Pipeline leak detection is vital to the preservation of both the environment and human health. Between the years of 1990 and 2012, the Alberta Energy Regulator determined that there had been 17,605 reported pipeline incidents in the forms of leaks, hits with no release and ruptures [Pipeline Performance in Alberta, 1990–2012]. This study investigates a novel approach for identifying and localizing chemical leakages utilizing mesh-based electronic instruments and surface coating techniques. In contrast to conventional leak detection instruments, this technique can be applied on a fairly large surface area or even an entire structure and is able to provide continuous health monitoring. In this thesis, the conceptual design, fabrication procedure, experiment setup, testing results, and real world application of the proposed system will all be discussed.

The proposed leak detection system includes one or more layers of flexible mesh electrodes formed by discrete conductive/nonconductive filaments. It is wrapped on top of the 3D structure needing to be monitored and is coated with nano-composite based sensing material. The hydrocarbon sensing is performed by the chemiresistive properties of the sensing material coated on top of the filaments. During the monitoring, whenever the structure experiences changes in the hydrocarbon concentration level to which it is exposed, the sensing material on top of the structure will capture the changes and convert them to resistive/voltage changes. The conductive filaments in the mesh will then transmit the electrical signals gathered from the coating to the onsite electronic system. The onsite electronic system comprises of an electrical connector, a microcontroller with local storage and certain numbers of shift registers and multiplexers. This electronic system is able to perform early stage data processing on site such as scanning, driving, calibrating, conditioning and remote communication. Further data processing and analysis will be conducted using the proposed professional software once the data reaches the user station. In addition to data processing and analysis, the software at the user station is also able to provide such functionalities as graphical indication, larger volume information storage and structural failure warning