Monitoring module and method for identifying an operating scenario in a wastewater pumping station

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12135033-B2
Application number	US-201917054419-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 2, 2019
Priority date	May 11, 2018
Publication date	Nov 5, 2024
Grant date	Nov 5, 2024

Abstract

A monitoring module ( 13 ) identifies an operating scenario in a wastewater pumping station, with at least one pump ( 9 a, 9 b ) arranged for pumping wastewater out of a wastewater pit ( 1 ) into a pipe ( 11 ). The monitoring module ( 13 ) is configured to process at least one load-dependent pump variable indicative of how the at least one pump ( 9 a, 9 b ) operates and at least one model-based pipe parameter indicative of how the wastewater flows through the pipe ( 11 ) and/or the at least one pump ( 9 a, 9 b ). The monitoring module is configured to identify an operating scenario in the wastewater pumping station by selecting an operating scenario from a group of predefined operating scenarios dependent on at least one first criterion that is based on the at least one load-dependent pump variable and at least one second criterion that is based on the at least one model-based pipe parameter.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A wastewater pumping station comprising:
two or more pumps arranged for pumping wastewater out of a wastewater pit into a pipe; and
a monitoring module for identifying an operating scenario in a wastewater pumping station, wherein the monitoring module is configured to process at least one load-dependent pump variable for each running pump of the two or more pumps indicative of how a respective running pump operates and to process a first of at least two model-based pipe parameters indicative of how the wastewater flows through the pipe and/or the pumps, and to process a negative-flow parameter as a second of the at least two model-based pipe parameters, wherein the negative-flow parameter is indicative of how the wastewater flows through the pipe and/or one or more non-running pumps of the pumps when at least one of the pumps is stopped, wherein the monitoring module is configured to identify an operating scenario in the wastewater pumping station by selecting an operating scenario from a group of predefined operating scenarios dependent on at least one first criterion for each running pump of the pumps that is based on the at least one load-dependent pump variable, at least one second criterion that is based on at least the first of the at least two one model-based pipe parameters and at least one third criterion that is based on the negative-flow parameter.

2. The wastewater pumping station of claim 1 , wherein the group of operating scenarios is predefined in a selection matrix associating each operating scenario with a unique combination of the at least one first criterion and the at least one second criterion.

3. The wastewater pumping station of claim 1 , wherein the at least one load-dependent pump variable comprises a specific energy consumption E sp of the respective running pump.

4. The wastewater pumping station of claim 3 , wherein the specific energy consumption E sp of the respective running pump is defined by E sp =E/V, wherein E is an average energy consumed by the respective running pump during a defined time period and V is the volume of wastewater pumped during said defined time period by the respective running pump.

5. The wastewater pumping station of claim 3 , wherein the specific energy consumption E sp of the respective running pump is defined by E sp =P/q, wherein P is a power consumption of the respective running pump and q is a flow of wastewater pumped by the respective running pump.

6. The wastewater pumping station of claim 1 , wherein one of the at least one model-based pipe parameter is a pipe clogging parameter A in a pipe model polynomial p=Aq 2 +B, wherein p is a pressure at or downstream of an outlet of at least one of the pumps, q is a wastewater flow through the pipe and/or the pumps, and B is a zero-flow offset parameter.

7. The wastewater pumping station of claim 1 , wherein one of the at least one model-based pipe parameter is a residual r=p m p e =p m Aq 2 −B between a measured pressure p m at or downstream of an outlet of at least one of the pumps and an estimated pressure p e according to a pipe model polynomial p e =Aq 2 +B, wherein A is a pipe clogging parameter, q is a wastewater flow through the pipe and/or the pumps and B is a zero-flow offset parameter.

8. The wastewater pumping station of claim 1 , wherein the monitoring module is configured to receive a measured pressure p m at or downstream of an outlet of at least one of the pumps.

9. The wastewater pumping station of claim 1 , wherein the monitoring module is configured to receive a measured flow q m through the pipe or to process an estimated wastewater flow q e through the pumps.

10. The wastewater pumping station of claim 1 , wherein the monitoring module is configured to apply a low-pass filtering to the at least one load-dependent pump variable and/or the at least one model-based pipe parameter before selecting an operating scenario dependent on the at least one first criterion and/or the at least one second criterion, respectively.

11. The wastewater pumping station of claim 1 , wherein the monitoring module is configured to sequentially process a multitude of samples of the at least one load-dependent pump variable, wherein the at least one first criterion is based on whether a cumulative sum of deviations between the actual sample and an average of past samples of the at least one load-dependent pump variable exceeds a predetermined maximum or falls below a predetermined minimum.

12. The wastewater pumping station of claim 1 , wherein the monitoring module is configured to sequentially process a multitude of samples of the at least one model-based pipe parameter, wherein the at least one second criterion is based on whether a cumulative sum of deviations between the actual sample and an average of past samples of the at least one model-based pipe parameter exceeds a predetermined maximum or falls below a predetermined minimum.

13. A method for identifying an operating scenario in a wastewater pumping station with two or more pumps arranged for pumping wastewater out of a wastewater pit into a pipe, wherein the method comprises:
processing at least one load-dependent pump variable for each running pump of the two or more pumps indicative of how the respective running pump operates;
processing a first of at least two model-based pipe parameters indicative of how the wastewater flows through the pipe and/or the pumps;
processing a negative-flow parameter as a second of the at least two model-based pipe parameters, wherein the negative-flow parameter is indicative of how the wastewater flows through the pipe and/or one or more non-running pumps of the pumps when at least one of the pumps is stopped; and
selecting an operating scenario from a group of predefined operating scenarios dependent on at least one first criterion that is based on the at least one load-dependent pump variable, at least one second criterion that is based on at least the first of the at least one model-based pipe parameters, and at least one third criterion that is based on the negative-flow parameter.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein the group of operating scenarios is predefined in a selection matrix unambiguously associating each operating scenario with a unique combination of the at least one first criterion and the at least one second criterion.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein the at least one load-dependent pump variable comprises a specific energy consumption E sp of the respective running pump.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the specific energy consumption E sp of the pumps is defined by E sp =E/V, wherein E is an average energy consumed during a defined time period and V is the volume of wastewater pumped during said defined time period by the respective running pump.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the specific energy consumption E sp of the respective running pump is defined by E sp =P/q, wherein P is a power consumption and q is a flow of wastewater pumped by the respective running pump.

18. The method of claim 13 , wherein one of the at least one model-based pipe parameter is a pipe clogging parameter A in a pipe model polynomial p=Aq 2 +B, wherein p is a pressure at or downstream of an outlet of at least one of the pumps, q is the wastewater flow through the pipe and/or the pumps, and B is a zero-flow offset parameter.

19. The method of claim 13 , wherein one of the at least one model-based pipe parameter is a residual r=p m p e =p m Aq 2 −B between a measured pressure p m at or downstream of

Assignees

• Grundfos Holding As

Inventors

• Schou Christian
• Dahl Jacobsen Christian Robert
• Kallesøe Carsten Skovmose

Classifications

• F05D2260/80

  Diagnostics · CPC title

• F04D13/12 Primary

  Combinations of two or more pumps (combinations with priming pumps or booster pumps to counteract vapour-lock F04D9/04) · CPC title

• F04D13/06

  the pump being electrically driven · CPC title

• F04D15/029

  for pumps operating in parallel · CPC title

• F04D15/0245

  responsive to a condition of the pump · CPC title