Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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NON-LINEAR ULTRASOUND METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR
QUANTITATIVE DETECTION OF MATERIALS
The present disclosure is generally related to material property detection and
more
particularly is related to a non-linear ultrasound method for quantitative
detection of
materials.
Material level detection, identification and flow measurements are important
for a
variety of industries. For example, within the fossil fuel processing
industry, it is often
critical to ensure the correct level of fluid within the storage tank to avoid
overfills. One
type of fluid flow measurement is fluid metering, which is the measurement of
a precise
quantity of moving fluid in a specified time period to provide an accurate
flow rate of the
fluid. Fluid metering is used in a variety of industries which require the
monitoring of
fluids, including the chemical industry, fossil fuel (oil and gas) processing,
and
manufacturing. For example, within the fossil fuel processing industry, it is
often critical
to ensure that the correct amounts and types of materials held in storage
vessels or moved
through pipelines are precisely combined.
A variety of fluid level detection devices and techniques exist today. Most of
these devices are invasive, in that, in order to detect an accurate fill level
or an accurate
flow of the fluid, these devices must be deployed inside the tank or pipeline.
This makes
them problematic to service and maintain. For example, mechanical flow meters,
which
utilize impellers, typically operate by measuring a fluid flow using an
arrangement of
moving parts, either by passing isolated, known volumes of a fluid through a
series of
gears or chambers, e.g., through positive displacement, or by means of a
spinning turbine
or rotor. Mechanical flow meters are generally accurate, in part, due to the
ability to
accurately measure the number of revolutions of the mechanical components
which are
used to estimate total volume flow over a short period of time. However,
mechanical flow
meters must be installed into the pipe subsystem and repair requires shut down
of the
pipeline, which is highly inefficient and expensive.
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Acoustic time-of-flight flow meters are also conventionally used. These
devices
measure the difference in velocity in two opposite directions on a pipe and
then calculate
a difference therebetween, where the difference can be used to indicate the
speed of
material flowing through the pipe. Then, the calculated speed at which the
material is
traveling can be used, along with the size of the pipe and other parameters to
determine
volume flow. These conventional acoustic flow meters, however, are often not
accurate
enough for many industries, including many applications in the fossil fuel
industry.
In addition, fluids expand and contract with temperature and most flow meters
measure volume flow and do not account for how temperature changes the actual
amount
of fluid that is in a tank or moving through a pipe. In petroleum products,
this can
produce inaccurate flow rates on volume of up to 7% based on temperature
fluctuations
alone.
For fluids stored in tanks, tank fill level sensors can be used to determine a
quantity of the fluid. These types of sensors may generally include either
radar-based
sensors which measure from the top down to the fluid surface, or embedded
sensor wires
and tubes which are mounted inside the tank. Fill level sensors are not highly
accurate for
a variety of reasons. Fluids expand and contract with temperature and most
fill level
sensors do not account for how temperature changes in the liquid affect a fill
level.
Moreover, fill level sensors must be installed inside tanks or other vessels
which makes
them problematic to service and maintain.
As mentioned earlier, material level detection, identification and flow
measurements are important for a variety of industries to effectively manage
assets as
well as for operational process control. In the petrochemical industries, it
is very common
to maintain multiple redundant systems to monitor these metrics to ensure that
accurate
information is available in the event that one of the units failed.
Further, there are conventional products that are used for testing the walls
of tanks
for determining wall thickness, the condition of the wall material, any
deterioration of the
wall and the detection of the presence of any material build-up on the inside
of the tank.
Testing for wall thickness and deterioration using conventional technology is
generally
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done periodically and, in some situations, requires that the tank be taken out
of service
for testing. These units inspect a small area of the tank and the tests would
need to be
repeated on other areas of the tank to get an overall assessment of the walls
on each tank.
However, these units do not measure the wall condition of the entire
continuous tank
wall, they do not provide ongoing real-time testing including the detection of
material
build-up such as wax paraffins - all of which place limitations in terms of
usefulness.
Additionally, these conventional testing or inspecting units must be operated
manually by
highly trained personnel which often make them expensive to operate, service,
and
maintain.
Thus, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry to address the
deficiencies and inadequacies.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system and related method for
determining a fill level of a fluid within a fluid vessel. Briefly described,
in architecture,
one embodiment of the system, among others, can be implemented as follows. A
vessel
contains a fluid. At least one acoustic sensor is positionable substantially
on an exterior
sidewall of the vessel. A computerized device is in communication with the at
least one
acoustic sensor, wherein a processor of the computerized device receives a
detection
signal from the at least one acoustic sensor and communicates an alert of the
detection
signal.
The present disclosure can also be viewed as providing a system and related
methods for determining a material identity of a fluid being stored in a
vessel. Briefly
described, in architecture, one embodiment of the system, among others, can be
implemented as follows. At least two acoustic sensors are positionable
substantially on an
exterior sidewall of the vessel having the fluid therein, wherein the two
acoustic sensors
are positioned at predetermined heights on the vessel. A computerized device
is in
communication with the at least two acoustic sensors. A processor of the
computerized
device receives a detection signal from one or more of the at least two
acoustic sensors.
The computerized device uses the detection signal and measured information of
the fluid
to derive a temperature-compensated acoustic metric of the fluid which is
compared
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against a material properties database to determine the material identify of
the fluid
within the vessel.
The present disclosure can also be viewed as providing a system and related
methods for determining a condition of a vessel wall. Briefly described, in
architecture,
one embodiment of the system, among others, can be implemented as follows. A
vessel
contains a fluid. First and second acoustic sensors are positionable
substantially on an
exterior sidewall of the vessel. The first and second sensors are each
positioned at a
predetermined height on the vessel. The second acoustic sensor is positioned
angularly
relative to the vessel wall. A computerized device is in communication with
the two
acoustic sensors. A processor of the computerized device receives a detection
signal from
the first and second acoustic sensors. The detection signal from the first
acoustic sensor is
used to determine a vessel wall thickness and the detection signal from the
second
acoustic sensor provides an attenuated signal, wherein the condition of the
vessel wall is
determinable based on the thickness of the wall and an amount of attenuation
in the
attenuated signal.
Other systems, methods, features, and advantages of the present disclosure
will be
or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the
following
drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional
systems,
methods, features, and advantages be included within this description, be
within the
scope of the present disclosure, and be protected by the accompanying claims.
Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the
following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to
scale,
emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the
present
disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate
corresponding
parts throughout the several views.
FIG. 1 is an illustration of a system for determining the weight of a quantity
of
fluid material in a vessel, in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of
the present
disclosure.
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FIG. 2 is an illustration of a system for determining a flow rate for a
quantity of
fluid within a pipe, in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the
present
disclosure.
FIG. 3A is an illustration of a system for determining the weight of a
quantity of
fluid for metering a flow rate of the quantity of fluid to be injected into a
pipe using an
injection system, in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment of the
present
disclosure.
FIG. 3B is an image of an injection system using the system, in accordance
with
the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 4A is an illustration of a system for detecting changes in a flow rate
for a
quantity of fluid from a vessel, in accordance with the first exemplary
embodiment of the
present disclosure.
FIG. 4B is an illustration of a system for detecting changes in a flow rate
for a
quantity of fluid in a pipe, in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment
of the
present disclosure.
FIG. 5A is a flowchart illustrating a method of metering fluid in a tank, in
accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 5B is a flowchart illustrating a method of metering fluid in a pipe, in
accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 6 is an illustration of a method of detecting structural characteristics
of a
vessel of FIG. 1, in accordance with a third exemplary embodiment of the
present
disclosure.
FIG. 7 is an illustration of comprehensive signal processing techniques used
with
the method of detecting structural characteristics of the vessel of FIG. 1, in
accordance
with the third exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 8 is a diagrammatical illustration of a system for determining a fill
level of a
quantity of fluid within a fluid vessel, in accordance with a fourth exemplary
embodiment
of the present disclosure.
