KR101004323B1 - Operation Method and Operation Auxiliary Equipment of Air Compressor System for Energy Saving - Google Patents

Abstract

A method of operating an air compressor system in which a plurality of air compressors are connected in parallel includes collecting an instantaneous flow rate of each air compressor in a database, and a real-time running number of the air compressor and a real-time required running number from the instantaneous flow rate collected in the database. Comparing the steps, and presenting a comparison result according to the required number of real-time operations. By calculating the required number of real-time operation of the air compressor and comparing it with the actual number of operation, we propose an operation method that can maximize the load ratio.

Air compressor, load rate, energy saving

Description

Operation Method and Operational Aids of Air Compressor System for Energy Savings {METHOD OF OPERATING AIR-COMPRESSURE SYSTEM FOR IMPROVING ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND SUBSIDIARY EQUIPMENT FOR THE METHOD}

The present invention relates to a method of operating an air compressor system, and more particularly, to a system operating method and an auxiliary device for implementing the operating method that can increase the energy efficiency in a system including a plurality of air compressors.

In addition to operating the work line for the industrial plant to operate, the conditions necessary for the operation of the work line or the smooth operation of the surrounding equipment must also be met. For example, not only stable power should be provided, but also compressed air must be supplied continuously to create an air cylinder or a certain air pressure, and boiler facilities must be operated continuously if the industrial facility requires steam. In addition, in order to control the temperature of various equipment, the refrigerator equipment may need to be continuously operated.

The facilities that are essential for the smooth operation of industrial facilities are called utility facilities, and utility facilities include air compressors, refrigerators, and boilers. In general, utility facilities operating in industrial facilities are of high capacity, with fewer than a few operating units or as many as tens of units connected in parallel to provide the conditions necessary for the industrial plant to operate.

In addition, when designing industrial facilities, it is common to design utility facilities beyond the expected capacity of the plant in the short term to facilitate future expansion. As a result, each industrial facility generally has utility facilities that are larger than they currently need, and these utility facilities are either fully operational in meaningless or indiscriminately operating without certain principles.

The present invention provides a method of operating an air compressor system that can most efficiently adjust the number of operations of an air compressor in operating an associated air compression utility system comprising a plurality of air compressors.

The present invention provides a method of operating an air compressor system that can diagnose the individual efficiency of the air compressor and provide the best operating conditions according to the load ratio of the air compressor in operating the air compression utility system including a plurality of air compressors. .

According to the present invention, in operating an air compression utility system including a plurality of air compressors, the air compressors can be individually monitored to select air compressors requiring maintenance and management, and can provide operating conditions for air compressor maintenance and management. Provides a method of operating an air compressor system.

According to one exemplary embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object of the present invention, a method of operating an air compressor system in which a plurality of air compressors are connected in parallel, collecting the instantaneous flow rate of each air compressor in a database step; Comparing the real-time running number of the air compressor with the real-time required running number from the instantaneous flow rate collected in the database; And presenting a comparison result according to the required number of real-time operations.

Conventionally, a plurality of air compressors are simply connected to the central control unit of the system and only report the flow rate, etc., while the operation method according to the present invention collects and reports data reported from or to the central control unit. The information can be used to suggest the optimal operating conditions. Specifically, in the case of the air compressor, the instantaneous flow rate may be collected in a unit of time or continuously from the flow sensor mounted on the output side, and the load ratio or efficiency of each air compressor may be measured using all or part of the collected information. Can be.

The operation method according to the present invention can calculate the number of real-time operation required or the air compressor needing real-time operation based on the concept of load rate or efficiency, and at this time, the air compressor that needs real-time operation is compared with the air compressor operating in real time It can be determined whether the driving of the.

If the air compressor is operated excessively or differently than necessary, information can be given to reduce the number of air compressors running or to stop the operation of a particular air compressor. Information about the increase and decrease of the operation of the air compressor can be directly transmitted to the central control unit to be used to automatically control the system, but can also be used to simply present the system control direction in order to minimize the burden of the system change.

According to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a driving assistance device which provides a method of operating the air compressor system by connecting to a network of an air compressor system in which a plurality of air compressors are connected in parallel, each air compressor from the network A data storage unit for collecting the instantaneous flow rate in the database; A calculation unit for comparing the real-time operation number of the air compressor with the real-time necessary operation number from the instantaneous flow rate collected in the data storage unit; And an information transfer unit for presenting a comparison result according to the required number of real-time operations.

After comparing the number of real-time operation and the number of real-time operation required, the information transmission unit can send the comparison result according to the real-time operation operation required directly to the central control unit of the system through the network, but otherwise, it simply provides the necessary information through its own display unit. It can also function.

The present invention can provide information that can most effectively control the number of running of the air compressor in operating the air compression utility system, and alternatively can select an air compressor for the most efficient operation.

