JP2009299856A - Lng tank level monitoring system, method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tank level monitoring system using a network in consideration of a characteristic of an LNG, and its monitoring method. <P>SOLUTION: This LNG tank level monitoring system comprises three servers, a Web server, a supporting server, and a database server. The Web server sends a Web page to a client terminal via a network, automatically sends an e-mail describing information such as a tank level input from the Web page to a fixed e-mail address, and holds a target value achieving simulation result of the LNG tank level created by the database server. The supporting server converts information extracted from the e-mail to update the information held in a storage part of the database server. The database server updates the information held in the storage part with the converted information, and creates the simulation result based on the information in the storage part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) tank level monitoring system using a network.

  Conventionally, an LNG tank installed in a power plant or the like has to be lowered to a level capable of accepting LNG by the next acceptance in accordance with an annual acceptance plan determined by a person in charge of LNG contract. On the other hand, LNG consumption is controlled within the operational level by the company that operates the LNG base while adjusting between the department of the power company that adjusts the power generation amount (consumption) of the power plant and the company that sells LNG. ing. At present, the capacity and consumption capacity of the tank are not sufficient, so that the operation is difficult, and it is necessary to adjust various companies and departments within the company. In addition, LNG to be sold has restrictions on the amount of heat generation, and it is necessary to manage the amount of heat generation.

As a method for monitoring the tank level, for example, Patent Document 1 describes a technique of middle water freshwater generation and clean water supply system in a wastewater reuse facility. Patent Document 2 describes a groundwater management system in a groundwater development facility.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-33491 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-221402

  In the case of the inventions described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, both describe technologies for predicting and managing water levels based on past data, etc., but water is used jointly at multiple locations, and past data is stored. Collecting from a plurality of places and sharing them is not considered, and there is a problem that information on the progress of the water level cannot be obtained based on the data. In addition, LNG is a gas at normal temperature, and must be considered in that its properties are different from water, and there is also a problem that the problem of fuel heat generation must be taken into consideration.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a tank level monitoring system that takes into account the characteristics of LNG using a network and a monitoring method thereof.

  In one aspect of the present invention, an LNG tank level monitoring system using a network is provided. The LNG tank level monitoring system is composed of three servers: a Web server, a support server, and a database server (hereinafter, the database is referred to as DB for simplification). The Web server is a server that accumulates information such as HTML documents and images and transmits the information through a network such as the Internet in response to a request from client software such as a Web browser.

  The Web server transmits a dedicated Web page (hereinafter referred to as a page for simplification) to the client terminal via the network, and receives information on the tank level, shipment amount, power generation amount, and consumable amount input from the page. Described in a predetermined format in the body of the e-mail, has a mail hosting function that automatically sends the e-mail to a fixed e-mail address, and holds the LNG tank level simulation results created by the database server To do. Here, a plurality of pages are used in the LNG tank level monitoring system, and these are linked from the top page of the page. The support server is a server that receives the electronic mail and converts the data format of the information extracted from the text of the electronic mail in order to update the information held in the storage unit of the DB server. The DB server is a server that updates the information held in the storage unit with the converted information, and creates a target value achievement simulation result of the LNG tank level based on the information in the storage unit.

  Here, the “mail hosting function” is to send a mail to a fixed mail address when making an inquiry on the page. The “target value” is an acceptable level value of the LNG tank that should be reached before the next acceptance of LNG. The “acceptable level” is the amount of all the LNG tanker carries. It means that it can be accepted. Furthermore, “tank level” refers to the liquid level from the bottom of the tank.

  Further, as another aspect, the present invention can be provided as an LNG monitoring system method using a computer or a computer program executed on a computer.

