Detect What Others
Can't Hear

When pressurized fluid escapes through a defect in a pipeline wall, it generates a characteristic broadband acoustic emission. The intensity, frequency profile, and spatial pattern of this signal are distinct from normal pipeline flow noise. As Sonusphere travels through the pipeline, its onboard acoustic sensor continuously captures this signal. When the tool passes within range of an active leak, the emission amplitude spikes and the signal characteristics shift in a pattern that is algorithmically identified as a leak event.

The tool's IMU sensor and 22 Hz transmitter provide continuous positional data, allowing each acoustic event to be precisely correlated with a pipeline location. Post-run analysis combines the acoustic record with pipeline geometry data to produce a georeferenced leak report.

Sonusphere requires a minimum differential pressure of P₁ > (P₂ + 15 PSI), where P₁ is internal pipeline pressure and P₂ is the external (ambient or backpressure) condition at the leak site. This differential is necessary to produce a detectable acoustic signal at the leak orifice.

As an example: if external pressure P₂ is 15 PSI (e.g., hydrostatic head of groundwater), internal pressure must exceed 30 PSI for Sonusphere to detect a leak at that location. Standard operating pressures for liquid petroleum transmission pipelines are well above this threshold in most cases.

Sonusphere is designed to detect all active through-wall leak types in liquid petroleum pipelines, including:

• Pinhole leaks — typically associated with pitting corrosion or mechanical damage
• Crack leaks — through-wall cracking due to stress corrosion cracking (SCC), fatigue, or manufacturing defects
• Joint leaks — leaking girth welds, sleeve joints, or mechanical couplings

All leak sizes above the detection threshold of 115 mL/min (0.043 bbl/hr) are detectable, provided the minimum pressure differential condition is met. Sonusphere does not detect non-leaking anomalies (e.g., metal loss that has not penetrated the wall) — it is exclusively a leak detection tool, not a metal loss sizing tool.

Conventional inline inspection tools — including axial MFL, circumferential MFL, radial ultrasonic, and crack detection tools — detect and characterize wall anomalies based on physical geometry: metal loss dimensions (length, width, depth) or crack morphology. These tools are optimized for sizing defects within the wall, not for detecting active fluid flow through a defect.

A pinhole leak typically occupies an extremely small defect width and length — below the spatial resolution and signal threshold of geometry-based ILI technologies. It falls in a region of the defect sizing matrix that is simply outside the detection envelope of these tools. Sonusphere fills this specific gap by detecting the acoustic consequence of the leak (fluid escape) rather than its geometric cause (wall defect dimensions).

CPM is a legislated, real-time volumetric monitoring system that identifies significant product loss events — primarily large leaks, sudden ruptures, or major flow imbalances. Its detection threshold is typically around 0.1% of throughput volume, which on a 24-inch Sch 40 pipeline running at 10,000 bbl/hr equates to approximately 10 bbl/hr.

Sonusphere operates at a threshold of 115 mL/min — approximately 0.043 bbl/hr — making it roughly 232 times more sensitive than CPM in this scenario. The two systems are complementary: CPM provides continuous, automated surveillance for larger events, while Sonusphere provides periodic, high-sensitivity surveys for small leaks that accumulate over time. Together, they eliminate the detection gap that allows pinhole leaks to go undetected indefinitely.

No. Sonusphere is a free-swimming tool that travels with normal product flow — no shutdown, flow reduction, or temporary decommissioning is required. The tool is launched through a standard pig launcher and recovered at a receiving trap, using existing pigging infrastructure.

Pipeline operations continue normally throughout the inspection. The tool's 22 Hz transmitter allows the crew to track its real-time position above ground throughout the run.

Yes. Sonusphere's small spherical form factor and passive free-swimming design allow it to traverse pipeline configurations that are inaccessible to conventional ILI tools, including:

• Pipelines without permanent launcher/receiver infrastructure (can be added temporarily)
• Lines with tight-radius bends that exceed conventional tool articulation limits
• Pipelines with partially open ball valves or inline check valves
• Gathering systems and smaller-diameter lines (minimum 4 inches / 100 mm)

Contact Solaros Analytica for a pipeline-specific traversability assessment if you have questions about a particular configuration.

Sonusphere is designed to run alongside — not replace — existing ILI schedules. Typical integration approaches include:

• Running Sonusphere immediately after a conventional ILI run to confirm that no identified anomalies have progressed to active leak status
• Scheduling periodic Sonusphere interval runs between ILI cycles on high-risk segments or HCAs
• Deploying Sonusphere as a reactive tool following CPM false positive alarms or post-repair verification

Sonusphere data is delivered as a georeferenced leak report that integrates with existing pipeline GIS and integrity management systems.

Yes. A confirmed Sonusphere run producing a clean result — no active leaks detected — provides a data-backed, auditable record of pipeline containment that can be submitted to regulators, Indigenous and community stakeholders, and internal risk governance processes. This is particularly relevant in the following contexts:

• Pipelines with a history of CPM false positives requiring documented alarm resolution
• Lines crossing or adjacent to high-consequence areas (HCAs) requiring enhanced assurance
• Segments flagged by regulators for additional surveillance
• Pre-regulatory inspection leak clearance activities