In addition, the present invention uses the concept of the load ratio, it is possible to provide information for controlling the operation of the individual air compressor in real time to keep the number of the operation required and the actual operation number as high as possible to maintain the load ratio as high as possible.

Diagnose the individual efficiency of the air compressor, provide the best operating conditions according to the air compressor load rate, select the air compressor that needs to be repaired and maintained, and repair and manage the air compressor by stopping the air compressor that needs to be repaired and maintained temporarily. It can make it possible to plan for.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited or restricted by the embodiments. For reference, in the present description, the same numbers refer to substantially the same elements, and may be described by quoting contents described in other drawings under such a rule, and the contents repeated or deemed apparent to those skilled in the art may be omitted.

1 is a view showing the driving aid for presenting a method of operating an air compressor system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, an air compressor system is provided, and a plurality of air compressors 120, 130, and 140 are connected in parallel to the air compressor system. The plurality of air compressors 120, 130, 140 may be connected to one or more pipelines to provide compressed air adjusted to a specific pressure.

The pressure and flow rate of the compressed air supplied by the pipeline can be controlled by the central control unit 110, and is provided to provide compressed air of a constant pressure through an automatic valve or a manual valve operation depending on the use.

At the same time, each of the air compressors 120, 130, 140 is equipped with flow sensors 124, 134, 144 on the output side, and the motors 122, 132, 142 of the air compressors 120, 130, 140. ) Is equipped with a power sensor (126, 136, 146) for detecting the operation or operating state of the air compressor (120, 130, 140). The flow sensor 124, 134, 144, power sensor 126, 136, 146, etc. may be installed separately to implement the operation method according to the present embodiment, or may use a sensor installed to monitor the operation of the existing air compressor. There is a number.

The flow rate sensors 124, 134, and 144 and the power sensors 126, 136, and 146 are individually connected to a network, and the network may transfer information collected from the sensors to the central controller 110. The central control unit 110 may display the collected information in a control room or the like, and may control the operation of a specific device.

As shown, the driving assistance equipment 200 of the air compressor system according to the present embodiment includes a calculation unit 210, a data storage unit 220 and the information transmission unit 230. The driving assistance device 200 is connected to the air compressor system, and the data storage unit 220 collects the instantaneous flow rate of each air compressor 120, 130, 140 from the network in its own or separate database. The operation unit 210 may compare the real-time operation number of the air compressor with the real-time necessary operation number from the data of the instantaneous flow rate collected in the data storage unit 220. In this case, in addition to the instantaneous flow rate of the air compressor, the instantaneous power, instantaneous efficiency, instantaneous load rate, etc. may be collected together, and the calculating unit 210 may compare the instantaneous flow rate, instantaneous power, instantaneous flow rate in order to compare the real-time operating number of the air compressor with the required operating number. Load factor etc. can also be used together.

If the required number of real-time operation is smaller than the number of real-time operation, the driving assistance device 200 can express only the number of air compressors that need to be stopped or not specified, and in some cases the information transmission or signal for automatic control immediately Can be created.

Here, the air compressors 120, 130 and 140 include an automatic control circuit that can independently control the operating conditions, and the load ratio is independently small when the output pressure of the compressed air is excessively increased or there is little flow rate provided. The state can be adjusted automatically.

The information transmitter 230 may transmit the comparison result according to the required number of real-time operations in various ways. For example, the network can provide the necessary information directly to the central control unit of the air compressor system. Alternatively, the display unit can provide a comparison result according to the required number of real-time operations within the equipment without giving any command to the outside. You may.

Hereinafter, the concept of the invention according to the present invention will be described.

Relationship between load rate and efficiency of air compressor system

In an air compressor system in which a plurality of air compressors are connected in parallel, the air compressor may be operated at the same time, and may not always operate at the rated capacity, and the flow rate of the compressed air provided from time to time may change according to changes in external environmental conditions.

For example, if several air compressors are running, reducing the use of compressed air in a facility that uses an air compressor utility can reduce the instantaneous flow rate of the air compressor, and in some cases, There can be.

In fact, even though the instantaneous flow rate of the compressed air output from the compressor decreases in the air compressor system, it is found that the power consumption is not reduced by the decreasing flow rate. can do. In other words, the flow rate is Q (m ³ / Hr), the power consumption is W (kW) and the efficiency is η (m ³ / kWh), which can be defined as (instantaneous flow rate of the compressor) / (instantaneous power consumption of the compressor). The load factor can be defined as R (%) (temporary flow rate of the compressor) / (compressor capacity).

R_u = X 100 (u=1,2,3,4,…)

R _u = X 100 (u = 1,2,3,4,…)

R_s = X 100

R _s = X 100

Where Q _u is the instantaneous flow rate of the individual air compressor, u is the individual air compressor number, Q _{u (d)} is the rated flow rate of the individual air compressor, and Q _s is the instantaneous flow rate of the air compressor system. And Q _{s (d)} can be defined as the rated flow rate of the air compressor system.

