Case Study: World Class innovation – The Gas Collector

World Class innovation - The Gas Collector

Background
In late 2014, Andrew Ford, Managing Director of Dive Works saw an opportunity to provide an innovative solution for a gas leak measurement tool that would result in cost
savings to the client. Using the Dive Works observation class ROV Andrew and his team developed ‘The Gas Collector’.

Innovation
After consulting closely with the Client and gaining a thorough understanding of the
scope of work and previous methods and
technology used, Andrew Ford designed the following.

Design:
An aluminum frame was constructed, which was then attached to the front of the ROV, approximately 30cm in front of the ROVs camera. Then a 180-degree tilt unit was fitted, which was controlled from the surface. The gas collector was connected to the tilt unit allowing the ROV pilot full control of the
degree of angle at any one time. This was all in full view of the ROVs camera so the
displacement of water with the gas was fully visible.

Launching the ROV and Taking the
Measurements:
The gas collector was placed in the upright position so as to flood it with water and extrude all air. The ROV Pilot then flew the ROV down to the survey area, landed out the ROV next to the pipe and tilted the gas collector over the area of the leak. Then the Dive Works ROV Pilot calculated the time it took to displace one liter of water with the
gas. Once this was completed the ROV stayed in position and the gas collector was tilted 180 degrees, so as to displace the gas from the collector.
This meant that the survey could be repeated as many times as necessary without moving the ROV.

Recovering the ROV
Once completed, the ROV surfaced with the gas collector in the upward position, so as not to have any gas left in the collector before recovery to the vessel. The survey was recorded onto high definition video and edited upon instruction from the Client Representative.

Outcome
The measurements were successfully taken as per the Client’s requirements, allowing the Client to gather precise information about the flow rate of gas from the pipe.
The Client estimated the cost savings to be in excess of AUD $100,000.
Dive Works’ solution improved upon the previous method which involved the use of a Work Class ROV with longer lead times, higher costs and less accurate data obtained.