WO2008002013A1

WO2008002013A1 - A gasholder simulation and management system with history of its parts

Info

Publication number: WO2008002013A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/002261
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ok-Chae Jung
Original assignee: Jinmyung Environment Industrial Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2006-06-29
Filing date: 2007-05-08
Publication date: 2008-01-03
Also published as: KR100654745B1

Abstract

A simulation and history management system for a gasholder adapted to a sewage treatment plant is provided. The simulation and history management system includes a sensor system positioned in a gasholder to measure temperature and pressure of the gasholder on the spot, and upon accident occurrence, transmit a cut-off signal to an auto safety valve and store corresponding data therein, a simulation system connected with the sensor system for informing of the accident reasons and the measures from a distant site, and a history management system having a visual processing unit for visually processing the history management of the parts of the gasholder through the connection with the simulation system, whereby from a distant site, the status of failure accident of the gasholder, and measures therefore is known, the operational state of the gasholder is monitored, and the lifetime of the parts is checked, thereby providing various effects in gasholder management.

Description

A monitoring and management system for a gas storage tank

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a simulation and history management system for a gasholder, adapted to a sewage treatment plant, which includes a sensor system on the spot, a simulation management system operated according to the sensor system, and a history management system of the parts of the gasholder. Background Art

[2] Generally known in the art, since in the prior art, the management of a gasholder was carried out by simply displaying installation records and pressures using an instrument board on the spot, or perfunctorily managing a level meter (pressure gauge) having remote access to a control room, it could not perceive whether or not an accident occurred in the gasholder. Further, if any, only an expert could check what problem did occur in the gasholder, which was very inconvenient to a user or an operator.

[3] Further, although the gasholder looks simple on the outside, no one can know whether its internal structure is complex or not, so that there is often the case that an operator treats its management badly.

[4] Furthermore, if it is not managed when the parts of the gasholder should be replaced, the gasholder, that is one of the important components of the sewage treatment plant, that has been costly designed, may come to be inactivated. In such an inactivated state, methane gas for warming up primary sludge is not generated, so that the primary sludge should be dumped as it stands, or otherwise, it should be warmed up using expensive light-oil instead of the methane gas, which case makes the process expensive. Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[5] Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a visual simulation management system associated with a sensor system and a history management system by which a manager can completely understand a structure of a gasholder so as to previously prevent dangerous situations of the gasholder and smoothly operate it through a rapid settlement of a problem and a stable management of the parts thereof. Technical Solution [6] In order to accomplish the above object, in accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a simulation and history management system for a gasholder comprising: an in situ sensor system having a temperature sensor, a pressure sensor, a level meter, and a gas leakage sensor attached to a gasholder to detect the state of the gasholder to determine and deal with the situation of the gasholder; a remote simulation system capable of visually dealing with and managing the gasholder in a remote control based on data received from the pressure sensor, the level meter, the temperature sensor, and the gas leakage sensor; and a history management system for the parts of gasholder associated with the simulation system to manage the history of the parts of the gasholder, adapting colors and facility features thereto. Brief Description of the Drawings

[7] The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[8] FIG. 1 is a basic diagram of a simulation and history management system for a gasholder;

[9] FIG. 2 is a constructional diagram of a simulation system of the gasholder; and

[10] FIG. 3 is a constructional diagram of a history management system of the gasholder. Mode for the Invention

[11] Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[12] The present invention relates to a simulation and history management system for a gasholder including a sensor system for measuring the temperature, the pressure, and the gas leakage in a gasholder for use generally in a sewage treatment plant, a graphical simulation management system for visually showing the actual internal operations of the gasholder based on the sensor signals from the sensor system, a graphical processor associated with the graphical simulation management system to display the passage of the used period of the parts of the gasholder with predetermined changes in color, and a history management system managing to display the relevancy between the parts. First, the visual management system according to the temperature and the pressure can be shown in the following tables.

[13]

[14] Simulation System associated with Sensor System

[15] Herein, the sensor system can check and deal with the features shown in tables 1 and 2 according to values detected by the temperature sensor employed for each position of the gasholder, the pressure sensor, the gas leakage sensor, and the pressure level meter employed on a gas input of the gasholder.

