WO1999000619A1

WO1999000619A1 - Method and apparatus for on-line detection of leaky emergency shut down or other valves

Info

Publication number: WO1999000619A1
Application number: PCT/US1998/012868
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robert L. Leon; David Q. Heagerty
Original assignee: Crane Nuclear, Inc.
Priority date: 1997-06-26
Filing date: 1998-06-18
Publication date: 1999-01-07
Also published as: US6134949A; EP0991888A4; NO320881B1; NO335721B1; NO996403D0; NO20055161L; NO996403L; AU8156798A; DE69817821D1; US6128946A; ATE249000T1; EP0991888B1; EP0991888A1

Abstract

A method and apparatus for on-line detection of leaky emergency shut down or other valves (10) in a fluid transport system having an upstream pipe, a downstream pipe and the valve (10) connected between the upstream pipe and the downstream pipe for controlling fluid flow through the system.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

Method and Apparatus for On-Line Detection of

Leaky Emergency Shut Down or Other Valves

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from Provisional Application number

60/055,728 filed June 26, 1997 and Provisional Application number 60/060,590 filed October

1, 1997.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the leak testing of Emergency Shut

Down valves, more commonly known as ESD valves. ESD valves are in use in many

commercial and industrial facilities and, in particular, are used on all or virtually all of the

approximately 2,000 off-shore oil and gas platforms around the world to isolate the platform

in the event of an emergency. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a means for

more easily determining, on-line, whether an individual ESD valve on such a platform or in

any other location or application might leak if called upon to close in an emergency or other

situation, and thus might fail to perform its intended isolation or other function. The need to

verify the integrity of ESD valves has been made more apparent by the Piper Alpha disaster in the British sector of the North Sea, which led to the sinking of a platform and a significant

loss of life in the late 1980's.

There are many different types of valves on each off-shore platform, and more

than ten such valves are ESD valves. The ESD valves are typically placed in a closed

position or condition only during normal or other production shutdowns, as well as during

emergencies. The majority of the ESD valves are ball valves, while most of the remainder of

the ESD valves are gate valves. On the platform, the ESD valves are usually situated in-line

or in series with other valves that are also closed off in emergency shutdown and production

shutdown situations. However, the ESD valve is considered to be the valve of last resort, the

valve that must perform and must provide isolation should all of the other in-line valves fail

to close or fail to fully close or to otherwise leak. Since the other upstream, in-line valves

usually do properly close and do not usually leak, and because in an emergency shutdown or

production shutdown situation, many of the other, in-line valves close before the ESD valve

closes, there is often no differential pressure applied across the ESD valve which could

produce a detectable leak. Thus, in emergency or production shutdown situations, commonly

used methods for detecting leaks in valves such as high frequency acoustic leak detection

cannot be used in most cases to identify a leaky ESD valve, and certainly cannot be used to

identify a partially leaky ESD valve. A partially leaky ESD valve is defined herein as an

ESD valve in which at least one, but not all, of the internal seals is leaky. Usually the other

seals, will prevent a partially leaky ESD valve from leaking, but it is still important to be able

to detect a partially leaky ESD valve because such an ESD valve could become a fully leaky

ESD valve in the next or some future closure attempt, and it would be wise to repair any such

ESD valve at the first available opportunity to prevent a possible leaky situation in the future. Presently on off-shore platforms, in order to identify leaky or partially leaky

ESD valves, platform operators sometime resort to pressurizing the inner cavity of each ESD

valve with nitrogen to see if the ESD valve can hold the pressure. This is usually

accomplished during costly (up to $300,000 per hour) production shutdowns. It would

certainly be better if a method and apparatus could be devised to identify leaky and partially

leaky ESD and other valves on-line during production, or during planned and unplanned

shutdowns, using equipment and techniques that don't involve costly and time consuming

additional steps such as injecting high pressure nitrogen.

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for on-line detection of

leaky and partially leaky ESD and other valves during actual production as well as during a

shutdown, and without employing additional steps such as the injection of nitrogen gas. The

method and apparatus of the present invention can be used on the majority of ESD valves that

are installed on off-shore platforms during actual production, enabling for the first time, leaky

and partially leaky ESD and other valves to be identified periodically and/or continuously

without any loss of production or associated costs. For all ESD valves, including the

remainder that can not be identified during production, the present invention can be employed

following a shutdown, either a planned or an unplanned shutdown. And as indicated before,

no additional steps are required.

The present invention involves the analysis of simultaneous dynamic signals

from one pressure transducer located in the cavity of the ESD or other valve and another

pressure transducer located upstream or downstream from the valve. On most platforms,

appropriate pressure taps are already in place on the ESD valves and on the valve piping. The

inventive principles, as hereinafter described, are based on combining an understanding of the design of ESD valves, with an understanding of the physical principles involved in the flow

of fluids through pipes and the transients that occur in the cessation of such flow, with an

understanding of how sound travels in fluid filled pipes, and finally with an understanding of

the processing of dynamic signals.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly stated, the present invention comprises a method and apparatus for on¬

line detection of leaky emergency shutdown or other valves. The apparatus is for use with a

fluid transport system having an upstream pipe, a downstream pipe and a valve connected

between the upstream pipe and the downstream pipe for controlling fluid flow through the

system. The valve has at least one upstream seal, at least one downstream seal and an inner

cavity effectively isolated by the seals from the fluid flow stream. The apparatus for