2 is a graph for explaining the relationship between the load ratio and the efficiency of the air compressor, Figure 3 is a graph for explaining the change in the load rate of the air compressor during operation of the air compressor system, Figure 4 is an air compressor during operation of the air compressor system This is a graph for explaining the change in efficiency.

Referring to Figure 2, it can be seen that the air compressor has a feature that increases its efficiency as the load ratio increases. Therefore, driving a high load rate may be one of the energy saving methods in operating a multi-pneumatic compressor system. In order to operate the load ratio high, it is necessary to optimally adjust the number of air compressors to operate in accordance with the required compressed air flow rate on the load side (consumer side).

3 actually shows the change in load rate over time. As shown, the load rate may repeat increasing and decreasing over time. As shown in FIG. 2, when the load ratio is high, the efficiency increases, but when the load ratio is low, the efficiency may also decrease. Referring to FIG. 4, it can be seen that the change in efficiency with time is also changed in a pattern substantially similar to the change in load factor of FIG. 3.

Real time need operation log output

Determining whether or not the plurality of air compressors are operating at a high load rate can also be seen in the process of calculating the real-time required number of operations N _{s (d)} . According to this embodiment, the real-time required number of operations N _{s (d)} is the instantaneous flow rate Q _{s of} the air compressor system measured in real time, the rated flow rate Q _{s (d)} of the air compressor system measured in real time and the It can be calculated by comparing the real-time running number (N _s ) of the air compressor.

Here, the value in parentheses of the Roundup () function may be defined as a function for obtaining a natural number rounded up to the right of the decimal point, and the real-time required number of operations N _{s (d)} may be calculated through the above equation.

If the real-time oversupply operation number (N _e ) is defined as the value obtained by subtracting the real-time required operation number from the real-time operation number (= real-time operation number-real-time operation required), when N _e = 0, the air compressor system returns to normal. You can see that it is operating. However, when N _e ≥ 1, it can be defined as an excessive operation of the air compressor in the air compressor system, and when N _e ≤ -1, it can be defined as an insufficient operation of the air compressor in the air compressor system. .

Information delivery by real-time required number of operations

According to the comparison result of the real-time over-sufficient operation number N _e , the driving assistance apparatus according to the present embodiment may provide various information.

For example, if it is determined that the air compressor is excessively operated (N _e ? 1), it is preferable to stop the operation from the one with the small rated flow rate unless the rated flow rates of the air compressors in operation are the same. This is because incorrectly shutting down a large rated air compressor can result in an unexpected shortage of compressed air in the overall system. However, if the rated flow rates of the air compressors in operation are all the same, it is preferable to stop the operation from the one with the lowest efficiency. For reference, the efficiency of the air compressor may be defined as an instantaneous flow rate for the instantaneous power consumption supplied to the air compressor (Q / W).

On the contrary, when it is judged that the air compressor is insufficiently operated (N _e ≤ -1), it is preferable to start the operation when the rated flow rate is small unless all of the rated flow rates of the air compressor being operated are the same. This is because the load factor can be prevented from dropping significantly by operating the one with the lowest rated flow rate. On the other hand, if the rated flow rates of the air compressor in operation are all the same, it is preferable to start the operation from the one with the highest efficiency.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure and a method for individually monitoring an air compressor in order to operate an air compressor utility system including a plurality of air compressors, and providing an optimal operating condition for energy saving.

6 is a graph showing a change in the relationship between the efficiency and the load factor according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 7 is a graph showing the change in load rate with time, Figure 8 shows a change in efficiency over time 9 is a graph comparing energy consumption.

Referring to FIG. 6, assuming that the air compressor system is monitored using concepts such as load rate R, efficiency, and real-time required number of operations, and the system is controlled using information transmitted through the information transmitting unit, the load rate is It can be operated at approximately 80% or above the desired load factor, thereby allowing the air compressor system to operate while maintaining efficiency above a certain efficiency.

Referring to FIG. 7, the load ratio with time fluctuated by a large deviation before the operation method of the present invention is applied. However, after the application of the operation method of the present invention, the load ratio is insignificant and maintained almost constant.

Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 8, the efficiency can also be maintained at the highest load factor, and as compared with before improvement, it can be seen that the increase in efficiency also increases by the portion filled with a dashed line.

Referring to FIG. 9, it can be predicted that the energy consumption is reduced by the post-improvement operation method in the air compressor system, which is assumed to use the same amount of annual compressed air substantially before and after the improvement.

As can be seen from the results shown again in FIG. 8, the efficiency according to the individual air compressors 120, 130, and 140 can be continuously monitored. Therefore, when a specific air compressor needs to be stopped by the required number of real-time operations, it is possible to stop the air compressor having the least efficiency and to receive necessary maintenance and management.