[16] Table 1 [17] Accident Occurrence in Compact Type Gasholder, Diagnosis thereof, and Measures therefor

[18]

[19]

[20] Table 2 [21] Accident Occurrence in Middle or Large Scaled Gasholder, Diagnosis thereof, and Measures therefore

[22]

[23] As shown in Tables 1 and 2, the pressure change and the gas leakage are sensed by the sensor system, so that a manager can easily check the failure of the gasholder and firstly cut off a gas input valve. In addition, the remote-monitoring system can rapidly deal with the accidents to prevent the accidents in massive scale from occurring in the gasholder. Furthermore, a remote-monitoring screen also shows the operation of piston, which cannot be seen from the outside, and upon failure, allows an operator to conveniently visually assume which portion is out of order in association with the tables.

[24]

[25] History Management System

[26] The number and history management of the parts of the gasholder are based on the representative target parts to be managed. The parts are characteristically managed in visual type in the form shown in the following table by the remote-monitoring system by providing the respective representative target parts with colors.

[27] Table 3

[28] Major Target Parts and Measures of History Management System

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33] According to the present invention, the used period and check time of the major parts as shown in Table 3 are offered in visual type through application of colors, and the expected replacement periods and measures are characteristically indicated. The simulation and history management system for the gasholder includes a construction in which the items shown in Table 3 are provided as a database structure, it is configured into one visual simulation screen in association with the simulation system shown in Tables 1 and 2, and when the upward operation of the piston whenever the gas rises in pressure and the accidents occur, the simulation results according to Tables 1 and 2 and measures are output on the screen, and another construction by which the lifetime, expected replacement period, and measures of the history management system are output on the screen so that a manager can visually check and output them in a type of a report.

[34] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the whole construction of the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the simulation and history management system for gasholder includes a sensor system 800 and a remote-monitoring system 1500. The sensor system includes a construction in which a gas leakage sensor 200 for detecting the gas leakage, a temperature sensor 300, and a gas pressure sensor 400 or a pressure level meter 500 for measuring the gas pressure for each hour are attached to a gasholder 100, each sensor being at least one sensor, a CPU 600, a memory (ROM) 900, an A/D converter 700, and a communication control unit 1100. The sensor system 800 also includes a communication port for transmission of the values measured by the sensors and the states of the sensors, and a processor unit for, upon occurrence of accidents shown in Tables 1 and 2 in the gasholder 100, transmitting a cut-off signal to an auto safety valve 700, and storing accident data in the memory (particularly, EPROM or EEPROM) 600. The remote-monitoring system 1500 receives data of the respective sensors from the communication control unit 1100 of the sensor system so as to monitor the state of the gasholder in a remote control. The remote-monitoring system comprises a computer equipped with Intel Pentium III or above including a CPU 1200, a main memory unit 1300, an auxiliary memory unit 1600 mainly composed of an HDD, a display unit 1400, a graphic board 2000, and a communication control unit 1900.

[35] The remote-monitoring system includes a simulation system 1700 and a history management system 1800.

[36] The simulation system 1700 includes a simulation processing unit having a visual processing unit and an alarming processing unit included in the auxiliary memory unit 1600. The simulation system visually displays the internal operations and states of the gasholder by receiving the signals from the sensor system 1000 through the communication control unit 1900. For example, as the gas pressure rises, the gas pressure sensor (or level meter) detects it and the upward operation (from 2100 to 2200) of piston is practically displayed in a visual manner via a graphic user interface (GUI) mode. Upon accident occurrence shown in Tables 1 and 2, the simulation system displays the problematic portions of the gasholder with a colorized indication and the GUI mode through the database structure realized in the auxiliary memory unit 1600. The history management system 1800 includes a processing unit for performing the history management of parts of the gasholder 100 as illustrated in Table 3 through simulation processing, report outputting, and history-managing of the parts in association with the simulation system 1700.

