Pneumatic Control Valve Online Diagnosis With Remote Sensor Monitoring

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Current systems lack the capability for online, remote diagnosis of pneumatic control valves, requiring physical presence for maintenance and diagnosis, which disrupts power plant operations and is economically inefficient.

Innovation Solution

A system utilizing a sensor set including stem force, displacement, and pressure sensors, coupled with a smart data analyzer and data servers for real-time data collection and transmission, enabling remote online diagnosis and predictive analysis of pneumatic control valve abnormalities.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If separate equipment is moved to the valve installation location for diagnosis, then diagnosis accuracy is improved, but operational disruption and time loss increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvediagnosis accuracyVSAvoidoperational disruption time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent installs sensor sets and diagnostic equipment in advance at the valve location, performing the diagnostic capability preparation before any actual diagnosis is needed. This preliminary setup eliminates the need to move equipment during operational disruptions, as the system is already in place and ready to conduct real-time or on-demand diagnostics without requiring plant shutdown or equipment relocation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If periodic maintenance is performed to maintain valve state, then reliability is improved, but productivity and operational time are reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvevalve operational reliabilityVSAvoidpower plant operational productivity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements continuous monitoring of valve stem force, displacement, and air pressure through sensor sets that provide real-time feedback on valve health status. This feedback mechanism enables the system to detect abnormalities as they develop, allowing maintenance to be performed based on actual condition rather than fixed schedules, thereby maintaining reliability while minimizing unplanned shutdowns and optimizing maintenance timing to reduce productivity loss.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

By continuously monitoring valve parameters and detecting early signs of abnormality, the system performs preliminary detection of potential failures before they occur. This allows maintenance to be scheduled in advance during planned downtime rather than requiring emergency shutdowns, thus maintaining high reliability while minimizing unexpected productivity losses.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Ease of operation

If remote online diagnosis system is implemented, then ease of operation and productivity are improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveremote diagnosis capabilityVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Ease of operationVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent creates a universal diagnostic platform that can monitor multiple pneumatic control valves simultaneously through standardized sensor sets and a centralized server system. This multi-functional system handles data acquisition, processing, storage, and analysis across numerous valves, making the increased complexity worthwhile by enabling remote operation and significantly improving productivity through elimination of physical presence requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #6Universality (Multi-functionality)

Data Source

PatentEP3508767B1System and method for diagnosing pneumatic control valve online
Publication Date: 2022.04.27 KOREA HYDRO & NUCLEAR POWER CO LTD
  • EP3508767B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3508767B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP3508767B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Provided is a system for diagnosing a pneumatic control valve online. The system may comprise: a sensor set comprising a plurality of sensors, attached to a pneumatic control valve, for measuring the state of the pneumatic control valve; a smart data analyzer for processing a sensor signal acquired in real time from the sensor set and generating pneumatic control valve state information for online automatic diagnosis of the pneumatic control valve; a data server for transmitting, to an online analysis server, the pneumatic control valve state information received in real time from the smart data analyzer and storing the pneumatic control valve state information for a predetermined time period; the online diagnostic server for, by comparing the pneumatic control valve state information with pre-stored normal state data of the pneumatic control valve, determining whether the pneumatic control valve is in an abnormal state and generating diagnostic information; and a client computer for displaying the diagnostic information received from the online diagnostic server.