Detection Stability Improvement of Near-Infrared Laser Telemetry for Methane Emission from Oil/Gas Station Using a Catadioptric Optical Receiver

Abstract

Open-path laser telemetry of methane leakage yields security guarantees of energy storage and transportation for oil/gas station production operation. In order to further improve the long-term detection stability under the condition of long-distance non-cooperative targets, a catadioptric optical receiver (COR) consisting of a Fresnel lens, cone reflector and parabolic reflector is proposed to focus the laser echo light that deviates gradually with the increase in atmospheric turbulence. The geometric configuration parameters of COR are optimized by the ray-tracing method, and the condensing performance of COR is further verified. The self-developed methane laser telemetry system coupled with COR is calibrated in the laboratory and then moved to the field for a signal receiving stability experiment under turbulence interference. The results show that the receiving angle of COR increases 3.8 times compared with the Fresnel lens optical receiver (FOR). The RMSE and IS of the COR system are 0.00173 V and 84.79%, respectively. For comparison, these two evaluating indicators of the FOR system are 0.00288 V and 76.23%. This self-developed methane laser telemetry system coupled with COR is feasible for improving the long-term detection stability of remote leakage monitoring in oil/gas stations.