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FIG. 9 is a diagrammatical illustration of a system for analyzing the
properties of
a vessel and/or a material within the vessel, in accordance with a fifth
exemplary
embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a fill level of a
fluid
within a fluid vessel, in accordance with the fourth exemplary embodiment of
the
disclosure.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a material
identity of
a fluid being stored in a vessel, in accordance with the fourth exemplary
embodiment of
the disclosure.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method for determining a condition of a
vessel wall, in accordance with the fifth exemplary embodiment of the
disclosure.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system and method for
determining fluid identification, fluid level and fluid flow by weight. In
accordance with
this disclosure, the term "material" may be understood to include liquids,
gasses,
plasmas, or similar materials, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment,
the system
and method can be used to determine the weight of a quantity of fluid in a
vessel. In
another embodiment, the system and method can be used to determine the flow
rate of a
fluid in a pipe using a determined weight of the fluid. The present disclosure
may be used
to detect the type of the material without physical contact to the material
and without
chemical analysis. The techniques may utilize non-linear ultrasound which is
used to
detect the quantitative properties of the material. Other embodiments of the
present
disclosure can be used where physical contact to the material is made and
without
chemical analysis. Other embodiments of the present disclosure may be used to
detect or
monitor the structural health of a container or vessel containing a fluid,
such that a crack,
corrosion, a change in the thickness of the wall or other structural
characteristic of the
container can be detected.
It is well known that the density of a material varies with temperature and
pressure. This variation is typically small for liquids, but it has been
observed that fluid
tank levels increase and decrease noticeably with nothing other than
temperature changes.
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Increasing the pressure on a material decreases the volume of the material and
thus
increases its density. Increasing the temperature of a material (with a few
exceptions)
decreases its density by increasing its volume. Thus, due to the effect on a
material's
volume that temperature and pressure can have, determining the weight of a
material
provides a higher accuracy on the specific quantity of that material.
Determining the
weight of a material serves several other benefits as well. Materials are sold
around the
world by weight. While changes in temperature result in changes in pressure
and/or
volume of a material, the weight, or mass in gravity, of a material does not
change due to
changes in temperature, pressure, or density. Thus, determining the weight of
a material
may provide a more accurate way to measure or confirm the quantity of material
during a
commercial transaction.
The subject disclosure is directed to the use of material metering to
determine
product flow rates of material by using acoustics, which in turn, can be used
to determine
changes in weight of material being transferred. The result is that the
ability to provide
highly accurate measurements of material flow rate by calculating the change
in weight
of the material on a periodic basis, e.g., at predetermined time intervals
over a historic
time period. For example, using acoustics to measure the weight of the
material stored
inside a tank or container every ten seconds can be used to provide the net
change in
material over a specific period, e.g., one minute, which can indicate a flow
rate of the
product leaving or entering the tank or pipe.
FIG. 1 is an illustration of a system 10 for determining a weight of a
quantity of
fluid material in a vessel, in accordance with a first exemplary embodiment of
the present
disclosure. The system 10 for determining the weight of the quantity of fluid,
which may
be referred to herein simply as 'system 10' may be attached to the wall 16 of
a vessel 12
containing the fluid 14. A first acoustic sensor 20 is located along a wall 16
of the vessel
12. A second acoustic sensor 30 is located along a bottom wall 18 of the
vessel 12,
wherein the second acoustic sensor 30 measures a fill level of the fluid 14 in
the vessel
12. A temperature sensor 40 is located on, near, or within the vessel 12,
wherein the
temperature sensor 40 measures a temperature of the fluid 14.
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It is desirable to determine the weight of the fluid 14 because the weight is
a
highly accurate parameter to determine other characteristics of the fluid 14,
such as a
flow rate of fluid 14 out of or in to the vessel 12, such as through an outlet
or inlet pipe
15. Within the chemical and fossil fuel industry, weight is considered the
most accurate
means of material measurement, easily surpassing volume or a measured
quantity, such
as liters, gallons, or barrels. Indeed, tanker shipments of petroleum products
are measured
in metric tons not by the barrel.
In operation, the system 10 may be used with a quantity of fluid 14 where the
specific fluid type is either known or unknown. For example, the vessel 12 may
be filled
with a fluid 14 which is specifically known to be a certain chemical or
substance, or the
type of fluid 14 within the vessel 12 may be unknown. If the fluid type is
unknown, the
first acoustic sensor 20 may be capable of accurately identifying the liquid
material using
known acoustic metrics which are temperature-compensated against a database to
identify the specific liquid type.
Once the fluid 14 is identified, or if it is previously known, the second
acoustic
sensor 30 which is positioned on a bottom wall 18 of the vessel 12 may be used
to
determine an extremely accurate fill level measurement. In other words, the
height of the
upper surface of the fluid 14 within the vessel 12 can be determined here.
Then, using
this determined fill level and engineering information from the vessel 12,
e.g., a strapping
table or chart which identifies a volumetric quantity of fluid at certain
heights or fill
levels of the vessel 12, the exact volume of the fluid 14 can be determined.
The
temperature of the fluid 14 may be taken into consideration at this step,
which may be
achieved through direct temperature measurement, e.g., from the temperature
sensor 40,
or from ambient temperature calculation or other techniques. With the type of
fluid 14
material identified, the height of the upper surface of the fluid 14 in the
vessel 12 and the
temperature of fluid 14 may be used to calculate weight.
While it is possible to utilize the acoustic sensor 30 positioned on the
bottom wall
18 of the vessel 12 to determine the fill level of the fluid 14 within the
vessel 12, it may
also be possible to utilize one or more acoustic sensors in other locations on
the vessel 12
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to determine the fluid 14 fill level. For example, a plurality of acoustic
sensors 30 may be
positioned on the exterior of the vessel 12 in positions along the lower
sidewall 16. These
sensors 30 may be oriented at varying angles relative to the height of the
vessel 12. For
instance, in one example, five or more sensors 30 may be used with
orientations of
varying angles, such as 15 , 30 , 45 , 60 , and 75 , such that each sensor 30
is positioned
to identify the fill level at a particular height in the vessel 12. In another
example, sensors
30 may be positioned at spaced distances along the vertical sidewall of the
vessel 12,
such that each sensor 30 can determine when the fill level of the fluid 14 has
moved
below the height of the sensor 30, respectively, which can be used to identify
fluid 14 fill
level within the vessel 12. Any number of sensors in any positions and with
any
orientations may be used, all combinations of which are considered within the
scope of
the present disclosure. It may be advantageous to utilize a single acoustic
sensor 30
positioned on the bottom wall 18 of the vessel 12, due to efficiency and lower
material
expense, but vessels 12 which do not allow access to their bottom walls 18,
such as those
sitting on the ground surface, may be used with the other configurations of
sensors to
accurately determine a fluid 14 fill level.
If the identity of the fluid 14 material type in the vessel 12 cannot be
determined,
the density of the fluid 14 can be sensed and determined, and it is possible
to calculate the
actual weight of the specific fluid 14 based on the sensed and determined
density, volume
and temperature of the fluid. Using this information, it is then possible to
accurately
calculate the weight of the fluid 14 at a specific point in time.
The calculations completed by the system 10 may be processed with a
computerized device 50 in communication with the first acoustic sensor 20, the
second
acoustic sensor 30, and the temperature sensor 40. To determine the flow of
the fluid 14
by weight, the processor of the computerized device 50 may calculate the
weight of the
fluid 14 at two or more times, or at predetermined time intervals, based on at
least the
sensed fill level provided by acoustic sensor 30 and the temperature from
temperature
sensor 40. The computerized device 50 may receive the sensed information via
signals 52
from the sensors, which may be wired, wireless, or any combination thereof.
The
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computerized device 50 may be a hand-held computing device such as a tablet
computer,
a smart phone, a reader, a laptop, or a stationary computing device, or any
other
electronic device capable of receiving the signals and calculating the data
points using
algorithms and processing. The computerized device 50 may include a display
screen or
GUI which provides relevant information to a human user, or it may be
interconnected
with another computing device through a network or the Internet to transfer
the relevant
information elsewhere.