  According to the present invention, the LNG tank level information is shared on the network, so that the parties concerned can have a common recognition. In addition, by inputting information and performing a target value achievement simulation, adjustment among the parties concerned becomes easy. Furthermore, by performing a simulation of the tank level and the amount of heat generated by LNG based on the information, it is possible to perform a reliable response and realize a stable supply to customers.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of an information sharing system 1 to which the present invention is applied. Terminals 200-1, 200-2... 200-n (hereinafter simply referred to as client terminals when it is not necessary to distinguish between terminals 200-1 to 200-n) are client terminals on the user side, It is connected to a network 300 typified by the Internet or an intranet, and can perform transmission / reception with the Web server 100, the support server 110, and the DB server 120. A user can perform operations on the client terminal and perform processing on the Web server 100, the support server 110, the DB server 120, and the like via the network 300. However, the client terminal is connected to the support server 110 and the DB server 120 via the Web server 100. In addition, each server in this structure is not necessarily one unit, and may be composed of a plurality of units.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a basic system configuration diagram of a client terminal and a server of the information sharing support system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The Web server 100 includes a mail transmission unit 101, a page reception unit 102, a page transmission unit 103, an authentication unit 104, and a page DB 105. The support server 110 includes a mail receiving unit 111, a mail analyzing unit 112, and a data transmitting unit 113. Furthermore, the DB server 120 includes a DB update unit 121, a page creation unit 122, and an acceptance support DB 123. The acceptance support DB 123 is an example of a storage unit. The storage unit is not limited to a hard disk, but may be an external storage device such as a memory, a magnetic tape, or a flexible disk.

  The mail transmission unit 101 describes the information input on the page in the mail text and transmits it to a predetermined fixed mail address. The page receiving unit 102 receives a page created by the DB server 120 from the DB server 120 and stores it in the page DB 105. When a page display request is received from the client terminal, the page stored in the page DB 105 is provided to the user of the client terminal via the page transmission unit 103. When performing access control with a page ID and password, the authentication unit 104 checks whether the password for the ID is correct. The mail receiving unit 111 receives the mail transmitted by the mail transmitting unit 101. The received mail is converted into a format in which the information of the DB server 120 can be updated by the mail analysis unit 112, for example, a CSV format in which data are separated by commas “,” and the information is converted from the data transmission unit 113 to the DB server 120. Sent to. The DB update unit 121 updates the acceptance support DB 123 with the information created by the support server 110. When the acceptance support DB 123 is updated, the page creation unit 122 creates a page for the updated information and transmits it to the Web server 100.

  The acceptance support DB 123 stores information in a table format for each page. A table has rows, columns, and fields for entering information. As an example of the table, there is Microsoft Excel (registered trademark, hereinafter referred to as Excel for simplification) of Microsoft Corporation. “Registration, update, deletion” of table information is realized by always overwriting information. Details will be described later.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of the information sharing system. Hereinafter, the processing flow of FIG. 3 will be described with reference to the screen examples of FIGS. 4 and 5. When information is input to the dedicated page sent from the Web server 100 to the client terminal and the send button is pressed, the process starts. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a page for inputting information. On the page, the data currently registered in the table corresponding to the page is displayed in the acceptance support DB 123. To change the information on the page, press the send button after changing the information. Press the clear button to delete all the information displayed on the page.

