Fraunhofer Institute for Physical Measurement Techniques IPM
More safety – Less environmental impact
The infrastructure for natural gas transport is steadily expanding and modernized. Today, the German natural gas network covers a length of more than 500,000 kilometers. Legal requirements regarding the tightness of the gas infrastructure are increasing. In addition to safety, the environmental impact of unnecessary gas emissions has a growing importance for the high demands made on the tightness of the gas network. This also applies to industrial sectors such as the oil, petrochemical and gas industries. Just like gas network operators, they also need effective measuring systems for leak detection, which allow reliable and sensitive remote detection of natural gas or certain process gases
Leakage testing with gas cameras
Fraunhofer IPM is developing sensitive and convenient measurement technology for the quantitative leakage testing of gas infrastructure. The easy-to-use measuring devices facilitate efficient and reliable leakage testing or the location of leaks. Among other things, we use imaging gas cameras in which optics and image processing are adapted to the respective measuring task.
In the development of gas-specific cameras, we draw on extensive experience with measuring systems based on laser spectroscopy, evaluation models and the use of thermographic cameras. Our hand-held laser spectrometers for remote gas detection, for example, allow quantitative leakage evaluation. In the development of our gas-specific leakage measurement systems, we work with lasers of all wavelength ranges. In addition to the detection of methane in the natural gas network, the devices can thus also be used for gas detection in industrial production processes: For example in the packaging and food industry, where it is necessary to monitor the inert gas atmosphere for food storage or packaging.
Our leakage measuring systems for remote detection are used as hand-held systems, but also on mobile platforms, especially on vehicles. In a current project, we are developing a leakage measuring system for use on a drone.