Moveable Inspection Ball Simulation for Pipe Leakage Detection using an Acoustic Sensor

During the pipeline lifecycle, the impact of design, welding fractures, corrosion, and other issues cause pipeline leaks, leading to considerable economic losses and environmental pollution. Internal leak detection localization systems are sensitive to oil, gas, water, and multiproduct pipelines. Under steady circumstances, conventional leak detection methods are often employed to calculate the likelihood of a leak based on fluid flow variations at each inlet and outlet. Leaks occur when operational changes create transitory circumstances that cause local pressure and flow variations. An effective monitoring system must be in place and evaluated regularly for accurate leak detection, even under transitory settings. This paper discusses preliminary numerical modeling targeted at creating inspection techniques for pipe leakage detection utilizing the acoustic physics of a smart ball sensor and COMSOL Multiphysics 5.6. The simulation examines the effects of flow regime, leak location, ball placement, ball diameter, and leakage noise on the propagation of sound pressure levels inside the pipe and around the sphere. The simulated data is utilized to fine-tune the control strategy inside the mobility test ball. According to the research, water is more susceptible to sound energy than other fluids. The influence of oil on sound energy is larger. The ball diameter affects the fluid’s hydrodynamics, although the diameter is readily used for oscillation reflection.