Dual sensor temperature sensing

Abstract

Dual sensor temperature detection in monitoring systems for rotating equipment such as pumps is used to detect equipment temperatures accurately while the equipment is operating. A temperature sensor is placed close to or on a surface of the equipment and measures equipment surface temperature. A second sensor is placed inside a battery pack of the monitoring system substantially isolated from the equipment surface temperature and measures an environment temperature. A temperature offset based on a difference between the temperature sensors' measurements and known distances of the sensors from each other and the equipment surface is used to set over-temperature alarm conditions providing a more accurate detection of the equipment surface temperature. Furthermore, the second sensor may be placed at / near a battery cell and used to detect temperatures the battery is subjected to providing information on battery life and / or allowing extension of battery life by setting battery temperature alarm conditions.

Description

DUAL SENSOR TEMPERATURE SENSINGBACKGROUND

[0001] Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted as prior art by inclusion in this section.

[0002] Rotating machinery such as centrifugal pumps, fans, rotors, and similar ones include bearings to provide stability, mechanical efficiency, and structural configuration. Bearing assemblies in centrifugal pumps and other rotational machines may be configured to include sealed lubrication to protect moving components. Yet, as any machine with moving components, bearing assemblies are subject to failure over their lifetime. Failure of the moving parts may result in termination of operation for the rotating machine or worse, catastrophic failure of the machine. Increased temperature is an early indication of moving part failures.SUMMARY

[0003] The present disclosure generally describes dual sensor temperature detection in monitoring systems for rotating equipment such as pumps.

[0004] According to some examples, a monitoring system for a rotating machine to detect temperature may include a monitoring device mounted on a housing of the rotating machine. The monitoring device may include a battery module with one or more battery cells and an environment temperature sensor, and a sensor module with an equipment temperature sensor. The monitoring device may also include a processor coupled to the environment temperature sensor and the equipment temperature sensor. The processor, in conjunction with the instructions stored in a memory, may receive an environment temperature reading from the environment temperature sensor and an equipment temperature reading from the equipment temperature sensor; and determine an equipment surface temperature based on the environment temperature reading, the equipment temperature reading, a distance of the equipment temperature sensor to a surface of the housing, and a distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the environment temperature sensor.

[0005] According to other examples, the processor may further compare the determined equipment surface temperature to an over-temperature alarm condition; and issue an alarm if the determined equipment surface temperature exceeds the over-temperature alarm condition. The processor may determine the equipment surface temperature by adding, to the equipment temperature reading, a product of a ratio of the distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the surface of the housing and the distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the environment temperature sensor and a difference of the equipment temperature reading and the environment temperature reading. The environment temperature sensor may be inside the battery module adjacent to the one or more battery cells. The processor may also receive a plurality of environment temperature readings from the environment temperature sensor; compare the plurality of environment temperature readings to a battery life vs. temperature curve; and estimate a remaining battery life based on the comparison. The rotating machine may be an overhung pump, a single-stage pump, a multi-stage pump, an axially-split-between-bearings pump, a radially-split-barrel-multi-stage pump, a vertical casing pump, a double casing pump, a rotor, or a fan. The equipment temperature reading and the environment temperature reading may be captured periodically, on-demand, or continuously. The equipment temperature sensor may be integrated with the sensor module and thermally coupled to a surface of the housing.

[0006] According to further examples, a monitoring system for a pump assembly to detect temperature may include a monitoring device mounted on a housing of the pump assembly. The monitoring device may include a battery module with one or more battery cells and an environment temperature sensor; and a sensor module with an equipment temperature sensor. The monitoring system may also include a computing device communicatively coupled to the monitoring device. The computing device may include a communication sub-system to facilitate communication with the monitoring device; a memory configured to store instructions; and a processor coupled to the communication sub-system and the memory. The processor, in conjunction with the instructions stored in the memory, may receive an environment temperature reading captured by the environment temperature sensor and an equipment temperature reading captured by the equipment temperature sensor from the monitoring device; and determine an equipment surface temperature based on the environment temperature reading, the equipment temperature reading, a distance of the equipment temperature sensor to a surface of the housing, and a distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the environment temperature sensor.

[0007] According to yet other examples, the processor of the computing device may further compare the determined equipment surface temperature to an over-temperature alarm condition; and issue an alarm if the determined equipment surface temperature exceeds the overtemperature alarm condition. The processor of the computing device may also determine the equipment surface temperature by adding, to the equipment temperature reading, a product of a ratio of the distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the surface of the housing and the distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the environment temperature sensor and a difference of the equipment temperature reading and the environment temperature reading. The environment temperature sensor may be inside the battery module adjacent to the one or more battery cells. The processor of the computing device may further receive a plurality of environment temperature readings captured by the environment temperature sensor from the monitoring device; compare the plurality of environment temperature readings to a battery life vs. temperature curve; and estimate a remaining battery life based on the comparison. The computing device may receive the equipment temperature reading and the environment temperature reading periodically, on-demand, or continuously.