detecting a leak in at least one of the seals comprises a first transducer in fluid

communication with the fluid flow stream at at least one of: a predetermined distance

upstream of the upstream seal; and, a predetermined distance downstream of the downstream

seal. The first transducer is for sensing pressure pulsations resulting from at least one of:

dynamic energy due to fluid flow through the fluid transport system; and, transient energy

within the fluid in the transport system after the valve is closed and for generating

representative electrical signals as a function of time. A second transducer is in fluid

communication with the inner cavity for sensing substantially simultaneous pressure

pulsations within the inner cavity and for generating second representative electrical signals

as a function of time. An analyzer is provided for receiving the first and second electrical

signals and for generating at least one of a frequency response function, and a coherence

function. The generated function is sufficiently averaged to provide a meaningful measure of the degree to which the two electrical signals are related to thereby indicate whether, and to

what extent, sensed pressure pulsations within the fluid transport system are passed through

at least one of the seals to the inner cavity.

In one embodiment, the apparatus is employed for detecting and identifying

the location of a leak in at least one of the seals when the valve is closed. In this

embodiment, an external sound source is in fluid communication with the fluid transport

system for generating sound energy within the system. The first and second transducers are

for sensing pressure pulsations resulting from acoustic energy generated by the sound source.

Another embodiment involves a method for use with a fluid transport system

having an upstream pipe, a downstream pipe and a valve connected between the upstream

pipe and the downstream pipe for controlling fluid flow within the system. The valve has at

least one upstream seal, at least one downstream seal and an inner cavity effectively isolated

by the seals from the fluid flow stream. The method is for detecting the presence of a leak in

both of the seals when the valve is closed and a differential pressure exists across the valve.

The steps of the method comprise: determining the magnitude of the differential pressure

across the valve; sensing the presence of pressure pulsations within the inner cavity resulting

from fluid flowing through the seals into and out of the inner cavity and generating

representative electrical signals as a function of time; analyzing the electrical signals and

generating an auto spectrum representation; and using the auto spectrum representation in

conjunction with the determined differential pressure magnitude to indicate the existence and

extent of a leak. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description-of a

preferred embodiment of the invention, will be better understood when read in conjunction

with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, there is shown in

the drawings particular arrangements and methodologies. It should be understood, however,

that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements shown, or methodologies of the

detailed description. In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a cross sectional elevational view of a ball-type emergency shutdown

valve (mostly commonly used on off-shore petroleum and gas platforms), shown in the open

position to allow fluid flow;

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional elevational view of a less commonly used ball-type

emergency shutdown valve, similar to the valve of Fig. 1, but modified to include a bleed

hole in the ball to equalize the pressure to the cavity space when the valve is in the open

position;

Fig. 3. is a cross sectional elevational view of a gate-type emergency shutdown

valve (least commonly used on off-shore petroleum and gas platforms), shown in the open

position to allow fluid flow;

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagrammatic illustration of the valve of Fig. 1 in the

open position with a section of upstream pipe and two pressure transducers;

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagrammatic illustration of the valve, pipe, and pressure

transducer arrangement of Fig. 4, but with the valve in the closed position;

Fig. 6a is a plot of the magnitude representation of the Frequency Response

Function (FRF) of the output of the two transducers of Fig. 4 as a function of frequency, over the range from I to 50 Hertz for various degrees of seal leakiness;

Fig. 6b is a plot of the coherence as a function of frequency from I to -50 Hertz

for various degrees of seal leakiness;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing an alternate embodiment of the

invention;

Figs. 8a and 8b are plots similar to those of Figs. 6a and 6b made in

conjunction with the embodiment of Fig. 7; and

Figs. 9a and 9b are schematic block diagrams of an on-line system utilizing

the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Fig. 1 is a cross sectional elevational view of the type of valve 10 used in most

ESD applications, illustrated in the open position. The valve 10 is a ball valve with a spring-

loading mechanism on each side (not shown) that pushes the two valve seats 12, 14 up

against the ball 16 in a manner well known in the art. The sealing of the valve seats 12, 14

against the ball 16 is accomplished by means of two generally annular elastomeric rings, one

ring 18 located in the upstream seat 12, and one ring 20 located in the downstream seat 14.

The spring-loading of the seats 12, 14 holds the elastomeric rings 18, 20 tightly against the

ball 16, even as these components wear. Because the seats 12, 14 can move, they also have to

be sealed against the valve body 22 and this is accomplished with two O-ring seals 24, 26,

one for each seat 12, 14.

The generally open space 28 between the valve body 22, and the seats 12, 14

and ball 16, is known as the inner valve cavity. The inner cavity or cavity 28 is generally

fluid filled, but is effectively isolated from the fluid stream flowing through the valve 10 by the upstream elastomeric ring 18 and O-ring 24, and by the downstream elastomeric ring 20

and O-ring 26, each in parallel for the purpose of providing such isolation. Thus if any one of

the elastomeric rings 20, 22 or O-rings 24, 26 doesn't seal perfectly, the isolation of the cavity

28 is compromised. Also in the closed position of the valve 10 (not shown), the cavity 28

remains isolated from the upstream fluid as long as both the upstream elastomeric ring 18 and

the upstream O-ring 24 afford a perfect seal, and remains isolated from the downstream fluid

as long as both the downstream elastomeric ring 20 and the downstream O-ring 26 afford a

perfect seal.

