Acoustic Imaging Method for Gas Leak Detection and Localization Using Virtual Ultrasonic Sensor Array

An acoustic imaging method for detecting and locating gas leaks based on a virtual ultrasonic sensor array is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. A scanning sensor array of only two sensors is used to collect the acoustic signals generated by the leakage hole. The matrix of the leakage signal is processed by the cross-power spectrum method to achieve time consistency, afterward, the location of the leakage source can be calculated by the virtual beamforming method. The influence of the number of sensors and the distance between adjacent sensors on the effect of the proposed method are compared and discussed. To verify the effectiveness and operability of the detection and localization method, several experiments were carried out. Furthermore, a series of experiments were conducted to assess the accuracy and stability of this method. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method based on a virtual sensor array can achieve highly accurate localization of gas leaks and performs well regarding stability.