[0008] According to yet further examples, a method to detect temperatures in a pump assembly may include detecting an environment temperature by an environment temperature sensor housed in a battery module of a monitoring device; detecting an equipment temperature by an equipment temperature sensor housed in a sensor module of the monitoring device, wherein the monitoring device is attached to a surface of the pump assembly; receiving, at a processor, the environment temperature reading from the environment temperature sensor and the equipment temperature reading from the equipment temperature sensor; and determining an equipment surface temperature based on the environment temperature reading, the equipment temperature reading, a distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the surface of the pump assembly, and a distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the environment temperature sensor.

[0009] According to some examples, the method may further include comparing the determined equipment surface temperature to an over-temperature alarm condition; and issuing an alarm if the determined equipment surface temperature exceeds the over-temperature alarm condition. The processor may be integrated with the monitoring device or integrated with a computing device communicatively coupled to the monitoring device. Determining theequipment surface temperature may include adding, to the equipment temperature reading, a product of a ratio of the distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the surface of the pump assembly and the distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the environment temperature sensor and a difference of the equipment temperature reading and the environment temperature reading. The environment temperature sensor may be inside the battery module adjacent to one or more battery cells, and the method may further include receiving, at the processor, a plurality of environment temperature readings from the environment temperature sensor; comparing the plurality of environment temperature readings to a battery life vs. temperature curve; and estimating a remaining battery life based on the comparison. The equipment temperature sensor may be integrated with the sensor module and thermally coupled to a surface of the pump assembly.

[0010] The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] The foregoing and other features of this disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only several embodiments in accordance with the disclosure and are, therefore, not to be considered limiting of its scope, the disclosure will be described with additional specificity and detail through use of the accompanying drawings, in which:FIG. 1 illustrates an example rotating machine, a single-stage, radially-split pump with an integrated monitoring system;FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating major components of an integrated monitoring system for a centrifugal pump;FIG. 3 is a conceptual illustration of various example components and interactions between the components of a monitoring system for rotating machinery;FIGs. 4A and 4B show environment, equipment, and battery temperature detection in different sensor configurations;FIG. 5 illustrates an example expected life vs. temperature graph of a battery that may be used in a monitoring system for rotating machinery;FIG. 6 illustrates a diagram of over-temperature alarm setting by a monitoring device; andFIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating operations of an example monitoring system for dual sensor temperature detection, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0012] In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof. In the drawings, similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictates otherwise. The illustrative embodiments described in the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to be limiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may be made, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matter presented herein. The aspects of the present disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated in the Figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, separated, and designed in a wide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitly contemplated herein.

[0013] This disclosure is generally drawn, inter alia, to methods, apparatus, systems and / or devices related to dual sensor temperature detection in monitoring systems for rotating equipment such as pumps.

[0014] Briefly stated, technologies are generally described for dual sensor temperature detection in monitoring systems for rotating equipment such as pumps. To detect equipment temperatures accurately while the equipment is operating, a temperature sensor may be placed close to or on a surface of the equipment and measure equipment surface temperature. A second sensor may be placed inside a battery pack of the monitoring system substantially isolated from the equipment surface temperature and measure an environment temperature. A temperature offset may be determined based on a difference between the temperature sensors’ measurements and the known distances of the sensors from each other and the equipment surface. Over-temperature alarm conditions may be set using the temperature offset providing a more accurate detection of the equipment surface temperature. Furthermore, the second sensor may be placed at or near a battery cell and used to detect temperatures the battery is subjected to providing information on battery life and / or allowing extension of battery life by setting battery temperature alarm conditions.

[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates an example rotating machine, a single-stage, radially-split pump with an integrated monitoring system in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

[0016] As illustrated in FIG. 1, an example single-stage pump 100 may include a port 102 (intake or output), a casing 104, a first bearing housing 106, a shaft 108, an impeller 112, and second bearing housing 116. The example pump 100 may also include one or more temperature sensors 124, 126, 128, as well as, other sensors such as vibration sensor 122, and monitoring modules 120A and / or 120B.