For the valve 10 to actually be leaky when closed, at least one of the two

upstream seals 18, 24 would have to leak and at least one of the two downstream seals 20, 26

would also have to leak to provide a complete leakage path through the cavity 28. Thus, a

test that is sensitive to even one leaky seal would be a conservative, yet valuable test. Such is

the case for the present practice of pressurized nitrogen injection into the cavity 28. If any

one of the seals 18, 20, 24, 26 leaks, the high pressure nitrogen leaks out of the cavity 28 and

the pressure reduction of the nitrogen within the cavity 28 is noted. The method and

apparatus of the present invention similarly identifies if any one of the seals 18, 20, 24, 26

leaks, but without requiring the additional and costly nitrogen injection procedure. The

method and apparatus of the present invention involves obtaining and analyzing test data to

determine if a leaky seal is present.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional elevational view of a ball valve 110 similar to the

ball valve 10 of Fig. 1. Close examination, however, reveals a bleed hole 130 in the ball 116

which connects the fluid flow stream through the ball 116 to the cavity 128 while the valve

110 is in the open position as shown. The purpose of the bleed hole 130 is to equalize the pressure between the cavity 128 and the flow stream prior to valve closure. In valves known

as double block and bleed valves, if one seat seal leaks, the bleed hole provides additional

closing force for the other seat seal. Because the bleed hole 130 itself provides a fluid path

between the cavity 128 and the flow stream while the valve is in the open position, the effect

of the bleed hole 130 is to obviate the usage of the present invention to test the seals 118, 120,

124, 126 when the valve is in the open position. Ball valves 110 with bleed holes are not as

commonly used for ESD applications as are ball valves 10 without bleed holes.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional elevational view of a slide type gate valve 210,

illustrated in the open position. While in the open position, the cavity 228 is isolated from

the fluid flow stream by the upstream and downstream seals 218, 220. In the closed position

(not shown), the upstream seal 218 isolates the cavity 228 from the fluid in the upstream pipe,

and the downstream seal 220 isolates the cavity 228 from the fluid in the downstream pipe.

This type of valve 210 is used sparingly in ESD applications.

Fig. 4 shows schematically a ball valve 10 without a bleed hole of the type

shown in Fig. 1. In Fig. 4, the single illustrated upstream seal 19 represents either of the

upstream seals 18, 24 of the actual valve 10 of Fig. 1, and the single illustrated downstream

seal 21 represents either of the downstream seals 20, 26 of the actual valve 10 of Fig. 1. The

valve 10 in Fig. 4 is illustrated in the open position. Shown are two pressure taps 29, 31, one

29 in the cavity and one 31 upstream of the inner cavity 20 of the valve 10. Note that the

upstream tap 31 could be replaced with a downstream tap located downstream of the inner

cavity 28 with no change in functionality. The taps 29, 31 are standard taps of a type

typically used on oil or gas platform rigs, and the open end of the tap is typically a standard

1/4 inch NPT fitting of a type well known in the art and capable of mating with a pressure transducer or pressure transducer adapter to provide fluid communication with the flow

stream or inner cavity 28 respectively. It is also useful to have a hand valve installed-above

the fitting location (not shown) so that transducers may be replaced when the line is filled and

pressurized. Also shown are two pressure transducers 30, 32 of a type well known in the art

and capable of sensing dynamic pressure and generating representative electrical signals, read

p as a function of time, or p(t). Such pressure transducers 30, 32 are of a type well known to

those skilled in the art and are often already in position on existing ESD valves. The

electrical signal p_}(t) from the first pressure transducer 30 representing the upstream dynamic

pressure, and p₂(t) from the second pressure transducer 32 representing the cavity dynamic

pressure are input to an analyzer (not shown) that is capable of digitizing and analyzing the

simultaneous signals in the frequency domain. The analyzer may be circuitry, software, or a

complete commercially available analyzer. One such commercially available analyzer in

fairly common use is the Hewlett Packard Model 5423.

When a ball-type ESD valve 10 is fully open and the fluid is flowing through

it, if none of the seals 19, 21 are leaky, the fluid in the inner cavity 28 of the valve 10 is

effectively isolated from the fluid flowing through the valve 10 and thus from the fluid in the

pipe either upstream or downstream from the valve 10. If any of the seals 19, 21 are leaky,

however, that isolation of the cavity 28 will be compromised. The greater the degree of

leakiness in the seals 19, 21, the greater the degree of compromise of the isolation of the

cavity 28.

A leaky seal condition is manifested by a transmission of the dynamic pressure

pulsations from the fluid flowing through the valve 10 to the fluid contained in its inner

cavity 28. The greater the degree of leakiness, and the lower the frequency of the pulsations, the greater the amount of the transmission of the pulsations into the cavity 28. The amount of

transmission can be quantified from the Frequency Response Function (FRF) (sometimes

called the transfer function) between the dynamic pressure in the cavity 28 as measured by

transducer 32 and the dynamic pressure in the pipe as measured by transducer 30. Two

frequency domain representations are useful in this regard. The first representation is the

FRF magnitude, indicating the relative energy in the two pressure signals as a function of

frequency. The second frequency domain representation is the coherence, indicating the

degree of similarity between the two pressure signals as a function of frequency. The second

representation is actually a measure of how constant the magnitude and phase relationship is

between the two pressure signals as a function of frequency. To see how constant something

is, successive traces over time need to be analyzed, and compared. That is accomplished

through a process called averaging. Exactly what frequency range the analysis should

encompass, and how much averaging is required depends upon the physical situation for a

particular valve or application.

