Process safety control device and method based on wall thickness online monitoring

Abstract

The invention relates to a process safety control device and method based on wall thickness online monitoring. The device comprises a plurality of sensors, a central control system, a linkage safety device and a power supply module. Each sensor is used for monitoring the change condition of the wall thickness of a flow pipeline in real time and transmitting wall thickness data to the central control system in real time through the Zigbee wireless communication module; the central control system is used for judging the erosion degree of the pipeline according to the received wall thickness change data, giving an alarm when the wall thickness of the pipeline is reduced to a preset danger threshold value, and meanwhile sending an interlocking signal to the linkage safety device. The linkage safety device closes a corresponding flow pipeline valve according to the received interlocking signal and automatically switches to a standby flow pipeline; the power supply module is used for supplying power. The method can be widely applied to the field of petroleum and natural gas exploration and development.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a process safety control device and method based on online monitoring of wall thickness, which is suitable for ground process safety monitoring in deepwater and ultra-deepwater formation testing and belongs to the field of oil and natural gas exploration and development. Background Art

[0002] In the ground testing process of oil and gas exploration, ground process equipment faces great risks caused by corrosion and erosion. Formation fluids can cause erosion or corrosion to the ground test process, resulting in thinning of the test process wall, which greatly reduces its reliability. The lack of pipeline strength increases the risk of pipeline leakage, posing a potential threat to personnel, equipment and the environment.

[0003] However, existing detection technologies can often only handle after an accident occurs, lacking effective real-time monitoring and preventive measures. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above problems, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a process safety control device and method based on online wall thickness monitoring, which can monitor the pipeline wall thickness in real time, detect erosion problems in time, and automatically initiate safety measures when the danger threshold is reached to avoid accidents.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a process safety control device based on online monitoring of wall thickness, comprising:

[0007] Several sensors, central control systems, linkage safety devices and power supply modules;

[0008] Each sensor is used to monitor the change of the wall thickness of the process pipeline in real time, and transmit the wall thickness data to the central control system in real time through the ZigBee wireless communication module;

[0009] The central control system is used to determine the degree of pipeline erosion based on the received wall thickness change data, and to issue an alarm when the pipeline wall thickness decreases to a preset danger threshold, and to send an interlock signal to the linkage safety device;

[0010] The linkage safety device closes the corresponding process pipeline valve according to the received interlock signal and automatically switches to the standby process pipeline;

[0011] The power supply module is used for supplying power.

[0012] Furthermore, the sensor adopts an electromagnetic ultrasonic wall thickness sensor, which calculates the wall thickness of the process pipeline by sending and receiving ultrasonic pulses and measuring the propagation time of the ultrasonic pulses in the pipeline wall, and transmits the wall thickness data to the central control system through the Zigbee terminal of the Zigbee wireless communication module.

[0013] Furthermore, the central control system comprises:

[0014] Human-computer interaction unit, used to input and view Zigbee wireless module communication parameters and alarm threshold parameters through key input and interface parameter display;

[0015] A data receiving unit, used for receiving the wall thickness data from the sensor through the Zigbee coordinator of the Zigbee wireless communication module according to preset Zigbee wireless module communication parameters;

[0016] A data processing unit is used to process and analyze the received wall thickness data, calculate the change of the pipeline wall thickness according to a preset algorithm, and send an alarm signal and an interlocking signal to the sound and light alarm unit and the linkage safety device respectively when the pipeline wall thickness is lower than a preset danger threshold;

[0017] RS485 unit, used for sending the processing data and results of the data processing unit to a computer terminal;

[0018] The sound and light alarm unit is used to immediately trigger the sound and light alarm signal to notify the on-site personnel after receiving the alarm signal;

[0019] The data storage unit is used to store the pipeline wall thickness data for subsequent analysis and maintenance decisions.

[0020] Furthermore, the central control system is implemented using the STM32F407 series as the main control chip.

[0021] Further, the linkage safety device comprises:

[0022] The valve control module is used to immediately close the relevant process pipeline valves upon receiving the interlock signal to prevent the fluid from continuing to flow;

[0023] The backup process switching module is used to automatically switch to the backup process pipeline when a problem occurs in the main process pipeline to continue fluid transportation.

[0024] Furthermore, the power supply module adopts a power conditioning module, one end of which is connected to an external 24VDC power supply, and the other end is connected to a central control system, an interlocking safety device and a Zigbee wireless communication module, and is used to convert the external 24VDC power supply into a corresponding voltage level for power supply.