[0017] In an operation, fluids may enter axially through an intake port 102, and be pushed tangentially and radially outward until leaving through circumferential parts of the impeller 112 into the diffuser part of the casing 104. The fluids may gain both velocity and pressure while passing through the impeller 112. In some cases, the first bearing housing 106 may contain radial bearings and the second bearing housing 116 may include axial (thrust) bearings. In operation, the impeller 112 (and the shaft 108) is subject to different forces. While an ideal impeller would only receive rotational force from the shaft 108, axial thrust caused by unequal distribution of pressure between the front and back shrouds of an impeller (difference between the discharge pressure and suction pressure) may result in the impeller being pushed transversally to the shaft axis. The axial thrust load may result in vibration and loss of power transmission, as well as reduce expected life of pump bearings (and / or shaft). The bearings in the first bearing housing 106 and the second bearing housing 116 may, thus, be subject to detrimental forces such as thrust, vibration. Furthermore, oil or similar lubricants used inside the bearing housings may leak out or be contaminated (e.g., by shavings from the bearings). Reduction of oil volume, moisture build-up, or contamination may reduce an effectiveness of the lubricant and further worsen vibration. An early indication of potential failure is an increase in equipment temperature. As friction due to a number of failures described herein increases, equipment temperature may rise leading to catastrophic failure if not mitigated.

[0018] In some examples, various sensors (e.g., temperature sensors 124, 126, 128) may be placed in or on the bearing housing to monitor pump health (e.g., measure oil and / or frame temperature). For example, the temperature sensors 124, 126, 128 may be placed at suitable locations on the pump assembly to detect temperature of various parts such as bearing housing, pump housing, etc. A monitoring module (120A or 120B) may be placed onto the bearing housing or be remotely located. The monitoring module may receive sensor information from the various sensors including the temperature sensors and perform analysis and take actions based on the analysis, or the monitoring module may provide raw and / or processed sensor data to a remote computing device for analysis and actions based on analysis results. Detecting equipment temperature accurately may be challenging though. Different parts of the equipment may present different surface temperatures due to their material, shape, location, etc. Environmental temperature may also affect equipment temperature. For example, if a pump is operating in a hot climate under the sun, its surface temperature may be increased due to the environment more than its own operational status.

[0019] Other sensors that may be employed to detect operational aspects of the bearings may include an oil level sensor to detect oil level in the bearing housing, a humidity sensor to detect presence of water in the oil, a contamination sensor to detect contaminants in the oil, and / or a magnetic sensor to detect speed of the shaft.

[0020] While examples are discussed using specific pumps, sensors, and communication media herein, embodiments are not limited to the example configurations. A system to monitor operational aspects of a rotating machine with dual temperature detection may be implemented in various pump types such as overhung pumps, single- or multi-stage pumps, axially split between bearing pumps, radially split barrel multi-stage pumps, vertical, double casing pumps, and similar ones. The components of the system may communicate through various wired or wireless communication media employing suitable communication protocols. Embodiments may also be implemented in other forms of rotating machines that utilize a shaft such as rotors, fans, etc.

[0021] FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating major components of an integrated monitoring system for a centrifugal pump, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

[0022] System 200 in FIG. 2 includes a centrifugal pump 202, one or more bearing housings 204, sensors 206, monitoring device 208, and remote device 210. The sensors 206 may communicate with the monitoring module 208 via wired or wireless communication media. A configuration device 216 may be used to configure the sensors 206 and / or the monitoring device 208. The monitoring device 208 may communicate with the remote device(s) 210 and provide real time or stored data from the sensors 206. In some examples, additional data such as historic failure or performance data may be provided from database(s) 212 to the monitoring device 208 and / or the remote device(s) 210.

[0023] Centrifugal pump 202 may be of any type described herein, but also represents other rotating machines. Bearing housing 204 is mechanically coupled to the pump 202. In some examples, multiple bearing housings may be integrated with the pump 202. Sensors 206 may be placed in or on the pump assembly including the bearing housing(s) 204 and may be used to detect various operational characteristics of the pump assembly such as temperature. Sensor(s) 206 may be communicatively coupled to the monitoring device 208 and / or the configuration device 216 through wired or wireless, electrical or optical communication media. For example, various wireless communication protocols such as near-field communication, various area networks (LAN, PAN, Bluetooth®, etc.), and similar ones may be used. The communication between the sensors and the monitoring device and / or the configuration device may be onedirectional (e.g., sensor to monitoring device) or bi-directional (e.g., configuration device may configure, reset, or otherwise control the sensors). Remote device 210 may be a desktop computer, a server, a portable computer, or a special purpose device (e.g., pump controller) communicatively coupled to the monitoring device 208 via communication media, which may be similar to the communication media between the sensors and the monitoring device or different. For example, in cases where the monitoring device 208 is located at the pump 202, the communication media may be suitable for short-distance communication, and if the remote device 210 is located far away from the pump, the communication media may be suitable for longer-distance communication (e.g., WLAN, cellular communication, satellite communication, etc.). In some examples, monitoring device 208 may also be integrated with the remote device 210.

