Research on acoustic source characteristics of gas pipeline leakage

The acoustic source characteristics of gas pipeline leakage determine the accuracy and adaptability of acoustic leak detection for gas pipelines. In order to explore the acoustic source characteristics of gas pipeline leakage, the physical model of gas pipeline leakage is established and the corresponding acoustic wave generation mechanism is studied. Then the acoustic source characteristics under different leakage apertures and different pipeline pressures are analyzed and compared with experimental results. The results show that the acoustic source of gas pipeline leakage is mainly the quadrupole source and the generated acoustic energy is mainly concentrated below 50 Hz. The average value of sound pressure level is increased with the increase of pipeline pressure and leakage aperture. The comparison between the simulation results and experimental results shows that the simulation method is feasible to analyze the acoustic source characteristics of gas pipeline leakage.