JP4747834B2 - Marine hose fluid leak detection system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluid leak detection system for a marine hose, and more particularly to a fluid leak detection system for a marine hose that can quickly detect the fluid leak of the marine hose and can also grasp the degree of the leak amount. .

  A marine hose that transports crude oil, etc. by sea between a tanker on the sea and an onshore facility will cause a great deal of environmental pollution if the transport fluid leaks to the outside due to damage, etc. Preventive measures are taken.

  As a commonly used means for preventing fluid leakage, a fluid retention layer is provided between the reinforcing layers laminated on the outer peripheral side of the fluid flow path, and the leaked transport fluid is temporarily stored in the fluid retention layer to the outside. It is intended to prevent leakage of water.

It is necessary to constantly monitor the marine hose in order to detect fluid leakage abnormalities with this fluid leakage prevention means, but patrol monitoring at sea is heavy labor, especially at night, when weather and sea conditions are bad. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to detect an abnormality and the danger increases.
Therefore, when the transport fluid leaks into the fluid retention layer, a leak detection means is provided that is activated by the transport fluid, and the detection signal detected by the detection means is received externally by radio to check whether there is a fluid leak. Various methods have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

However, these proposals have a problem that it takes time until the leaked fluid reaches the detection unit, and the leak cannot be detected immediately. Moreover, since only the presence or absence of fluid leakage is detected and the level of leakage cannot be grasped, there has been a problem that appropriate measures according to the fluid leakage cannot be taken.
JP 55-33946 A JP 11-325378 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a marine hose fluid leak detection system that can quickly detect a fluid leak of a marine hose and can grasp the level of the leak amount.

To achieve the above object, a fluid leakage detection system for a marine hose according to the present invention is provided in the fluid retention layer of the marine hose in which a fluid retention layer is provided between reinforcing layers laminated in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral side of the fluid flow path. A fluid leakage detection system for a marine hose that detects leakage of an inflowing fluid, and is arranged on the marine hose side so as to detect a change in air pressure inside the fluid retention layer when the fluid flows into the fluid retention layer. Air pressure detecting means, and a receiver for receiving a detection signal transmitted by the air pressure detecting means outside the marine hose, and the air pressure detecting means is disposed inside the fluid retention layer. this consists of a sealing member, and a communicating pipe for communicating the flexible hollow sealing member on the outside of the fluid retention layer, and the air pressure sensor disposed outside of the fluid retention layer is connected to the communicating pipe The one in which the features.

  According to the marine hose fluid leak detection system of the present invention, the air pressure inside the fluid staying layer, which fluctuates as the fluid flows into the fluid staying layer, is detected by the air pressure detecting means. Can be detected. In addition, the amount of fluid leakage can also be grasped based on the change rate of the air pressure.

  Since the detection signal of the air pressure detecting means is received by the receiver, the monitoring work can be easily and safely performed at a place away from the marine hose, and the monitoring work can be made lighter.

  Hereinafter, a fluid leakage detection system for a marine hose of the present invention will be described based on the embodiments shown in the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, this marine hose 1 is provided with a connecting end 2 for connecting another marine hose 1 at both ends, and the connecting end 2 is constituted by a nipple 2b having a flange 2a at one end. An inner rubber layer 3, a first reinforcing layer 4, a main body wire layer 5, a second reinforcing layer 6, and a buoyant material layer 8 are wound around the outer periphery of the nipple 2 b in order from the inner side to the outer side in the circumferential direction. The outermost periphery is covered with the outer skin layer 9, and the inner peripheral side of the inner rubber layer 3 is a fluid flow path 1a.

  The inner rubber layer 3 in contact with the transport fluid is made of nitrile rubber or the like having excellent oil resistance, and the main body wire layer 5 is formed in a spiral shape with metal wires spaced apart from the outer rubber layer of the first reinforcing layer 4 at a predetermined interval. Wrapped and configured. Each of the reinforcing layers 4 and 6 is formed by laminating a plurality of reinforcing cord layers in which the reinforcing cords are covered with rubber.

  The first reinforcing layer 4, the main body wire layer 5, and the second reinforcing layer 6 are made up of nipple wires 2a, 5a, 6a at one end of each of them, and a fixing ring 2c protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the nipple 2b. It is fixed to.

  The buoyancy material layer 8 is made of a material that exhibits buoyancy to float the marine hose 1 such as sponge rubber or polyurethane foam on the sea, and the outer skin layer 9 is made of a non-permeable material such as rubber, A line pattern with excellent visibility is attached.