[0024] Rotating machinery such as motors, fans, rotors, and pumps include various components which may undergo wear or have equipment defects which cause failure of thecomponents. Such components include bearings and seals which prevent leakage of the process fluid being pumped into the pump components along the shaft, for example. Any failures of the components of the rotating equipment may cause significant expense in the repair of the equipment as well as down time for the facility, where the machinery is installed. A monitoring system according to examples may detect various operational aspects of a rotating machine through accurate detection of equipment temperature by two sensors placed on equipment surface and within the monitoring system and determine machine health based on an analysis of the detected aspects. The system may use general equipment information and / or machine specific historic data to analyze sensor information and determine actions such as alerts, reports, predictions, and / or suggest corrective actions.

[0025] In an example configuration, the monitoring device 208, the configuration device 216, and / or the remote device(s) 210 may include one or more processors and a system memory. A memory bus may be used to communicate between the processor and the system memory. Depending on the desired configuration, the processor may be of any type, including but not limited to a microprocessor (pP), a microcontroller (pC), a digital signal processor (DSP), or any combination thereof. The processor may include one or more levels of caching, such as a cache memory, a processor core, and registers. The processor core may include an arithmetic logic unit (ALU), a floating point unit (FPU), a digital signal processing core (DSP core), or any combination thereof. A memory controller may also be used with the processor, or in some implementations, the memory controller may be an internal part of the processor. The processor may further include a data capture module and similar components to capture the sensor data, perform computations, and further process the data.

[0026] Depending on the desired configuration, the system memory may be of any type including but not limited to volatile memory (such as RAM), non-volatile memory (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.) or any combination thereof. The system memory may include an operating system, a monitoring application, and program data. The monitoring module 208 may have additional features or functionality, and additional interfaces to facilitate communications with other devices and interfaces such as external data sources and remote devices. For example, a bus / interface controller may be used to facilitate communications between the processor and one or more data storage devices via a storage interface bus. The data storage devices may be one or more removable storage devices, one or more non-removable storage devices, or acombination thereof. Examples of the removable storage and the non-removable storage devices include magnetic disk devices such as flexible disk drives and hard-disk drives (HDDs), optical disk drives such as compact disc (CD) drives or digital versatile disk (DVD) drives, solid state drives (SSDs), and tape drives to name a few. Example computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any method or technology for storage of information, such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data.

[0027] The monitoring device 208, the configuration device 216, and / or the remote device(s) 210 may also include an interface bus for facilitating communication from various interface devices (e.g., one or more output devices, one or more sensor interfaces, and one or more remote devices) such as a communication sub-system. Some of the example output devices may include a graphics processing unit and an audio processing unit, which may be configured to communicate to various external devices such as a display or speakers via one or more AfV ports. One or more example sensor interfaces may include a serial interface controller or a parallel interface controller, which may be configured to communicate with sensors and / or input devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc.). For example, the controls on the graphical user interface (associated with start frequency, end frequency, and threshold of each alarm band) may be manipulated through a touch input, gesture input, eye tracking input, mouse input, keyboard input, or voice input. The communication sub-system may include a network controller, which may be arranged to facilitate communications with one or more other computing devices over a network communication link via one or more communication ports.

[0028] The network communication link may be one example of a communication media. Communication media may be embodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism, and may include any information delivery media. A “modulated data signal” may be a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communication media may include wired media such as a wired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radio frequency (RF), microwave, infrared (IR)and other wireless media. The term computer readable media as used herein may include non- transitory storage media.

[0029] FIG. 3 is a conceptual illustration of various example components and interactions between the components of a monitoring system for rotating machinery, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

[0030] Diagram 300 of FIG. 3 includes configuration device 302, temperature sensor(s) 304, monitoring device 306, database(s) 308, alert recipient(s) 312, and report recipient s) 314. In some cases, one or more of the vibration sensors may include an integrated alarm device 310 such as a visual alert device, a sound alert device, etc. Monitoring device 306 may provide alert(s) 316 to the alert recipient(s) 312, which may include desktop computing devices, portable devices, smart phones, etc. Monitoring device 306 may also provide report(s) 318 to the report recipient(s) 314, which may include desktop computing devices, portable devices, smart phones, etc. In some cases, the temperature sensor(s) 304 may provide equipment temperature data 322 and environment temperature data 324 to the monitoring device 306, which in turn may provide computed equipment surface temperature data 326 to the alert recipient(s) 312 or report recipient(s) 314. The monitoring device 306 may generate and transmit the alert(s) 316 to the alert recipient(s) 312, as well as, reports and transmit the report(s) 318 to the report recipient(s) 314.

[0031] Database(s) 308 may store generic equipment information such as pump specifications; machine-specific information such as each particular pump’s failure history, performance history, load history, etc.; and / or environmental information such as ambient temperature, ambient humidity, ambient pressure, ambient vibration levels, pumped fluid pressure, pumped fluid temperature, pumped fluid viscosity, or a supply power condition (e.g., voltage level changes, power line noise), etc. In some examples, some of the aforementioned information such as generic equipment information may be stored at the monitoring device 306 and / or configuration device 302. Database(s) 308 may also store temperature analysis models 332, statistical and analytical models 334 developed from machine health monitoring data, and / or machine-specific data 336, based on which recommended values for the start / end temperatures and / or thresholds may be determined.

