A method of detecting escape or spillage of a cold liquid

Abstract: To detect escape or spillage of a cold liquid, for example liquefied natural gas, a narrow, robust, flexible, resilient, plastics tube 4, placed where the escaped or spilled cold liquid can contact it, is filled with carbon dioxide gas from a gas supply 24 via a non-return valve 34 and a pressure regulator 30 which ensures that the maximum pressure in the tube 4 is at a desired value which is preferably greater than the pressure of the ambient atmosphere surrounding the tube. A gas pressure drop detector 38 is provided to observe a pressure drop in tube 4. Should escaped liquefied natural gas contact the tube 4 the latter is so cooled that the carbon dioxide gas inside de-sublimates to a solid of greatly reduced volume causing a marked drop in pressure in the tube 4. This is observed by the detector 38 which initiates a warning or some safety action. A gas flow restrictor 36 ensures the gas supply 24 cannot rapidly re-charge the tube 4 before the detector 38 has responded to the pressure drop.

Description: This invention relates to a method of detecting escape or spillage of a cold liquid. The invention also concerns apparatus which can be used to perform the method. Certain substances which are gases at normal ambient pressure and temperature are cooled and liquefied to render them easier to handle or transport. Such substances may be valuable so that if there is undetected escape or spillage financial loss can occur. Also or alternatively, the inadvertent release of such a substance into the atmosphere during an escape or spillage can create a dangerous condition in which a toxic and/or smothering and/or explosive cloud or blanket of the substance in gaseous form can develop. One such substance is liquefied natural gas, and the invention particularly, though not exclusively, concerns a method of detecting escape or spillage of liquefied natural gas. According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a method of detecting escape or spillage of a cold liquid into an ambient atmosphere which is at a temperature which is higher than that of the liquid, whereby said method comprises providing a container in said atmosphere, said container having a wall through which heat is conductable, the interior of said container containing a gas which is the gaseous state of a substance which is a gas at the pressure prevailing within the container when the substance is at substantially the temperature of the ambient atmosphere, positioning said container such that the escaped or spilled cold liquid comes into contact with an exterior of said container wall so cooling the wall that said substance in the container interior cools accompanied by a drop in pressure in the container interior, and observing the occurrence of said drop in pressure as indication that said escape or spillage has occurred. The gas in said container may be supplied thereto through gas flow restrictor means which slows the flow of gas into the container from a supply of said substance. The container may be formed of plastics material and may be a tube. The tube may be flexible. Preferably said gas is the gaseous state of a substance which changes state to a liquid and/or solid state when or in the course of being subjected to cooling to substantially the temperature of said cold liquid of which escape or spillage is to be detected. The gas may be carbon dioxide. Preferably, prior to detecting an escape or spillage of said cold liquid, the gas pressure in said container is above the pressure of said ambient atmosphere. The gas pressure in the container may be in the range of 0 to 5.0 bar gauge pressure. The container may be disposed relative to a sloping floor surface directed to run-off said cold liquid, spilled or falling thereon, into contact with said container. According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus to detect escape or spillage of a cold liquid into an ambient atmosphere which is at a temperature which is higher than that of the liquid and said liquid being at a temperature which is lower than that of the sublimation temperature of solid carbon dioxide, whereby said apparatus comprises a container having a wall through which heat is conductable, carbon dioxide gas supply means communicating with the interior of said container, gas pressure regulator means to limit the maximum gas pressure in the container to a desired pre-determined value, gas pressure drop detector means to observe a drop in gas pressure in said container, and gas flow restrictor means interposed between said carbon dioxide gas supply means and said gas pressure drop detector means. The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:- Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic representation of an embodiment of apparatus according to the second aspect of the invention for performing the method according to first aspect of the invention of detecting escape or spillage of a cold liquid; Fig. 2 diagrammatically shows a modification which can be made to the apparatus in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows in section, an example of one way in which the apparatus in Fig. 1 can be arranged for use; Fig. 4 is a section on line IV-IV in Fig. 3, showing the apparatus of Fig. 1 in use detecting leakage of a cold liquid, and Fig. 5 diagrammatically shows another modification which can be made to the apparatus in Fig. 1. In the Figs. like references refer to like or comparable parts. Referring to Fig. 1, detection apparatus 2 comprises a length of narrow, flexible, robust, resilient detector tube 4 of plastics, which may be dark, for example black, in colour which at one end 6 is normally closed by a suitable openable and closable valve 8, and at its other end 10 is connected by a disconnectable coupling 12 to one end of a pipe 14 of a supply and control system 16. At its other end the pipe 14 is connected by a disconnectable coupling 18 with supply pipe 20, including a valve 22, from gaseous substance supply means 24, for example a cylinder of a compressed gas which substance at the normal ambient temperature of the atmosphere surrounding the tube 4 and at the normal pressure prevailing inside the tube 4 is a gas. The gas from the supply means 24 is used to fill the tube 4 and may be conveniently referred to as detector gas. Heat is conductable through the wall of the detector tube 4 which may be formed of polyethelene. The detector tube 4 can be long, for example from one end 6 to the other end 10 the detector tube can be up to substantially 150 metres in length. The detector tube 4 may have a substantially circular cross-section, and may have an outside diameter of