[0025] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a control method for a process safety control device based on online monitoring of wall thickness, comprising the following steps:

[0026] Use sensors to monitor changes in pipeline wall thickness in real time, and transmit wall thickness data to the central control system through the Zigbee wireless communication module;

[0027] Determine the degree of pipeline erosion based on the received monitoring data, and issue an alarm when the pipeline wall thickness drops to a preset danger threshold, while sending an interlock signal to the linkage safety device;

[0028] The interlocking safety device closes the relevant process pipeline valves according to the interlocking signal received and automatically switches to the backup process pipeline.

[0029] The present invention adopts the above technical solution, which has the following advantages:

[0030] 1. Fast response speed. Compared with manual measurement and operation, this device has the ability of real-time, online monitoring and rapid response. The wall thickness sensor data adopts Zigbee technology for wireless transmission, which can detect the wall thickness data in real time. The control center can make a real-time judgment on the wall thickness value and respond quickly when a dangerous situation occurs, and switch the process by controlling the electric valve.

[0031] 2. Process automation. The control process of the present invention is fully automated. When there is a problem with the pipe wall thickness, the traditional process requires manual operation of pipe switching, which has low real-time performance and accuracy.

[0032] 3. Easy to operate. Zigbee wireless communication reduces the cumbersome wiring process compared to traditional wired connections, making on-site operations safer and more flexible.

[0033] Therefore, the present invention can be widely used in the field of oil and natural gas exploration and development. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reading the detailed description of the preferred embodiments below. The accompanying drawings are only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments and are not to be considered as limiting the present invention. Throughout the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are used to represent the same components. In the accompanying drawings:

[0035] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a process safety control device based on online monitoring of wall thickness provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 2 A DC motor driving circuit diagram of an electric actuator provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 3 A circuit diagram of a human-computer interaction interface provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 4 A circuit diagram of a ZigBee wireless communication module provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 5 A circuit diagram of an RS485 driving circuit provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 6 An external FLASH data storage circuit diagram provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 7 A circuit diagram of an external sound and light alarm switch provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 8 This is a circuit diagram of the core single-chip microcomputer of the central control system provided by an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiment of the present invention clearer, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings of the embodiment of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiment is a part of the embodiment of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the described embodiment of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field belong to the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0044] It should be noted that the terms used herein are only for describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit exemplary embodiments according to the present invention. As used herein, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular form is also intended to include the plural form. In addition, it should be understood that when the terms "comprising" and / or "including" are used in this specification, it indicates the presence of features, steps, operations, devices, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0045] In some embodiments of the present invention, a process safety control device based on online monitoring of wall thickness is provided. The device is equipped with several electromagnetic ultrasonic sensors on the ground test process pipeline to monitor the inner wall thickness of the pipeline in real time. The data of the electromagnetic ultrasonic sensors is transmitted to the central control system located in the control center via the Zigbee wireless network. The central control system continuously monitors the data. When it is found that the wall thickness of a certain section of the pipeline is reduced to the set danger threshold, an alarm is immediately triggered, and the valve of the section of the pipeline is automatically closed through the linkage safety device, and the pipeline is switched to the backup pipeline to ensure the safety of the test process.

[0046] Correspondingly, in some other embodiments of the present invention, a control method for a process safety control device based on online monitoring of wall thickness is provided.

[0047] Example 1

[0048] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides a process safety control device based on online wall thickness monitoring, which includes: a plurality of sensors, a central control system and a linkage safety device. Among them, each sensor is used to monitor the change of the wall thickness of the process pipeline in real time, and transmit the wall thickness data to the central control system in real time through Zigbee wireless communication; the central control system is used to determine the degree of pipeline erosion according to the received wall thickness change data, and alarm when the pipeline wall thickness decreases to a preset danger threshold, and send an interlock signal to the linkage safety device; the linkage safety device closes the corresponding process pipeline valve according to the received interlock signal, and automatically switches to the spare process pipeline.

[0049] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the sensor adopts an electromagnetic ultrasonic wall thickness sensor, which sends and receives ultrasonic pulses, measures the propagation time of the pulses in the pipe wall, thereby calculating the thickness of the pipe wall, and transmits the wall thickness data to the central control system through the Zigbee terminal for judging the degree of erosion.

