Importance of Constant Pipeline Monitoring
Between oil wells and oil refineries, pipelines play an important role in the stable and efficient transportation of crude oil extracted from wellheads. These pipelines are subject to pressure fluctuations and corrosion in the oil transportation process, which may damage the joints and branching points of the pipes, causing the crude oil to leak.
At such times, workers have to visually check the values of the pressure gauges installed in the pipelines to detect leaks. However, relying solely on operator round inspections can mean that detecting leaks takes a significant amount of time. If the detection of crude oil leaks is delayed, it may result in economic losses for companies, as well as pipeline fi res, explosions, and environmental pollution. To detect leaks at an early stage and identify their locations, it is necessary to establish a solution to monitor pressure fluctuations in the pipelines continually.
Challenges
Automated Monitoring of Wide-Area Pipelines
To introduce a monitoring solution to pipelines with a total length of several kilometers, a wireless system capable of covering a wide area is required.
Early Detection of Abnormalities
It is necessary to detect abnormal pressure fluctuations at an early stage and quickly implement maintenance.
Wireless Solution for Industrial IoT, Sushi Sensor
LoRaWAN® Wireless Network with Long-Range Communication and Low Power Consumption
Sushi Sensor adopts LoRaWAN, one of the wireless communication standards classifi ed as LPWA. LoRaWAN uses the sub-GHz band*, which is suitable for long-range wireless communication, and enables communication over approximately 1 km, depending on the wireless communication environment. It operates for an extended period on batteries alone, eliminating the need for wiring work.
* A different frequency band is set for each country.
Cloud Monitoring
The pressure data collected by Sushi Sensor is transmitted to and stored on a cloud server via the LoRaWAN gateway. By utilizing a cloud server highly compatible with Sushi Sensor, pressure abnormalities can be detected online even from remote locations.
Benefits
In one regional pipeline, wireless pressure sensors are installed at monitoring points in the pipelines up to 12km* away from a LoRaWAN gateway, and remote monitoring is performed via the cloud. By monitoring pressure fluctuations in the pipelines from a bird's-eye view, it becomes possible to limit the area where an abnormality has occurred, which is expected to lead to a faster response compared to before.
This customer is currently installing wireless pressure sensors in specific areas to optimize monitoring operations. In the future, they aim to expand the monitoring range and centrally monitor the status of pipelines across multiple locations and regions, ultimately optimizing overall monitoring operations.
* Maximum communication distance varies depending on wireless communication environment.
Example of System Configuration
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