Kazuhiro KANEDA*
Hitoshi NOMA*
*
Fluid Machinery & Systems Company
This report will outline the new booster pump unit with an NFC (Near Field Communication) device released in August 2017. This function can display the operating status of the pump unit on a smartphone screen using the dedicated mobile application. Since the application is capable of transmitting the collected data, it can also be used as an information sharing tool. When this device was added, its cabinet was also changed to improve its design and ease of operation. For series multi-stage type pump units which have been widely used in recent years, the pump units continuously uses the reliable cooperative operation system that connects low-rise floor pump units and high-rise floor pump units with communications lines. The pump unit also has a pressure rising speed control function in power recovery to protect the feed water pipes and connected devices during recovery from a power failure. As standard, every Ebara booster pump unit with inverter has the NFC device and the pressure rising speed control function in power recovery.
Keywords: Near field communication, NFC device, Booster pump unit, Inverter, Smartphone, Application, Series multi-stage type, Pressure rising speed control function in power recovery, IoT
Feed water pump units are of the lifelines for water supply in buildings such as condominiums. Water supply systems for the units mainly fall into one of two categories: direct water supply systems and receiving tank systems. Of those that have direct water supply systems, direct connecting booster pump systems, which has been used by many urban water suppliers in recent years, increase pressure inside feed water pipes with a feed-water pump unit directly connected to pipes branching from a main water pipe. In Figure 1, model PNAGM, one of the most common of direct connecting booster pump units, is shown.Since direct connecting booster pump units are often installed outdoors, model PNAGM has two pumps and two inverters mounted within the cabinet, allowing for the supply of water to continue, even if one of the two pumps fails. A backflow preventer, control panel, pressure tank, etc., are also mounted within the cabinet. On the other hand, the receiving tank system feeds water by temporarily storing the water fed from a main water pipe to a receiving tank and adding pressure to the water stored inside the tank. In Figure 2, model F3100, one of the most common of booster pump units, is shown. Since booster pump units do not directly connect to main water pipes, they are often installed in pump rooms and do not have cabinets or backflow preventers; their configurations however, are essentially the same as those of model PNAGM. Lately, with the increased demand for energy savings, products with highefficiency motors and inverters have become most common.
Maintenance of equipment such as feed-water pump units is of central importance. Conducting daily inspection of equipment ensures its safe operation; the diligence of such inspection regimens will aid in prompt restoration in case of failure. Focusing on the characteristics in respect of the equipment, we have launched a product with new functions that improve the efficiency and quality of equipment maintenance. In this document, we introduce features of the direct connecting booster pump unit which have been significantly modified, including in their design.
Fig. 1 New booster pump unit model PNAGM
Fig. 2 New booster pump unit model F3100
Traditionally, the operating conditions of a feed-water pump unit were checked via its control panel. The control panels generally consist of LED lamps and seven-segment indicators taking into account cost and frequency of operation. The information shown on the panels was simple and easy to see, but could not show adequate amount of information for inspections at a glance and pressing keys were required to check details. Therefore, the operators needed to have a certain level of skill to use the panels.
Now, every feed-water pump with an inverter, which is the main product of our feed-water pumps, has an NFC device installed as standard. The NFC device allows for easy acquisition of the operating conditions of a pump unit just by touching the control panel with a smartphone with the dedicated application installed and the results can be clearly shown on the smartphone. With this device, operators that are not used to operate keys can easily, accurately, and immediately understand the operating conditions of a pump unit, leading to more efficient and comprehensive management and inspection of the pump units.
In this paragraph, we will briefly describe NFC. NFC is an abbreviation for Near field communication and is a technology defined by ISO/IEC 18092. NFC allows devices to communicate with each other by simply putting them close together. NFC is widely used as an easy communication method, for example, in “Suica*1” and “Osaifu-Keitai*2”.
Use of NFC device is possible by simply installing a dedicated application from Google Play into an Android*3 smartphone (that supports NFC) and by starting the application (see Figure 3). Feed-water pump units are operated by variety of people, including owners, builders, administrators, and inspection operators. Considering this situation, we chose not to create a dedicated terminal, but instead, we created the application so that everyone operating the pump units could access the NFC device by simply installing the application into a commercial smartphone for free.
Fig. 3 How to use the NFC device
*1 “Suica” is a trademark of East Japan Railway Company.
*2 “Osaifu-Keitai” is a trademark of NTT Docomo Inc.
*3 “Android” and “Google Play” are trademarks or registered trademarks of Google LLC.
Below are the details displayable by the dedicated application.
・Equipment information (model name, product number)
・Operating conditions (on/off, pressure, frequency, current, temperature)
・Failure information (failure records)
・Set value
With the above information thus visualized, equipment administrators can perform daily inspections of higher quality, more efficiently and in a shorter time than ever. Furthermore, in the event of failure where requiring prompt responses, since equipment and failure information can be accurately and smoothly communicated and displayed to involved persons on smartphones, a swifter recovery can be expected, as compared with conventional methods.
The application can be used as an information sharing tool. For example, the application can not only scan information and display it on smartphones, but can also send it as attached files in emails and can send data upon making inquiries to Ebara (Figure 4).
(1) Sending emails
The application can convert scanned data into a text file and attach it to an email. With this function, users can use such electronic-data as follows:
・Drawing up inspection reports
・Operation records management
・Sharing information with persons concerned
(2) Uploading inquiries
In the case of failure or other problems, the application can immediately address the problem by sending (uploading) the operation information of a pump unit scanned with a smartphone to customer service using the “NFC number (4-digit)” shown on the screen. Customers may find it difficult to explain an alert or an operating condition of a pump unit over the phone, but using this data transmission function makes the explanation much easier and more accurate. Based on the sent data, we can solve the problem quickly and accurately depending on the equipment condition.
