KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

REPORT ON

LPG LEAKAGE DETECTOR AND EXHAUST

Submitted By:
Abhishek Karki (41070)
Rohit Kumar Ray (41111)
Rounak Lal Shrestha (41117)
Sajeeb Katuwal (41072)

Submitted to:
Professor
Bim Prasad Shrestha
Department of Mechanical Engineering

September, 2021
 ABSTRACT
One of the most common types of energy source used domestically is liquefied gas.
Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) is a highly inflammable gas. Though the safety issues are
considered by the company, leakage of gas has become a very common accident which
can cause damage to human lives and property. Our project aims to make a low cost,
power efficiency centralized LP gas leakage alarm system with exhaust. The system has
two main devices: the gas detector (MQ-6 Gas Sensor) and the centralized alarm unit.
The gas detector that is located close to the gas usage point (gas cylinder), is a
battery-operated device that is designed to operate for extended periods of time using 9V
batteries. There can be more than one detector in the systems, which can be separately
identified in the system. The centralized alarm unit detects the signals sent by the
detectors and releases the alarm. The main working principle is the comparison of voltage
drop between Reference voltage and the MQ-6 gas sensor voltage. It has an indication of
which detector has released the alert. The alarm unit will be ac mains powered and will
have a battery backup to cater power failures. The components of the device will be
chosen considering the power consumption.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Department of Mechanical

Engineering, Kathmandu University for providing us the opportunity to take the
Mechatronics subjects as an elective subject. We would like to thank our lecturer Prof.
Bim Prasad Shrestha for proper guidance in our research reports. Likewise, we will also
thank all those people and social platforms for directly or indirectly helping us throughout
the research reports.
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Abbreviations Full Forms Page No.

LPG Liquefied Petroleum Gas 1
IC Integrated Circuit 2
ANG Analog 4
GND Ground 5
NO Normally Open 6
NC Normally Closed 6
LED Light Emitting Diode 6
NPN Negative-Positive-Negative 7
Figure 1: Block Diagram of the system 3
Figure 2: MQ-6 Sensor pin out 5
Figure 3: 7474 IC pin out 5
Figure 4: Relay 6
Figure 5: Buzzer 6
Figure 6: Exhaust Fan 7
Figure 7: LED 7
Figure 8: Diode 8
Figure 9: BC 547 Transistor 8
Figure 10: 7404 IC 9
Figure 11: Circuit Diagram 10
 TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Motivation 1
1.3 Problem Description 2
1.4 Objectives 2
1.5 System overview 2
1.6 Limitations 3
CHAPTER 2 4
2.1 Literature Survey 4
2.2 Components 4
2.2.1 MQ-6 Gas Sensor 4
2.2.2 Flip Flop 5
2.2.3 Relay 6
2.2.4 Buzzer 6
2.2.5 Exhaust Fan 7
2.2.6 LED 7
2.2.6 Diode 8
2.2.7 Transistor 8
2.2.8 Integrated Circuit (IC) 9
METHODOLOGY 10
3.1. Working Mechanism 10
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND 11
PERFORMANCE 11
4.1. Project Description 11
4.2. Performance 11
CONCLUSION 12
REFERENCES 13
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

With the development of the world, technology is enhanced day by day with realistic
projects and efficient works. In this project, we will be using the MQ-6 semiconductor
sensor to detect the combustible gas. These types of sensors are made up of sno2.This
sensor has low conductivity in the fresh air. But the sensor conductivity will be higher
when the LPG gas concentration increases. Generally, the conductivity of the sensor
depends on the concentration of the gas so it may detect not only combustible gas but also
smoke, butane, and isobutane. Gas leakage leads to several accidents that result in both
material loss and human injuries. The use of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) for various
purposes has been rapidly increasing and with the increase in the use the risk of explosion
and accidents has also been increasing. LPG leakage detection is the process of detecting
the potentially hazardous gas leaked by the help of a sensor. As the leakage of this gas
can cause a lot of accidents, there is an absolute need for the leakage detector. This can be
a vital device and help to prevent accidents to a great extent and also protect people from
danger and also prevent material and financial loss.
LPG, which is flammable, is a mixture of hydrocarbon gases used in different
applications like home, industries, vehicles and so on. Due to the leakage of gas, it has
resulted in a lot of explosions and caused a lot of human and material loss. So, LPG
leakage detectors can be very much advantageous to prevent accidents and for the entire
humankind. This can alert the person and prevent accidents at the right time. Gas leak
detection is the process of identifying potentially hazardous gas leaks by means of
various sensors. These sensors usually are connected to an audible alarm to alert people
when a dangerous amount of gas has been detected.

