JP2013201830A - Emergency power supply apparatus and method of plant - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an emergency power supply technology of a plant which supplies electric power thermo-electrically converted from waste heat to an apparatus selected on the basis of the significance in control or monitoring.SOLUTION: An emergency power supply apparatus 10 of a plant includes: a thermoelectric conversion part 12 provided on a surface of a heating body 11 from among components of the plant; an accumulator battery 13 accumulating electric energy output from the thermoelectric conversion part 12; and a power distribution management part 20 distributing electric power to a power consumption device 15 from the accumulator battery 13 instead of a regular power source 14 that becomes inoperative.

Description

  The present invention relates to an emergency power supply technique for a plant when power supply from a regular power supply is stopped.

  In power plants and the like, many power consuming devices are provided for controlling and monitoring large-scale plants. In recent years, with the progress of miniaturization and high performance of microprocessors and advancement of wireless communication technology, these power consuming devices incorporate advanced sensor functions such as sensor networks and ad hoc networks.

  On the other hand, research and development related to energy harvesting (environmental power generation) that uses unused energy in the environment is active. In nuclear power plants, thermoelectric power generation using the Seebeck effect is expected with respect to the use of heat energy at a relatively low temperature (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-242287 A

Power plants, factories, and the like are equipped with an emergency power source that backs up a regular power source in order to ensure the reliability of control and monitoring of a large-scale plant that consumes a large amount of power. However, when earthquakes and other disasters occur in combination, there is an undeniable possibility that the functions of the normal power supply and emergency power supply will be lost at the same time.
To deal with this possibility, simply increasing the multiplicity of backups is limited from an economic point of view.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and an emergency power supply technique for a plant that supplies electric power converted from exhaust heat to thermoelectric power to equipment selected based on importance in control or monitoring. The purpose is to provide.

  In an emergency power supply device for a plant, instead of a thermoelectric conversion unit provided on the surface of a heating element among the components of the plant, a storage battery for accumulating electric energy output by the thermoelectric conversion unit, and a normal power supply that has become disabled A power distribution management unit that distributes power from the storage battery to a power consuming device.

  According to the present invention, there is provided an emergency power supply technique for a plant that supplies thermoelectric-converted power from waste heat to equipment selected based on importance in control or monitoring.

The block diagram which shows 1st Embodiment of the emergency power supply apparatus of the plant which concerns on this invention. The block diagram which shows 2nd Embodiment of the emergency power supply apparatus of the plant which concerns on this invention. The block diagram of the power distribution management part in the emergency power supply apparatus of the plant which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The block diagram which shows 3rd Embodiment of the emergency power supply apparatus of the plant which concerns on this invention. The block diagram of the energy distribution part in the emergency power supply apparatus of the plant which concerns on 3rd Embodiment. The table which shows the apparatus importance information registered into the apparatus information registration part in 2nd Embodiment. The table which shows the group importance information registered in the group information registration part in 3rd Embodiment. The block diagram which shows 4th Embodiment of the emergency power supply apparatus of the plant which concerns on this invention.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, a plant emergency power supply apparatus 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as “apparatus 10”) according to the first embodiment is a thermoelectric conversion unit provided on the surface of a heating element 11 among the components of the plant. 12, a storage battery 13 that stores electrical energy output by the thermoelectric converter 12, and a distribution management unit 20 that distributes power from the storage battery 13 to the power consuming device 15 instead of the service power supply 14 that has become impossible. Yes.

In addition, illustration shows the typical example of embodiment of invention, The variation deform | transformed in the range which those skilled in the art easily conceived from these is also contained in embodiment of invention.
By configuring the apparatus 10 in this way, the minimum power required for monitoring and controlling the power consuming equipment 15 (valves, etc.) essential for stable and safe operation of the plant is covered.
Electric power that covers this monitoring and control is generated in the thermoelectric converter 12 according to the temperature difference between the unused heat source (heating element 11) in the plant and the outside, and is stored in the storage battery 13.

