Design and Simulation of SmartBall for Pipeline Inspection

According to KROHNE, a 1% oil leak in a 20 inch oil pipeline can cost 450, 000 barrels and contaminate 10 m2 within 24 hours. Thus, it is compulsory to have a leak detection system in some jurisdictions. Despite there are various method of leak detection for a pipeline, yet there is no a solution that can fit all. This is due to the fact that different pipelines have different orientations and require different approaches. SmartBall, a pipeline leak detection device, utilizes acoustic for detecting leaks. It moves along the pipeline and detects a distinct leak noise. This device is different from a pig in the sense that it does not occupy the whole pipeline inner diameter and it is possible to launch it through either a pig launcher or a receive fittings. The ball was designed to accommodate sensors for data acquisition, memory card for storage and processor for data conversion. Dynamics of the SmartBall moving in a pipe that contains a flowing fluid was studied with different bends. For this analysis CFD ANSYS Fluent was used. Generally, the results show that as angle of inclination increases, the oil velocity required to propel the SmartBall increases.