The ideal frequency range for analysis is determined in part by the distance L

between the pressure transducer 30 and the valve cavity pressure transducer 32 or valve

cavity 28. In order not to have to worry about standing wave nodes at certain frequencies,

and the effects of multiple acoustic paths, the pressure transducer 30 should be no more than

a quarter wavelength from the valve cavity transducer 32. The wavelength is a function of

the speed of sound in the fluid and the upper frequency. The relationship is

λ _ 1 C 7 7

where λ is the wavelength, C is the speed of sound in the medium and F is the upper frequency. The speed of sound in petroleum at a temperature of 15°C is 4,367 feet per

second. Using that figure for C, and 50 Hz for the upper frequency (F) yields a quarter

wavelength of about 22 feet. The speed of sound in natural gas is less than 1,000 feet per

second. Keeping 50 Hz as the upper frequency (F) yields a quarter wavelength of about 5

feet. So frequencies up to 50 Hz are clearly acceptable if the upstream or downstream pipe

tap is kept to within 22 feet of the valve for oil, and to within 5 feet for gas. If one wishes to

increase the usable frequency range, or the pipe tap distances given above, or both, the effect

of nodal frequencies and multiple paths can be minimized by using the mean spectral values

over the spectral band. The pressure pulsations in the flow stream come about as a result of

turbulence in the flow. But occasionally with extremely high flow, highly localized

turbulence near one of the sensors can cause pulsations that overshadow the desired more

global pulsations, especially at low frequencies. Thus, extending the frequency range of

interest up to, or into, the 1,000 Hz region is sometimes desirable, but in no case would it be

necessary or desirable to extend it up to, or beyond 10,000 Hz. In any event, the sample rate

of each pressure signal, after anti-alias filtering, must be more than twice the maximum

frequency. If 50 Hz is to be the maximum frequency, a sample rate of 150 Hz could be used;

if 1000 Hz is the maximum frequency, then a 2,500 Hz sample rate is appropriate.

The required duration of each trace record to be used for averaging is

determined by the desired frequency resolution. The relationship is inverse. One second

yields one Hz resolution, two seconds yields one-half Hz resolution, etc. One Hz resolution

should be acceptable in most cases. As indicated previously, averaging of several trace

records over time is required to get a meaningful measure of the degree to which the two

signals are related and thereby indicating whether, and to what extent the pressure pulsations are passing through at least one of the seals to the inner cavity 28. Typically about 30

averages will suffice. The confidence in the result improves by the square root of the- number

of averages. So to double the confidence, one needs four times the number of averages. This

typically is not a problem for ESD valves without bleed holes that can be tested in the

production mode, where virtually unlimited averaging time is available.

However, this is not the case when the test data must be obtained immediately

following a shutdown. In a shutdown situation, the data acquisition time may be limited to

less than a minute because after that, the transient energy in the pipe might effectively

dissipate. ESD ball type valves such as valve 110 with bleed holes in the ball cannot be

tested in the production mode and can only be tested in a shutdown mode. This presents a

limit to the number of averages, which at one second per record seems like 60 averages for 60

seconds of data, or 30 averages for 30 seconds of data, etc. But overlap processing can be

used to improve that situation, so at even with one second per record, 120 averages can be

achieved for 60 seconds of data, and 60 averages can be achieved for 30 seconds of data, etc.

Fig. 5 shows schematically a ball valve 10 following closure. Fig. 5 represents

not only a ball valve 10 without a bleed hole as does Fig. 4, but also represents a ball valve

110 with a bleed hole. That is because when the valve 10 is in the closed position, the bleed

hole no longer provides a pathway from the pipe to the internal cavity 28, and so only the

seals 19, 21, if leaky, provide such a pathway. Thus, this is the same situation that exists for

ball valves without bleed holes in the open position. Where those valves without bleed holes

can be tested in the preferred open position production situation, those with bleed holes can

only be tested right after being placed in the closed position. In both situations, dynamic

energy is required to exist in the pipe. This will always be the case for oil or a mixture of oil and gas, for valves in the open position, production situation, but in the closed position

following a shutdown, such dynamic energy may only exist for a minute or less while all the

various fluid motions (not just the flow) and pressure fluctuations come to rest following

closure. Thus the time limits previously discussed.

Figs. 6a and 6b show the resulting averaged Frequency Response Function

(FRF) magnitude and the coherence function for various degrees of leakiness. The curves (X,

Y, Z, R, S, T) represent the analyzed results for data obtained in either mode, either the

production mode for ball type ESD valves 10 without bleed holes and ESD gate valves 210,

or immediately following shutdown mode for any of the types of ESD valves 10, 110, 210.