  Information “registration, update, and deletion” will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a display example of a page for inputting information. In the display example of this page, when adding new information, a registrant's name, a registrant's e-mail address, a company name, a title, a name, and the like are entered in predetermined columns. When updating, the content of the information displayed on the page is corrected. When deleting, delete the information to be deleted from the page or overwrite it with other information. The information input field on the page has position information. For example, the top of the company name is 1-1, the top of the title is 2-1, and the second of the title is 2-2. This position information matches the position information of the table corresponding to this page of the acceptance support DB 123. After the send button is pressed, the mail sending unit 101 describes the information displayed on the page and the position information of the column in which the information is input in a predetermined format specified by the mail hosting function in the mail body, and fixed. To the e-mail address (step S1 in FIG. 3). The predetermined format will be described later. The email address may be set in the page or in the email transmission unit 101. The registrant mail address is notified that the information entered in the fixed address has been transmitted.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an email created by the email transmission unit 101. Here, the case where the information displayed on the page shown in FIG. 4 is transmitted will be described. A fixed address specified on the page is input to the destination. Be sure to identify the page to send information from the subject of the email and the sender of the email. Information input on the page is converted into a predetermined format. The predetermined format depends on the mail transmission program to be used. For example, there is a method of arranging information corresponding to items as shown in FIG. When describing in the mail, the company name is converted to an alphabetic name such as “COMPANY” and the title is “OFFICIALITLE”. Like “COMPANY = 1-1, ○ × Company”, “OFFICIALTITLE = 1-2, responsible”, the item name at the top of the page is connected to the input information and its position information by equals, one line at a time Describe in. As another example, there is a method of connecting all the lines from the company name to E-mail. In this case, “(1) = 1−1, ○ × company, 1-2, charge,..., 1-n, abc@xxxx.co.jp” is described in each line.

  The mail received by the support server 110 is transferred from the mail receiving unit 111 to the mail analyzing unit 112, and information is edited (step S2 in FIG. 3). Editing information means changing the information described in the mail text to a predetermined format in order to update the acceptance support DB 123. The predetermined format includes a CSV (Comma Separated Values) format and the like. The CSV format is text data and a text file in which several fields (items) are separated by a comma “,”. The CSV format may be extended to include not only “,” but also characters not used for input information such as “%” and “:”, text data and text files separated by white space. Further, information on which table of the acceptance support DB 123 is updated is acquired together with the title of the mail and the source address. Information edited in the CSV format or the like is transferred from the data transmission unit 113 to the DB update unit 121 (step S3 in FIG. 3).

  The table of the acceptance support DB 123 corresponding to the page in which the information is input is updated with the information passed in step S3. For the information “registered, updated, deleted”, the information in the table is overwritten based on the position information (step S4 in FIG. 3). However, the information on the same position information in the CSV file and the table is compared, and only the information on the position with different contents is overwritten. A page is created from the table changed in step S4 (step S5 in FIG. 3). An existing method is used as a method for creating a page. If the table is created in Excel (registered trademark), it can be created by saving the table in the “.html” or “.html” format. The created page is sent to the Web server 100 (step S6 in FIG. 3) and stored in the page DB 105 (step S7 in FIG. 3). At this time, if a page with the same name exists, it is overwritten with a new page. FIG. 6 shows a diagram in which the pages stored in the page DB 105 are displayed on the client terminal. Information input on the page shown in FIG. 4 is displayed as a page.

  In this way, by sharing a site composed of a plurality of pages on the network, information can be easily shared between the parties concerned. However, there is a problem that information can be seen by anyone other than those involved in information sharing on the network. Therefore, an ID and a password are set in order to restrict access to pages on the site. If access is restricted to the top page with an ID and password, it is possible to control access to the entire site. Further, by setting an ID and password for each page, access control can be performed for each page. There are various types of access control such as changeable and browsing only.

  Embodiments of a tank level monitoring system according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  The network configuration and system configuration of the tank level management system are the same as those of the information sharing system. The page DB 105 holds the top page of the dedicated site of the tank level management system, the base, the LNGGAS sales, the LNG liquid sales, the power plant No. 1, the power plant No. 3, the power plant total, and the fuel, respectively. The reception support DB 123 holds tables for holding information corresponding to the base, LNGGAS sales, LNG liquid sales, power plant No. 1, power plant No. 3, power plant total, and fuel pages.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the top page of the site of the tank level management system. The top page displays a graph showing the fuel consumption input up to the present time and the future transition of the tank level determined by the simulation based on the fuel consumption. The simulation method will be described later. In addition, the tables shown in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10 are also displayed on the graph. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a table of the minimum and maximum liquid levels reached and the previous results until the tank receives LNG, and FIG. 9 is a table showing the date and time when each page was updated. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a table of usable amounts at various places from the last performance date on which the graph was created to the next acceptance date. By displaying these, it is possible to acquire frequently used information without transitioning to each page. In addition, when access is restricted to each page, information on pages that cannot be accessed can also be viewed.