It is also noted that the system 10 can be implemented on vessel 12 without
intrusion. The first and second acoustic sensors 20, 30 need only be adhered
to the
outside of the vessel 12 and the temperature sensor 40 can be located outside
or inside the
vessel in a convenient position for sensing temperature of the fluid 14. The
vessel 12 does
not need to be emptied or otherwise opened in order to configure the system
10. Where a
vessel 12 is a double-walled vessel, such as shown in FIG. 1, the first and
second acoustic
sensors 20, 30 may be located on an exterior surface of the vessel 12, or
external to an
interior surface of the inner sidewall 16A, e.g., in a gap between the inner
sidewall 16A
and the outer sidewall 16B. The temperature sensor 40 may be placed through
the inner
and/or outer sidewalls 16A, 16B, e.g., in a position extending from exterior
of the vessel
12 to the interior of the vessel 12, such that it can maintain good
temperature readings on
the fluid 14 within the vessel 12. In other examples, the temperature sensor
40 could be
positioned in other locations and would not necessarily need to be in contact
with the
fluid 14 or the vessel 12. All types of temperature sensors 40 can be used,
including
infrared temperature sensors, thermistors, other temperature sensing devices,
or any
combination thereof. Of course, it is also possible for the first and second
acoustic
sensors 20, 30 and/or the temperature sensor 40 to be mounted within a vessel
12 if it is
desired.
In one of many alternative configurations, it may be possible to use multiple
acoustic sensors to determine the flow rate of fluid 14 within a vessel 12, in
particular, a
vessel 12 designed or intended for the transportation of fluid 14, such as a
pipe, pipeline,
or similar fluid-transporting vessel 12. Similar to the configuration
described relative to
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FIG. 1, the exact flow rates may be determined by weight of fluid. FIG. 2 is
an
illustration of a system 10 for determining a flow rate for a quantity of
fluid within a pipe
60, in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present
disclosure. Indeed,
FIG. 2 illustrates the system 10 with a pipe 60, which is a vessel which
contains and
transports the quantity of fluid 66. A first acoustic sensor 22 is located
along a wall 16 of
the pipe 60, or in a similar position, such as substantially on a wall 16 of
the pipe 60. A
second acoustic sensor 32 is located along the pipe 60 at a specified or known
distance
from first sensor 22. A differential time of flight or similar calculation of
the fluid 66 in
the pipe 60 may be determined using readings of the first acoustic sensor 22
and the
second acoustic sensor 32. The differential time of flight may then be used to
determine
the velocity flow of fluid 66.
In one example, the calculation of the velocity of the material may be
determined
as follows. The first acoustic sensor 22, i.e., transducer, generates a signal
that is received
by the second acoustic sensor 32 on the pipe 60. The time taken for the signal
to travel
from the first acoustic sensor 22 to the second acoustic sensor 32 is known as
the Time of
Flight (ToF). Then the second acoustic sensor 32 generates a signal which is
received
from the first acoustic sensor 22 and the difference between the two ToF's is
taken as a
measure of the velocity of the flow of the material in the pipe 60. From the
first acoustic
sensor 22 to the second acoustic sensor 32, from the known density of the
fluid 66 in the
pipe 60, the flow of the material can be calculated:
Dtr
ToF = ¨
Usp
Where Dt, is the distance between the first and second acoustic sensors 22,
32.
Depending on the configuration, this can be equal to the diameter of the pipe
60 or the
least distance the signal between will travel between both transducers. , Usp
is the
temperature compensated speed of sound in the material flowing through the
pipeline:
Do..
ToF 1 =
U sp
Db..
ToF2 =
U sp
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Where Uspi- = ( Usp ¨ V) and 147,2 = ( Usp + V), where (V) is the velocity of
the
material. The velocity can be calculated when the acoustic sensors are on the
same side of
the pipe 60, in which case, the distance and the component of the speed
accounting for
the angle of the path the signal travels between the two acoustic sensors and
the back wall
of the pipe is calculated.
AToF = (ToF2_ToFi) is the time difference between ToFi and ToF2
AToF = Dtr __ Dtr ¨ Dtr Dtr
111 - sp II2sp ( USI3 ¨ V) ( US p + V)
Rearranging the above equation for velocity, V of the velocity of the material
in the
pipeline () can be derived from the following equation.
V = AToF *31js
2*Dtr
It is noted that the differential time of flight may be calculated both in a
bidirectional manner and/or in a unidirectional manner. For a bidirectional
calculation,
the differential time of flight of the fluid 66 may be calculated based on
readings of the
first and second acoustic sensors 22, 32 in two directions of the pipe 60, for
example, in
both linear forward and backward directions along a flow of the pipe 60. For a
unidirectional calculation, the differential time of flight may be calculated
by measuring a
time of flight in one direction of the pipe 60 and comparing it to an imputed
or calculated
time of flight based on an acoustic wave velocity of the fluid in a stationary
state. As
opposed to directly measuring this imputed value of the fluid in a stationary
state, this
value may be achieved using the fluid 66 material identity and the temperature
to derive
or lookup the imputed time of flight based on the wave velocity. Then, the
wave velocity
is applied to the distance between the two acoustic sensors 22, 32 to derive a
calculated
stationary time of flight. In this way, the time of flight in one direction
may be effectively
compared to the expected acoustic wave through the fluid 66 when it is in a
static or non-
moving position within the pipe 60.
A temperature sensor 42 is positioned with pipe 60, wherein the temperature
sensor 42 senses a temperature of the fluid 66. While a temperature sensor 42
in physical
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contact with the pipe 60 may be used, the temperature of the fluid 66 in the
pipe 60 may
also be provided by alternative methods, including temperature sensing devices
which
would not necessarily need to be in contact with the fluid 66 or the pipe 60.
All types of
temperature sensors 42 can be used, including infrared temperature sensors,
thermistors,
other temperature sensing devices, or any combination thereof.
In addition, multiple calculations can be done during specific time intervals
which can be used to determine the flow rate of the fluid 66 during
fluctuations in actual
flow rates over longer periods of time interval measurements. As a simple
example, a
straight 2-foot radius pipe has a known diesel (53 lb/ft3 density at 15 C)
flowing at 3 ft/s.
The area of the pipe is 12.5 ft2, leading to a flow volume of 37.5 ft3/sec.
Multiplying the
flow volume by the density provides the weight of the diesel flowing through
the pipe at
1,988 lb/s. If at the next measurement the velocity changed to 3.5 ft/s, then
the weight of
the diesel flowing through the pipe would be an increase to 2,319 lb/s. These
calculations
can be performed at specific time intervals to identify the changes or
fluctuations
between the time intervals, which in turn, can be used to determine flow rates
over a
longer period of time.
These weight-flow measurements may be taken periodically, from every few
seconds to every hour, or any other time period. The changes in these weight-
flow rates
over an extended period of time, which measure the varying amounts of fluid 66
flowing
through the pipe 60, provide an accurate normalized calculation of material
flow rate by
weight. From this information, highly accurate and standardized fluid volume
flows, e.g.,
gallons per hour, etc., and fluid weight flows, e.g., pounds per hour, etc.,
can be
identified.
Moreover, the system 10 can be used to determine the fluid temperature, fluid
identity and specific information as to density and weight of the fluid 66 in
real-time or
substantially real-time, which provides a substantial improvement over other
metering
devices which do not operate in real-time. It is also noted that the system 10
can be
implemented on pipe 60 without intrusion. The first and second acoustic
sensors 22, 32
need only be attached to the outside of the pipe 60 and the temperature sensor
42 can be
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located in a convenient position for sensing temperature. The pipe 60 does not
need to be
emptied or otherwise opened in order to configure the system 10.
The calculations completed by the system 10 may be processed with a
computerized device 50 in communication with the acoustic sensor 20, which
determines
the identity of the fluid material, and with other acoustic sensors 22, 32, as
well as the
temperature sensor 42. To determine the flow rate by weight of the fluid 66,
the processor
of the computerized device 50 may calculate the flow rate by weight of the
fluid 66 at
predetermined time intervals based on the sensed and determined volume flow
rate and
fluid density. The computerized device 50 may receive the sensed information
via signals
52 from the sensors, which may be wired, wireless, or any combination thereof.
The
computerized device 50 may be a hand-held computing device such as a tablet
computer,
a smart phone, a reader, a laptop, a stationary computing device, any other
electronic
device or service capable of receiving the signals and calculating the data
points using
algorithms and processing. The computerized device 50 may include a display
screen or
GUI which provides relevant information to a human user, or it may be
interconnected
with another computing device through a network, the Internet or cloud service
to
transfer the relevant information elsewhere.