Conventionally, since the efficiency of air compressors has not been distinguished separately, maintenance and management are possible only when the air compressor fails and must be stopped, but according to the present invention, the efficiency is reduced even before the air compressor fails and stops. It may be checked, and the air compressor that needs to be repaired may be sorted out and stopped depending on whether it is determined that the air compressor is excessively operated.

As described above, although described with reference to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art will be variously modified and changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below I can understand that you can.

1 is a view showing the driving aid for presenting a method of operating an air compressor system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a graph for explaining the relationship between the load ratio and the efficiency of the air compressor.

3 is a graph illustrating a change in load ratio of the air compressor during operation of the air compressor system.

4 is a graph for explaining a change in efficiency of the air compressor during operation of the air compressor system.

5 is a flowchart for providing an optimal driving method for energy saving according to an embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a graph showing a change in the relationship between the efficiency and the load factor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a graph showing a change in load ratio with time.

8 is a graph showing a change in efficiency over time.

9 is a graph comparing energy consumption.

Claims (17)

In a method for operating an air compressor system in which a plurality of air compressors are connected in parallel, Collecting an instantaneous flow rate of each of the air compressors in a database; Comparing the real-time running number of the air compressor with the real-time required running number from the instantaneous flow rate collected in the database; And Presenting a comparison result according to the required number of real-time operations; The air compressor includes an automatic control circuit for independently controlling the operating conditions, the method of operating an air compressor system, characterized in that for automatically controlling the operating capacity according to the flow rate or pressure of the output side of the compressed air. delete The method of claim 1, The real-time required number of operations N _{s (d)} is the instantaneous flow rate Q _{s of} the air compressor system measured in real time, the rated flow rate Q _{s (d)} of the air compressor system measured in real time and the real time operation of the air compressor. Operating method of the air compressor system, characterized in that it is calculated by comparing the number (N _s ). The method of claim 3, The real time required number of operations N _{s (d)} is calculated by the following equation.

(Here, Roundup () is a function that provides a natural number rounded the value in parentheses to the nearest decimal point.) The method of claim 3, When the real-time required number of operations (N _{s (d)} ) is less than the real-time number of operations (N _s ), the air is characterized in that the comparison results to stop the operation from the smallest efficiency among the air compressors operating Operation method of the compressor system. The method of claim 3, When the real-time required number of operations (N _{s (d)} ) is smaller than the real-time number of operations (N _s ), the comparison result is to present to stop the operation from the one with the lowest rated flow rate of the air compressor being operated Operation method of air compressor system. The method of claim 3, When the real-time required number of operations (N _{s (d)} ) is greater than the real-time number of operations (N _s ), the air, characterized in that the comparison results to start the operation from the highest efficiency of the air compressor is suspended Operation method of the compressor system. The method of claim 3, When the real-time required number of operations (N _{s (d)} ) is greater than the real-time number of operations (N _s ), the comparison result is presented to start the operation from the one with the lowest rated flow rate of the suspended air compressor Operation method of air compressor system. The method of claim 1, In the step of presenting a comparison result according to the real-time required number of operations, Operating method of the air compressor system characterized in that for providing an air compressor that needs to start or stop operation of the air compressor. The method of claim 1, In the step of presenting a comparison result according to the real-time required number of operations, And providing a number of air compressors requiring start or stop of operation of the air compressors. In the driving assistance equipment for providing a method of operating the air compressor system by connecting a network of air compressor system connected in parallel a plurality of air compressor, A data storage unit for collecting an instantaneous flow rate of each air compressor from the network in a database; A calculation unit for comparing the real-time operation number of the air compressor with the real-time necessary operation number from the instantaneous flow rate collected in the data storage unit; And An information transfer unit for presenting a comparison result according to the required number of real-time operations; The air compressor includes an automatic control circuit for independently controlling the operating conditions, the operation auxiliary equipment of the air compressor system, characterized in that for automatically controlling the operating capacity according to the pressure of the output side of the compressed air. delete The method of claim 11, The air compressor is equipped with a flow sensor for measuring the instantaneous flow rate and a power sensor for detecting the motor drive of the air compressor, respectively, and the data storage unit collects data from the flow sensor and the power sensor Assistive devices for air compressor systems. The method of claim 11, And the information transmitting unit transmits a comparison result according to the required number of real-time operations to the central control unit of the air compressor system through the network. The method of claim 11, The information transmitting unit is a driving aid of the air compressor system, characterized in that for providing a comparison result according to the real-time required number of operations through its display unit. The method of claim 11, The information transmitting unit, the operation assistance equipment of the air compressor system, characterized in that for providing an air compressor that needs to start or stop operation of the air compressor. The method of claim 11, And the information transmitting unit provides a number of air compressors that require start or stop of operation of the air compressors.

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