1.2 Motivation

LPG leakage has been a serious issue of the present time. Several serious problems have
been caused due to the leakage of LPG gas in industries, hotels, restaurants, hospitals,
kitchen and many other places. So, to prevent the suffering, accidents and avoid the
accidents and problems, we had been motivated to make a system that would detect the
leakage and help in exhaust of gas avoiding any accident that may be caused.
1.3 Problem Description

There are a lot of problems caused due to the leakage of the LPG gas. A lot of news
regarding the explosions and accidents due to leakage of gas can be heard on a regular
basis. The gas being heavier doesn't easily disperse and lead to suffocation and other
accidents as well. Making an LPG leakage detector can alert the person at the right time
and not only in the kitchen but also in large industries and vehicles, this can be useful to
prevent accidents. Since there is no use of microcontrollers this can be cheap and help
engineering to make products economical and affordable.
1.4 Objectives

The major objectives behind performing this project are enlisted below:

1. Design and construct LPG Leakage Detector.

2. Built an exhaust system to expel out leaked gas.
3. Reduce the risk provided by the leaked gas.

1.5 System overview

The device consists of a LPG gas sensor for the detection of the leaked gas. It will be
connected to the dual comparator Integrated Circuit (IC). It compares two voltages
namely, reference voltage and MQ-6 gas sensor output voltage. If the reference voltage is
lower than the sensor voltage then, the output is low meaning there is no leakage. If the
reference voltage is greater than the sensor voltage then the output is high.
The higher output voltage is then used to give a signal about the leakage of the gas. It can
be used in relay to switch the exhaust fan as well and expel the gas out. The gas sensor
detects the gas and the output voltage is sent to the D Flip- Flop for latching and the
signal from the IC is used to run the load. The simple overview is shown in figure 1.
 Figure 1: Block Diagram of the system

1.6 Limitations

Some of the limitations of the project include the following:

1. Doesn’t indicate the type of gas.
2. Doesn’t indicate the concentration of gas
 CHAPTER 2

TECHNOLOGY AND LITERATURE SURVEY

2.1 Literature Survey

A number of reviews on the subject of gas leakage detection techniques were done in the
past either as part of research papers/technical reports on a certain leak detection method
and other gas related subjects. If we look at the past study and research in the similar
field, then we don’t find much steps and actions taken in this field in our country.
However, some people are doing the research to make an LPG leakage detector and they
successfully made that. We are trying to make a better one with more modification of
better detection for a large area and we are there adding an exhaust fan as well whenever
there is gas detected along with the alarm which can immediately prevent any accidents.
In the context of India, Assistant Professor and some students of Velammal College of
Engineering and Technology, Madurai had made a similar device using a microcontroller
[1]. Similarly, Supervisor and the assistant professor of Eswar Engineering College had
also made an Automatic LPG leakage detection and Hazard Prevention for Home
Security and published a journal on the 5th National Conference on VLS [2]. LPG leakage
Detection and Alert System was also designed by the students of Anna University, BIT
Campus, Tiruchirappalli – 24[3]. Ch. Manohar Raju and N. Sushma Rani, 2008; they
introduce an android based automatic gas detection and indication robot. Their proposed
prototype depicts a mini mobile robot which is capable of detecting gas leakage in
hazardous places.

The project that we are going to perform is similar to that of these projects. But these
projects are completed by the use of a microcontroller and we are doing our project with
no use of any programming devices like Arduino, Microprocessor and Raspberry pi.