The system 10 described relative to FIGS. 1-2 may have a variety of uses in a
variety of different industries and settings. These may include use in
chemical industry or
.. the fossil fuel industry to determine material type based on weight, and/or
to determine a
flow rate of that material within a vessel or pipe. The system may also find
uses in
environmental analysis, with recreational items, such as swimming pools, or in
other
settings. One specific use for the system 10 is with injection units used in
the fossil fuel
industry. An injection unit may be used to inject a quantity of fluid chemical
additives
into a petroleum pipeline to protect the pipes in the pipeline against
corrosion or for
another purpose. The amount of chemical injected may be small, compared to the
relative
volume of the petroleum in the pipe, but it is often critical to inject the
correct amount.
Thus, it is imperative to know the exact injection flow rate of the fluid
chemical into the
pipeline.
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FIG. 3A is an illustration of a system for determining the weight of a
quantity of
fluid 14A for metering a flow rate of the quantity of fluid 14A to be injected
into a pipe
60 using an injection system, in accordance with a second exemplary embodiment
of the
present disclosure. FIG. 3B is an image of an injection system using the
system 10, in
.. accordance with the second exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 3A
illustrates the system 10 depicted and described relative to FIG. 1, which has
a vessel 12
containing the quantity of fluid 14A. A first acoustic sensor 20 is located
along a sidewall
16 of the vessel 12, and identifies the fluid material. A second acoustic
sensor 30 is
located along a bottom wall 18 of the vessel 12, wherein the second acoustic
sensor 30
senses a fill level of the quantity of fluid 14A in the vessel 12. A
temperature sensor 40 is
located proximate to the vessel 12, wherein the temperature sensor 40 senses a
temperature of the quantity of fluid 14A.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the quantity of fluid 14A, which in this example is a
fluid
chemical, may be housed within the vessel 12 which is connected to the
pipeline 60
through a network of pipes 62, where the fluid chemical 14A is pumped from the
vessel
12 with a fluid pump 64. The pipeline 60 may have a quantity of other fluid
66, such as
fossil fuels or another fluid, depending on the design and use of the
pipeline. The system
10 may be used in a variety of ways to accurately inject the fluid chemical
14A into the
pipe 60. For example, as discussed relative to FIG. 1, the first acoustic
sensor 20 may
sense a material type of the fluid chemical 14A in the vessel 12, while the
second
acoustic sensor 30 may sense a fill level of the fluid chemical 14A. As the
fluid chemical
14A is dispensed via the pipes 62 and pump 64, calculations may be performed
by the
computerized device 50 sent via signals 52 at varying periods of time or
intervals to
determine the fill level at each time period. These calculations can then be
used to
determine the flow rate of the chemical fluid 14A from the vessel 12, which in
turn, can
be used to control the pump 64 to dispense the fluid chemical 14A into the
pipe 60 at the
desired rate.
In another example, the acoustic sensors 20, 22, and 32 positioned on or
proximate to the pipe 60 may be used to determine the flow rate of the fluid
66 through
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the pipe 60 using the technique discussed previously relative to FIGS. 1-2,
e.g., using the
acoustic sensor 20, which determines the fluid identity, and using first and
second
acoustic sensors 22, 32, which are used to determine the flow rate, along with
the
temperature sensor 42. When the flow rate of the fluid 66 through the pipe 60
is
determined, the system 10 may control the pump 64 to dispense a portion of the
fluid
chemical 14A from the vessel 12 into the pipe 60. If the flow rate of the
fluid 66 within
the pipe 60 changes or fluctuates, the system 10 may be able to adjust the
flow rate of the
chemical fluid 14A from the vessel through the pipes 62 and into the pipe 60,
thereby
accurately controlling a metering of the flow rate of the fluid chemical 14A
into the pipe
60. In this way, the system can dynamically control the injection of the fluid
chemical
14A into the pipe 60 to ensure that the desired quantity of fluid chemical 14A
is being
injected, despite fluctuations in flow rate of the fluid 66 within the pipe
60.
In a third example, the flow rates of the fluid 14A within the vessel 12 or
within
the pipe 62 and the flow rate of the fluid 66 within the pipe 60 may be
determined, such
that the pump can be dynamically controlled to continually adjust the rate of
injection of
the fluid chemical 14A into the pipe 60, and the level of fluid chemical 14A
can be
monitored to ensure it is not inadvertently depleted. Any combination of these
examples
may be used to detect the flow rates of fluids 14A, 66 or otherwise control a
metering
device, such as the pump 64, to inject or transport one fluid to another.
Similar to FIGS. 1-2, the calculations in FIG. 3A completed by the system 10
may
be processed with one or more computerized devices 50 in communication with
the
acoustic sensor 20, which determines the identity of the fluid material in
either the vessel
12 or the pipe 60, the acoustic sensor 30 which determines the fill level of
the fluid 14A
in the vessel 12, and with other acoustic sensors 22, 32 which determine flow
rate in the
pipe, as well as the temperature sensors 40, 42. While two computerized
devices 50 are
illustrated in FIG. 3A, any number of computerized devices 50 may be used. The
one or
more computerized devices 50 may receive the sensed information via signals 52
from
the sensors, which may be wired, wireless, or any combination thereof. The one
or more
computerized devices 50 may be a hand-held computing device such as a tablet
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computer, a smart phone, a reader, a laptop, a stationary computing device,
any other
electronic device or service capable of receiving the signals and calculating
the data
points using algorithms and processing. The one or more computerized devices
50 may
include a display screen or GUI which provides relevant information to a human
user, or
it may be interconnected with another computing device through a network, the
Internet
or cloud service to transfer the relevant information elsewhere.
One of the many benefits of the system 10 is that it can be used on existing
fluid
infrastructure without significant alterations. For example, as shown in FIG.
3B, the skid-
mounted injection unit may be used in a remote location where petroleum is
stored and/or
piped through an underground pipe 60. In these types of locations, it is often
not possible
to access the pipe 60 (shown in broken lines) because it is buried or
otherwise not easily
accessible. The skid-mounted injection unit may be placed over the pipe 60
such that the
chemical additive can be injected at the appropriate location along the
pipeline. An
electrical power supply may not exist at this remote location, so a solar
power source 70
.. and battery 72 may be used to power the pump 64 which controls injection of
the fluid
chemical into the pipe 60. The system 10 has low power requirements which can
easily
be met with the existing solar power source on injection units. Additionally,
the sensors
of the system 10 can easily be integrated into the existing liquid vessels of
injection units,
either through retrofit or original manufacture. It is noted, of course, that
the system 10
can be used with other petroleum fluid vessels, including tankers, railcars,
etc.
The present disclosure can also provide benefits to fluid flow monitoring in
situations where the flow rate (of a fluid through a pipe) changes. FIG. 4A is
an
illustration of a system for detecting changes in a flow rate for a quantity
of fluid 14 from
a vessel 12, in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present
disclosure.
FIG. 4B is an illustration of a system for detecting changes in a flow rate
for a quantity of
fluid 66 in a pipe 60, in accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of
the present
disclosure. As shown in both FIGS. 4A-4B, the system 10 may be implemented as
a
substantially unitary metering device which is positionable around an inlet or
outlet pipe
12A of the vessel 12 (FIG. 4A) or around a pipe 60 of a pipeline or another
fluid delivery
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system (FIG. 4B) to monitor for fluid movement. Once any movement of the fluid
14, 66
is detected, the system 10 would measure flow rates. The system 10 may also
identify the
type of fluid material, if desired, such that complete records of all fluid
14, 66 flows by
volume and weight as well as the actual material type can be determined. In
both FIGS.
4A-4B, if fluid 14, 66 is not flowing in pipe 12A, 60, the system 10 can ping
the first and
second acoustic sensors 22 and 32 periodically to determine when the fluid
flow starts.
The system 10 may be programmed to ping as needed to determine when the flow
of
fluid 14, 66 stops. The opposite may also be achieved, i.e., where there is an
existing flow
in the pipe 12A, 60 and the system 10 determines when a fluid flow stops. The
ability of
system 10 to determine when flow of fluid 14, 66 starts and stops provides
additional
accuracy in measuring the weight of fluid passing through pipe 12A, 60.
Additionally, it
is noted that the system 10 may be capable of bi-directional flowrate
detection, vessel
mass balance capacity, and totalizations in both directions of flow.
As can be understood, the system 10 described herein and related apparatuses
and
methods may provide substantial benefits to metering flow rates of fluids. To
name a few
of these benefits, the system can be used to accurately measure fluid
transfers from or
into tanks, containers or vessels to produce accurate total product movement.