  The heating element 11 includes a boiler, various furnaces, a heat exchanger, and the like constituting the plant, but is not limited thereto, and may be appropriately used as long as it releases a large amount of unused exhaust heat. Can do. Therefore, piping or the like that is connected to these devices or the like and through which the thermal fluid flows can be used as the heating element 11.

The thermoelectric converter 12 is made of a dissimilar metal or semiconductor, and generates an electromotive force substantially proportional to the temperature difference due to the Seebeck effect. For this reason, since the thermoelectric conversion part 12 has a simple structure with no operating part and can generate power if there is a temperature difference, it can be said to be a highly reliable power generation means.
The thermoelectric conversion part 12 needs to make the one surface contact the surface of the heat generating body 11, and heat the opposite surface to remove heat with a wind or a liquid to reduce the temperature.

By the way, in order to draw out the performance of the thermoelectric conversion part 12 sufficiently, it is necessary to make it press-fit with respect to the heat transfer surface of the heat generating body 11.
When the contact surfaces of the thermoelectric converter 12 and the heating element 11 are flat with each other, the gap can be filled as much as possible with grease having excellent heat transfer characteristics such as heat radiation grease, and then crimping can be performed.
On the other hand, when the heating element 11 has a curved surface such as a pipe, it is difficult to process the thermoelectric conversion section 12 having a curved shape, and therefore, the heating element 11 and the thermoelectric element are connected via a material having good thermal conductivity. The conversion unit 12 is joined.

The storage battery 13 has an inverter function that controls charging and discharging according to the amount of stored energy and the amount of load power, and converts the DC power generated by the thermoelectric converter 12 into AC power.
The storage battery 13 can charge the DC power generated by the thermoelectric conversion unit 12 and supply the power to the outside even after the regular power supply 14 is disabled.

The thermoelectric converter 12 cannot supply high power directly due to its internal resistance, but can supply high power by temporarily storing it in the storage battery 13.
Moreover, the storage battery 13 can improve the reliability as an emergency power supply by using together with the capacitor | condenser etc. which have an electrical storage function.

As the power consuming device 15, the on-off valve 17 and its driving mechanism 16 are illustrated, but the power consuming device 15 is not limited to this.
Examples of the on-off valve 17 include an isolation valve that isolates the device (the heating element 11) in the event of an abnormality, or a safety valve that avoids damage due to accumulation of high-temperature and high-pressure fluid in the device.

  The power distribution management unit 20 always supplies electrical energy from the regular power source 14 and supplies rated drive power to the power consuming device 15 (drive mechanism 16). When the regular power supply 14 becomes impossible, electric energy is procured from the storage battery 13 and the rated driving power is supplied to the power consuming device 15.

(Second Embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 2, the storage battery 13 in the emergency power supply apparatus 10 for a plant according to the second embodiment includes a plurality of thermoelectric conversions provided on different heating elements 11 (11 ₁ , 11 ₂ , 11 ₃ ...). The electrical energy output by the unit 12 (12 ₁ , 12 ₂ , 12 ₃ ...) Is accumulated.
Thereby, the heat source can be multiplexed for the storage battery 13, and electric energy can be stably procured from the thermoelectric conversion unit 12 against various unpredictable accidents.

