Patent ID: 8682600

Claim:
Apparatus for detecting fuel leaks in an area having at least one fuel service pit assembly for managing fuel flow from an underground fuel pipeline, the at least one fuel service pit assembly including at least one sidewall having an inlet for receiving a connecting pipeline in fluid communication with the underground fuel pipeline, and a pit cover for accessing the at least one service pit assembly, the leak detection apparatus comprising: a potential reference electrode respectively buried in direct contact with ground soil proximate each of the at least one fuel service pit assemblies; a test point defined at a local section of the pipeline; said at least one fuel service pit assembly further comprising: a local signal processor coupled to memory for communicating and storing present and previous pipe-to-soil potential measurements during fueling and non-fueling operations, said signal processor configured to receive a first electrical signal indicative of an electrical potential from the potential reference electrode and a second electrical signal indicative of an electrical potential at the local section of the pipeline, wherein a pipe-to-soil potential is defined by a voltage potential difference as between the test point and the potential reference electrode, said signal processor operable to preprocess the pipe-to-soil measurements by receiving sample pipeline and soil electrical potential measurements at predetermined intervals, calculating an average pipe-to-soil potential value based on the sample pipeline and soil potential measurement values, and comparing the latest sample pipe-to-soil potential measurement with the average pipe-to-soil potential value; a local transceiver communicably coupled to the local signal processor for receiving the preprocessed pipe-to-soil measurements from the signal processor; and a central control station having a central transceiver for receiving said preprocessed pipe-to-soil measurements from the local transceiver over a communications network, and a central processor for further processing said preprocessed pipe-to-soil measurements received from the at least one fuel service pit assembly to detect and locate the position of a fuel leak in the underground fuel pipeline.