Fluid Network Demand Control Under Hydraulic Capacity Limits
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current demand management systems for fluid networks lack the ability to accurately manage and prioritize fluid delivery based on customer requests and hydraulic capacity, leading to potential overloading and inefficiencies in fluid flow.
Innovation Solution
A computer-controlled demand management system that maintains a real-time database of parameters, allows customers to order fluid flow rates and times, determines availability based on hydraulic capacity, and uses SCADA interfaces and system identification techniques to fine-tune fluid delivery, while simulating hydrostatic pressure to ensure network performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a computer controlled demand management system is implemented to manage fluid delivery based on customer requests, then customer service quality and delivery precision are improved, but system complexity and infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The demand management system is designed to handle multiple customer requests simultaneously while performing various functions including order reception, hydraulic capacity determination, priority assignment, and fluid delivery control through a single integrated computer-controlled platform, reducing the need for separate specialized systems
Solution Approach 2:
A real-time database serves as an intermediary component that stores and manages hydraulic capacity data, customer orders, and system parameters, enabling efficient information exchange between the user interface, capacity determination module, and delivery control mechanisms without requiring direct complex interactions between all system components
2Manufacturing precision
If hydraulic capacity determination is performed for each customer order, then fluid delivery accuracy is improved, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system determines hydraulic capacity availability in advance before finalizing fluid delivery parameters, using real-time database queries to assess network capacity constraints prior to committing to delivery schedules, thereby preventing overloading and ensuring accurate delivery without requiring complex real-time calculations during execution
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors fluid network parameters through sensors and SCADA interfaces, providing real-time feedback on actual flow conditions, pressure, and valve positions to the demand management algorithm, enabling dynamic adjustment of delivery parameters to maintain accuracy while reducing computational burden through adaptive rather than purely predictive control
3Productivity
If multiple customers are served simultaneously with priority weighting, then customer satisfaction is improved, but network overload risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system assigns different priority weights to different customer orders based on their specific requirements, service level agreements, and network conditions, allowing critical deliveries to receive higher priority while less urgent orders are scheduled during periods of lower network utilization, thereby serving multiple customers effectively without causing overload
Solution Approach 2:
The demand management system schedules customer deliveries to utilize only the available hydraulic capacity of the fluid network, deliberately leaving some capacity margin unused to prevent overload conditions, rather than maximizing network utilization to its absolute limits
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
The invention provides a method of demand management for fluid networks. The method includes the steps of providing a computer controlled fluid network for delivery of fluid to at least one customer (14), maintaining a real time database (16) within the computer controlled fluid network of predetermined parameters, requesting a flow rate and time of delivery of said fluid from the fluid network through a user interface (22) to a customer (20), determining, using predetermined parameters from the real time database (16), the availability (24) of providing delivery of fluid from the fluid network to the customer (14) based on hydraulic capacity of the fluid network, and, if the hydraulic capacity is available, calculating parameters (38) using the real time database (16) to deliver fluid to the customer (14) through the computer controlled fluid network.