  By displaying the future tank level transition in a graph, it is easier to understand than when the transition is displayed as numerical information. However, since numerical data of the graph may be required, it is possible to transition from the Data display button to a page having the numerical data of the graph. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a page for displaying numerical data of a graph. The seven buttons such as the base except the Data display at the top of the top page are pressed, and the data necessary for the simulation is input respectively. By pressing the button, the screen transitions to the table corresponding to each screen. In this embodiment, a plurality of related organizations bring data together and grasp the overall operation. Therefore, the information file is divided for each organization from the viewpoints of different data to be input for each organization, convenience and safety of information. The following describes pages and tables that change when each button is pressed.

  FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a page that displays the liquid level of LNG in the tank held by the person in charge of the company managing the base by day. In this example, the table is created with Excel (registered trademark). However, it is not necessary to use Excel (registered trademark) as long as it is a spreadsheet software used for counting and analyzing numerical data. The same applies to each page described below. The liquid level of LNG in the tank is expressed in mm (millimeter). When inputting new information, the upper right Data transmission is pressed to display the data transmission page.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a page for transmitting tank level information. The updated information in FIG. 12 is pasted in the tank level column of this page, and the transmission button is pressed. At this time, the density of LNG is also transmitted.

  FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a page that displays the expected shipment amount of LNG shipped by each company as LNG vaporized gas (hereinafter referred to as vaporized gas for simplification). Estimated shipment volume of vaporized gas of each company, total of estimated vaporized gas shipment volume, estimated shipment volume of LNG to be shipped as LNG liquefied gas described below (hereinafter referred to as liquefied gas for simplification), and liquefied gas The total estimated shipment volume of vaporized gas is also displayed. When inputting new information, the upper right Data transmission is pressed to display the data transmission page.

  FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a page for transmitting the estimated shipment amount of vaporized gas of each company. The updated information in FIG. 14 is pasted in the shipment amount column of this page, and the send button is pressed. However, the total amount is automatically calculated and displayed when the expected shipment amount of each company or the expected shipment amount of liquefied gas described later is input.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing a page that displays the estimated shipment amount of LNG that each company ships as liquefied gas by day. The display items are almost the same as in the case of the vaporized gas shown in FIG. However, the total of the expected shipment amount of LNG including the estimated shipment amount of the vaporized gas and the vaporized gas is not displayed on the liquefied gas page. When inputting new information, the upper right Data transmission is pressed to display the data transmission page. The data transmission page is the same as in the case of vaporized gas, and is shown in FIG. The same applies to the input of information.

  FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a page displaying the power generation amount and the amount of fuel used in the power plant furnace by day. However, power generation and fuel consumption are expected. Not only the power generation amount and fuel used, but also the information required for simulation, the parallel time of multiple furnaces, start-up loss, and average power are displayed. In addition, the amount of fuel used in other furnaces is displayed, and the total amount of fuel used in power generation is also displayed. When inputting new information, the upper right Data transmission is pressed to display the data transmission page.

  FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a page for transmitting information on the power generation amount. The updated information in FIG. 17 is pasted in the power generation amount column of this page, and the transmission button is pressed. However, the used fuel and the total used fuel amount are automatically calculated and displayed when the power generation amount is input. The parallel time is an optional item.

  FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a page displaying daily gas supply amounts by two systems of a low-pressure system and a high-pressure system for supplying gas to the power plant. However, gas supply is expected. The gas supply system to the power plant has two systems, a low pressure system and a high pressure system. The maximum supply amount of the low pressure system is displayed as No. 3 maximum, and the minimum supply amount of the low pressure system is displayed as No. 2 (low pressure minimum). Further, the maximum supply amount of the high-pressure system is displayed as No. 1 maximum, and the minimum supply amount is displayed as No. 1 minimum.