2.2 Components

We have used different types of components and studied their use and working principle.
The components used are discussed below.
2.2.1 MQ-6 Gas Sensor

This is a simple-to-use LPG sensor, suitable for sensing LPG (composed of mostly
propane and iso-butane) concentrations in the air. The MQ-6 can detect gas
concentrations anywhere from 200 to 10000ppm.
This sensor has a high sensitivity and fast response time. The sensor’s output is an analog
resistance as well as digital high and low. The drive circuit is very simple. It operates at a
voltage of 5V. It has got 4 pins. The output is drawn from an OUT pin or Analog (ANG)
pin. The OUT pin gives digital output. It becomes high after the concentration of the gas
reaches 1,000 ppm. The ANG pin gives analog output. The 5V supply is given through
Voltage supply pin and GND pin is used as ground pi. The pins of the MQ-6 sensor are
shown in the figure 2.

Figure 2: MQ-6 Sensor pin out

2.2.2 Flip Flop

A flip flop is an electronic circuit with two stable states that can be used to store binary
data. The stored data can be changed by applying varying inputs. Flip-flops and latches
are fundamental building blocks of digital electronics systems used in computers,
communications, and many other types of system. 74HC74N IC is used in this case
whose internal connection is shown in figure 3.

Figure 3: 7474 IC pin out

2.2.3 Relay

Relays are switches that open and close circuits electro-mechanically or

electronically. Relays control one electrical circuit by opening and closing contacts
in another circuit. As relay diagrams show, when a relay contact is Normally Open
(NO), there is an open contact when the relay is not energized. When a relay contact
is Normally Closed (NC), there is a closed contact when the relay is not energized.
In either case, applying electrical current to the contacts will change their state. A
circuit diagram for the internal connection of the relay is given in figure 4 below.

Figure 4: Relay

2.2.4 Buzzer
Buzzer is an audio signaling device. It is used as an alarm to give signals about the
leakage of the gas. It is an electric component that gives a sharp sound whenever a signal
passes.

Figure 5: Buzzer
2.2.5 Exhaust Fan

Exhaust fan in our case is a small prototype model of fan that is easily found in the
market. It consists of fan blades attached to the dc motor within it. This fan will be used
to expel the LPG gas whenever detected in the room, hotel or anyplace the sensor is
placed. This will let the harmful gas out and prevent fire. A simple diagram of the
exhaust fan is as shown in figure below.

Figure 6: Exhaust Fan

2.2.6 LED

A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor (electrical) device that restricts current

flow in one direction. Semiconductor diodes are composed of two regions, one is p region
(positive charges) and other is n region (negative charges). When voltage is applied, the
electrons move across the n region into the p region. The process of an electron moving
through the p-n junction releases energy. The dispersion of this energy produces visible
light. The symbol of LED is shown in figure below.
 2.2.6 Diode
Diode is an electrical device allowing current to flow through it in one direction with far
greater ease than other. It is simply a thermionic valve having two electrodes (an anode
and a cathode) as shown in figure 7. The positive side is anode and the negative side is

cathode.
Figure 8: Diode
2.2.7 Transistor
Transistor is a semiconductor device to amplify or switch electronic signals and electronic power. It
is composed of semiconductor material usually with at least three terminals for the connection to the
external circuit. Here we are using BC 547 which is a Negative- Positive- Negative (NPN) transistor
hence the collector and emitter will be left open (Reverse biased) when the base pin is held at
ground and will be closed (Forward Biased) when a signal is provided to the base pin. The pin out
of BC 547 is as shown in figure 8.
 Figure 9: BC 547 Transistor

2.2.8 Integrated Circuit (IC)

An IC is a small chip that functions as an amplifier, oscillator, timer, microprocessor and even
computer memory.7404 IC contains six independent gates of which performs the logic invert
function. The operating voltage of this IC is 5v and one of the six gates is used to invert the logic
in this mode.

