LPG Gas Leakage Detection System

Safety in domestic and industrial environments is paramount. One of the most common yet preventable hazards is Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) leakage.

For my end-semester embedded systems project, I collaborated with a six-member team to develop a robust, real-time gas leakage detection system using the Arduino Uno and an MQ-6 gas sensor.

The Architecture

The system's core logic is straightforward but highly effective:

1. Sensing: The MQ-6 sensor continuously monitors the concentration of combustible gases in the air.
2. Processing: The analog signal is fed into the Arduino's ADC. We established a calibrated threshold based on baseline atmospheric conditions.
3. Actuation: If the concentration breaches the safety threshold, the system immediately triggers a piezoelectric buzzer and a high-intensity LED array.

Hardware Integration Challenges

Writing the software was only half the battle. The real engineering challenges lay in the physical world:

• Sensor Calibration: The MQ-6 requires a preheat time and careful calibration to avoid false positives from other environmental factors.
• Power Management: Ensuring stable voltage levels across the sensor and the actuators to prevent brownouts on the Arduino board.

// Simplified threshold logic
const int sensorPin = A0;
const int buzzerPin = 8;
const int threshold = 400; // Calibrated safe limit

void setup() {
  pinMode(buzzerPin, OUTPUT);
  Serial.begin(9600);
}

void loop() {
  int gasLevel = analogRead(sensorPin);
  
  if(gasLevel > threshold) {
    digitalWrite(buzzerPin, HIGH); // Sound the alarm!
  } else {
    digitalWrite(buzzerPin, LOW);
  }
  delay(100);
}

Takeaways

This project was a fantastic exercise in translating theoretical electronics into a functional, life-saving prototype. It reinforced the importance of iterative debugging, hardware assembly, and most importantly, teamwork under a tight academic deadline.