The system
10 can also be used to accurately produce custodial transfer documentation of
fluid
materials between third parties. The system 10 is also capable of being used
to accurately
identify leaks of liquid material from a tank, container or vessel, as well as
accurately
monitor inventory liquid materials stored in a tank, container or vessel.
FIG. 5A is a flowchart 100 illustrating a method of metering a fluid in a
tank, in
accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. It
should be
noted that any process descriptions or blocks in flow charts should be
understood as
representing modules, segments, portions of code, or steps that include one or
more
instructions for implementing specific logical functions in the process, and
alternate
implementations are included within the scope of the present disclosure in
which
functions may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including
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substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality
involved, as
would be understood by those reasonably skilled in the art of the present
disclosure.
As shown by block 102, acoustic metrics and temperature information are used
to
identify a specific fluid being measured. Once the fluid identity and
temperature have
been established, the acoustic velocity of the fluid is used to calculate the
fluid level
inside the vessel (block 104). The fluid volume is determined using
dimensional volume
information of the vessel (block 106). The density of the fluid is determined
using the
temperature and material identification (block 108). The weight of the fluid
within the
vessel is accurately determined using the volume of fluid and the density of
the fluid
(block 110). Periodic weight calculations of the fluid are made, whereby
actual changes
in fluid weight are determined, and whereby actual fluid flow rates, fully
adjusted to
temperate variations in material volume, are determined (block 112).
FIG. 5B is a flowchart 130 illustrating a method of metering a fluid in a
pipe, in
accordance with the first exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. It
should be
noted that any process descriptions or blocks in flow charts should be
understood as
representing modules, segments, portions of code, or steps that include one or
more
instructions for implementing specific logical functions in the process, and
alternate
implementations are included within the scope of the present disclosure in
which
functions may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including
substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality
involved, as
would be understood by those reasonably skilled in the art of the present
disclosure.
As shown by block 132, acoustic metrics and temperature information are used
to
identify a specific fluid being measured. Once the fluid identity and
temperature have
been established, the acoustic flow velocity of the fluid is used to calculate
the volume
flow rate inside the pipe (block 134). The fluid volume flow rate is
determined using
dimensional volume information of the pipe and calculated flow rate (block
136). The
density of the fluid is determined using the temperature and material
identification (block
138). The flow rate by weight of the fluid within the pipe is accurately
determined using
the volume flow of fluid, and the density of the fluid (block 140). Periodic
weight flow
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rate calculations of the fluid are made, whereby actual changes in fluid
weight are
determined, and whereby actual fluid flow rates, fully adjusted to temperate
variations in
material volume, are determined (block 142).
While FIGS. 1-5B primarily discuss the detection of the material weight and to
.. determine a flow rate of the material, similar techniques can be used to
detect structural
characteristics of a container or vessel containing the fluid. FIG. 6 is an
illustration 200 of
a method of detecting structural characteristics of a vessel of FIG. 1, in
accordance with a
third exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is an
illustration 300 of
comprehensive signal processing techniques used with the method of detecting
structural
characteristics of the vessel 12 of FIG. 1, in accordance with the third
exemplary
embodiment of the present disclosure.
Non-linear ultra-wide band acoustic/ultrasound signal is excited using
linear/forward/reverse/exponential chirp. Apart from measuring absolute time-
of-flight,
differential time-of-flight is also recorded. Since sound waves are dispersive
in nature,
dispersion characteristics are used to determine temperature effects and
localized
structural health monitoring which mainly includes detection of corrosion,
delamination,
and cracks. To achieve high accuracy and reliability, received signal (either
from same
transducer in pulse-echo mode or from the second transducer in pitch-catch
mode) is
processed in data acquisition and processing system. Comprehensive signal
processing,
using multiple signal processing tools, can be used. Some of the key extracted
features
are absolute time-of-flight, differential time-of-flight, phase, magnitude,
and frequency.
With reference to FIGS. 1, 6, and 7, together, the method and system disclosed
in
FIG. 6 may be used with the structural features disclosed in FIG. 1 to detect
structural
characteristics of a vessel 12. For example, the vessel 12, or other
structural container
.. capable of holding the fluid, may be constructed from parts which are
conducting and
non-conducting. The processing techniques utilize non-linear ultra-wide band
acoustic/ultrasound signal which is excited using
linear/forward/reverse/exponential
chirp. Apart from measuring absolute time-of-flight, differential time-of-
flight is also
recorded. Since sound waves are dispersive in nature, dispersion
characteristics are used
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to determine temperature effects and localized structural health monitoring of
the vessel
12 itself. This may include the detection of corrosion, delamination, and
cracks, among
other structural characteristics which are desired to be monitored or
detected. To achieve
high accuracy and reliability, the received signal (either from same
transducer in pulse-
echo mode or from the second transducer in pitch-catch mode) is processed in
data
acquisition and processing system. FIG. 6 provides further details on the
possible signal
processing techniques, including more comprehensive signal processing using
multiple
signal processing tools. Some of the key extracted features are absolute time-
of-flight,
differential time-of-flight, phase, magnitude, and frequency.
As a working example, the use of ultrasonic guided waves for damage detection
in pipes has been studied. Generally longitudinal (axial symmetric) modes are
excited
and detected by PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) transducers in transmission mode
for this
purpose. In most studies the change in the received signal strength with the
extent of
damage has been investigated while in this study the change in the phase, the
time-of-
.. flight (TOF) and differential time-of-flight of the propagating wave modes
with the
damage size is investigated. The cross-correlation technique is used to record
the small
changes in the TOF as the damage size varies in steel pipes. Dispersion curves
are
calculated to carefully identify the propagating wave modes. Differential TOF
is recorded
and compared for different propagating wave modes. Feature extraction
techniques are
used for extracting phase and time¨frequency information. The main advantage
of this
approach is that unlike the recorded signal strength the TOF and the phase are
extracted
which are not affected by the bonding condition between the transducer and the
pipe.
Therefore, if the pipe is not damaged but the transducer¨pipe bonding is
deteriorated then
although the received signal strength is altered the TOF and phase remain same
avoiding
the false positive alarms of damage. The goal is not only to detect the damage
but also to
quantify it, or in other words to estimate the damage size. The transient
signals for
pristine and damaged pipes were processed using the Fast Fourier Transform
(FFT),
Wigner-Ville Distribution Transform (WVDT), S-Transform (ST) and Hilbert Huang
Transform (HHT). It is demonstrated that the time-of-flight is sensitive to
the size of the
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damage on the pipe wall. The instantaneous phase extracted by HHT can also be
used for
detecting the damage. For estimating the damage size the phase shift
associated with the
L(0,1) mode should be monitored after separating the L(0,1) mode from the
L(0,2) mode
by considering appropriate intrinsic mode function contributions. FFT, S-
Transform and
.. WVD Transform did not show any significant and consistent shift in the
frequency and
amplitude of the propagating waves for 1.6 mm diameter damage. However,
noticeable
change in the magnitude of the propagating wave was observed for 3.25 mm and
6.35
mm hole type damage. During in-situ pipe inspection the received signal
amplitude drop
can be also a result of the deterioration of the bonding between the sensors
and the pipe.
Therefore, instead of the received signal strength monitoring, it is
recommended that the
changes in TOF and the signal phase shift should be measured for pipe wall
damage
detection and monitoring, since these parameters are not affected by the
bonding
condition between the transducers and the pipe. The results show that it is
possible to
detect and quantify hole type defects in a pipe by monitoring the TOF
variation and phase
shifts of the appropriate guided wave modes.
In another example, the change in TOF due to corrosion in reinforcing steel
bars
was measured. The transient signals for non-corroded and corroded samples are
processed using FFT, STFT, CWT, and ST. The TOF information is obtained from
the
ST and the cross-correlation technique. It was demonstrated that the TOF of
the L(0,1)
mode shows high sensitivity to the corrosion level in steel bars. FFT, STFT,
CWT, and
ST show significant changes in the amplitude of the propagating waves. Due to
dispersive nature of propagating waves, it is better to use ST instead of FFT,
STFT, and
CWT for signal analysis. At higher frequencies, ST gives reliable results in
the time
domain, but some information related to the frequency is lost. Reduction in
the amplitude
of the recorded signal can be caused by corrosion as well as the deterioration
of the
mechanical bonding between the sensors and the specimens but such
deterioration of
bonding does not affect TOF. Therefore, TOF measurement is more reliable for
quantitative measurement of corrosion level. L(0,1) mode is found to be very
reliable for
corrosion detection and monitoring its progress. The corrosion induced TOF
variation
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obtained from the ST and cross-correlation matched well with each other and
also closely
matched with the theoretical dispersion curves. Calculated dispersion curves
helped to
identify the propagating guided wave mode used to monitor the corrosion level
in
reinforcing steel bars.