The distribution management unit 20 is configured to distribute power to each of the plurality of power consuming devices 15 (15 ₁ , 15 ₂ , 15 ₃ ...).
Then, when the function of the regular power supply 14 is lost, the power distribution management unit 20 takes into account the scheduled recovery period of the regular power supply 14 and the remaining energy of the storage battery 13 and the like, and consumes power 15 (15 ₁ , 15 ₂ , 15 _3). ...) and distribute power to the most important ones in order or selectively.
2 that have the same configuration or function as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

As shown in FIG. 3, the power distribution management unit 20 is important for the switching unit 25 that switches the procurement of electric energy from the regular power supply 14 to the storage battery 13 and the power consuming devices 15 (15 ₁ , 15 ₂ ,... 15 _m ) to be connected. The device information registration unit 21 that registers the degree information 21a (FIG. 6), the first detection unit 22 that detects the remaining energy of the storage battery 13, and the distribution target based on the remaining energy and importance information (FIG. 6) A power distribution determining unit 23 for determining the power consuming device 15 and a supply unit 24 for supplying electric energy from the storage battery 13 to the power consuming device 15 to be distributed.

The device information registration unit 21 registers importance information 21a (FIG. 6) of the power consuming devices 15 (15 ₁ , 15 ₂ ,... 15 _m ) to be connected.
As shown in FIG. 6, the device importance level information 21a includes the power consumption amount of the power consuming device 15 (15 ₁ , 15 ₂ ,... 15 _m ) and the important safety measures for possible abnormal events (1 to M). In view of the characteristics, importance W is defined.

The importance W varies with the type of abnormal event and its progress. The importance W is defined so that the sum of the importance W _j of each power consuming device 15 _j is 1.
Σ (j = 1 → m) W _j = 1 [W ₁ ≧ W ₂ ≧ ... ≧ W _m ≧ 0]

On the other hand, for example, among all the devices m, it is possible to introduce importance levels such that all values are 1 up to the top p importance levels, and the sum is 1 thereafter.
In this case, power is first supplied to the first device in the order of importance, and power is supplied to the second device having the second importance as soon as the safety is ensured. When the power supply up to the p-th is completed, the power is distributed according to the importance of each device thereafter.
W ₁ = W ₂ = ... W _p = 1 Σ (j = p + 1 → m) W _j = 1 [W _{p + 1} ≧ W _{P + 2} ≧ ... ≧ W _m ≧ 0]

  The power distribution determination unit 23 determines the power consuming device 15 to be distributed based on the remaining energy of the storage battery 13 detected by the first detection unit 22 and the importance level information 21a. Note that immediately after the electrical energy procurement is switched from the regular power supply 14 to the storage battery 13, the storage battery 13 is fully charged, and therefore the predetermined power consuming device 15 is to be distributed without considering the remaining energy. Can do.

The supply unit 24 procures electric energy from the storage battery 13 and drives the rated drive to the distribution target specified by the distribution determination unit 23 among the connected power consuming devices 15 (15 ₁ , 15 ₂ ,... 15 _m ). Supply power.

The switching unit 25 also serves to stop the supply of electrical energy to the supply unit 24 when the remaining energy of the storage battery 13 is reduced, in addition to the operation of switching the procurement of electrical energy from the regular power supply 14 to the storage battery 13.
Then, when the energy storage amount of the storage battery 13 is restored, the supply of electrical energy to the supply unit 24 is resumed.

(Third embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 4, the emergency power supply apparatus 10 for a plant according to the third embodiment includes a storage battery 13 and a power distribution management unit 20 that are connected to each other, and a power consuming device 15 and a thermoelectric conversion unit 12 that are connected to each other. Are formed as a group 32 (32 ₁ , 32 ₂ ,...).
Then, the energy distribution unit 40, the plurality of groups 32 (32 _1, 32 _2, ...) the electrical energy to mutually interchange each other, to distribute electrical energy stored in the respective storage batteries 13.
4, parts having the same configuration or function as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  Thereby, while having the storage battery 13 independently per group, the storage battery 13 can be multiplexed and reliability can be improved. Moreover, according to the different importance according to the kind of abnormal situation, the electrical energy which each group holds can be distributed to another group.