[0032] Temperature sensor(s) 304 may detect temperature levels at one or more locations of the bearing housing or machine assembly. In some examples, different sensors may beintegrated. Some of the sensors may be placed permanently inside or on the bearing housing or the machine assembly. Other sensors may be removable so that they can be replaced during a lifetime of the pump or rotating machine. The sensors may be configured to collect data periodically, on-demand, or continuously. In some cases, sensor data may be used for dynamic analysis, that is, decisions on pending failure or other equipment problems may not be made based on a fixed threshold of a single sensor. For example, temperature data may be evaluated in light of other sensor inputs such as frame temperature, oil temperature, oil contamination, vibration, etc.

[0033] In some examples, the monitoring device 306 and / or configuration device 302 may perform an analysis using physical, statistical, or machine-specific information based models and determine default values for start and end frequencies of alarm bands, as well as, thresholds for the suggested bands. The computed values may be displayed on a graphical user interface that presents selected data to a user to allow the user to identify pertinent information and, if necessary, modify the settings from the default values. Historic data such as general equipment specifications or machine specific historic performance / failure information, as well as, environmental data may be used in the analysis. Furthermore, machine learning algorithms and / or artificial intelligence algorithms may be employed for the analysis. In other examples, machine-specific data may be collected and / or external data (e.g., predefined specifications, environmental data) may be retrieved during a calibration process and recommended default values computed as a result. For example, a calculation based on bearing specifications might determine the bearing fault temperatures and default a band around them. In further examples, the data may be collected during routine operation and the recommended default values computed. In addition to the analysis, the monitoring device 306 and / or configuration device 302 may manage the temperature sensors 304 by transmitting reset, configuration, or other instructions to the sensors. The monitoring device 306 and / or configuration device 302 may also manage power to themselves and / or the sensors. The power may be supplied by an external power source or a renewable power supply. For example, a power supply may generate power from the rotation of the shaft, from solar power, or battery power to supply the monitoring device 306, the configuration device 302, and / or the temperature sensors 304.

[0034] FIGs. 4A and 4B show environment, equipment, and battery temperature detection in different sensor configurations, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

[0035] Diagram 400A shows a monitoring device 401 attached to a surface of a housing 402 of a rotating machine such as a pump. The monitoring device 401 may include a battery module 404 and a sensor module 406. The sensor module 406 may be attached to the surface of the housing 402 through thermally conductive attachments 408 and include an equipment temperature sensor 412. The battery module 404 may include an environment temperature sensor 410 substantially isolated from the surface temperature of the housing 402 of the rotating machine.

[0036] As mentioned herein, surface temperature of the rotating machine measured directly at the surface may be inaccurate due to a location of the sensor, a material of the housing, an environmental temperature, etc For example, extreme environmental temperatures (cold or hot) may skew the equipment surface temperature measurements. In some examples, a temperature offset factor may be computed based on a difference between measurements of the environment temperature sensor 410 and the equipment temperature sensor 412 and their known distances to each other and the equipment surface. The temperature offset factor may allow normalization of the equipment temperature based on the environment temperature.

[0037] In some examples, an equipment surface temperature (“TS”) may be defined as: TS = TEQ +D2 / D 1 x (TEQ-TENV)

[0001] where TEQ is the equipment temperature measured by the equipment temperature sensor 412, TENV is the environment temperature measured by the environment temperature sensor 410, DI is a distance between the equipment surface and the equipment temperature sensor 412, and D2 is a distance between the equipment temperature sensor 412 and the environment temperature sensor 410.

[0038] Accordingly, the equipment surface temperature (“TS”) may take into account an affect of the environment temperature on the equipment temperature measurement by using the measurement from the environment temperature sensor 410 isolated from the equipment (thermally). As a result, more accurate over-temperature alarm conditions may be set preventing catastrophic failures and / or prolonging equipment life. The environment temperature sensor 410 is thermally isolated from the equipment surface by the distance, but also, by any insulationmaterial and enclosure of the battery module 404. Thus, temperature measured by the environment temperature sensor 410 may be an accurate reflection of the environment temperature, whereas the temperature measured by the equipment temperature sensor 412 may be affected by the environment temperature. Over-temperature alarm conditions set based on the more accurate equipment surface temperature (“TS”) may reduce or prevent frequent false alarms. The reduction in false alarms may be particularly valuable for equipment (e.g., pumps) in hard to reach or remote locations.