Fig. 4 How to use the data of the NFC device
In addition to incorporating the NFC device, the cabinet design of the new booster pump unit has been renewed to improve its design and workability.
This new pump unit can be installed outdoors. Since it is a product that is often installed in public places, such as sides of buildings, we adopted a cabinet with excellent design qualities. Besides the design of the cabinet, its functionality has also been improved (Figure 5).
Fig. 5 Features of cabinet design
The cabinet has been designed with a slope to allow rainwater to drain to the rear. This improvement may be minor, but since pump units serve as lifelines for people’s lives, the risk of losing supply of water due to failure of electrical components from water infiltration needed to be reduced as much as possible.
The recess in the center of the cabinet cover has been devoted to graphic design, while the front surface is tapered. This three-dimensional modeling gives users a luxurious, clean and firm impression to the pump unit. The pump unit has also been strengthened even more with reinforcing ribs.
Since an NFC antenna is placed in a position where users can see through the sight window on the cover, users can understand operating conditions using the NFC device without opening the cover. This structure comes in handy for simple inspection or when users want to check operating conditions quickly.
Since the conventional cover had a downward opening structure, to open it users needed to bend over in front of the cover, pull the lower part to unlock it, lift it up to remove it from the upper hooks. By contrast, the new cover has an upward opening structure. To open the new cover, users only need to unlock the upper handle lock, pull the cover fixed with magnets to the front and remove it. This new cover has been designed to be easily removed and attached. Users are no longer forced to bend over or lift the cover high. This design contributes to work load reductions in facility management involving inspections.
In the past, the discharge pressure of direct connecting booster pump units (hereafter, “units”) were regulated at 0.75 MPa or below by the Japan Water Works Association, and thus the units can only be used in buildings up to about 16 stories high. Since 2009, however, starting with the Bureau of Waterworks Tokyo Metropolitan Government, in some water entities, namely, Yokohama Waterworks Bureau, Nagoya City Waterworks and Sewerage Bureau, and Sendai City Bureau of Waterworks, the use of series multi-stage type pump units in which multiple units are installed in series started to be allowed. As a result, the units can now be used in buildings up to about 30 stories high. Depending on the type of building, units for higher floors may be installed in middle floors or on roofs (Figure 6).
Fig. 6 Series multi-stage type new booster pump unit
In multi-stage type pump units, the systems below are mainly used to secure stable water supply.
In this system, a unit for lower floors and a unit for higher floors are connected with communication lines, and the two are operated together. This system can reduce pressure drops and fluctuations by communication between the two units for example, by controlling the unit for lower floors to activate before the unit for higher floors (Figure 7).
Fig. 7 Series multi-stage type new booster pump unit in communication system
This system with a pressure tank added to the front of a unit for higher floors can reduce pressure drops by replenishing water inside the added pressure tank until the unit for lower floors activates after the unit for higher floors does.
At an external institution, Ebara performed tests on pressure fluctuations and evaluated the new booster pump by simulating its actual environment. As a result, we decided to use the communication system. The following are the three main advantages of the communication system.
1) High reliability
Since the communication system controls the unit for higher floors to not run independently by linking the two units to each other, the risk of air lock generated by sucking air from intake and exhaust valves is extremely low, thus providing high reliability.
2) Low cost
Communication lines are inexpensive compared to adding multiple pressure tanks. Furthermore, regular gas filling and replacement are necessary to make the pressure tank work properly, but in contrast the communication system is free from such maintenance. Thus maintenance costs can be reduced.
3) Space saving
Since adding a pressure tank is unnecessary, the communication system saves a significant amount of space. Space savings are especially evident when a unit for higher floors is installed in a middle floor. In addition, our booster units incorporate a backflow preventer on the suction side of the unit for higher floors. Therefore, no additional preventers need to be installed outside the unit, resulting in even greater space savings.
If a feed-water pump unit stops for a long time due to a reduction in inflow pressure caused by, for example, power failure or water supply suspension, air may enter into the feed water pipe. When the cause stopping the unit is eliminated and the unit restarts, while the air is still inside the feed water pipe, there is a risk of water hammer occurring inside it.Water hammer can exert a large force on feed water pipes and connection devices, which in the worst cases may be damaged and lead to water leakage. Every one of our feed-water pump units with inverter has “a pressure rising speed control function in power recovery” installed as standard. This function reduces generation of water hammer by slowing down the speed of rising pressure when restarting a unit that has been stopped for a long time due to the aforementioned reasons. This is a particularly effective function when continuing to use an existing water supply pipe that has been used for many years, which has been increasing in recent years (Figure 8).
Fig. 8 Water hammer reduction function
For existing feed-water pump units, Ebara has improved energy saving performance and reduced running costs by achieving high efficiency of pump motors and introducing optimized operation control for pump units. Ebara has also improved features that are mainly related to the body of the pump units.
The features are, for example, a function that automatically backs up water supply in case of failure (control system backup), or a multi-stage type pump unit prepared specially for handling water supply to higher floors. The new booster pump unit is focused on the importance of facility management, such as periodic inspection and maintenance, which is essential for continuing a stable supply of water to buildings or others. Ebara is working on improving features that helps users to handle and maintain the pump units much more easily. This time, we incorporated NFC devices into the new booster pump units, which is an industry first.
By introducing IoT technology for facility management, we have improved on-site visibility and work efficiency. Lately, business use of smartphones has been increasing. Conditions where NFC devices can be used anytime are being ready. We hope the NFC device will be a tool that helps communicate between concerned persons and improve the efficiency of inspection work.
We will continue to seek products that meet various customer requests related to feed-water pump units.
This paper is reprinted with some additions and corrections from the January issue of “Heating Piping and Air Conditioning” (2018).
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