Figure 10: 7404 IC

 METHODOLOGY

3.1. Working Mechanism

The main part of the project is the MQ-6 sensor. The sensor detects the gas and then
sends some output voltage. The output voltage was checked and modified using the
potentiometer inbuilt in the sensor as per the gas used. The output was always positive
from the sensor. So, it was changed to negative using NOT gate. After the detection of
gas, the negative is converted into positive using NOT gate and it acts as the input for the
3rd pin of the Flip Flop. The 5th and the sixth pin of the flip-flop lights two LEDs.
The first pin is connected to a clock switch which is used for resetting the circuit once it
is triggered. The second and 4th pins are always high. The output from the 5th pin is
amplified using a transistor which is then used to trigger the relay. The relay once
triggered operates the exhaust fan.
The Red Led continues to glow and the exhaust fan continues to rotate even after the gas
detection is terminated, to indicate to any individual not present at the moment of
detection, that there was a gas leak. Only after pressing the switch the circuit is reset and
ready for future operation.
The circuit diagram of the product is shown in the following figures.

Figure 11: Circuit Diagram

 PRODUCT DESCRIPTION AND
PERFORMANCE

4.1. Project Description

The project consists of two major parts. The first part is the sensor and signal
part and the other is the alarm and exhaust part. The sensor gives a signal
whenever there is detection of the gas and the signal from the sensor is used to
trigger the alarm and exhaust part.
The output voltage from the sensor is sent to D flip-flop from where it is sent
to the amplifier to multiply the voltage and the voltage is used to trigger the
alarm bulb and run the exhaust fan.
The basic features of the project include the following:
1. High Sensitivity to LPG, iso-butane and propane.
2. The buzzer goes off after a certain time (about 5 sec) of the start.
3. The exhaust fan continues to run unless it is turned off manually.
4. The system is capable of detecting other inflammable gases other than LPG.

4.2. Performance

The product performance can be divided as the performance of the sensor and the
output.
The gas detection and sending signal is totally within the MQ-6 gas sensor.
The output signal is studied and is amplified. The output amplified voltage is
used to put on the alarm. The product works whenever the system is supplied
with the power supply. The system can detect other inflammable gases like
iso-butane, propane. The sensor has a stable and long life. On the other hand,
the circuit is driven simply, which makes it easy to understand the circuit and
perform.
However, the performance of the product is limited by:
1. Very low gas cannot be detected.
2. Sensors become insensitive in some cases.
 CONCLUSION

Finally, we conclude in recent households, the use of LPG is taking a big toll. From the use of
cylinders up to the use of petroleum pipelines. The biggest threat in using this technology is
security. And our project will prove to be a boon for households and industries.
A wide variety of leak detecting techniques is available for gas pipelines. Some techniques have
been improved since their first proposal and some new ones were designed as a result of
advances in sensor manufacturing and computing power. However, each detection method comes
with its advantages and disadvantages. Leak detection techniques in each category share some
advantages and disadvantages. For example, all external techniques which involve detection
done from outside the pipeline by visual observation or portable detectors are able to detect very
small leaks and the leak location, but the detection time is very long. Methods based on the
mathematical model of the pipe have good results at high flow rates while at low flow rates a
mass balance-based detection system would be more suitable.
 REFERENCES
[1] Vasupalli, Sutanvi. “AUTOMATIC LPG LEAKAGE DETECTION
AND HAZARD PREVENTION FOR HOME SECURITY.”
Academia.edu, 2019,
www.academia.edu/11959401/AUTOMATIC_LPG_LEAKAGE_DETE
CTION_A ND_HAZARD_PREVENTION_FOR_HOME_SECURITY.

[2] “Gas Leak Detector With Automatic Air Exhaust Using ARM Cortex.”
NevonProjects, 27 Nov. 2018,
nevonprojects.com/gas-leak-detector-with-
automatic-air-exhaust-using-arm-cortex.

[3] “Gasleakage.pdf - IOSR Journal of Electronics and Communication

Engineering(IOSR-JECE e-ISSN 2278-2834,p ISSN 2278-8735.Volume
9 Issue 1 Ver VI(Feb 2014.” Gasleakage.pdf - IOSR Journal of
Electronics and Communication Engineering(IOSR-JECE e-ISSN
2278-2834,p ISSN 2278- 8735.Volume 9 Issue 1 Ver VI(Feb 2014, 24
Mar. 2019, www.coursehero.com/file/39312403/gasleakagepdf/.