[0039] Diagram 400B shows the monitoring device 401 attached to the surface of the housing 402 of a rotating machine such as a pump. The monitoring device 401 includes the battery module 404 and the sensor module 406. The sensor module 406 is attached to the surface of the housing 402 through thermally conductive attachments 408 and includes an equipment temperature sensor 412. The battery module 404 includes the environment temperature sensor 410 substantially isolated from the surface temperature of the housing 402 of the rotating machine. The environment temperature sensor 410 is placed at or near a battery cell 416 allowing the environment temperature sensor 410 to detect temperatures the battery is subjected to.

[0040] The monitoring device 401 is a low power device (compared to the rotating machine, for example). Thus, the battery powering the monitoring device 401 may not get heated due to current draw. However, the battery along with the rest of the monitoring device 401 may be subjected to extreme cold and hot temperatures depending on a location of the rotating machine. Extreme temperatures may significantly reduce a life of the battery as discussed in further detail below.

[0041] In some examples, the environment temperature sensor 410 is placed at or near a battery cell 416 and may detect temperatures the battery cell 416 is subjected to accurately. A processor at the monitoring device 401 or at a remote device receiving data from the monitoring device 401 may estimate remaining battery life based on the temperatures detected by the environment temperature sensor 410 and provide alerts to replace the battery or health reports to a user. Accordingly, the battery may not be replaced too early or too late (upon failure). Thus, the environment temperature sensor 410 may serve a dual purpose (more accurate equipment surface measurement and battery life estimation).

[0042] FIG. 5 illustrates an example expected life vs. temperature graph of a battery that may be used in a monitoring system for rotating machinery, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

[0043] Diagram 500 shows an expected battery life 504 along a vertical axis of the graph for an example battery. The horizontal axis represents ambient temperature 502 to which the battery is subjected to. As the expected life vs. temperature graph shows, extreme cold temperatures such as -20 degrees Celsius may shorten the battery life by more than 2 years. Extreme hot temperatures such as 95 degrees Celsius may also shorten the battery life by a year or more. Thus, from a maintenance perspective (and particularly in hard to reach locations), accurate estimation of battery life may result in substantial cost savings and prevent interruptions in equipment monitoring.

[0044] When temperatures increase, chemical reactions that occur inside a battery are affected. As the temperature of the battery increases the chemical reactions inside the battery also quicken, which may in some battery types lead to better performance. However, the increased performance may come at a cost of reduced life of the battery over time. Prolonged exposure to cold temperatures may have an even bigger impact on battery performance and safety. When temperatures drop the internal resistance of the battery is increased. Thus, the battery needs more current to charge, in turn lowering the battery capacity. The extra effort by the battery may substantially reduce the life expectancy of the battery.

[0045] FIG. 6 illustrates a diagram of over-temperature alarm setting by a monitoring device, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

[0046] As shown in diagram 600, a processor 604 at a monitoring device (e.g., monitoring device 401 attached to a rotating machine) or at a remote device receiving data from the monitoring device may receive two temperature readings 602: equipment temperature from an equipment temperature sensor and environment temperature from and environment temperature sensor isolated from a surface of the rotating machine. The processor 604 may compute (606) an equipment surface temperature (“TS”) based on the two temperature readings and distances of the sensors to each other and to equipment surface.

[0047] The equipment surface temperature (“TS”) may provide a more accurate representation of the temperature of the equipment due to heat generated by the operating machinery as opposed to the equipment temperature from the equipment temperature sensor byfactoring in effects of the environment temperature. For example, at environment temperatures above the equipment temperature (TENV > TEQ), the equipment surface temperature (“TS”) may be less than measured equipment temperature (“TEQ”). Thus, the effect of the high environment temperature falsely showing the equipment temperature higher than what it actually is, may be factored out. Similarly, at very low environment temperatures, the measured equipment temperature (“TEQ”) may look lower than it actually is. By factoring out the effect of the environment temperature (“TENV”), a more accurate equipment temperature generated by the heat of the operating machinery may be determined.

[0048] In some examples, over-temperature alarm conditions 608 may be set based on the computed equipment surface temperature (“TS”) rather than the measured equipment temperature (“TEQ”). This may reduce or prevent false alarms at higher environment temperatures and lack of alarm at extremely low temperatures, where the machinery may actually have an operational problem and high generated temperature, but masked by the very cold environment temperature.

[0049] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram 700 illustrating operations of an example monitoring system for dual sensor temperature detection, arranged in accordance with at least some embodiments described herein.

[0050] Example methods may include one or more operations, functions or actions as illustrated by one or more of blocks 702, 604, 706, and 708, and may in some embodiments be performed by a computing device or may be performed by an apparatus controlling operations of a system such as the one described in FIG. 2. The operations described in the blocks 702-708 may also be stored as computer-executable instructions in a computer-readable medium of a computing device.

