SAPHIR, Signal Physique et Intrumentation

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LabVIEW monitors leaks hydrant Orly

Synoptic network hydrant

By A. Rosteau, CSAM and L. Bazin, SAPHIR

The objective: to monitor the tightness of the distribution of kerosene at the airport of Orly.

The solution: establish a monitoring application developed in LabVIEW with equipment Fieldpoint.

The CSAM (Society Aviation Fuel Handling) carries kerosene from a storage tank to the distribution valve located at the foot of the aircraft, through oléoréseau (pipes).
At Orly airport, aviation fuel is stored in tanks of receipt (approximately 50,000 m3). Once the fuel certified, the CSAM conducts its transfer through a micro filtration tanks to remote dispatch of four kilometers. Once in the tanks of shipment, the fuel is again filtered and then sent to the power vents located on the slopes.

The application implementing Fieldpoint equipment managed by LabVIEW has proved its robustness by operating 24 hours out of 24 since 2002.

Test Conditions
The application is made to report leaks in the network, by means of a check every night, during shutdown of air traffic between 23:30 and 5:30, when the network is idle.
A surveillance system for leaks designed by CERG (Alain Hellion) was working perfectly last ten years.
The aim was to modernize the system to resume its functionality and add a measure of compressibility daily. The CSAM has entrusted the development of the application to SAPHIR, a partner of National Instruments. SAPHIR has chosen to use material Fieldpoint for input / output deported. Fieldpoint modules are placed in a cabinet located in a remote and local data are transferred to the PC room monitoring via an RS-485. Modules with analog inputs, digital inputs, the steering relay and reading of meters to measure the values of the sensors and control actuators. As for LabVIEW, it manages the entire application and can refresh with a mimic different network elements (valves, pumps ...)

An automated test sequence
The test starts every night at 23:30 and consists of several stages.
The first step is the formal condition of the network: animation motorized valves, checking the condition of valves and manual pumping to increase pressure of the passing of 8.2 bars to 11 bars for the duration of the test.
The second step is to perform the measurement of compressibility and the leak test. There are two parallel networks of power subject to the same environmental conditions, the measure of compressibility is successively made on these two networks. A fixed volume of kerosene is automatically deducted for each network and the pressure variation induced by the sample is measured, a mathematical formula to deduce the compressibility of the networks 1 and 2.

The network is reduced to the pressure of 11 bar and after a stabilization period, we carry out the leak test. The change in pressure between the two networks which should normally be close to 0 is measured. The value of the compressibility and pressure variations between the two identical networks are used to determine if one of the leaks and if necessary to calculate the flow rate of the leak. Once the test is completed, the network is restored to its original state at a pressure of 8.2 bar in order that operations can resume.

Results
The application works on site 24 hours on 24 since 2002 and has proved satisfactory. Each morning, the automatic printing of a report allows the staff of the CSAM to see the results.
Improvements are planned including a monitoring of life in the event of failure of the computer, and the possibility for SAPHIR to maintain the application remotely.

For more information, please contact
Ludovic Bazin
SAPHIR
Rue du Mail
38530 BARRAUX
Tel. : 04 38 92 15 50
E-mail: @ ludovic.bazin saphir.fr

September 2002

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