Abstract
In the presented work, the potential of fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) for detection of small gas pipeline leaks (<1%) is investigated. Helical wrapping of the sensing fiber directly around the pipeline is used to increase the system sensitivity for detection of weak leak-induced vibrations. DAS measurements are supplemented with reference accelerometer data to facilitate analysis and interpretation of recorded vibration signals. The results reveal that a DAS system using direct fiber application approach is capable of detecting pipeline natural vibrations excited by the broadband noise generated by the leaking medium. In the performed experiment, pipeline vibration modes with acceleration magnitudes down to single μg were detected. Simple leak detection approach based on spectral integration of time-averaged DAS signals in frequency domain was proposed. Potential benefits and limitations of the presented monitoring approach were discussed with respect to its practical applicability. We demonstrated that the approached is potentially capable of detection and localization of gas pipeline leaks with leak rates down to 0.1% of the pipeline flow volume and might be of interest for monitoring of short- and medium-length gas pipelines.