  Using the maximum and minimum supply amounts of these low pressure and high pressure systems, the operable range from the current tank level to the next acceptance is drawn on the graph shown in FIG. Specifically, the operation maximum liquid level is calculated from the maximum consumption of the low-pressure system and the high-pressure system, that is, the No. 3 maximum and No. 1 maximum values in the table of FIG. 19, and a graph is drawn. The transition of the maximum operating liquid level drawn in this way is indicated by a broken line in FIG. Further, the minimum operating liquid level is calculated from the minimum consumption of the low-pressure system and the high-pressure system, that is, the lowest values of No. 2 and No. 1 in the table of FIG. 19, and a graph is drawn. The transition of the minimum operating liquid level drawn in this way is indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. The range surrounded by the broken line of the maximum liquid level and the one-dot chain line of the minimum liquid level in FIG. 7 is the operable range until the next LNG acceptance.

  FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a page for transmitting consumable amount information. Consumable amount means the supply amount of No. 3 maximum, No. 2, No. 1 maximum, No. 1 minimum. The updated information in FIG. 19 is pasted in the consumable amount column of this page, and the transmission button is pressed.

  FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a page displaying coefficients used when calculating the fuel used from the power generation amount at the power plant. Using the numerical values described on this page, the amount of fuel used can be calculated from the amount of power generation, or the setting of the target arrival date for simulation can be changed. To change the numerical value, press Data transmission on the upper right to display the data transmission page.

  FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating a page for changing the coefficient used for the simulation. When a coefficient is input to an item to be changed and the transmission button is pressed, the coefficient of the page displayed in FIG. 21 is changed, and simulation is performed with the new coefficient.

  Here, a tank level simulation will be described. Since the amount of liquid in the tank is calculated based on the tank level input and displayed in FIG. 12 described above, the planned payout amount of the base is calculated from the payout amount that is assumed to be input by each related place. The amount paid out is the sum of the amount of fuel used at the power plant and the expected shipping amount of LNG sold. The amount of liquid in the tank is obtained from the tank level data for a certain time every day, and the daily amount of liquid in the tank is assumed by subtracting the daily amount to be dispensed. The daily tank level can be obtained by back-calculating the amount of liquid from the tank table, and the tank level is simulated by plotting this.

  Further, the heat generation amount simulation will be described. The calorific value simulation is calculated assuming the composition of LNG stored in the tank. Since LNG is mainly composed of methane and has a temperature of −162 ° C. in the liquid state, it is constantly evaporated by heat input from the outside. At this time, methane is mainly evaporated, and the composition of LNG in the tank is obtained by subtracting methane evaporated by heat input from the outside. A calorific value is simulated from the composition of LNG thus determined and the amount of LNG dispensed.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. The effects described in the embodiments of the present invention are only the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are limited to those described in the embodiments or examples of the present invention. Is not to be done.

