Automatic 3D Visualization and Tracking of Gaseous Organic Volatile Compound Emissions by means of Spatial and Temporal Information from an Optical Gas Imaging Stereo System

Hydrocarbon emissions within industrial facilities due to leaking involve an environmental as well as a safety risk besides the economical impact due to wastage. It is therefore imperative to develop fast and reliable methods for the detection, localization and tracking of gas leaks. In this work, a stereo gas camera system and a measurement method are proposed to both locate and track gas emissions in space under real conditions. Two different stereo gas camera setups were built and used to show the validity of the proposed measurement method: a two-camera system and a catadioptric system based on a single gas camera attached to a mirror system. The fundamental properties of the developed measurement method and the properties of the stereo measurement systems were investigated and evaluated with synthetic data and in experiments under laboratory conditions using a custom-made test bench. Succeedingly, the measurement systems and methods were tested under real field conditions in biogas plants and in a petroleum refinery. The obtained information permits a better understanding of the leakage situation and hence allows avoiding major accidents within such facilities.