Fig. 6a shows different magnitude representations of the FRF, P₂(f)/P,(f) for

different seal leakiness conditions. Here, P,(f) and P₂ (f) are the complex frequency domain

representations of p,(t) and p₂(t) respectively. For a valve with no leaky seals (curve X), the

magnitude of the FRF is seen to start out fairly high at very low frequency, but then it

plummets to a very low value and stays there at higher frequencies. The fairly high value at

very low frequency is due to the very low frequency motions of the platform and the pipe and

valve assembly which cause similar, but not equal, low frequency pressure fluctuations in

both the upstream pipe and the valve cavity. It has nothing to do with a leaky seal. For a

valve whose seal leakiness is significant (curve Z), the magnitude of the FRF starts out a little

higher at very low frequency, and then stays high, only gradually failing off with increasing

frequency. For a valve with moderate seal leakiness (curve Y), the magnitude of the FRF just

above the very low frequency approximates more the curve of the large leak case (curve Z),

but then as the frequency increases further it rapidly decreases to better approximate the curve

of the no leak case (curve X). Above the quarter wavelength frequency, the magnitude will be seen to vary up and down as the nodal frequencies and multiple paths manifest their effect.

Nevertheless, the mean value over the spectrum of curve Z should still exceed that of curve

Y, which should in turn still exceed that of curve X.

Fig. 6b shows different coherence representations, P₂(f)/P,(f) for the same

three seal leakiness conditions. Unlike the magnitude representation of the FRF (Fig. 6a)

where the highest value could be anything, in the coherence representation, the highest value

is always 1.0 indicating perfect coherence. This enhancement in numerical meaning it makes

the interpretation of the resulting curves much more definitive. Even for a valve with no

leaky seals (curve R), the coherence at just above zero Hz may be at or close to one. This is

because the upstream and cavity pressure fluctuations at very low frequency have essentially

the same cause - that is the low frequency motions of the platform and pipe run. It doesn't

matter if the pressure fluctuations are of different amplitudes, if the cause is the same, the

coherence will be nearly 1.0. But for a valve with no leaky seals, the coherence plummets

above the very low frequency region. This is because in the higher frequency region, the

pressure fluctuation source in the pipe is the flow noise, and this noise is effectively blocked

by the seals as it tries to enter the internal cavity. When not testing in production but rather

just after a shutdown, the source of the noise is not flow but transients such as sloshing and

the like, which arise from the sudden momentum change. For a valve with moderate seal

leakiness (curve S), the flow noise or sloshing noise gets through to some degree, especially

at the lower frequencies, and this is manifested by a coherence value above 0.5 at low

frequency, probably dipping to below 0.5 at higher frequencies. And finally for a valve that

has significant seal leakiness (curve T), even more noise gets through to the inner cavity 28,

and the coherence although it still dips with increasing frequency, may remain above 0.5 throughout the indicated frequency range. As with the FRF magnitude representation, the

coherence representation, above the quarter wavelength frequency, will be seen to vary up

and down as the nodal frequencies and multiple paths manifest their effects. But as before,

the mean value over the spectrum of curve T should still exceed that of curve S, which in turn

should still exceed that of curve R.

Using both the magnitude representation of the FRF, and the coherence, is

sure to be more definitive than using either alone. For example, above the very low

frequency peak, high magnitudes that are not accompanied by a corresponding reasonable

coherence value ,will have no seal leakiness significance. Other representations of the FRF,

such as the phase representation (not shown), and the real and imaginary representations (not

shown), may have some inteφretive value as might the auto spectra of each of the two signals

(also not shown). All these representations as a function of frequency could be available for

inspection following the averaged FRF analysis of the data.

Seal leakiness as mentioned above refers to the leakiness of any of the

upstream or downstream seals (18, 20, 24, 26 in Fig. 1). Recall that for the valve 10 itself to

be leaky, at least one upstream seal and at least one downstream seal must leak. As a result,

the present invention is a very conservative test for valve leakiness. It will effectively catch

most problems in the early one-seal-leak stage before it becomes a dangerous two-seal-leak

situation. And because of its conservative nature, it will find a use as an adjunct to local leak

rate testing (LLRT) in nuclear power plants and in many other valve applications, with or

without modification.

There are times when no sound energy exists in the fluid in the pipe, for

example during periods of non-production when no fluid is flowing, or well after a production shutdown when the transient energy has already dissipated in the pipeline. In

either case, the Frequency Response Function magnitude and the coherence methodology,

previously discussed, may still be used if an external sound source is introduced to provide

the necessary sonic energy to the fluid.

The sound source could be of any type known to those skilled in the art, for

example a piezoelectric transducer. On an oil or gas rig, it may actually be preferable to use a

hydraulically-actuated or pneumatically-actuated sound source in order to eliminate any

potential explosion hazard, and to more efficiently couple low frequency energy into the

fluid.

Fig. 7 shows the preferred location and arrangement of an external sound

source 34. As seen, the sound source 34 is connected to or otherwise in fluid communication

with the inner cavity 28 by a small pipe section 36 extending through a port 38 in the cavity

28 in a manner similar to the manner in which connecting pipe sections are employed for

providing fluid communication with the dynamic pressure transducers 30 and 32. The pipe

section 36 to the sound source 34 is filled with the working fluid, either oil or gas. As an

alternative, if a second inner cavity port 38 is not available, the sound source 34 may be

connected into the line to the inner cavity pressure transducer 32 utilizing a "T" connection or

the like. A third pressure transducer 40 (p₃(t)) is located downstream from the inner cavity 28

of the valve 10. With the valve 10 as shown in the closed position, the only way that sound

from the sound source 34 can get to the upstream pressure transducer 30 is for an upstream

seal 19 to be leaky, and the only way that sound from the sound source 32 can get to the

downstream pressure transducer 40 is for a downstream seal 21 to be leaky. The sound from

the source 32 inside the inner cavity 28 of course will be present regardless of whether there are upstream or downstream seal leaks. Connecting the sound source 34 to the inner cavity

28 enables a leak in an upstream seal 19 to be detected in the closed-off position, if an

upstream pressure transducer 30 is installed. It also enables a leak in a downstream seal 21 to

be detected in the closed-off position, if a downstream pressure transducer 40 is installed.

