Pair of Autonomous Micro-Submarines for In-Pipe Leak Detection

1. Pair of Autonomous Micro-Submarines for In-Pipe Leak Detection An invention for detecting and locating leaks in pipes By: Bilal AhmedSiddiqui Advisor: Dr. Sami El-Ferik Systems Engineering, College of Computer Science and Engineering.

2. outline • Introduction • Background • Existing Methods and their Short Comings • Methodology • Description of Invention • Advantages over Existing Products

3. Introduction • Pipes carry oil, water, chemicals. • Corrosion, damage cause leaks. • Pipes buried underground. • KSA looses 30% of water transported due to leaks. • Causes millions of dollars of losses annually.

4. Conventional Leak Detection • Difficult to locate small leaks. • On ground sonars/radars. • Infrared thermography • Acoustic methods. • Hydrant vibration methods. • Trace liquid methods. • Water metering.

5. In-Pipe Methods • In-pipe PIG. • Floating devices. • In-pipe wheeled robots. • In-pipe crawling robots. • In-pipe swimming robots.

6. Problems with Prior Art (Existing methods) • Above ground methods are labor intensive. • Consumption of energy. • Wheeled, rolling and crawling motion cause noise. • PIG needs external energy. • Underwater and underground, wireless communication does not work. • Localization underground difficult (No GPS or communication). • Water supply has to be shut down for detecting small leaks.

7. Our Invention • We propose a system of 2 two micro-submarines linked together by power and communication umbilical cord housed in a flexible tube. • Each contains propulsion system, micro-generators for energy harvesting, microcontroller and sensors. • Each equipped with retractable legs for clamping to the pipe walls for making assembly static. • These legs also function as arresting hooks to latch on to communication/power hubs for data collection and recharging on-board batteries.

8. Overview Propeller Prop Shroud Follower Sub Sensors Control Fins Umbilical Cable Leading Sub

9. Small Leaks Pipe Leak

10. On Mission Pipe Follower Sub Leak Leading Sub

11. Lead Micro-Submarine Fins CPU Navigation Unit Shroud Cable Sensors Propeller Smart Leg Turbine Motor

12. Follower Micro-Submarine Smart Leg Turbine Sensors Fins Cable Winder Propeller Motor Cable Power Pack Fins

13. Locating Leak Suction Cup Smart Leg Leak

14. Follower Sub (Zoomed) Turbine Smart Leg

15. Full deployment Smart Leg Smart Hub

16. Leading Sub (Zoomed) Smart Hub

17. Animation • Please click External Video File.

18. Advantages over Prior Art • This invention does not require a significant flow velocity to propel itself due to propulsion system. • It can negotiate significant turn angles of the pipe. • The “listening” submarine remains static in the flow without making contact with the pipe due to neutral buoyancy and umbilical cord. This avoids the interference in leak signal caused by turbulence created by wheeled, legged and other devices. The submarines are also of efficient hydrodynamic shape, which minimizes the wake turbulence.

19. Advantages over Prior Art 4) Unlike a single submarine system, this invention turns off the propulsion during the leak detection phase, thereby creating no propulsion “noise”. 5) This invention also avoids the difficulties in underwater communications, by communication cables, which also supply power. 6) It also eliminates the need for a tether cable. 7) This invention can provide almost indefinite continuous operation by the above mentioned methods of recharging the batteries and energy production by turbines.

20. Potential end Users • Water and Desalination Companies. • Oil Companies, e.g. Aramco. • Industrial Plants. • Can be easily modified for other means of exploration. • US Patent Application US 20120204624 A1 “Dual Submarine Leak Detection System.” http://google.com/patents/US20120204624

21. Thank you