Submersible Pump Snoring Detection via Power Monitoring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Submersible pumps continue to operate inefficiently and risk damage when 'snoring' due to sucking partly air and liquid, leading to energy wastage and mechanical stress, with existing detection methods being slow and unreliable.
Innovation Solution
A method using a control unit to regulate the pump's operational speed and power, monitoring parameters like power, current, and power factor to detect snoring by maintaining average power at a set level and stopping the pump when instantaneous power fluctuates outside predetermined ranges and operational speed increases.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If the pump continues to operate when snoring is detected by traditional methods, then the pump can maintain continuous operation, but energy is wasted and mechanical damage occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit monitors power parameters and detects snoring conditions before significant damage occurs. By detecting the characteristic power pattern (instantaneous power outside predetermined range while operational speed is increasing) early in the snoring process, the system can stop the pump promptly, preventing energy wastage and mechanical damage from prolonged operation under snoring conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The control unit continuously monitors power parameters (power P, current I, and power factor cos φ) and provides feedback on the pump's operational state. This feedback mechanism enables real-time detection of snoring conditions by comparing monitored parameters against predetermined ranges, allowing the system to respond appropriately by stopping the pump when snoring is detected.
2Measurement precision
If traditional snoring detection methods are used, then the detection process is simple, but the detection is slow and unreliable
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit that already exists for driving the pump in operation is also utilized for detecting snoring conditions. By making the control unit multi-functional (both driving and detecting), the system achieves reliable detection without adding separate dedicated detection hardware, thus maintaining simplicity while improving measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The detection method is based on monitoring changes in power parameters (power P, current I, power factor cos φ) that occur when the pump transitions from normal liquid pumping to snoring operation. By detecting these parameter changes rather than using complex physical sensors, the system achieves reliable detection through analysis of electrical characteristics that naturally change during snoring.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the pump operates without level sensor control, then the pump can handle variable liquid levels, but the pump will snore indefinitely until manually turned off
Solution Approach 1:
The pump system performs self-diagnosis by monitoring its own power parameters to detect snoring conditions. The control unit automatically identifies when the pump is snoring through analysis of power, current, and power factor patterns, and can autonomously stop the pump without requiring external level sensors or manual intervention, thus maintaining reliability while preserving liquid level adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
A method for stopping a submersible pump when the pump is snoring, wherein the pump is operatively connected to a control unit. The method includes regulating, by way of the control unit, the operational speed of the pump in order to direct an average power of the pump towards a predetermined set level. The method includes determining whether the instantaneous power of the pump is outside a predetermined range, by monitoring at least one of the parameters: power [P], current [I] and power factor [cos ϕ].The method further includes determining whether the operational speed of the pump is increasing, and stopping the pump due to snoring, by way of the control unit, when the instantaneous power of the pump is determined as being outside the predetermined range at the same time the operational speed of the pump is determined as increasing.