Development of an Intelligent Internal Leakage Monitoring System for Industrial Valves Using Acoustic Emission Technology: A Case Study of the Gas Pressure Reduction Station

Taheran, Ehsan; Zarabadi, Seyyed Alireza; Rajabpour, Ali

doi:10.22075/jhmtr.2025.37657.1741

Development of an Intelligent Internal Leakage Monitoring System for Industrial Valves Using Acoustic Emission Technology: A Case Study of the Gas Pressure Reduction Station

Articles in Press

Document Type : Full Length Research Article

Authors

Ehsan Taheran

Seyyed Alireza zarabadi

Ali rajabpour

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Imam Khomeini International University (IKIU), Qazvin, Iran

10.22075/jhmtr.2025.37657.1741

Abstract

Internal leakage in industrial pressure valves is recognized as a critical hazard in the gas industry, where timely and accurate detection plays a vital role in preventing accidents and minimizing energy losses. Acoustic Emission (AE) technology, as a non-destructive and online method, has recently become one of the key tools for condition monitoring of industrial equipment, particularly in noisy environments. In this study, an intelligent leakage monitoring system based on AE was designed and developed to detect and assess the severity of internal leakage in valves used at the gas pressure reduction station in Qazvin Province. The focus of the research was on two commonly used types of industrial valves (ball valves and plug valves) whose structural differences pose analytical challenges in leakage detection. Initially, a laboratory-scale pilot system was built to simulate controlled leakage scenarios, and the resulting AE signals were used to develop and train signal processing algorithms. The proposed system was subsequently evaluated under real operational conditions with high levels of ambient noise. One of the key contributions of this research is the introduction of a quantitative index for determining internal leakage severity based on features extracted from the AE signals, enabling real-time classification and monitoring of valve performance. Field results confirmed that the developed system can accurately detect even minor leakages without requiring process interruption and assess their severity with high reliability.

Keywords

Mass Transfer

Acoustic Emission

Internal Valve Leakage

Transient Gas Flow

Signal Analysis

Subjects