  Between the main body wire layer 5 and the second reinforcing layer 6, a fluid retention layer 7 is formed which becomes a sealed space for storing the transport fluid leaking from the first reinforcing layer 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the flexible tube 10 is disposed in the fluid retention layer 7 so as to be spirally wound around the fluid flow path 1a. Note that FIG. 2 omits some of the components for ease of explanation.

  One end of the flexible tube 10 is sealed, and the other end is connected to the communication tube 11. The flexible tube 10 is made of an oil resistant material such as acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, silicone rubber, or tetrafluoroethylene resin.

  The communication pipe 11 extends from the fluid retention layer 7 on the outer periphery of the nipple 2b in the direction of the flange 2a, and is connected to an air pressure sensor 12 fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the nipple 2b. The communication pipe 11 and the air pressure sensor 12 are configured to be covered with the outer skin layer 9 and blocked from outside seawater and the like.

  The air pressure sensor 12 is a so-called general diaphragm type pressure sensor. The outer shell container 13 has a communication hole 13c on the side surface, and the communication chamber 11 and the air chamber provided with the diaphragm 14a communicate with each other through the communication hole 13c. is doing. Below the diaphragm 14a, there are provided a pressure detection unit 14b and a transmission unit 14c configured by an electronic circuit or the like.

  The outer shell container 13 includes a metal base portion 13a and a resin storage portion 13b formed thereon to form a sealed space, and the base portion 13a abuts against the outer peripheral surface of the metal nipple 2b. Is fixed. The outer shell container 13 is configured not to shield the radio wave W transmitted by the transmission unit 14c as a detection signal, and for the storage unit 13b, for example, a resin such as ABS resin, PVC resin, PP resin, or the like is used. The base portion 13a may be formed of these resins instead of metal. The receiver 15 that receives the detection signal of the air pressure sensor 12 is provided with a display unit 15a that displays air pressure.

  In the marine hose 1 having the above-described configuration, when the first reinforcing layer 4 is broken during transportation of fluid such as crude oil, and the damage extends from the fluid flow path 1a to the fluid retention layer 7, the air pressure of the fluid retention layer 7 is rapidly increased. To change. For example, when the transport fluid flows into the fluid retention layer 7 from the fluid channel 1a through the damaged portion, the air pressure of the fluid retention layer 7 immediately rises regardless of the position of the damaged portion, and the air pressure increases as the inflow amount increases. growing.

  The flexible tube 10 contracts and deforms in conjunction with the rising air pressure, the diaphragm 14a of the air pressure sensor 12 changes correspondingly through the communication tube 11, and the capacitance between electrodes (not shown) changes. This is detected by the pressure detector 14b. That is, it is possible to detect fluid leakage quickly by detecting a change in air pressure in the flexible tube 10 without the inflowing transport fluid reaching the air pressure sensor 12.

The detection signal of the pressure detection unit 14b is transmitted to the receiver 15 by the radio wave W transmitted from the transmission unit 14c, and the air pressure of the fluid retention layer 7 is displayed on the display unit 15a of the receiver 15 based on this detection signal. . Thereby, since the fluid leak of the marine hose 1 can be grasped immediately, it is possible to take a lot of preparation time for coping, and the coping is not too late.
Moreover, not only the presence or absence of fluid leakage, but also the amount of leakage can be grasped by the rate of change in air pressure, and appropriate measures can be taken according to the amount of leakage.

  Since the air pressure sensor 12 is disposed at a position away from the inside of the fluid retention layer 7 via the flexible tube 10 and the communication tube 11, it is not directly exposed to the inflowing transport fluid. Therefore, the internal parts of the pressure detection unit 14b and the transmission unit 14c made of the diaphragm 14a, the electronic circuit, and the like are not damaged by the transport fluid, and can be used with good durability for a long period of time without failure.

  In this system, it is not necessary to patrol the sea as in the past, and it is possible to perform intensive monitoring work away from the marine hose. Therefore, even when the nighttime, weather, and sea conditions are bad, monitoring can be performed easily and safely, so that the monitoring work can be greatly reduced.

  In this embodiment, since the base part 13a connected to the transmission part 14c can function as an antenna, it is possible to perform good transmission by adjusting the shape of the base part 13a. Further, by connecting the base portion 13a and the metal nipple 2b, the nipple 2b can also function as an antenna.

  Further, when the outer skin layer 9 and the second reinforcing layer 6 are damaged, external seawater flows into the fluid retention layer 7, so that the air pressure of the fluid retention layer 7 changes. Therefore, a change in air pressure detected by the air pressure sensor 12 can be grasped by the receiver 15 by the same process as described above. In this way, damage from the outside of the marine hose 1 can be detected quickly, and the degree of damage can be grasped.