And if both an upstream pressure transducer 30 and a downstream pressure transducer 40 are

installed, leaks in both upstream and downstream seals 19, 21 can be detected, and

furthermore, they can be differentiated, one from another. The methodology used in the

present embodiment is exactly as described above, except now the FRF is formed as

P,(f)/P₂(f) for detecting an upstream seal leak, and as P₃(f)/P₂(f) for detecting a downstream

seal leak.

Unlike the situations described above where the sound was broadband as a

result of fluid flow noise and transient excitation, in the present embodiment, the utilized

sound from the sound source 34 may be sinusoidal. But as before, the upstream and

downstream pressure transducers 30, 40 are preferentially placed within a quarter wavelength

of the valve 10, for the frequency of the sound source 34 which is employed. With no flow,

there is no possibility of highly localized turbulence near one of the sensors, and thus no need

to extend the frequency range. At a sound source frequency of 50 Hz, the distance translates

to about 22 feet for oil and about 5 feet for gas. If necessary to extend that distance, due to a

physical limitation, a sound source frequency of 10 Hz will extend the distance for gas, to

over 20 feet. The lowered sound source frequency limit is acceptable for gas, because very

low frequency sloshing noise that might otherwise exist for a liquid (such as oil) due to very

low frequency platform motions, won't exist for gas.

As discussed above, a high coherence value and high value of the FRF magnitude signals a leaky seal, except that with the present embodiment which uses a

sinusoidal sound source 34, the measurement is viewed only at that single sound source

frequency to make the determination. With no fluid flow, that single sound source frequency

predominates over the surrounding values, in the coherence measurement, and even in the

FRF magnitude, because the background sound or noise is small relative to the sound from

the sound source 34. The surrounding magnitude values may appear larger than the sound

source single frequency component, but only as a result of the inner cavity background

sounds being smaller than the upstream and downstream background sounds.

An alternative to a single frequency (sinusoidal) sound source is a repetitive

sound pulse or click, the click repetition rate showing up as the fundamental sinusoidal

frequency of the sound source, furthermore including all of the harmonics of that fundamental

sinusoidal frequency. For example, if there are ten clicks every second, the fundamental

frequency component present is 10 Hz, but harmonic frequency components at 20 Hz, 30 Hz,

40 Hz, and 50 Hz, within the 0 to 50 Hz range will also be present.

Fig. 8a and 8b show the resulting averaged, 0 to 50 Hz., Frequency Response

Function, (either P₁(f)/P₂(f) or P₃(f)/P₂(f)) for various degrees of seal leakiness, using a sound

source with a repetitive click at 10 Hz. The curves represent the analyzed results for data

obtained with the valve 10 closed off as shown in Fig. 7, for any of the types of ESD valves.

As a result, there is information at 10 Hz, at 20 Hz, at 30 Hz, at 40 Hz, and at 50 Hz. Less

averaging time would be required if a sinusoidal sound source were used instead of a

repetitive click because all of the energy would go into the single frequency component, but

the seal leakiness information would only exist at that single frequency component. Thus, the

use of a repetitive click instead of a sinusoid provides more diagnostic information. This is especially helpful in quantifying the size of the seal leak, as larger size leaks tend to allow

more of the higher frequency sound through, while smaller leaks tend to block the higher

frequency sound. The previous discussion about the magnitude representation of the FRF

and the associated coherence representation still applies, but now the pertinent information

exists only at the discreet frequency components.

Although the sound-source approach described herein could be used when

there is significant broadband acoustic energy in the line (as in the previously discussed

cases), to use it in those cases would not be efficient because it might take an enormous

amount of averaging (even synchronous averaging) to be able to "see" or detect the discreet

components over the noise. In those previous cases, the flow noise, itself, is the sound

source.

In the present embodiment, the sound source 34 is preferably located in fluid

communication with the inner cavity 28. But by reciprocity, the same information can be

obtained by locating the sound source either upstream or downstream of the valve cavity 28

near the upstream or downstream pressure transducers 30, 40 and using the cavity pressure

transducer 32 as a sound detector. This approach is acceptable when there is only an

upstream or a downstream pressure transducer, but if both transducers are present, only the

inner cavity location allows an upstream or downstream seal leak to be detected using a

single sound source 34.

A through leak can be further verified in the valve closed position if a known

or determinable differential pressure exists across the closed valve. In that case, fluid will

only flow from the high pressure side to the low pressure side through upstream and

downstream seal leaks, and in the process, the flowing fluid makes a noise. The noise can be picked up by the internal cavity pressure transducer 32 already in place, and the resulting

auto-spectrum (magnitude at a function of frequency) can be obtained through the existing

analysis circuitry, and evaluated. If both seals aren't leaking, there is no through leak, and

even in the case of a massive upstream or downstream seal leak, there will be no fluid flow

and no noise. As a result, a very low valued auto-spectrum will be obtained, with a

characteristic 1/f shape. But if a through leak exists, the noise generated in the low

frequency range will increase the spectral floor. The greater the leak and the greater the

differential pressure, the greater the increase. The effect is particularly apparent near cavity

natural frequencies which are typically less than a few hundred Hz. If the differential

pressure is known or repeatable, an approximate quantification of the through leak may be

feasible. This method differs from an acoustics emission approach, where the frequencies

considered are much higher, usually well above 10 KHz.

