Pipeline Sensor System Warns When Danger Is Near
Anatural-gas pipeline operator in the Midwest is testing a new monitoring system that not only sends an alert if there is an impact on the pipe but can even warn operators of dangers nearby.
In the first U.S. use of the technology, Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline Inc., Wichita, Kan., installed three ThreatScan monitors on 13 miles of 760-psi, 16-in.-diameter pipeline in a densely populated area, says Amy Jo McKean, the company’s lead engineer on the project. The goal is ambitious. “Impact detection is good, but we want to get to the right-of-way encroachment level,” she says.