On-Line Monitoring to Detect Third-Party Damage on Underground Natural Gas Pipelines Using Accelerometer

Even though an excavation is not under the direct control of the utility operators, it is the main cause of third-party damage on the underground natural gas pipelines. Since the damage due to third-party excavation may lead to horrible consequences, preventative techniques that can reduce the third-party damage are needed. The purpose of this paper is to introduce an on-line monitoring system using accelerometer to detect a propagating acoustic pressure pulse that is produced from the third-party damage. Also, in order to verify this system, the corresponding field tests were performed considering many third-party damage sources(breaker, hammer drilling, etc.) and signal transmission ratio of each source. From the tests, signals developed by the third-party damage sources were successfully detected with the digital filter, which can distinguish external noises at the distance of 13km. Therefore, it is expected that the system can be used as a useful tool for the third-party damage monitoring of underground natural gas pipelines