 The internal structure of the marine hose 1 is not limited to the structure shown in the embodiment because the number of reinforcing layers and the type of laminate differ depending on the specifications. As the air pressure sensor 12, in addition to the illustrated diaphragm type pressure sensor, other general sensors such as a bellows type pressure sensor can be used.

 The flexible tube 10 can be disposed in the fluid retention layer 7 in an arbitrary state. For example, the flexible tube 10 can be disposed linearly in the longitudinal direction of the fluid channel 1a, but spirally with respect to the fluid channel 1a. By winding and disposing in the fluid retention layer 7, the entire marine hose 1 can be more easily detected without leaking.

 Any flexible tube 10 may be used as long as it can be deformed by a change in the air pressure of the fluid retention layer 7 and the change can be transmitted to the air pressure sensor 12 through the communication pipe 11. For example, instead of the flexible tube 10, a flexible hollow sealed body having an arbitrary shape can be used. As a flexible hollow sealing body, not only what has flexibility as a whole but you may make it the structure provided with the part which has equivalence in one part.

  Further, if the air pressure sensor 12 has a waterproof structure, the air pressure sensor 12 can also be arranged directly inside the fluid retention layer 7. As shown in FIG. 3, the air pressure sensor 12 can be fixed inside a sealed casing 16 having a flexible membrane portion 16 a on a part of the wall surface, and the sealed casing 16 can be arranged inside the fluid retention layer 7. .

  The flexible film portion 16a is made of silicone rubber, acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, polyethylene, or the like. The sealed casing 16 is configured not to shield the radio wave W transmitted by the transmission unit 14c as a detection signal, and uses, for example, a resin such as an ABS resin, a PVC resin, or a PP resin.

  According to this structure, when the air pressure of the fluid retention layer 7 becomes large as a flexible membrane part 16a as a diaphragm, it will become depressed inside. As a result, the air pressure inside the sealed casing 16 fluctuates correspondingly with the magnitude of the air pressure of the fluid retention layer 7, the diaphragm 14 a changes through the communication hole 13 c, and the air pressure of the fluid retention layer 7 is changed by the air pressure sensor 12. Can be detected.

  Since the air pressure sensor 12 is sealed and protected by the airtight casing 16, it does not directly contact the transport fluid, and a general-purpose air pressure sensor can be used.

  In the present invention, examples of the fluid transported by the marine hose 1 include liquids such as crude oil, gasoline, and LPG.

It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the whole structure of the fluid leak detection system of the marine hose of this invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged explanatory view showing some of the components in FIG. 1. It is explanatory drawing which shows another attachment reference example of a pneumatic sensor .

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Marine hose 1a Fluid flow path 2 Connection end 2a Flange 2b Nipple 2c Fixing ring 3 Internal rubber layer 4 First reinforcement layer 4a Nipple wire 5 Body wire layer 5a Nipple wire 6 Second reinforcement layer 6a Nipple wire 7 Fluid staying layer 8 Buoyant material layer 9 Outer skin layer 10 Flexible tube
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Communication pipe 12 Air pressure sensor 13 Outer shell container 13a Base part 13b Storage part 13c Communication hole 14a Diaphragm 14b Pressure detection part 14c Transmission part 15 Receiver 15a Display part 16 Sealed casing 16a Flexible film part

Claims (4)

A fluid leakage detection system for a marine hose that detects leakage of fluid flowing into the fluid retention layer of a marine hose having a fluid retention layer provided between reinforcing layers laminated in the circumferential direction on the outer circumferential side of the fluid flow path. An air pressure detecting means arranged on the marine hose side to detect a change in air pressure inside the fluid staying layer when a fluid flows into the fluid staying layer, and a detection signal transmitted by the air pressure detecting means is sent to the marine hose. A receiver for receiving outside the hose , wherein the air pressure detecting means is disposed inside the fluid retention layer, and the flexible hollow seal is disposed outside the fluid retention layer. A fluid leakage detection system for a marine hose comprising a communication pipe that communicates with the fluid pipe, and an air pressure sensor that is connected to the communication pipe and disposed outside the fluid retention layer . The fluid leak detection system for a marine hose according to claim 1 , wherein the flexible hollow sealing body is formed in a tube shape. The fluid leak detection system for a marine hose according to claim 2 , wherein the tubular flexible hollow sealed body is spirally wound around the fluid flow path. The fluid leak detection system for a marine hose according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein a base portion of the air pressure sensor is formed of metal, and the base portion and a transmission portion of the air pressure sensor are connected.

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