In a related embodiment, non-linear ultrasound testing
(characterization/evaluation) can also be used for measuring the strength of
material.
Materials can be isotropic and anisotropic (metals and non-metals). For
example, additive
materials within the manufacturing industry, such as the 3D printing industry,
can use a
combination of virgin powder and used powder which is left over from earlier
build. It is
known that material properties such as Modulus of Elasticity and density
change due to
changes in temperature, pressure and other factors. Therefore, structural
integrity
independent of geometry is directly related to how many times recycled powder
can be
reused. Similarly, strength of composite materials and concrete (included but
not limited
to conventional concrete, geopolymer concrete etc.) is also directly related
to
composition. In case of concrete, aggregate size, curing time, quality of
cement, etc. can
affect the strength. Accordingly, the strength and reliability of concrete
during different
stages of curing is successfully detected using non-linear ultrasound testing
technique.
In a related embodiment of the subject disclosure, acoustic sensors can be
used for
determining a fill level on a fluid vessel or any type of fluid tank, whereby
an alarm is
activated or sounded if the fluid level moves beyond a predetermined level. As
discussed
in the Background section, conventional tank fill level sensors are available
to determine
a fill level by measuring from the top down to the liquid surface, or through
the use of
embedded radar devices, sensor wires and tubes which are mounted inside the
tank.
However, these fill level sensors are not highly accurate due to the presence
of vapors
which can distort the distance measurements to the actual fluid level.
Additionally, these
conventional fill level sensors must be installed inside tanks or containers
which often
have internal floating roofs and other obstructions that make the conventional
fill level
sensors problematic to operate, service and maintain.
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In accordance with a fourth exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a
tank fill level sensor with alarm can be used to determine the various
criteria pertaining to
a tank, including presence of fluid within the tank, the presence of a
structural material,
or the lack of liquid or structural materials, i.e., where an air gap exists,
at specific levels
within a fluid vessel. The fluid vessel may commonly be one that contains oil,
gas,
another petroleum product, but the fluid vessel may hold or contain any other
type of
fluid. It is noted that the identity of the fluid type need not be determined
or known.
FIG. 8 is a diagrammatical illustration of a system 400 for determining a fill
level
of a quantity of fluid within a fluid vessel, in accordance with a fourth
exemplary
embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown, a fluid vessel 412 contains a
quantity of
fluid 414 within an interior compartment thereof. The fluid vessel 412 or tank
has a
bottom structure, one or more sidewalls 416, and a roof 418. At least one
acoustic sensor
420A is positionable along a sidewall 416 of the vessel 412, wherein the at
least one
acoustic sensor 420A senses a fill level of the quantity of fluid 414 in the
vessel 412.
While the system 400 may be operable with only one acoustic sensor 420A, it
may be
possible to use multiple sensors. For example, in FIG. 8, the two acoustic
sensors 420A
and 420B are positioned near an upper part of the vessel 412 to sense a
possible overflow
of the vessel 412. The acoustic sensors are positioned on the outside of the
vessel 412,
such that they do not need to come into contact with the fluid 414 inside, nor
do they
need to be positioned fully or partially within the internal compartment of
the vessel 412.
One or more additional acoustic sensors 430A, 430B may also be included at
other
locations of the vessel 412, such as towards a floor of the vessel 412, as
shown in FIG. 8,
to sense a low quantity of fluid 414 therein. Positioning additional acoustic
sensors 430A,
430B at any other location or locations on the vessel 412 is also possible.
The system 400
may include any of the features disclosed relative to any other figure or
embodiment of
this disclosure.
One benefit of the present system 400 is that by using two or more acoustic
sensors 420A, 420B, 430A, 430B, or similar transducers, located relatively
close to each
other, e.g., approximately a few inches apart, on the exterior of the vessel
412, it is
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possible to detect the presence of fluid 414 and other fluid properties, such
as acoustic
velocity and fluid density, an attenuation of the fluid, a fluid viscosity, a
resonance of the
fluid, and/or an absorption spectra of the fluid within the vessel 412 at that
location. This
detection of the fluid properties can be achieved irrespective of the design
of the vessel
412, including internal obstructions, such as pipes, structural bracing, seals
or
membranes, floats, a roof structure, or other structures. Accordingly,
acoustic sensors
420A, 420B positioned near the top of the vessel 412 can detect when the fluid
level is
nearing the top and thus prone to overfilling, while sensors at or near the
bottom 430A,
430B of the vessel 412 can detect when the fluid level is getting too low. The
location of
the acoustic sensors may be selected by a vessel 412 operator or another
individual, and
any location along the vessel 412 may be chosen.
In one example specific to the petroleum industry, it may be desired to
install the
sensors at four different preset levels on the tank. These positions of the
sensor are shown
in FIG. 8, and include: 1) High Level of sensor 420A; 2) High-High Level at
sensor
420B; 3) Low Level at sensor 430A; and 4) Low-Low Level at sensor 430B. This
positioning of the sensors may allow for dual detection, i.e., an initial
warning and a
secondary warning, for a fluid level near the top of the vessel 412 and/or the
bottom of
the vessel 412, respectively. Similar arrangements can be used for detecting
structural
components, such as a floating roof, or an air gap, or other situations where
there is a lack
of fluids or structural components in the vessel 412. For any sensor location,
the system
400 can provide an overfill or an underfill alarm application which uses the
two or more
sensors 420A, 420B, 430A, 430B located at a specific level on the vessel 412
to
determine the presence of a fluid, a structural material or air gap at that
point. When
either a fill level is detected or not detected at the desired location of the
sensors 420A,
420B, 430A, 430B, the system 400 can communicate the detection using a wired
or
wireless alarm or communication system 440 such that appropriate personnel can
be
notified. This may include various types of alarms and alerting features, such
as
electronic communications, audible sirens, lights, etc., or it may be used to
trigger
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electro-mechanical devices. For example, a detected overfill alarm can be used
to shut off
a fluid pump which is delivering fluid into the vessel 412.
It is noted that in addition for the system 400 to provide warnings to
operators to
potential overfill conditions, it can also provide alarms as to fluid levels
that are too low.
.. The reason for concern about fluid levels being too low are related
generally to floating
roofs of the vessels being potentially damaged and/or to detect the presence
of air space
under the floating roof that can present a potentially hazardous situation in
terms of fire
(presence of air next to flammable fluids). It can also be useful to identify
or prevent
environmental air quality issues or emissions situations. When the level of
the fluid 414
has been sensed to fall below a position proximate to the bottom of the vessel
412, a
signal may be communicated to the wired or wireless alarm or communication
system
440 to notify of the situation.
The system 400 disclosed herein is an improvement over the conventional
detection systems for a number of reasons. One such reason is that the system
400 uses
sensors 420A, 420B, etc., which can be mounted on the outside or external
surface of the
vessel 412, whereas conventional fluid level sensors are generally mounted
inside the
tank, such as on an interior sidewall of the tank, on an interior surface of a
top cover, or
located in another position within the tank itself. Additionally, system 400
can measure
additional fluid parameters from the external surface of the vessel. These
conventional
sensors may include radar devices mounted on the interior roof of the tank,
wire sensors
running from the top of the tank to the bottom that detects small electrical
conduction
when liquid is present, as well as mechanical floats, among others. These
conventional
units are expensive to install and are often not functional depending on the
design of the
tank. For example, tanks that have internal floating roofs will provide
challenges for
.. many of these interior sensors. Additional problems with these conventional
systems are
related to failure due to environmental material degradation of the internal
sensors, such
as corrosion of the interior sensors, due to the constant presence of
corrosive liquids and
gases inside the tanks.
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Another improvement of the subject disclosure over conventional systems is the
system 400 does not require a clear acoustic path across the interior of the
vessel 412,
unlike conventional systems which typically do require a clear acoustic path.
