Industrial Steam and Power Utility Optimization With Data Validation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Industrial steam and power utility systems face challenges in optimizing energy consumption due to inaccurate or missing instrumentation and uncalibrated measurements, leading to inefficiencies and increased carbon dioxide emissions.
Innovation Solution
A real-time advisory system that uses thermodynamic properties and energy correlations to validate equipment and system operations by comparing operational physical parameters against thresholds, adjusting parameters to optimize performance, and providing recommendations through user interfaces or automated adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If real-time monitoring and optimization systems are implemented, then energy efficiency and productivity are improved, but device complexity and measurement precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The optimization system is divided into multiple independent modules: data collection module, validation module, optimization engine, and execution module. Each module handles specific tasks independently, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining comprehensive optimization capability.
Solution Approach 2:
A validation layer is introduced as an intermediary between measurement instruments and the optimization engine. This validation module assesses measurement quality and handles uncertain data, preventing poor quality measurements from compromising the optimization algorithm without requiring perfect measurement instruments.
2Measurement precision
If measurement instruments are improved for higher precision, then operational parameter accuracy is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The validation module serves as an intermediary that compensates for measurement imperfections through quality assessment and uncertainty analysis, allowing the system to achieve accurate optimization results without requiring high-precision measurement instruments.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts optimization parameters based on measurement quality indicators. When measurement precision is insufficient, the system adapts by adjusting confidence levels, weighting factors, and validation thresholds to maintain reliable optimization decisions.
3Reliability
If comprehensive data validation is performed, then reliability of optimization recommendations is improved, but processing time and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Validation is segmented into multiple priority levels: critical validations (must-pass checks), important validations (conditional checks), and optional validations (detailed analysis). This hierarchical approach ensures reliability through essential checks while reducing processing time by making optional validations conditional.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs partial validation based on operational context and data quality indicators. When measurements are from trusted sources or operate within normal ranges, full validation is skipped, reducing processing time while maintaining reliability through targeted validation of critical parameters.
Data Source
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AI summary
Operational optimization of an industrial plant that implements steam and power systems and that includes multiple equipment including a cogeneration system and a steam turbine includes, for each equipment, a computer system receives, during operation of each equipment, measured operational physical parameter values output by the equipment during operation. The computer system determines mass balance and energy balance parameters associated with the equipment using the received operational physical parameter values. The computer system validates an operation of the equipment using the determined mass balance and energy balance parameters. After validating mass balance and energy balance parameters for all the equipment, the computer system determines mass balance and energy balance parameters associated with the industrial plant using the parameters for each equipment. The computer system validates an operation of the plant using the determined mass balance and energy balance parameters associated with the industrial plant.