It is a figure which shows the structure of one Embodiment of the information sharing system 1 to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the basic system structure of the client terminal and server of the information sharing assistance system 1 in one Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the processing flow of an information sharing system. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the page which inputs information. It is a figure which shows the example of an email produced in a mail transmission part. The figure by which the Web file stored in page DB105 was displayed on the client terminal is shown. It is a figure which shows the top page of the site of a tank level management system. It is a figure which shows the table | surface of the target achievement minimum and maximum liquid level by the time of LNG reception of a tank, and the last track record. It is a figure which shows the table | surface of the date and time when each page was updated. It is a figure which shows the table | surface of the usable quantity of each relevant place from the last performance date when the graph was created to the next acceptance date. It is the figure which showed the page which displays the numerical data of a graph. It is a figure which shows the page which displays the liquid level of the LNG in the tank which the person in charge of the company which manages the base has by day. It is a figure which shows the page for transmitting the tank level information. It is a figure which shows the page which displays the estimated shipment amount of LNG which each company ships as LNG vaporization gas according to a day. It is a figure which shows the page for transmitting the estimated shipment amount of the vaporization gas of each company. It is a figure which shows the page which displays the estimated shipment amount of LNG which each company ships as liquefied gas according to day. It is a figure which shows the page which displays the electric power generation amount and the amount of fuel used of the furnace of a power plant according to the day. It is a figure which shows the page for transmitting the information of electric power generation amount. It is a figure which shows the page which displays the supply_amount | feed_rate of the gas by two systems, the low voltage | pressure system and gas supply system which supply gas to a power plant according to the day. It is a figure which shows the page for transmitting the information of consumable amount. It is a figure which shows the page which displays the coefficient used when calculating the fuel used from the electric power generation amount in a power station. It is a figure which shows the page for changing the coefficient used for a simulation.

Explanation of symbols

100 Web server 101 Mail transmission unit 102 Page reception unit 103 Page transmission unit 104 Authentication unit 105 Page DB
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 110 Support server 111 Mail receiving part 112 Mail analysis part 113 Data transmission part 120 DB server 121 DB update part 122 Page creation part 123 Acceptance support DB

Claims (7)

An LNG tank level monitoring system using a network,
A database server having a storage unit;
A dedicated Web page is transmitted to the client terminal via the network, and any information relating to the tank level, shipment amount, power generation amount, and consumable amount input from the dedicated Web page is displayed in a predetermined format in the body of the e-mail. A web server that has a mail hosting function to automatically describe and send the e-mail to a fixed e-mail address, and that holds a LNG tank level target value achievement simulation result created by the database server;
A support server that receives the electronic mail and converts the data format of the information extracted from the body of the electronic mail in order to update the information held in the storage unit of the database server;
With
The database server updates information held in a storage unit with the converted information, and creates a target value achievement simulation result of the LNG tank level based on the information in the storage unit. LNG tank level monitoring system.   2. The LNG tank level monitoring according to claim 1, wherein the LNG tank level target value achievement simulation result displays a current and past tank level information, an expected use information of LNG, and a usage prediction curve from a target tank level arrival date. system.   The tank level monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the database server creates a calorific value simulation result from information in the storage unit. An LNG tank level monitoring method using a network,
The client terminal accesses a dedicated Web page on the network resource, and any information regarding the tank level, the shipment amount, the power generation amount, and the consumable amount input from the client terminal to the dedicated Web page is included in the text of the e-mail. Writing in a predetermined format and automatically sending the email to a fixed email address by a mail hosting function;
Receiving the email and converting the information extracted from the body of the email into a predetermined format;
Holding the input tank level, the shipment amount, the power generation amount, and the consumable amount information as LNG tank level management information;
Performing LNG tank level target value achievement simulation from the LNG tank level management information;
An LNG tank level monitoring method including:   5. The LNG according to claim 4, wherein the LNG tank level target value achievement simulation result includes a step of displaying a use prediction curve from current and past tank level information, expected use information of LNG, and a target tank level arrival date. Tank level monitoring method.   The LNG tank level monitoring method according to claim 4, further comprising a step of performing a calorific value simulation from the LNG tank level management information. A computer program for LNG tank level monitoring using a network,
The client terminal accesses a dedicated Web page on the network resource, and any information regarding the tank level, the shipment amount, the power generation amount, and the consumable amount input from the client terminal to the dedicated Web page is included in the text of the e-mail. Writing in a predetermined format and automatically sending the email to a fixed email address by a mail hosting function;
Receiving the email and converting the information extracted from the body of the email into a predetermined format;
Holding the input tank level, the shipment amount, the power generation amount, and the consumable amount information as LNG tank level management information;
Performing LNG tank level target value achievement simulation from the LNG tank level management information;
A computer program that causes a computer to execute.

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