In the
system 400, the sensors 420A, 420B, 430A, 430B are mounted on the exterior of
the
vessel 412 and are not affected by the presence of objects internal of the
sidewall of the
vessel 412, including pipes, cabling, and/or structural support structures.
Indeed, any
obstructions in the path will not disrupt the acoustic signal of the system
400. Since most
petroleum tanks are designed with floating roofs for safety purposes, and thus
have
structural and mechanical components in the acoustic path, a vessel 412 with a
clear
.. acoustic path is difficult to achieve. Thus, the system 400 can greatly
improve fluid level
detection over conventional systems by being able to detect the fluid level
irrespective of
structural or mechanical components in the acoustic path. In some cases, the
system 400
can be used to detect the presence of floating roof structures as they pass by
the sensors.
The system 400 may also be able to detect other structures within the tank
including
secondary floating roof seal devices.
It is further noted that the use of a plurality of sensors to determine the
fill level of
the fluid 414 within the vessel 412 may be enhanced with the use of data
analysis
software, such as machine learning. For example, when a fluid level is higher
than the
most vertical sensor 420 on a vessel, it may still be possible to determine
the fluid fill
.. level based on acoustic data collected from a series of sensors mounted
vertically on the
vessel. These sensors may emit a variety of acoustic signals which are
processed within
the computing device 440 using a machine learning application. The machine
learning
application may be able to accurately determine the fill level of the fluid
414 in the vessel
412.
In a related embodiment of the subject disclosure, acoustic sensors can be
used to
calculate the actual fluid levels between sensor units effectively acting as a
variable fill
level sensor and can be used for detecting structural characteristics of a
container or
vessel designed to contain fluid. As discussed in the Background section,
there is a
shortage of real-time tank wall testing units available to determine wall
thickness, the
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condition of the wall material, any deterioration of the wall material, and to
detect the
presence of any build-up of material to the inside of the wall. To overcome
these
shortcomings, FIG. 9 is a diagrammatical illustration of a system 500 for
analyzing the
properties of a vessel and/or a material within the vessel, in accordance with
a fifth
.. exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 9, the
vessel 512 has
sidewalls 516 and a bottom wall 518 which together contain a quantity of fluid
514. The
sidewalls 516 include an interior surface 516A positioned interfacing the
fluid 514 and an
exterior surface 516B which is positioned interfacing an exterior atmosphere.
At least
two sensors units 560 are positioned on the exterior surface 516B of the
vessel 512,
which are in wired or wireless communication with a computerized device 550.
Each
sensor unit 560 includes at least two transducers 520, 530, and a temperature
sensor 540
and the operation of the two transducers 520, 530 relative to the sidewall 516
of the
vessel 512 and the fluid 514 is shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 9.
As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 9, one of the transducers 520 produces a
longitudinal acoustic wave into sidewall 516. The reflection of this acoustic
wave is used
to determine if fluid is present within the vessel 512 at the vertical height
of the
transducer 520 and to determine the sidewall 516 thickness. The second
transducer 530 is
mounted at an angle relative to the sidewall 516 of the vessel 512. For
example, the
second transducer 530 may be mounted on an angle block 532 or similar
structure, which
mounts to the exterior surface 516B of the sidewall 516 and provides an
angular platform
or surface for mounting the second transducer 530, such that the relative
orientation of
the second transducer 530 to the sidewall 516 is angular, i.e., a non-
perpendicular
position of the acoustic wave direction of the second transducer 530 relative
to the height
of the sidewall 516. The angular position of the second transducer 530 can
vary, as
needed. In one example, the angular position may be substantially 45 .
In operation, the second transducer 530 transmits a longitudinal acoustic
wave, or
shear wave, within the sidewall 516. This longitudinal wave travels along the
sidewall
516, i.e., down the sidewall 516 when the transducer 530 is angled downwards
or up the
sidewall 516 when the transducer 530 is angled upwards, and reflects off of
the inner
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sidewall surface 516A and the outer sidewall surface 516B. If there is air in
the vessel
512 proximate to the location of the second transducer 530, then there may be
limited
transmittance of the signal through the inner sidewall 516A. At the fluid 514
level, there
will be an identical percentage of transmittance (e.g. less amplitude in the
reflected wave)
for each 'bounce' of the wave in the sidewall 516. This attenuated signal is
then
measurable at transducer 520 within the next lower sensor unit 560 (or upper
sensor unit
560, if the second transducer 530 is angled upwards). As part of this process,
the sidewall
516 temperature is measured with the temperature sensor 540, the sidewall 516
thickness
is calculated, and the distance between the sensor units 560 are measured.
With this data, it is then possible to calculate the coefficient for
reflectance of the
plane wave using the following formula:
¨ COS ¨ C p COS 0
R -
c1p1cos0 cpcos0
where c and c I are the speed of sound in the two adjacent materials, i.e.,
the material
forming the sidewall 516 and the fluid 514 within the vessel 512 (or another
substance in
the vessel 512, such as air, a structural component, sediment on the interior
surface 516A
of the sidewall 516, etc.), where p and p1 are the densities of the two
adjacent materials,
and where 0 and 01 are the angles that the sound wave approaches the interface
where the
two materials meet. This calculation can be performed in the computing device
550,
which receives the signals and readings from the sensor units 560. The
computing device
550 also calculates the actual fluid levels between the sensor units 560. In
this way, the
system 500 can effectively act as a variable fill level sensor, such that the
actual fluid
level within the vessel 512 can be determined when it is at any height within
vessel 512.
Using the measured density, velocity and temperature of the fluid 514, as
previously
described, the computing device 550 can identify the material type of the
fluid 514 by
comparing these metrics to those of other fluids and liquids in an acoustic
database of
materials.
Beyond determining the material type of fluid 514 within the vessel 512, the
system 500 may also be used for other functions which are relevant to the
vessel 512. For
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example, each sensor unit 560 positioned along the sidewall 516 of the vessel
512 may
operate as a point fill level sensor, which in turn, can be used to send
notifications or
alarms for certain sensed fluid 514 conditions, such as the fluid 514 being
too high within
the vessel 512, or too low within the vessel 512. The system 500, or any other
system
which uses multiple point level sensors, may also be used in a complimentary
or
validation capacity with other fluid sensors. For example, the system 500 may
be used to
provide fill level validation of measurements taken with other devices, such
as
conventional internal radar units, and/or exterior units which monitor the
flow of fluid
through outlets and inlets of the vessel (such as described relative to FIGS.
4A).
With either system 400 described relative to FIG. 8 or system 500 described
relative to FIG. 9, it is noted that in addition to detecting the presence of
fluid within the
vessel, it is also possible to detect the presence of other materials. For
example, the
sensors may be capable of detecting sediment which is scaled on the sidewall
or bottom
of the vessel, or the presence of undesired substances which have mixed with
the fluid.
As a specific example, it may be possible to detect the presence of water
within a vessel
which holds petroleum products. The ability to detect the presence of other
materials,
beyond the originally-intended fluid, may be achieved through the same process
as
previously described, where the sensed properties of these other materials are
compared
to a material database to provide a correlated identity of the material.
When readings with the sensors are taken over a period of time, it may also be
possible to determine levels of fluid fill level accurately, since the
periodic measurements
can be used to determine an accurate estimate of a rate of change in the fill
level of the
fluid which can effectively act as a fluid flow metering device. Moreover,
readings taken
over a period of time may also be used to sense a material degradation of the
fluid. For
example, taking readings of the fluid within the vessel periodically, such as
every day or
week, may allow for the system to analyze a comparison of the acoustic metric
readings
on the fluid, which can be used to determine the relative change of those
properties over
time. This can be used to determine if there is a material degradation of the
fluid, which
may occur due to various conditions, such as when a fluid is stored too long,
or when
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fluid with unsatisfactory properties, i.e., a bad off-spec batch, is added to
a vessel with
high quality fluid.
