Quality Analysis of Natural Gas Using the Structural Reliability of an Analytical Information System

Abstract

In this study, the authors first attempted to evaluate the efficiency of available systems for natural gas quality analysis using various examples. For this purpose, a model for such gas analysis systems was designed and the structural reliability of these systems were calculated. In the following, the main shortcomings of the existing methods for evaluating the reliability of gas analysis systems were discussed. Finally, a new probabilistic approach for the reliability assessment of such systems was proposed. This approach included a subsystem of measuring instruments that depended on the number of measured parameters. Specifically, it was suitable for measuring a single parameter of a gas mixture, but in order to check its effectiveness, a number of criteria were considered to identify and record system failures. For each criterion, various mathematical equations were constructed for reliability indices, including an operating time distribution function, reliability function, and average time to failure function. Finally, the obtained values and the reliability evaluation of gas analysis systems were discussed. Additionally, the main advantages of using the new method compared to the existing methods were enumerated. Furthermore, instead of assessing the standard structural reliability, a probabilistic assessment of reliability based on the accuracy of measurements was proposed.