[0050] Furthermore, the central control system is the core of the entire device, responsible for receiving the wall thickness data from the sensor and performing real-time analysis and processing. Specifically, the central control system includes:

[0051] Human-computer interaction unit, used to input and view Zigbee wireless module communication parameters, alarm thresholds and other parameters through key input and interface parameter display;

[0052] A data receiving unit, used to receive the wall thickness data from the sensor through the Zigbee coordinator according to the preset Zigbee wireless module communication parameters;

[0053] A data processing unit is used to process and analyze the received wall thickness data, calculate the change of the pipeline wall thickness according to a preset algorithm, and send an alarm signal and an interlocking signal to the sound and light alarm unit and the linkage safety device respectively when the pipeline wall thickness is lower than a preset danger threshold;

[0054] RS485 unit, used to send the processing data and results of the data processing unit to the computer terminal;

[0055] The sound and light alarm unit is used to immediately trigger the sound and light alarm signal to notify the on-site personnel after receiving the alarm signal;

[0056] The data storage unit is used to store the pipeline wall thickness data for subsequent analysis and maintenance decisions.

[0057] Furthermore, the linkage safety device is an emergency measure initiated by the central control system after detecting a dangerous situation to prevent accidents. The linkage safety device uses the electric actuator as the central component and includes:

[0058] The valve control module is used to immediately close the relevant process pipeline valves upon receiving the interlock signal to prevent the fluid from continuing to flow;

[0059] The backup process switching module is used to automatically switch to the backup process pipeline when a problem occurs in the main process pipeline and continue fluid transportation to ensure the continuity of the test process.

[0060] Furthermore, the present invention also includes a power supply module, which includes a power conditioning module, one end of which is connected to an external 24VDC power supply, and the other end is connected to a central control system, an interlocking safety device and a Zigbee wireless communication module, and is used to convert the external 24VDC power supply into a corresponding voltage level for power supply.

[0061] Example 2

[0062] like Figure 2 to Figure 8 As shown, this embodiment further introduces a process safety control device based on online monitoring of wall thickness proposed by the present invention by taking a specific case.

[0063] In this embodiment, the entire device includes an electric actuator DC motor drive circuit, a human-computer interaction circuit, a ZigBee wireless communication module circuit, an RS485 drive circuit, a FLASH data storage circuit, an audible and visual alarm switch circuit, and a system core single-chip microcomputer circuit.

[0064] like Figure 2 As shown, the linkage safety device module is realized through the electric actuator DC motor drive circuit, which uses the BTS7970B half-bridge chip as the drive circuit. The maximum operating current of this chip can reach 60A, and it has overcurrent protection, overheat protection and short-circuit protection functions, and supports PWM regulation control.

[0065] like Figure 3 As shown, the human-computer interaction module is realized through a human-computer interaction circuit, which includes a key detection circuit and a liquid crystal display circuit. The key is a light touch key for inputting parameters, such as wireless parameter configuration, system parameter configuration, etc. The liquid crystal is a 12864 dot matrix liquid crystal for displaying a variety of information, such as the monitoring values ​​of each wall thickness monitoring point, the current system status, wireless communication status, etc.

[0066] like Figure 4As shown in the figure, the Zigbee wireless communication module is implemented through a wireless communication circuit, and the driving circuit interface mode is UART. The module is set as a coordinator through configuration to manage the terminals and routing modules in the network. The module can enter and exit the sleep mode through external pins, and data can be packaged through serial port instructions to send and receive digital signals, thereby performing data interaction.

[0067] like Figure 5 As shown in the figure, the RS485 unit is realized through the RS485 circuit, which is used for wired communication with computers and central control systems. When communicating with the host computer, the monitoring data and system information of each wall thickness monitoring point can be interacted with the host computer, and the remote instructions of the host computer can be received at the same time, such as closing the valve, setting the alarm threshold, etc. The data stored in the system can also be exported according to the host computer instructions. When communicating with the slave machine, it is only necessary to control the valve switch tasks of each secondary pipeline. For example, if the wall thickness of a certain monitoring point is too thin, the pipeline needs to be switched. At this time, the actuator installed in the main pipeline closes the valve, and at the same time, the electric actuator installed in the secondary pipeline is notified through RS485 communication to open the valve, and the pipeline switching is realized through wired communication.

[0068] like Figure 6 As shown, the data storage unit is realized by the data storage circuit. The data storage circuit uses W25Q128 as the core chip. The chip uses SPI interface communication. The fastest read and write speed in this system is 16MB / s. It is used to store the implementation data of each wall thickness sensor. During the design process, it is calculated according to 4 points and 3s communication interval. Each data packet contains data time, value (accurate to 0.01mm) and bit number, a total of 8 bytes. The maximum single operation time is 18 days. It can be accessed cyclically to meet the requirements of the test scenario.

[0069] like Figure 7 As shown, the sound and light alarm module is realized by the sound and light alarm switch circuit, which is mainly realized by a group of normally open relays. When an alarm occurs, the control system gives a trigger signal, the relay closes, and 24V is conducted to the sound and light alarm component to make it work, realizing the sound and light alarm function.

