Posted Mar 8, 2018
Safe, reliable and consistent fuel supply is vital
Airports are vital transportation hubs; it is an economic priority that they run smoothly and efficiently. The shutdowns at Auckland airport last fall, following a supply pipeline leak, was an example of the disarray possible with the travel plans of thousands of disrupted and freight delivered late. Safe, reliable and consistent fuel supply is vital to keep the planes on time whether it’s with the fuel supply pipeline or the fuel hydrant system. Project managers and design engineers must consider the fuel supply, demand for fuel, fuel quality, stock levels, availability of fuel hydrants and the environment when building or upgrading an airport’s fuel hydrant system. Any fuel leak can wreak havoc on airport operations.
The volume of product spilled can vary significantly, depending on the hole size, the segment volume, the pressure, and when the leak started. If a 0.34mm hole develops an hour after testing in a 200m3 volume segment with a leak rate of 8l/h, a total of 34,560 liters of the product could leak, undetected, between six-month testing periods. Testing every month would detect that leak when less than 5,760 liters spilled. If the hydrant were tested every day, only 192 liters would spill before the leak was detected.
Essential hydrant maintenance
The larger the leak, the more problems it creates; from logistics problems including supply and availability of hydrants to environmental and safety concerns. That’s why it’s essential to maintain airport hydrants and regularly check them for leaks and other possible hazards. A conventional pipeline leak detection system is unsuitable for monitoring complex layouts such as airport hydrant systems with multiple delivery points to the stringent test requirements of EI 1540, 1560, and JIG2.
Atmos Tightness Monitoring solutions
The Atmos Tightness Monitor is a non-intrusive statistical tightness monitoring system that tests fuel hydrants for leaks with minimum downtime. The Atmos Portable Tightness Monitor is light, ultra-portable, supplied in two Peli™ cases, and non-intrusive tool that has industry-standard quick-connections to allow airport engineers to efficiently test a hydrant segment for leaks, disconnect, and quickly move on to check the next segments.
The Atmos Leak Trial Manifold makes verifying tightness monitoring systems on airport hydrants even easier with its portable manifold designed for accurate, low-flow measurement in hazardous areas.