Development of an intelligent network monitoring and alarming system for natural gas transmission pipelines

• Main Author: Kwok, Sher Wei
• Other Authors: So Ping Lam
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/67916
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Over 95% of Singapore’s electricity fuel is powered by natural gas. The highly flammable nature of the energy source makes safety of an utmost importance in the transportation of the commodity. This paper focuses on the development of an intelligent network monitoring and alarming system for natural gas transmission pipelines. When implemented, this system will be able to provide early fault detection in the gas pipelines. This information can then be utilised by the natural gas transporter, SP PowerGas, in determining the urgency of the fault and corresponding action. This project first takes into account the type of sensors placed into the pipelines and how the data collected can be managed and used to detect three types of common pipeline defects; crack, leakage, and external excavation. It then designs and programs a prototype of such an alarming system using the National Instruments LabView software. This prototype simulates a gas network over four blocks in the NTU campus. The end product of this system includes a graphical user interface which is able to alert the technical operator of the occurrence of the fault and is then able to automatically generate and email out a fault report.