substantially one quarter of an inch (about 6.4 millimetres) and a wall thickness of substantially 0.040 inches (about 1.0 millimetres). In the direction of gas flow through the supply and control system 16 from the supply 24 to the detector tube 4, the pipe 14 includes a filter 26, possibly a pressure gauge 28, a regulator valve 30, a pressure gauge 32, a non-return valve 34, gas flow restrictor means 36, pressure drop detector means 38, and a normally closed test valve 40. The detector tube 4 is disposed in an attitude where it is most likely to be contacted by the leaking or spilled cold liquid, the escape of which liquid it is desired to detect. That cold liquid is at a temperature which is less than the temperature of the ambient atmosphere surrounding tube 4. For example, with reference to Fig. 3, the detector tube 4 is disposed in floor channel 42 at the intersection of two sloping floor surfaces 44 and 46 inclined to one another at an obtuse angle, and over which floor the cold liquid is being stored, handled or transported. Fig. 4, for example, shows piping 48 for conveying the cold liquid, the piping being disposed above the floor 44,46. In order to put the apparatus into a condition for detecting inadvertent release of the cold liquid, the valve 8 is opened. The valve 22 is open permanently when the gas supply means 24 is connected to the pipe 14. Thus the detector gas entering the tube 4 flushes out the latter. When this has been judged to have been done sufficiently the valve 8 is closed. Now the supply 24 fills the tube 4 with detector gas up to a desired predetermined pressure set by the regulator valve 30. The predetermined pressure can be in the range of 0 to 5 bar gauge pressure. Preferably the pressure in tube 4 should be above the pressure of the ambient atmosphere so that air cannot enter the tube through leaks. The pressure in tube 4 may preferably be in the range of 0.3 to 2.0 bar gauge pressure (5 to 30 psi). In the event of leaking or spilled cold liquid contacting the tube 4, for example as shown in Fig. 4 where drops 50 of leaking cold liquid from a coupling 52 have collected in a pool 54 in the floor channel 42 and submerged part of the tube 4, this causes such cooling inside the tube 4 that the gas pressure therein drops. The drop in pressure is observed by the pressure drop detector means 38 causing the latter to initiate a warning and/or other action. For example the warning can be a visual warning as by illumination of a lamp 56 and/or an audible warning as by operation of sound producing means 58. Other action may be the automatic operation of apparatus storing or handling the cold liquid to reduce the risk of further escapes, for example a valve may be closed automatically to prevent more cold liquid being supplied to the piping 48; a control to cause or initiate such action is indicted at 60 arranged to receive signals from the pressure drop detector means 38. The gas flow restrictor means 36, which may be a valve, for example a needle valve, is arranged so that when there is a fall in pressure in the tube 4 this drop in gas pressure is maintained downstream of the restrictor means 36 for at least a sufficiently long enough time for the pressure drop detector means 38 to observe and respond to the pressure drop. In other words, when there is a pressure drop in the tube 4, the gas supply 24 cannot immediately re-charge the tube because the restrictor means 36 considerably slows the gas flow into the tube 4. The pipe 14 comprises a portion extending from the restrictor means 36 to the coupling 12. That portion of the pipe 14 preferably has a relatively small internal volume; for example the aforesaid portion may have an internal diameter substantially similar to that of the tube 4 and may be of relatively short length, for example a few centimetres. From this it follows that the length of the gas passage from the gas flow restrictor means 36 to the end 6 of the detector tube 4 can be up to substantially 150 metres in length. Manually operable valve 40 is provided so that it can be opened, when desired, to drop the pressure in tube 4 and thus provide a test facility to see if the pressure drop detector means 38 is working. It is preferred that the detector gas is the gaseous state of a substance which changes its state to the liquid and/or solid state when or in the course of being subjected to cooling to substantially the temperature of the cold liquid of which the leakage or spillage is to be detected. Such change in state to the liquid or solid state is accompanied by a considerable reduction in the volume of the substance when compared with the volume occupied by the gaseous state before cooling took place. In a preferred method to detect the leakage or spillage of cold, liquefied natural gas (which at ordinary atmospheric pressure boils at substantially -161°C) the detector gas is carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide de-sublimates (namely goes directly from the gaseous state to the solid state) at substantially -78°C accompanied by a volume decrease which reduces the volume of de-sublimated carbon dioxide to about one seven hundred-and-ninety-fourths (i.e. a reduction ratio of 1:794) of the sublime state volume. Thus if the drops 50 and pool 54 in Fig. 4 are of liquefied natural gas, the carbon dioxide in the portion of the tube 4 in the pool de-sublimes to a much smaller volume so that the pressure gradient which results causes carbon dioxide to rush along the tube to that point to also de-sublime. This causes a sudden and quite marked drop in gas pressure in the tube 4. Carbon dioxide can be used as the detector gas to detect leakage or spillage of other cold liquids particularly if those liquids have temperatures less than -78°C, for example liquid cryogens. In the modification shown in Fig. 2, an arrangement 37 having a fixed size orifice in a plate forms the restrictor means in place of the restrictor means 36 in Fig. 1. In the modification shown in Fig. 5 the restrictor means is a fine bore tube 39 which may be of metal. At one end the restrictor tube 39 is a fluid tight fit in a central bore in a disc 64 which is a fluid tight fit around its circumference in one end of a cylindrical protective sheath 66. The sheath 66 may be of metal and, as shown, may be longer than the tube 39. Spaced portions of the pipe 14 are secured to opposite ends of the sheath 66 by compression joints comprising locking nuts 68 and 70 screwed onto the sheath. In one example the tube 39 may be substantially 59mm in length and may have an internal diameter of substantially 0.1mm. The apparatus described above can be made and installed relatively cheaply. It is relatively simple and can be robust.

