Resolution of Suspected Tank Release of Diesel Fuel Using Diagnostic Compounds and Biomarkers

During a routine inspection in a petroleum product terminal, hydrocarbon staining was found in soil along the perimeter of a diesel fuel tank. As the observation was made a few days after a magnitude 5.1 earthquake in the general area of the terminal, the hydrocarbon staining in the soil was suspected to be a result of a leak from the tank. The observation triggered an immediate tank inspection, which included examination of tank exterior, piping and connections;pressure testing;wall thickness gauging;and an inventory check. Results of the initial inspection suggested that there were no integrity issues with the tank. Before more vigorous and more disruptive inspections were conducted, chemical fingerprinting was conducted to assess the nature of soil staining and potential connection with the “suspected” tank leak. Samples were collected from the site, including a diesel fuel sample from the tank, a light non-aqueous phase liquid (LNAPL) sample from the monitoring well in the immediate vicinity, and representative soil samples from the perimeter of, and beneath, the tank. A tiered laboratory analytical approach was taken, which included initial gas chromatography-flame ionization detector carbon chain analysis and final gas chromatography-mass spectrometry or detailed fingerprint analyses. Based on the results of initial inspection, knowledge of LNAPL mobility in response to earthquake seismic waves, and chemical fingerprints of representative samples, it was determined that the soil staining was not a result of suspected tank release but remobilization of hydrocarbons from the historically impacted soil beneath the tank to the soil along the perimeter of the tank.

System Identification Modeling and Unstable Behavior of the Dynamics of Flows within the Tip Region of an Axial Compressor Blade Passage

In recent years, the correlation coefficient of pressure data from the same blade passage in an axial compressor unit has been used to characterize the state of flow in the blade passage. In addition, the correlation coefficient has been successfully used as an indicator for active control action using air injection. In this work, the correlation coefficient approach is extended to incorporate system identification algorithms in order to extract a mathematical model of the dynamics of the flows within a blade passage. The dynamics analyzed in this research focus on the flow streams and pressure along the rotor blades as well as on the unsteady tip leakage flow from the rotor tip gaps. The system identification results are used to construct a root locus plot for different flow coefficients, starting far away from stall to near stall conditions. As the compressor moves closer to stall, the poles of the identified models move towards the imaginary axis of the complex plane, indicating an impending instability. System frequency data is captured using the proposed correlation based system identification approach. Additionally, an oscillatory tip leakage flow is observed at a flow coefficient away from stall and how this oscillation changes as the compressor approaches stall is an interesting result of this research. Comparative research is analyzed to determine why the oscillatory flow behavior occurs at a specific sensor location within the tip region of the rotor blade.

Measurement-based solution for low frequency oscillation analysis

This paper presents a measurement-based solution for low frequency oscillation(LFO) analysis in both real time monitoring and off-line case study. An online LFO property discrimination method is developed first,which alternately uses empirical mode decomposition(EMD)/Hilbert transform(HT) and square calculation to process the measurement data. The method magnifies the variation trend of oscillating variables to accurately discriminate the property of the oscillation. Subsequently, an oscillation source locating method for the forced oscillation(FO) and a strongly correlated generator identification method for the weak damping oscillation(WDO) are proposed. Finally, numerical study results on a test system of the isolated Changdu grid in Tibet validate the proposed methods.