precision achieved through enclosure
Solution Approach 2:
The enclosure structure is designed to be dynamically deployable and removable around the pipe connection rather than being a permanent fixed structure. This dynamic approach allows the enclosed void to be created only when needed for measurement, reducing device complexity while maintaining measurement precision during the actual detection process
3Measurement precision
If test fluid is flowed through the enclosed void to establish baseline, then measurement precision improves, but loss of time increases due to flushing process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs a preliminary flushing action by flowing test fluid through the enclosed void to establish a baseline gas composition reading before actual measurement. This preliminary action ensures accurate measurements by removing ambient contaminants, and the process is optimized to be quick rather than prolonged, balancing precision with time efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The test fluid flow is implemented as a periodic action rather than continuous flow, where the fluid is injected, allowed to co-mingle and establish baseline, then stopped for measurement. This periodic approach achieves the necessary purification and baseline establishment while minimizing the time the system is in non-measuring state, thereby reducing overall inspection time
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
The apparatus provides highly accurate and controlled measurements of gas emissions, reducing interference from weather and other sources, and is reusable, lightweight, and efficient for rapid inspection.
Implementation Method 1
The test fluid, which may comprise or take the form of a reference fluid, in particular a reference gas, and which has a known composition of the gas being detected and/or quantified, is then flowed into the enclosed void through the inlet arrangement, where it co-mingles with the air and any gas emitted from the pipe connection already present in the enclosed void.
Implementation Method 2
The test fluid is then flowed into the enclosed void through the inlet arrangement, where it co-mingles with the air and any gas emitted from the pipe connection already present in the enclosed void. The co-mingled product flows out through the outlet arrangement.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus (10;210;310) for use in a system (1000;2000) for detecting and/or quantifying gas emissions from a pipe connection (C) comprises a body (12;212;312) configured for location on and around the pipe connection (C). The body (12;212;312) is configured to form an enclosure around the pipe connection (C) when located thereon so as to define an enclosed void (V;V′) between the body (12;212;312) and the pipe connection (C). The apparatus (10;210;310) comprises an inlet arrangement (14;214;314) and an outlet arrangement (16;216;316). The inlet arrangement (14;214;314) is configured to facilitate ingress of a test fluid into the enclosed void (V;V′) and the outlet arrangement (16;216;316) is configured to facilitate exhaust of the test fluid together with air and/or any gas emitted from the pipe connection (C) from the enclosed void (V;V′), so as to permit detection and/or quantification of gas emissions from the pipe connection (C) to be determined.