As shown in FIG. 5, the energy distribution unit 40 includes a group information registration unit 41 for registering the importance information 41a (FIG. 7) of the classified groups 32 (32 ₁ , 32 ₂ ,...), And the group 32 (32 ₁ , 32 ₂ ,...) In the second detector 42 for detecting the remaining energy of the storage battery 13 (FIG. 4), and the remaining energy and importance information 41 a for each group 32 (32 ₁ , 32 ₂ ,...). A distribution determination unit 43 that determines a distribution amount of electrical energy based on the distribution unit 44 and a transfer unit 44 that transfers electrical energy between the groups 32 (32 ₁ , 32 ₂ ,...) According to the determined distribution amount. Yes.

The group information registration unit 41 registers the importance information 41a (FIG. 7) of the classified group 32 (32 ₁ , 32 ₂ ,...).
As shown in FIG. 7, the importance W of each group 32 is defined in the group importance information 41a in view of the importance in safety measures when a possible abnormal event (1 to M) occurs.
Then, based on the remaining energy of the storage battery 13 held by each group 32 and the energy consumption of each power consuming device 15 to which power is distributed, energy transfer is automatically performed between the groups in response to a change in the situation.

The capacity change (d / dt · U _c ) of the storage battery 13 held by each group 32 can be expressed by the following equation. Here, a storage amount E _in , a consumption amount E _out , and a discharge amount E _D by thermoelectric power generation are shown.
The amount of stored electricity E _in varies with time because the amount of power generation varies depending on the temperature condition of the installation site of the thermoelectric converter 12. The same applies to the consumption amount E _out , but since the power consumption of the power consuming device 15 that is the power supply destination can be estimated, it can be estimated by taking the sum thereof. The discharge amount E _D also varies depending on the performance of the storage battery 13 and the surrounding temperature environment, but can be estimated.
d / dt · U _c = E _in −E _out −E _D

If the capacity change (d / dt · U _c ) value is 0 or more, the stored energy of the storage battery 13 will not be depleted, but if it takes a negative value, it will eventually be depleted.
From the start of energy supply from the storage battery 13 to the recovery of the regular power supply 14, the power supply to the power consumption device 15 that is important for safety is not interrupted. It is necessary to limit the power supply.

As a method for restricting power supply, power supply to the power consuming equipment 15 having a low importance W is stopped so that the capacity change (d / dt · U _c ) of the storage battery 13 in each group 32 takes a value of 0 or more. . That is, the consumption E _out is such that the range does not exceed the E _in -E _D, to limit the power supply to the power consuming device 15.

The above-described power supply restriction method is a conservative operation.
Actually, since the storage batteries 13 of each group 32 are already fully charged at the time of switching, electric energy can be consumed until the stored energy is exhausted. For this reason, the storage battery 13 can supply power up to E _in −E _D + α.
Here, alpha afford capacity W _M until the voltage drops, if the T _R (estimated time power is restored) supply time is defined as α = W _M / T _R. Until the α fraction was extra supply power, when the power supply even exceed T _R is not recovered, switch to conservative operation described above the power supply.

(Fourth embodiment)
As shown in FIG. 8, in the emergency power supply apparatus 10 for a plant according to the fourth embodiment, the group 32 (32 ₁ , 32 ₂ ,...) Includes a thermoelectric conversion unit 12 (12 ₁ , 12 ₂ ) and power consumption. The devices 15 (15 ₁ , 15 ₂ ) are classified based on whether they belong to a control system or a monitoring system.
8 that have the same configuration or function as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

Here, the power consumption device 15 ₁ of the control system can supply power on demand when the operation of the on-off valve or the like is necessary, and the continuous monitoring with the power consumption device 15 ₂ of the monitoring system is possible. -A constant power supply is required to achieve the communication function.

When an abnormal situation occurs and the procurement of electric energy is switched from the regular power supply 14 to the storage battery 13, the plant needs to be monitored and accompanied by control / operation. For this reason, if the control-system power consumption device 15 ₁ and the monitoring-system power consumption device 15 ₂ are mixed in the same group 32, it is necessary to constantly supply power to many groups 32 in order to continue monitoring. is there.
Therefore, if the group 32 is gathered by the monitoring power consumption devices 15 _{2 that} require constant power supply or the power consumption devices 15 classified by importance, the energy transmission loss can be reduced.

