Method and apparatus for detecting leakage in tanks.

摘要

A partial vacuum is created in a perforated tank (10) by means of a pump (37) driven by an electric motor (38) so as to produce a pressure difference across the tank wall and thus to cause air to pass through the perforation. A hydrophone included in a probe (22) senses the acoustic waves produced by the formation of air bubbles in the fuel (14), which are processed to provide an electrical signal which is supplied to a control and display unit (27) and from there to an oscilloscope (29) and headphones (31) where they can be recognised by the operator and thus indicate the presence of the perforation. The method and apparatus can also be used with above ground fuel storage tanks and other types of above and below ground storage tanks.