Wireless Gas Leak Detection and Localization

Thousands of industrial gas leaks occur every year, with many leading to injuries, deaths, equipment damage, and a disastrous environmental effect. There have been many attempts at solving this problem, but with limited success. This paper proposes a wireless gas leak detection and localization solution. With a monitoring network of 20 wireless devices covering 200 m2, 60 propane releases are performed. The detection and localization algorithms proposed here are applied to the collected concentration data, and the methodology is evaluated. A detection rate of 91% is achieved, with seven false alarms recorded over 3 days, and an average detection delay of 108 s. The localization results show an accuracy of 5 m. Recommendations for future explosive gas sensor design are then presented.