Leak Detection and Location in Great Longitude Pipelines through Speed Propagation of the Negative Pressure Wave

This paper presents a methodology for leak detection and location in a great longitude pipeline, which belongs to E.P. PETROECUADOR, through the combination of line balance and speed propagation of the negative pressure wave. Two different approaches, slope projection and a first order dead time (FODT) model, are used for computing the pressure change time, which in combination with speed propagation of the sound is used for estimating leak location. A better performance in leak location accuracy than a commercial installed system is obtained, whose results are compared.