But the approach above is not universally applicable since differential pressure

is not always present, and even when it is, the differential pressure level may not be known.

By contrast, the sound source approach described previously is universally applicable for the

closed valve situation, since it doesn't depend on sound energy from somewhere else. And

like the open valve situation, this approach is independent of sound level since the FRF

magnitude and the coherence representations are automatically normalized. That provides

repeatable approximate leak quantification, possibly even as a single number answer using

the mean value over the spectrum discussed previously. The ability to approximately

quantify leaky seals and through valve leaks is important since certain leaks may be deemed

acceptable if they are judged to not exceed the capacity of the on-board fire protection

system. The only trade-off in employing the sound source 34 to the inner cavity 28

occurs when either the upstream pressure transducer 30 or the downstream pressure -

transducer 40 isn't utilized. This situation will sometimes occur for riser (sea side) ESD

valves where the use of an upstream tap 31 may be frowned upon as a potential separate leak

source, and for export (to shore) ESD valves where the use of a downstream tap may be

similarly frowned upon.

Fig. 9a and 9b show an on-line system approach for the present invention with

the sensors and sound source located on or near the valve 10, and with data acquisition

circuitry and analysis circuitry 52 located in a nearby (safe) equipment room 54. More than

one equipment room 54 may be used on a platform, and several valves may connect to the

circuitry 52 in each equipment room. An on-shore control room computer or server 56 may

be connected by radio link. Engineers at various locations may connect to the server 56 to

obtain the relevant data. A portable version of the system (not shown), using the same

sensors and possibly the sound source is of course also feasible.

The illustrated on-line version acquires production (open valve) data

periodically, sampling each signal at 1 ,000 samples per second, forming and averaging the

FRF magnitude and coherence functions and analyzing the results. It also automatically

triggers on the breakaway torque or thrust signal from a torque or thrust sensor 58, and uses

changes in that signal, including the pretrigger portion, to assess valve degradation. On oil

platforms, immediately at the end of that trace (signaling valve closed in the closing stroke),

pressure data may be acquired by the various transducers 30, 32, 40 using residual fluid noise

in the pipe for a short period of time. The system may also be used to acquire inner cavity

auto-spectrum data in closed valve situations where known differential pressure exists across the valve 10. And finally, also for closed valve situations, the sound source is activated and

data is acquired from the pressure transducers 30, 32, 40 and the signals are analyzed-and

evaluated using the FRF magnitude and coherence functions as above.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes or modifications

could be made to the above described embodiment without departing from the broad

inventive concepts of the invention. It should be appreciated, therefore, that the present

invention is not limited to the particular embodiment disclosed but is intended to cover all

embodiments within the scope or spirit of the described invention.

Claims

1. An apparatus for use with a fluid transport system having an upstream

pipe, a downstream pipe and a valve connected between the upstream pipe and the

downstream pipe for controlling fluid flow through the system, the valve having at least one

upstream seal, at least one downstream seal and an inner cavity effectively isolated by the

seals from the fluid flow stream, the apparatus for detecting a leak in at least one of the seals,

the apparatus comprising:

a first transducer in fluid communication with the fluid flow stream at

at least one of: (1) a predetermined distance upstream of the upstream seal and, (2) a

predetermined distance downstream of the downstream seal, the first transducer for sensing

pressure pulsations resulting from at least one of: (1) dynamic energy due to fluid flow

through the fluid transport system and, (2) transient energy within the fluid in the transport

system after the valve is closed, and for generating first representative electrical signals as a

function of time;

a second transducer in fluid communication with the inner cavity for

sensing substantially simultaneous pressure pulsations within the inner cavity and for

generating second representative electrical signals as a function of time; and

an analyzer for receiving the first and second electrical signals and for

generating at least one of the following functions: (1) a frequency response function and, (2)

a coherence function, the generated function being sufficiently averaged to provide a

meaningful measure of the degree to which the two electrical signals are related to thereby

indicate whether, and to what extent, sensed pressure pulsations within the fluid transport

system are passing through at least one of the seals to the inner cavity.

2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein the frequency response

function is a magnitude representation.

3. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein both the frequency

response function and the coherence function are generated by the analyzer.

4. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein the first transducer is

positioned for sensing pulsations upstream of the upstream seal for identifying a leak in the

upstream seal after the valve is closed.

5. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein the first pressure

transducer is positioned downstream of the downstream seal for identifying a leak in the

downstream seal after the valve is closed.

6. The apparatus as recited in claim 1 wherein the predetermined distance

is established based upon the frequency range selected for analysis and the type of fluid in the

transport system.

7. The apparatus as recited in claim 6 wherein the maximum frequency is

less than or equal to 50 Hz.

8. The apparatus as recited in claim 6 wherein the maximum frequency is

less than or equal to 10,000 Hz.