  Further, if the separate power consuming devices 15 of the monitoring power consuming devices 15 that are alternative to each other or have a relationship that can be estimated from one to the other are assigned to different groups 32, they are group-by-group. Power consumption can be turned ON / OFF.

  According to the emergency power supply device for the plant of at least one embodiment described above, when the waste power that is universally used is used for thermoelectric power generation, and the function of the normal power supply is lost due to the occurrence of an abnormal event Even so, the minimum power required to operate equipment essential for plant control and monitoring is ensured.

  Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described, these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, replacements, changes, and combinations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are also included in the invention described in the claims and the equivalents thereof.

10 ... emergency power supply _{device, 11 (11 1, 11 2} , ... 11 m) ... heating _{element, 12 (12 1, 12 2} , ... 12 m) ... thermoelectric conversion unit, 13 ... storage battery, 14 ... commercial power source, 15 (15 ₁ , 15 ₂ ,... 15 _m ) ... power consuming device, 16 ... drive mechanism, 17 ... open / close valve, 20 ... distribution management unit, 21 ... device information registration unit, 21a ... device attribute information, 22 ... first Detection unit, 23 ... Power distribution determination unit, 24 ... Supply unit, 25 ... Switching unit, 32 (32 ₁ , 32 ₂ , 32 ₃ ) ... Group, 40 ... Energy distribution unit, 41 ... Group information registration unit, 41a ... Importance Information, 42 ... 2nd detection part, 43 ... Distribution determination part, 44 ... Transfer part.

Claims (7)

A thermoelectric conversion unit provided on the surface of the heating element among the components of the plant;
A storage battery for storing electrical energy output by the thermoelectric converter;
An emergency power supply device for a plant, comprising: a power distribution management unit that distributes power from the storage battery to a power consuming device instead of a normal power supply that has become impossible. In the plant emergency power supply device according to claim 1,
The emergency power supply device for a plant, wherein the storage battery accumulates electric energy output from the plurality of thermoelectric conversion units provided in different heating elements. In the plant emergency power supply device according to claim 1 or 2,
The emergency power supply device for a plant, wherein the power distribution management unit distributes power to each of the plurality of power consuming devices. The emergency power supply apparatus for a plant according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the power distribution management unit includes:
A switching unit that switches the electric energy procurement from the regular power source to the storage battery;
A device information registration unit for registering importance information of the power consuming device to be connected;
A first detector for detecting the remaining energy of the storage battery;
A power distribution determining unit that determines the power consuming device to be distributed based on the remaining energy and the importance information;
An emergency power supply apparatus for a plant, comprising: a supply unit configured to supply electric energy from the storage battery to the power consuming device to be distributed. The emergency power supply apparatus for a plant according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an energy distributor.
This energy distribution unit
A group information registration unit for registering the importance information of the group classified including the power storage device and the thermoelectric conversion unit connected to each other with the storage battery and the power distribution management unit connected to each other;
A second detector for detecting the remaining energy of the storage battery in each group;
A distribution determination unit that determines a distribution amount of electric energy based on the remaining energy level and the importance level information for each group;
A plant emergency power supply apparatus comprising: a transfer unit configured to transfer the electric energy between the groups according to the determined distribution amount. The emergency power supply device for a plant according to claim 5,
The plant emergency power supply apparatus, wherein the group is classified based on whether the power consuming device corresponds to a control system or a monitoring system. A step of accumulating electric energy output from a thermoelectric conversion unit provided on the surface of the heating element among the components of the plant in a storage battery;
An emergency power supply method for a plant, comprising the step of distributing power from the storage battery to a power consuming device in place of a normal power supply that has become impossible.

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