TY - CONF A1 - Dzierliński, M. A1 - Neumann, Patrick P. A1 - Bartholmai, Matthias T1 - Towards UAV-based Detection of Leaking Gas Pipelines N2 - Leaking methane (CH4) from infrastructures, such as pipelines and landfills, is critical for the environment but can also pose a safety risk. Nowadays, after a period of failure-free exploitation, a significant increase in fires and explosions due to pipeline leakages, can be observed. Particularly problematic are the gas pipelines in Poland that were built several decades ago. At that time, the technical standards and building regulations were more lenient than those currently being in force. The integrity of the gas pipelines is difficult to inspect as they are not piston-optimized (they were not built for this purpose). To overcome this challenge, the UDT is looking for methods that enable a fast and reliable detection and localization of leaking pipelines over long distances. The BAM has developed a robotic platform for aerial remote gas sensing that meets the expectations of UDT. Spectroscopic measurement methods for remote sensing of selected gases lend themselves for use on mini-copters, which offer several advantages for inspection and surveillance over traditional methods. No direct contact with the target gas is needed and thus the influence of the aerial platform on the measured gas plume can be kept to a minimum. This allows to overcome one of the major issues with gas-sensitive mini-copters. On the other hand, remote gas sensors, most prominently Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) sensors have been too bulky given the payload and energy restrictions of minicopters. Here, we present the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Remote Gas Sensing (UAV-REGAS), which combines a novel lightweight TDLAS sensor with a 3-axis aerial stabilization gimbal for aiming on a versatile octocopter. It enables tomographic reconstruction of gas plumes and a localization of gas sources. Currently, UDT and BAM are cooperating to develop and validate an effective leakage detection method based on the UAV-REGAS platform. We present first results showing its performance under realistic conditions. Depending on the results, UDT may use this platform in their inspection practice in the near future. T2 - 1st EARSeL Workshop UAS “UAS for mapping and monitoring” CY - Warsaw, Poland DA - 05.09.2018 KW - UAV KW - Localization of gas sources KW - In-situ and remote gas sensing KW - Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) KW - Wind estimation PY - 2018 AN - OPUS4-45991 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -