Storage Facility Controller Segmentation for Inactive Gas Distribution
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Solution Overview
Problem
In storage facilities, the localized high concentration of inactive gases can lead to reduced oxygen levels, causing unnecessary interruptions in gas supply and potentially harming workers, as existing systems stop gas injection when oxygen levels drop locally, even if overall levels remain safe.
Innovation Solution
A storage facility with a controller that divides storage sections into monitoring areas and adjusts gas supply amounts to prevent high local concentrations of inactive gases, ensuring that gas is distributed to maintain set conditions across these areas, thereby preventing excessive gas buildup and ensuring worker safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If inactive gas is supplied to multiple storage sections located close together, then the quality protection of stored containers is improved, but the concentration of inactive gas becomes high locally causing oxygen concentration to drop
Solution Approach 1:
The storage sections are divided into multiple groups, with each group consisting of storage sections located close to one another. The controller independently controls inactive gas supply to each group, allowing quality protection while preventing localized oxygen depletion by managing gas supply in segmented portions rather than uniformly across all sections.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller adjusts the supply amount of inactive gas differently for each group based on local conditions. By providing individual control over gas supply to each group, the system can maintain appropriate oxygen concentrations in areas where workers are present while still providing sufficient inactive gas to storage sections for quality protection.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a sensor is provided to detect oxygen concentration and supply is stopped when oxygen concentration falls below a set value, then worker safety is improved, but the supply of inactive gas is stopped more often than necessary due to localized concentration drops
Solution Approach 1:
The storage sections are divided into groups with independent gas supply control. The controller monitors oxygen concentration and selectively adjusts gas supply to specific groups rather than stopping supply facility-wide. This allows maintaining safety in areas with low oxygen concentration while continuing supply to other areas where oxygen levels remain adequate.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller dynamically adjusts the inactive gas supply amount for each group based on real-time oxygen concentration measurements. When oxygen concentration falls below a threshold in a particular group, the controller increases or adjusts supply to that specific group rather than stopping supply to all storage sections, thereby maintaining operational efficiency while ensuring safety.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If inactive gas supply is increased to prevent localized high concentration, then the safety for workers is improved, but the cost and complexity of the gas supply system increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gas supply system is segmented into multiple independent control channels, one for each group of storage sections. This segmentation allows the controller to manage inactive gas supply more precisely by addressing only the groups that require additional gas, rather than uniformly increasing supply to all sections, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining worker safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The controller adjusts the supply amount parameter of inactive gas dynamically for each group based on monitored oxygen concentration levels. By changing the supply parameter selectively rather than uniformly, the system can maintain safe oxygen concentrations for workers while avoiding unnecessary increases in gas supply that would complicate the system operation and increase costs.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach effectively disperses inactive gas supply to prevent localized high concentrations, maintaining safe oxygen levels and reducing unnecessary gas supply interruptions, thus enhancing operational efficiency and worker safety.
Implementation Method 1
When inactive gas is supplied into a container stored in a storage section, the gas which existed within the container is discharged from the container as the inactive gas is supplied into the container
Implementation Method 2
a discharge portion provided to each of the plurality of storage sections for discharging gas within the container to outside the container when the inactive gas is injected from the inject portion
Implementation Method 3
the controller is configured to monitor the supply state of the inactive gas for the plurality of storage sections by dividing the plurality of storage sections into a plurality of monitoring areas
Data Source
AI summary
A storage facility includes a controller for monitoring a supply state of the inactive gas for the plurality of storage sections and for controlling the plurality of supply amount adjusting devices. The controller is configured to monitor the supply state of the inactive gas for the plurality of storage sections by dividing the plurality of storage sections into a plurality of monitoring areas, and to control a plurality of supply amount adjusting devices such that the supply state of the inactive gas supplied to the storage sections belonging to each of the plurality of monitoring areas satisfies a set restricting condition defined in advance.