9. An apparatus for use with a fluid transport system having an upstream

pipe, a downstream pipe and a valve connected between the upstream pipe and the

seals from the fluid flow stream, the apparatus for detecting and identifying the location of a leak in at least one of the seals when the valve is closed, the apparatus comprising:

an external sound source in fluid communication with the fluid

transport system for generating sound energy within the system;

a first transducer in fluid communication with the fluid in the system at

pressure pulsations resulting from the acoustic energy generated by the sound source and for

generating first representative electrical signals as a function of time;

a second transducer in fluid communication with the inner cavity for

sensing substantially simultaneous pressure pulsations within the inner cavity resulting from

the acoustic energy generated by the sound source and for generating second representative

electrical signals as a function of time; and

an analyzer for receiving the first and second electrical signals and for

system are passing through at least one of the seals to the inner cavity.

10. The apparatus as recited in claim 9 wherein the sound source is

positioned for generating sound energy within one of: upstream of the upstream seal, and the

inner cavity, and the first transducer is positioned for sensing pressure pulsations upstream of

the upstream seal for identifying a leak in an upstream seal.

11. The apparatus as recited in claim 9 wherein the sound source is positioned for generating sound energy within one of: downstream of the downstream seal,

and the inner cavity, and the first transducer is positioned for sensing pulsations downstream

of the downstream seal for identifying a leak in a downstream seal.

12. The apparatus as recited in claim 9 wherein the sound generated by the

sound source is sinusoidal.

13. The apparatus as recited in claim 12 wherein the frequency of the

sound source is less than or equal to 50 Hz.

14. The apparatus as recited in claim 9 wherein the sound source generates

a repetitive sound pulse at a predetermined repetition rate.

15. The apparatus as recited in claim 14 wherein the fundamental

frequency of the repetitive pulse generated by the sound source less than or equal to 10 Hz.

16. The apparatus as recited in claim 9 wherein the sound source is

positioned for generating sound energy within the inner cavity and the first transducer is

positioned for sensing pulsations within one of: upstream of the upstream seal, and

downstream of the downstream seal.

17. The apparatus as recited in claim 9 wherein the frequency response

function is a magnitude representation.

18. The apparatus as recited in claim 9 wherein both the frequency

response function and the coherence function are generated by the analyzer.

19. The apparatus as recited in claim 9 wherein the predetermined distance

transport system.

20. A method for use with a fluid transport system having an upstream pipe, a downstream pipe and a valve connected between the upstream pipe and the

seals from the fluid flow stream, the method for detecting a leak in at least one of the seals,

comprising the steps of:

sensing pressure pulsations within the fluid flow stream at at least one

of: (1) a predetermined distance upstream of the upstream seal and, (2) a predetermined

distance downstream of the downstream seal and generating first representative electrical

signals as a function of time, the pressure pulsations resulting from at least one of: (1) a

dynamic energy due to fluid flow through the fluid transport system and, (2) transient energy

within the fluid in the transport system after the valve is closed;

sensing substantially simultaneous pressure pulsations within the inner

cavity and generating second representative electrical signals as a function of time; and

analyzing the first and second electrical signals and generating at least

one of the following functions: (1) a frequency response function and, (2) a coherence

function, the generated function being sufficiently averaged to provide a meaningful measure

of the degree to which the two electrical signals are related to thereby indicate whether, and to

what extent, sensed pressure pulsations within the flow stream are passing through at least

one of the seals to the inner cavity.

21. The method as recited in claim 20 wherein the frequency response

function is a magnitude representation.

22. The method as recited in claim 20 wherein both the frequency response

function and the coherence function are generated.

23. The method as recited in claim 20 wherein the predetermined distance

transport system.

24. A method for use with a fluid transport system having an upstream

pipe, a downstream pipe and a valve connected between the upstream pipe and the

seals from the fluid flow stream, the method for detecting a leak in at least one of the seals

when the valve is closed, comprising the steps of:

generating sound energy within the fluid transport system utilizing an

external sound source in fluid communication with the system;

sensing pressure pulsations in the system at at least one of: (1) a

predetermined distance upstream of the upstream seal and, (2) a predetermined distance

downstream of the downstream seal and generating first representative electrical signals as a

function of time, the pressure pulsations resulting from the acoustic energy generated by the

sound source;

sensing substantially simultaneous pressure pulsations within the inner

analyzing the first and second electrical signals and generating at least

what extent, sensed pressure pulsations within the fluid transport system are passing through at least one of the seals to the inner cavity.

25. The method as recited in claim 24 wherein the sound source is^~

positioned for generating sound energy within the inner cavity.

26. The method as recited in claim 24 wherein the frequency response

function is a magnitude representation.

27. The method as recited in claim 24 wherein both the frequency response

function and the coherence function are generated.

28. The method as recited in claim 24 wherein the predetermined distance

transport system.

29. A method for use with a fluid transport system having an upstream

pipe, a downstream pipe and a valve connected between the upstream pipe and the

seals from the fluid flow stream, the method for detecting the presence of a leak in both of the

seals when the valve is closed and a differential pressure exists across the valve, comprising

the steps of:

determining the magnitude of the differential pressure across the valve;

sensing the presence of pressure pulsations within the inner cavity

resulting from fluid flowing through the seals into and out of the inner cavity and generating

representative electrical signals as a function of time;

analyzing the electrical signals and generating an auto spectrum

representation; and using the auto spectrum in conjunction with the determined differential

pressure magnitude to indicate the existence and extent of a leak.