Additionally, the system 500 may be used for detecting or sensing changes or
degradation of the sidewall 516 of the vessel 512. For example, the signals
from the first
and second transducers 520, 530 may be recorded when the level of the fluid in
the tank
at the specific time of testing is below both the units 560 that are
transmitting and
receiving the attenuated signal. The system 500 may be used for detecting or
sensing
changes or degradation of the sidewall 516 of the vessel 512 when the level of
the fluid in
the tank at the specific time of testing is above or below both the units 560
that are
transmitting and receiving the attenuated signal. For example, with the top
two sensing
units 560 in FIG. 9, the system 500 can detect changes in the sidewall 516
when the fluid
514 level is positioned above both of these sensing units 560 or positioned
below both of
these sensing units 560, whereas it may not be possible to sense the condition
of the
sidewall 516 when the fluid 514 level is between these two sensing units 560.
Over time,
analysis of the data collected as to wall thickness and various acoustic
signatures
("acoustic fingerprints"), as qualified by tank fill levels, will allow the
system 500 to
detect noticeable changes in wall thickness, wall condition, the presence of
any foreign
material on the inside surface 516A of the sidewall 516 of the vessel 512 as
detected by
the acoustic fingerprints collected periodically. This may also allow for the
detection of
anomalies between acoustic fingerprints from earlier recorded data. The
results over time
are able to provide an accurate method for tracking vessel sidewall 516
deterioration, the
presence of material build-up, and wall thickness for the vessel 512, all
while the tank
remains in service operationally, without needing to drain the tank or
otherwise change
the tank from its normal operating state.
With reference to FIG. 9, the method and system disclosed in FIG. 9 may be
used
with the structural features disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 8 to detect structural
characteristics
of a vessel 512. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, the vessel 512, or other
structural
container capable of containing the fluid, may be constructed from materials
which are
conducting and non-conducting. A first acoustic sensor unit 560 (including one
or more
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transducers and one temperature probe) may be positionable along a sidewall of
the
vessel 512. When each of the units 560 are installed, they will measure the
wall thickness
with high accuracy. Every time one of the units 560 collect measurements,
transducer
520 will remeasure the wall thickness and pass the information to the
processor of the
computerized device 550. The processor of the computerized device 550 will
compare
the thickness measurements over time to determine any variation in the long
term.
Through the use and comparison of periodic measurements and analytics on
acoustic metrics between sensors placed at specific distances apart over a
long period of
time, i.e. year to year, the identification of anomalies or changes in wall
material can be
detected. Any such anomaly or change detection would alert the operational
resources to
take additional action.
During the normal operation of these sensor units 560, the system 500 can
determine the presence of material on the inner wall surface 516A. For
example,
identification of material build-up on interior surface of the vessel 512
sidewall 516
would be determined when transducer 530 inside the sensing unit 560 sends an
ultrasonic
signal into sidewall 516, the signal will attenuate a very limited amount when
there is air
on either side of the sidewall 516. If there is solid material build-up on the
interior
surface 516A of sidewall 516, then the signal from transducer 530 will
attenuate much
more than in air and a different amount than for a fluid 514 in the tank 512.
The
attenuation difference can be characterized using the identification data from
transducer
520. If there is material build-up opposite transducer 520, then there will be
a secondary
reflection indicating the presence of the build-up and several of its material
properties.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart 600 illustrating a method for determining a fill level
of a
fluid within a fluid vessel, in accordance with the fourth exemplary
embodiment of the
disclosure. It should be noted that any process descriptions or blocks in flow
charts
should be understood as representing modules, segments, portions of code, or
steps that
include one or more instructions for implementing specific logical functions
in the
process, and alternate implementations are included within the scope of the
present
disclosure in which functions may be executed out of order from that shown or
discussed,
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including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the
functionality
involved, as would be understood by those reasonably skilled in the art of the
present
disclosure.
As is shown by block 602, a vessel contains a fluid. At least one acoustic
sensor is
positioned substantially on an exterior sidewall of the vessel (block 604). A
computerized
device is in communication with the at least one acoustic sensor, wherein a
processor of
the computerized device receives a detection signal from the at least one
acoustic sensor
and communicates an alert of the detection signal (block 606). The detection
signal may
include a fluid detection signal at one or more designated levels along a
height of the
.. vessel, a detection signal of a structural material at one or more
designated levels along
the height of the vessel, and/or a detection signal of an air gap at one or
more designated
levels along the height of the vessel, among other types of detection signals.
The
detection signal may be used to determine an actual fill level of the fluid
within the
vessel, and/or to activate an overfill alarm corresponding to the vessel, an
emissions
.. alarm corresponding to the vessel, and/or an air-gap alarm corresponding to
the vessel,
among other processes. Any number of additional steps, functions, processes,
or variants
thereof may be included in the method, including any disclosed relative to any
other
figure of this disclosure.
FIG. 11 is a flowchart 700 illustrating a method for determining a material
identity of a fluid being stored in a vessel, in accordance with the fourth
exemplary
embodiment of the disclosure. It should be noted that any process descriptions
or blocks
in flow charts should be understood as representing modules, segments,
portions of code,
or steps that include one or more instructions for implementing specific
logical functions
in the process, and alternate implementations are included within the scope of
the present
disclosure in which functions may be executed out of order from that shown or
discussed,
including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the
functionality
involved, as would be understood by those reasonably skilled in the art of the
present
disclosure.
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As is shown by block 702, at least two acoustic sensors are positioned
substantially on an exterior sidewall of the vessel having the fluid therein,
wherein the
two acoustic sensors are positioned at predetermined heights on the vessel. A
computerized device is in communication with the at least two acoustic
sensors, wherein
a processor of the computerized device receives a detection signal from one or
more of
the at least two acoustic sensors, wherein the computerized device uses the
detection
signal and measured information of the fluid to derive a temperature-
compensated
acoustic metric of the fluid which is compared against a material properties
database to
determine the material identify of the fluid within the vessel (block 704).
The measured
.. information of the fluid may be at least one of: a sensed temperature of
the fluid; a fluid
velocity; or a fluid density. Additionally, a plurality of detection signals
may be received
by the computerized device over a period of time, wherein at least a portion
of the
plurality of detection signals are used to determine a change in material
property of the
fluid. The change in material property of the fluid comprises at least one of:
a
deterioration of the fluid; a degradation of the fluid, or a contamination of
the fluid.
Moreover, the detection signal is used to determine the presence of material
different
from the fluid, such as: a quantity of air; a structural component of the
vessel; a
membrane of the vessel; a quantity of water; and/or a quantity of sediment on
a bottom or
sidewall of the vessel. Any number of additional steps, functions, processes,
or variants
thereof may be included in the method, including any disclosed relative to any
other
figure of this disclosure.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart 800 illustrating a method for determining a condition
of a
vessel wall, in accordance with the fifth exemplary embodiment of the
disclosure. It
should be noted that any process descriptions or blocks in flow charts should
be
understood as representing modules, segments, portions of code, or steps that
include one
or more instructions for implementing specific logical functions in the
process, and
alternate implementations are included within the scope of the present
disclosure in
which functions may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed,
including
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substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality
involved, as
would be understood by those reasonably skilled in the art of the present
disclosure.
As is shown by block 802, a vessel contains a fluid. First and second acoustic
sensors are positioned substantially on an exterior sidewall of the vessel,
wherein first
and second sensors are positioned at a predetermined height on the vessel, and
wherein
the second acoustic sensor is positioned angularly relative to the vessel wall
(block 804).
A computerized device is in communication with the two acoustic sensors,
wherein a
processor of the computerized device receives a detection signal from the
first and second
acoustic sensors, wherein the detection signal from the first acoustic sensor
is used to
determine a vessel wall thickness and the detection signal from the second
acoustic
sensor provides an attenuated signal, wherein the condition of the vessel wall
is
determinable based on the wall thickness and an amount of attenuation in the
attenuated
signal (block 806). It is noted that the condition of the vessel wall may
include one or
more of: a detected change in vessel wall thickness; an identification of
material build-up
on the vessel wall; and/or a structural deterioration condition of the vessel
wall.
Additionally, a plurality of first and second signals may be received by the
computerized
device over a period of time, whereby a change of the condition of the vessel
wall can be
determined over that period of time. Any number of additional steps,
functions,
processes, or variants thereof may be included in the method, including any
disclosed
relative to any other figure of this disclosure.
It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present
disclosure, particularly, any "preferred" embodiments, are merely possible
examples of
implementations, merely set forth for a clear understanding of the principles
of the
disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-
described
embodiment(s) of the disclosure without departing substantially from the
spirit and
principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are
intended to be
included herein within the scope of this disclosure and the present disclosure
and
protected by the following claims.