[37] The simulation system 1700 includes a graphic simulation section 1710, a sensor connection section 1720, and an alarming section 1730. In particular, the graphic simulation section 1710 has processing means for displaying, along a time, the internal operation of the gasholder in a graphic motion as if it is real action like the moving operation of the piston as shown in FIG. 1 using gas pressure data received from the sensor connection section 1720. Further, the graphic simulation section 1710 includes means for displaying the sensor state received from the sensor connection section 1720 as normal or abnormal state through using a graphic and a color, displaying corresponding sensor values received, i.e., values of temperature and pressure, on a screen, and outputting on the screen a change in color along the passage of time through the connection with the history management system 1800 of the major parts, thereby allowing a manager, who checks the screen, to easily determine the lifetime of the parts and, upon the accident occurrence, the estimation of the failed parts to visually display them together with alarm output through the determination with reference to Tables 1, 2, and 3. The sensor connection section 1720 includes processing means for transmitting, to the graphic simulation section 1710, the states and the values of the pressure sensor, the level meter, the temperature sensor, and the safety valve, and means for transmitting, to the graphic simulation section 1710 and the alarming section 1730, the sensor values upon accident occurrence. The sensor connection section characteristically transmits the states of the sensors and the accident data to the report output section 1830 of the history management system 1800. The alarming section 1730 includes processing means for alarm output and transmission upon accident occurrence, and has a characteristic feature of upon accident occurrence, informing the graphic simulation section 1710 of the expected failed parts through the comparison with the accident values of the database.

[38] Further, the history management system 1800 includes a parts-history simulation section 1810, a parts-history management section 1820, and a report output section 1830. In particular, the parts-history simulation section 1810 includes means for transmitting the used period state of the major parts to the graphic simulation section 1710 of the simulation system 1700, evaluating the sensor values and the affection to the lifetime of the connected parts according to the environmental effect of the gasholder, and informing of the state of the parts for replacement, checking, and maintenance through an information window. The parts-history management section 1820 has characteristic processing means for informing of type, installation date, checking and maintenance period, prices, and the order of the parts, a request for maintenance, and date and method for checking the gasholder by a customer. The report output section 1830 has characteristic processing means for automatically or manually outputting the states and the checking items of the gasholder to a screen or a printer in such a manner as to periodically report them daily, monthly, annually, or others, upon accident occurrence, outputting the estimated reasons of accident and the measures on a screen or a printer, and if needed, outputting, by a manager, the state of history management of the parts on a screen or a printer.

[39] Although preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. Industrial Applicability

[40] As set forth before, according to the simulation and history management system for the gasholder of the present invention, the operation of the gasholder is visually displayed, and the failure symptoms of the gasholder is directly checked in a remote control by a manager as well, thereby previously preventing the accident in a great scale with low costs. Further, the checking of the gasholder is carried out in time more securely by the parts-history management system employing the visual simulation therein, thereby maintaining the gasholder always activated.

Claims

[1] A simulation and history management system for a gasholder comprising: a sensor system including a construction in which a gas leakage sensor for detecting the gas leakage, a temperature sensor, and a gas pressure sensor or a pressure level meter for measuring the gas pressure for each hour are attached to a gasholder, each sensor being at least one sensor provided with a communication port, a CPU, a memory, an A/D converter, a communication control unit, and a processing unit for, upon occurrence of accidents in the gasholder, transmitting a cut-off signal to an auto safety valve, and storing accident data in the memory; and a remote-monitoring system including a CPU, a main memory unit, an auxiliary memory unit, a display unit, a graphic board, and a communication control unit, wherein the remote-monitoring system functionally includes: a simulation system having a simulation processing unit with a processing unit for visually displaying the operations and states of the gasholder using the data received, through the communication control unit, from the sensor system transmitting the accident state of the gasholder on the spot, displaying the lifetime of the parts of the gasholder in a specified color, and generating an alarm; and a history management system having processing units for connecting the history management of the parts of the gasholder and for issuing a report.

[2] The simulation and history management system for a gasholder according to claim 1, wherein the simulation system includes a graphic simulation section displaying the internal states and operations of the gasholder, a sensor connection section connecting the sensor state and the measured data in the sensor system, and an alarming section performing an accident processing operation.

[3] The simulation and history management system for a gasholder according to claim 1, wherein the history management system includes a parts-history simulation section having a processing unit for transmitting the history and state of the parts to the simulation system, and outputting an information window of the history of the parts on a screen, a parts-history management section for outputting, on a screen, contents, a request for maintenance, a form of an order, and a checking period of the parts, and a report output section for periodically reporting the accident state.