BACKGROUND

In subterranean fluid transport industry, various systems exist for detecting leaks. Further, various systems exist for transporting fluids including formation fluids. Pipelines may be employed, for example, to transport natural gas to and/or from a refinery. In many cases, the pipelines are subterranean. In order to detect leaks, a sensor line is buried with the pipeline.

A typical gas leak detector includes a sensing line having an inlet, an outlet, and a sensor arranged at the outlet. The sensing line is perforated, covered with a hydrophobic membrane and encased in a protective layer. The sensing line is given time to soak and absorb any gases that may be leaking from the pipeline. After a selected period, a purge flow is introduced into the inlet; and fluid passing from the outlet is monitored for a selected gas.

If gas is detected, steps may be taken to correct any leaks. A location of the leak may be correlated to an amount of time passed from fluid introduction and gas detection. Current sensing technology is typically limited to pipe lines that are no more than about 10 kilometers (km) due to the time required for the purge flow to clear the sensing line and due to the spreading of the leaking gas within the sensing tube during the purge which makes it more difficult to determine the leak location. That is, a typical sensing cycle for a 10 km sensing line is about 24 hours; 18 hours of soaking and 6 hours for the purge flow. Further, forming the sensor is a time-consuming process. Therefore, the art would appreciate a sensor system that might be used over greater distances and could be easier and more cost efficient to produce.

SUMMARY

Disclosed is a gas detector sensor node including a first sensor conductor having a terminal end, a second sensor conductor including an end section, and a coupler joining the terminal end of the first sensor conductor with the end section of the second sensor conductor. The coupler being permeable to gas.