[0070] like Figure 8 As shown, the central control system is implemented by a single-chip microcomputer. In this embodiment, the single-chip microcomputer is the main device for controlling various functional devices. The STM32F407 series of ST Company is used as the main control chip, with a CPU bit number of 32-Bit, a FLASH capacity of 1MB, a RAM capacity of 192K, a CPU core of ARM Cortex-M4, and a main frequency (MAX): 168MHz. The above configuration can ensure the stable operation of the system.

[0071] Example 3

[0072] The above-mentioned embodiment 1 provides a process safety control device based on online monitoring of wall thickness. This embodiment provides a control method of a process safety control device based on online monitoring of wall thickness, comprising the following steps:

[0073] 1) Use sensors to monitor changes in pipeline wall thickness in real time, and transmit wall thickness data to the central control system through Zigbee wireless communication;

[0074] 2) Determine the degree of pipeline erosion based on the received monitoring data, and issue an alarm when the pipeline wall thickness drops to a preset danger threshold, while sending an interlock signal to the linkage safety device;

[0075] 3) The interlocking safety device closes the relevant process pipeline valves according to the interlocking signal received and automatically switches to the backup process pipeline.

[0076] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention rather than to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the above embodiments, ordinary technicians in the relevant field should understand that the specific implementation methods of the present invention can still be modified or replaced by equivalents. Any modification or equivalent replacement that does not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention should be covered within the scope of protection of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A process safety control device based on online monitoring of wall thickness, characterized in that: include: Several sensors, central control systems, linkage safety devices and power supply modules; Each sensor is used to monitor the change of the wall thickness of the process pipeline in real time, and transmit the wall thickness data to the central control system in real time through the ZigBee wireless communication module; The central control system is used to determine the degree of pipeline erosion based on the received wall thickness change data, and to issue an alarm when the pipeline wall thickness decreases to a preset danger threshold, and to send an interlock signal to the linkage safety device; The linkage safety device closes the corresponding process pipeline valve according to the received interlock signal and automatically switches to the standby process pipeline; The power supply module is used for supplying power.

2. A process safety control device based on online wall thickness monitoring as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The sensor adopts an electromagnetic ultrasonic wall thickness sensor, which calculates the wall thickness of the process pipeline by sending and receiving ultrasonic pulses and measuring the propagation time of ultrasonic pulses in the pipeline wall, and transmits the wall thickness data to the central control system through the Zigbee terminal of the Zigbee wireless communication module.

3. A process safety control device based on online wall thickness monitoring as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The central control system comprises: Human-computer interaction unit, used to input and view Zigbee wireless module communication parameters and alarm threshold parameters through key input and interface parameter display; A data receiving unit, used for receiving the wall thickness data from the sensor through the Zigbee coordinator of the Zigbee wireless communication module according to preset Zigbee wireless module communication parameters; A data processing unit is used to process and analyze the received wall thickness data, calculate the change of the pipeline wall thickness according to a preset algorithm, and send an alarm signal and an interlocking signal to the sound and light alarm unit and the linkage safety device respectively when the pipeline wall thickness is lower than a preset danger threshold; RS485 unit, used for sending the processing data and results of the data processing unit to a computer terminal; The sound and light alarm unit is used to immediately trigger the sound and light alarm signal to notify the on-site personnel after receiving the alarm signal; The data storage unit is used to store the pipeline wall thickness data for subsequent analysis and maintenance decisions.

4. A process safety control device based on online wall thickness monitoring as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The central control system is implemented using the STM32F407 series as the main control chip.

5. A process safety control device based on online wall thickness monitoring as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The linkage safety device comprises: The valve control module is used to immediately close the relevant process pipeline valves upon receiving the interlocking signal to prevent the fluid from continuing to flow; The backup process switching module is used to automatically switch to the backup process pipeline when a problem occurs in the main process pipeline to continue fluid transportation.

6. A process safety control device based on online wall thickness monitoring as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The power supply module adopts a power conditioning module, one end of which is connected to an external 24VDC power supply, and the other end is connected to a central control system, a linkage safety device and a Zigbee wireless communication module, and is used to convert the external 24VDC power supply into a corresponding voltage level for power supply.

7. A control method for a process safety control device based on online wall thickness monitoring, comprising the following steps: Use sensors to monitor changes in pipeline wall thickness in real time, and transmit wall thickness data to the central control system via Zigbee wireless communication; Determine the degree of pipeline erosion based on the received monitoring data, and issue an alarm when the pipeline wall thickness drops to a preset danger threshold, while sending an interlock signal to the linkage safety device; The interlocking safety device closes the relevant process pipeline valves according to the interlocking signal received and automatically switches to the backup process pipeline.

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