Colouring thermal images
Gas is an economic combustible source of energy for many households in Europe and worldwide, involving increased safety measures in distribution, transmission and storage systems. Yet, though gas leakage is normally assigned to the age of the distribution networks this is not always the case. It has been observed that the largest proportion of gas leaks can come from the low-pressure sections in the distribution mains. Additionally, gas may also emanate from high-pressure areas of the transmission and storage systems. Within this context, the "Visualisation Of Gas for Utilities and the Environment" (VOGUE) project focused on direct imaging of natural gas leaks. The key outcome was the development of a portable imaging system that provides location of leak sources found in both low- and high-pressure sections. Part of the project work involved image processing techniques, such as enhancement for false colour images of visualised gas leaks. This may clearly display the various types of leaking gas behaviour, offering fast and intuitive interpretation of images. More specifically, the software program allows the enhancement of contrast between the gas cloud and the background. This is due to the fact that thermal or camera images constitute a superposition of the gas cloud image on the background image both appearing in grey-scale. Thereby, the tool re-processes the obtained images by displaying the gas cloud falsely coloured against the grey scale background, allowing its easy identification. The tool is suitable for the preparation of images or movie sequences in training material aimed for emergency personnel, gas industry and authorities.
