december2021january2022 - 36

PRODUCT PROFILE
says. " After that 15 minutes, we can then
tell you whether there is a leak on the
pipeline or not. The size of that leak can
be very small. "
Golba says that while more and
more airports are using an automation
system (SCADA) that controls the
hydrant, this has historically not been
the case - especially in North America,
where many hydrant systems were built before
such technology existed. For hydrants lacking
in automation, it's very difficult to install a
leak detection system without investing in a
SCADA system, thus a standalone and portable
solution was devised.
" It's called the Atmos Portable Tightness
Monitor (APTM). The system has been
developed for airports that don't have any
level of automation, specifically smaller airports
or older airports, airports that typically
wouldn't have the budget to put an automation
system with leak detection on the pipeline, "
Golba says.
" However, it became increasingly obvious
in certain areas around the world that a portable
system was actually a much more attractive
proposition. "
If a SCADA system is in use on the
hydrant, the Atmos Tightness Monitor
would offer a solution as this communicates
with the SCADA directly and works
hand in hand. Both products utilize the same
algorithms enabling the accurate detection
of very small leaks.
How It Works
Golba says that a key feature of the APTM
is the short time it needs to run its tests,
now at 15 minutes.
" Testing time has always been a difficulty,
there's a lot of airports around the
world that operate 24 hours a day, seven
days a week. For example, there are various
airports in India that do not shut down
and do not have curfew hours. Finding a
45-minute window for us to test is practically
impossible in some locations. So,
having reduced the testing time down to
15 minutes over the past couple of years,
has really improved the ability to conduct
these tests on hydrant systems, " he says.
The APTM uses the pressure step
method, which works by testing a hydrant
system at two pressure thresholds.
First at its operational
pressure, for
example 170 PSI, and
then after depressurizing,
at a lower pressure,
for example 100
PSI. Running the test
at different pressure
levels helps to negate
the effects temperature
can have on a test -
such as falling pressure levels due to falling
temperatures.
" The benefit of the pressure step method
is that we're giving the customer a much
more reliable result, a more repeatable
result and also providing higher levels of
accuracy, " Golba says.
Each APTM is calibrated and fine-tuned
for the airport it is to be utilized by.
" We commission the system and tune it
for each and every individual segment on
a hydrant system. And that's how we get
the best performance out of the system, "
Golba says.
The APTM is small enough to fit into
the trunk of a car or bed of a truck, making
for easy transportation around the airport
apron and does not require multiple people
to operate or transport the system.
" The system itself is provided in two
PeliTM cases, with the first containing a
computer unit and the second the APTM
depressurization manifold. The only other
thing required is a support vehicle with a 12v
DC outlet to power the system, " says Golba.
Maintenance and Support
An APTM can be supplied with annual
support and maintenance coming in the
form of Atmos Aviation Care. Under this
contract, all data is collected, transmitted
to the Atmos Cloud and analyzed by Atmos
engineers enabled by 4G communications
built into it.
36 GROUND SUPPORT WORLDWIDE DECEMBER 2021/JANUARY 2022
" Through Atmos Aviation Care, we can
support the customers, often live, while
they're doing the testing and in the event
that they have any concerns over the data,
we can almost instantly confirm whether
the results are of any concern, whether we
think there may be a passing valve on the
hydrant system that needs to be investigated
or maybe there's something else happening, "
Golba says.
The visibility ensures tests are being performed
correctly as Atmos engineers can
view the process remotely as it is performed.
" If we see any drift in the data, we can
investigate that. We can look at it instantly
and we can respond to the customers,
ensuring that again, the system is doing
what it should be doing and that we can
trust the results, " Golba says.
" To support our customers, we also provide
access to our online training platform,
which contains videos, tests and certificates
to ensure all operators using the Atmos systems
are trained to the required standard. "
Airport hydrant system leaks can have
serious consequences such as damage to
the environment and lost revenue due to
downtime of fueling operations. Atmos'
tightness monitoring systems give operators
the ability to test their hydrant system's
integrity to detect and mitigate leaks within
15 minutes.
december2021january2022

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