Faster Computation On Directed Networks of Automata (Extended Abstract).

The occurrence and magnitude of a leak in a pipeline are determined by sensing a product velocity, pressure and temperature at an upstream point of flow of a product of known composition in said pipeline and sensing product velocity, pressure and temperature at a downstream point in said pipeline. The ambient temperature of the material surrounding said pipeline is sensed at spaced locations along said pipeline between said upstream and downstream points. The above parameters are employed to determine from four equations (conservation of mass, conservation of momentum, conservation of energy, and the equation of state) a single valued function of time representative of the product imbalance of product flowing from said upstream point to said downstream point.