METHOD OF DETECTING LEAKS OF LIQUID HYDROCARBONS FROM MINE PIPELINES Russian patent published in 1998 - IPC

FIELD: oil-piping engineering. SUBSTANCE: method comprises photographing heat field of pipeline route, optically probing near- surface atmosphere layer at hydrocarbon fraction-absorption wavelength, and determining position of area sites with abnormal temperature and maximum absorption of near-surface atmosphere layer. Additionally, acoustic intensity in near-surface soil layer within the pipeline route, is recorded. Then, one determines magnitudes and directions of temperature, atmosphere absorption, and noise gradients near detected sites and leakage point is determined from position of site where temperature abnormality, absorption of near-surface atmosphere layer, and noise intensity exceed specified limiting values for each test parameter, provided that gradients of these parameters do not exceed specified limiting values in all directions round given site. EFFECT: facilitated localization of leakage point.