Claims: A method of detecting escape or spillage of a cold liquid (50,54) into an ambient atmosphere which is at a temperature which is higher than that of the liquid, whereby said method comprises providing a container (4) in said atmosphere, said container (4) having a wall through which heat is conductable, the interior of said container (4) containing a gas which is the gaseous state of a substance which is a gas at the pressure prevailing within the container (4) when the substance is at substantially the temperature of the ambient atmosphere, positioning said container (4) such that escaped or spilled cold liquid (50,54) comes into contact with an exterior of said container wall so cooling the wall that said substance in the container interior cools accompanied by a drop in pressure in the container interior, and observing (38)the occurrence of said drop in pressure as indication that said escape or spillage (50,54) has occurred. A method as claimed in Claim 1, characterised in that the container (4) is formed of plastics material. A method as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, characterisd in that the container is a tube (4). A method as claimed in Claim 3, characterised in that said tube (4) is flexible. A method as claimed in Claim 3 or Claim 4, characterised in that said tube (4) does not exceed substantially one hundred and fifty metres in length from gas flow restrictor means (36;37;39) through which the tube is supplied with said gas. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 3 to 5, characterised in that the tube (4) has an external diameter of substantially 6.4 millimetres or less. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the gas in said container (4) is supplied thereto through gas flow restrictor means (36;37;39) which slows the flow of gas into the container from a supply (24) of said substance. A method as claimed in any one preceding claim, characterised in that the gas is the gaseous state of a substance which changes state to a liquid and/or solid state when or in the course of being subjected to cooling to substantially the temperature of said cold liquid (50,54) of which escape or spillage is to be detected. A method as claimed in any one preceding claim, characterised in that prior to detecting an escape or spillage of said cold liquid (50,54), the gas pressure inside said container (4) is in the range of 0 to 5.0 bar gauge pressure. A method as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 8, characterised in that prior to detecting an escape or spillage of said cold liquid (50,54), the gas pressure inside said container (4) is greater than that of the ambient atmosphere surrounding the container. A method as claimed in any one preceding claim, characterised in that said gas is carbon dioxide. A method as claimed in any one preceding claim, characterised in that the container (4) is in a channel (42). A method as claimed in any one preceding claim, characterised in that the container (4) is disposed relative to a sloping floor surface (44;46) directed to run off said cold liquid (50;54), spilled or falling thereon, into contact with said container (4). A method of detecting escape or spillage of cold liquefied natural gas, characterised in that said method is as claimed in any one preceding claim. Apparatus to detect escape or spillage of a cold liquid (50,54) into an ambient atmosphere which is at a temperature which is higher than that of the liquid and said liquid being at a temperature which is lower than that of the sublimation temperatue of solid carbon dioxide, whereby said apparatus comprises a container (4) having a wall through which heat is conductable, carbon dioxide gas supply means (24) communicating with the interior of said container (4), gas pressure regulator means (30)to limit the maximum gas pressure in the container (4) to a desired pre-determined value, gas pressure drop detector means (38) to observe a drop in gas pressure in said container (4), and gas flow restrictor means (36;37;39) interposed between said carbon dioxide gas supply means (24) and said gas pressure drop detector means (38). Apparatus as claimed in Claim 15, characterised in that said container is a flexible tube (4). Apparatus as claimed in Claim 16, characterised in that said tube (4) is a plastics tube. Apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 15 to 17, in which the gas flow restrictor means comprises a valve (36) or a fixed size orifice (37) or a narrow bore tube (39).

Inventors: PAINTER DAVID MICHAEL, TENCH ROBERT BOOTH, PAINTER, DAVID MICHAEL, TENCH, ROBERT BOOTH
Applicants: BRITISH GAS PLC
Application year: 1991
Main classification: G01M3
IPC codes: F17D5, G01M3