Water-Immersed Gas Permeation Testing for Pipes and Vessels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for measuring gas permeation in field-ready vessels are inadequate, leading to significant uncertainty in assessing environmental impact and hazards, as they fail to accurately replicate real-world conditions and are unsuitable for hydrogen due to its unique properties.
Innovation Solution
A testing apparatus comprising a fixture with an enclosure and inverted funnels is used to measure gas permeation from sealed vessels by collecting gas bubbles in funnels filled with water, allowing for precise volume measurement using a burette, ensuring that the apparatus maintains liquid equilibrium and prevents gas escape.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If disc, coupon, or sheet material testing methods are used to measure gas permeation, then testing can be performed with simple samples, but the permeation rates measured do not accurately represent real-world pipe or vessel performance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a water-filled replica or analog of the actual pipe or vessel geometry using a flexible membrane that conforms to the external shape of the test object. This copying approach allows measurement of permeation through a shape that accurately represents the real-world application while maintaining the simplicity of using a flexible membrane rather than manufacturing a complex rigid replica.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state of the testing medium from gas phase (in traditional methods) to liquid phase (water). This parameter change allows the testing apparatus to capture and measure gas permeation through the membrane more effectively, as the liquid medium can be contained and measured precisely while the gas permeates through the material being tested.
2Device complexity
If traditional permeation testing methods are used, then testing equipment is simple, but reliable equations or algorithms to extrapolate leakage data to real-world pipes or vessels are lacking
Solution Approach 1:
By creating a water-filled replica that accurately copies the geometry of the actual pipe or vessel, the patent eliminates the need for complex extrapolation equations. The measurement is performed on a shape that directly represents the real-world application, so the data obtained is directly applicable without requiring mathematical transformation or assumption-based extrapolation.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible water-filled membrane acts as an intermediary that bridges the gap between simple testing and accurate representation. It provides a medium that can be easily manipulated and measured while accurately representing the complex geometry of real pipes or vessels, thereby eliminating information loss during the measurement process.
3Reliability
If safety factors are increased to account for measurement uncertainty, then risk mitigation is improved, but cost and manpower requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex computational methods and large safety factors with a straightforward physical measurement system. By using a water-filled replica that directly captures permeation, the system provides reliable data without requiring excessive safety margins, thereby reducing the cost and complexity of risk mitigation while maintaining or improving safety.
4Adaptability or versatility
If current testing methods are used for hydrogen, then testing can proceed with existing equipment, but the methods are inadequate due to hydrogen's unique properties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses hydraulic principles by filling the flexible membrane with water and using water displacement to measure gas permeation. This approach is particularly suitable for hydrogen testing because the liquid medium provides a stable, measurable reference that accounts for hydrogen's unique properties, while the equipment remains relatively simple and adaptable from existing testing setups.
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
Provides higher quality data on real-world performance, enabling accurate risk mitigation measures and reducing the need for excessive safety factors, thus saving operators effort and expense.
Implementation Method 1
collecting gas bubbles in funnels filled with water, allowing for precise volume measurement
Implementation Method 2
ensuring that the apparatus maintains liquid equilibrium and prevents gas escape
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein are devices and related methods for measuring the permeation of a gas, including hydrogen, of a pipe or pipe liner. A sealed vessel for permeation testing is contained within the device, and immersed within a volume of liquid. Leakage of gas from the sealed vessel during testing produces bubbles, which are captured by the device. The amount of gas which leaks from the sealed vessel can thereby be readily and accurately determined.