Authors: V. Irfan Ahamed, J. Lokeshwar, Dr. K. Rohini
Abstract: Gas leakage accidents involving liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), methane, and related hydrocarbons represent a significant and persistent safety hazard in both residential and small-scale industrial settings. Conventional reliance on human olfactory detection is inherently unreliable, particularly under conditions of poor ventilation, occupant absence, or odorant threshold variability. This paper presents the design, hardware implementation, and systematic performance evaluation of a low-cost, embedded gas leakage detection system built around an Arduino Uno microcontroller (ATmega328P) and a Figaro MQ-2 semiconductor gas sensor. The sensing element operates on the principle of surface resistance modulation upon exposure to combustible gases, with the resulting analogue voltage mapped to a 10-bit ADC value for threshold-based decision logic. Alert output is delivered through a dual mechanism comprising an 85 dB piezoelectric buzzer and a visual LED indicator, ensuring notification under varied ambient conditions. Over 40 controlled trials spanning four gas concentration levels, the system achieved an overall detection accuracy of 92.5%, with a sub-1.2 second response time at high exposure levels and an alert latency of 180–210 ms. The false-positive and false-negative rates were 5.0% and 2.5%, respectively. Environmental characterisation identified ambient temperature and relative humidity as the primary factors influencing baseline drift and sensitivity attenuation. The results confirm that the proposed system provides a technically sound, cost-effective safety solution, with a clear upgrade pathway toward IoT-enabled remote monitoring.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20035126