[0051] An example process to provide dual sensor temperature detection in a monitoring system for rotating machinery may begin with block 702, “RECEIVE EQUIPMENT TEMPERATURE FROM EQUIPMENT TEMPERATURE SENSOR,” where an output of an equipment temperature sensor on or near a surface of a rotating machine (e.g., a pump) may be received by a processor at a monitoring device attached to the rotating machine or at a remote device communicatively coupled to the monitoring device.

[0052] Block 702 may be followed by block 704, “RECEIVE ENVIRONMENT TEMPERATURE FROM ENVIRONMENT TEMPERATURE SENSOR,” where the processormay receive an output of an environment temperature sensor thermally isolated from the rotating machine, for example, housed inside a battery module of the monitoring device.

[0053] Block 704 may be followed by block 706, “DETERMINE EQUIPMENT SURFACE TEMPERATURE,” where the processor may determine a more accurate representation of the rotating machine’s operating temperature by factoring the two temperature readings and distances between the sensors and the surface of the rotating machine. In some examples, over-temperature alarm conditions may be set based on the computed equipment surface temperature reducing false alarms at high environment temperatures or lack of alarms at low environment temperatures.

[0054] Block 706 may be followed by optional block 708, “DETERMINE BATTERY LIFE,” where the processor may estimate a remaining battery life based on temperature readings of the environment temperature sensor inside the battery module. Accumulated readings of the environment temperature sensor may provide an accurate picture of temperatures the battery is subjected to, which may, depending on the battery type, be compared to a typical battery life vs. temperature curve and a remaining battery life estimated for maintenance purposes.

[0055] The operations included in the process described above are for illustration purposes and may be implemented by similar processes with fewer or additional operations, as well as in different order of operations using the principles described herein. The operations described herein may be executed by one or more processors operated on one or more computing devices, one or more processor cores, and / or specialized processing devices, among other examples.

[0056] Disclosed herein are methods and devices for dual sensor temperature detection in a monitoring system for rotating machinery such as pumps. Through more accurate detection of actual rotating machine temperatures and incorporation into diagnostics, accuracy of a monitoring system, diagnostics and corrective actions determined by the monitoring system may be increased.

[0057] As a result of the efficient and accurate detection of anomalies, components may be replaced avoiding waste of resources for early replacement or equipment downtime due to actual failure, which may be expected in schedule-based maintenance. False alarms may be reduced avoiding a need to contact manufacturer or service entities, as well as, site visits for each detected anomaly.

[0058] The present disclosure is not to be limited in terms of the particular embodiments described in this application, which are intended as illustrations of various aspects. Many modifications and variations can be made without departing from its spirit and scope. Functionally equivalent methods and apparatuses within the scope of the disclosure, in addition to those enumerated herein, are possible from the foregoing descriptions. Such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims. The present disclosure is to be limited only by the terms of the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting.

[0059] The herein described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. Such depicted architectures are merely examples, and in fact, many other architectures may be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality may be seen as "associated with" each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermediate components. Likewise, any two components so associated may also be viewed as being "operably connected", or "operably coupled", to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated may also be viewed as being "operably couplable", to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but are not limited to physically connectable and / or physically interacting components and / or wirelessly interactable and / or wirelessly interacting components and / or logically interacting and / or logically interactable components.

[0060] With respect to the use of substantially any plural and / or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and / or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and / or application. The various singular / plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

[0061] In general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation, no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an" (e.g., “a” and / or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e g., the bare recitation of "two recitations," without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations).

[0062] Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general, such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and / or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and / or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

[0063] For any and all purposes, such as in terms of providing a written description, all ranges disclosed herein also encompass any and all possible subranges and combinations of subranges thereof. Any listed range can be easily recognized as sufficiently describing and enabling the same range being broken down into at least equal halves, thirds, quarters, fifths, tenths, etc. As a non-limiting example, each range discussed herein can be readily broken down into a lower third, middle third and upper third, etc. As will also be understood by one skilled inthe art all language such as “up to,” “at least,” “greater than,” “less than,” and the like include the number recited and refer to ranges which can be subsequently broken down into subranges as discussed above. Finally, a range includes each individual member. Thus, for example, a group having 1-3 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, or 3 cells. Similarly, a group having 1-5 cells refers to groups having 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 cells, and so forth.

[0064] While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments are possible. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMSWHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A monitoring system for a rotating machine to detect temperature, the monitoring system comprising: a monitoring device mounted on a housing of the rotating machine, the monitoring device comprising: a battery module comprising: one or more battery cells; and an environment temperature sensor; a sensor module comprising: an equipment temperature sensor; and a processor coupled to the environment temperature sensor and the equipment temperature sensor, the processor, in conjunction with the instructions stored in a memory, is configured to: receive an environment temperature reading from the environment temperature sensor and an equipment temperature reading from the equipment temperature sensor; and determine an equipment surface temperature based on the environment temperature reading, the equipment temperature reading, a distance of the equipment temperature sensor to a surface of the housing, and a distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the environment temperature sensor.

2. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to: compare the determined equipment surface temperature to an over-temperature alarm condition; and issue an alarm if the determined equipment surface temperature exceeds the overtemperature alarm condition.

3. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to determine the equipment surface temperature by adding, to the equipment temperature reading, a product of aratio of the distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the surface of the housing and the distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the environment temperature sensor and a difference of the equipment temperature reading and the environment temperature reading.

4. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the environment temperature sensor is inside the battery module adjacent to the one or more battery cells.

5. The monitoring system of claim 4, wherein the processor is further configured to: receive a plurality of environment temperature readings from the environment temperature sensor; compare the plurality of environment temperature readings to a battery life vs. temperature curve; and estimate a remaining battery life based on the comparison.

6. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the rotating machine is an overhung pump, a single-stage pump, a multi-stage pump, an axially-split-between-bearings pump, a radially-split- barrel -multi -stage pump, a vertical casing pump, a double casing pump, a rotor, or a fan.

7. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the equipment temperature reading and the environment temperature reading are captured periodically, on-demand, or continuously.

8. The monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the equipment temperature sensor is integrated with the sensor module and thermally coupled to a surface of the housing.

9. A monitoring system for a pump assembly to detect temperature, the monitoring system comprising: a monitoring device mounted on a housing of the pump assembly, the monitoring device comprising: a battery module comprising: one or more battery cells; and an environment temperature sensor; anda sensor module comprising: an equipment temperature sensor; and a computing device communicatively coupled to the monitoring device, the computing device comprising: a communication sub-system to facilitate communication with the monitoring device; a memory configured to store instructions; and a processor coupled to the communication sub-system and the memory, the processor, in conjunction with the instructions stored in the memory, configured to: receive an environment temperature reading captured by the environment temperature sensor and an equipment temperature reading captured by the equipment temperature sensor from the monitoring device; and determine an equipment surface temperature based on the environment temperature reading, the equipment temperature reading, a distance of the equipment temperature sensor to a surface of the housing, and a distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the environment temperature sensor.

10. The monitoring system of claim 9, wherein the processor of the computing device is further configured to: compare the determined equipment surface temperature to an over-temperature alarm condition; and issue an alarm if the determined equipment surface temperature exceeds the overtemperature alarm condition.

11. The monitoring system of claim 9, wherein the processor of the computing device is configured to determine the equipment surface temperature by adding, to the equipment temperature reading, a product of a ratio of the distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the surface of the housing and the distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the environment temperature sensor and a difference of the equipment temperature reading and the environment temperature reading.

12. The monitoring system of claim 9, wherein the environment temperature sensor is inside the battery module adjacent to the one or more battery cells.

13. The monitoring system of claim 12, wherein the processor of the computing device is further configured to: receive a plurality of environment temperature readings captured by the environment temperature sensor from the monitoring device; compare the plurality of environment temperature readings to a battery life vs. temperature curve; and estimate a remaining battery life based on the comparison.

14. The monitoring system of claim 9, wherein the computing device is to receive the equipment temperature reading and the environment temperature reading periodically, on- demand, or continuously.

15. A method to detect temperatures in a pump assembly, the method comprising: detecting an environment temperature by an environment temperature sensor housed in a battery module of a monitoring device; detecting an equipment temperature by an equipment temperature sensor housed in a sensor module of the monitoring device, wherein the monitoring device is attached to a surface of the pump assembly; receiving, at a processor, the environment temperature reading from the environment temperature sensor and the equipment temperature reading from the equipment temperature sensor; and determining an equipment surface temperature based on the environment temperature reading, the equipment temperature reading, a distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the surface of the pump assembly, and a distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the environment temperature sensor.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising:comparing the determined equipment surface temperature to an over-temperature alarm condition; and issuing an alarm if the determined equipment surface temperature exceeds the overtemperature alarm condition.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein the processor is integrated with the monitoring device or integrated with a computing device communicatively coupled to the monitoring device.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein determining the equipment surface temperature comprises: adding, to the equipment temperature reading, a product of a ratio of the distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the surface of the pump assembly and the distance of the equipment temperature sensor to the environment temperature sensor and a difference of the equipment temperature reading and the environment temperature reading.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the environment temperature sensor is inside the battery module adjacent to one or more battery cells, and the method further comprises: receiving, at the processor, a plurality of environment temperature readings from the environment temperature sensor; comparing the plurality of environment temperature readings to a battery life vs. temperature curve; and estimating a remaining battery life based on the comparison.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the equipment temperature sensor is integrated with the sensor module and thermally coupled to a surface of the pump assembly.

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