Tank Level Research Articles

Securing Oil Tank Level Control System against Adversary Attacks using Fuzzy Logic Technique

Securing Oil Tank Level Control System against Adversary Attacks using Fuzzy Logic Technique

An internet of things-based irrigation and tank monitoring system

<span>Agriculture plays a significant role in the development of a nation and provides the main source of food production, income, and employment to nations. It was the most practiced occupation in Nigeria and this formed the backbone of the economy in the early 1960s before the discovery of crude oil, which has led to the derail of sufficient food production, exportation, and the agricultural economy at large. Over time, the dry season has always been challenging with little or no rainfall and there are no irrigation facilities that incorporate different saving practices to adapt to these climate changes on their own. In this paper, a cost-effective internet of things irrigation system that is capable of reducing water wastage, manual labor, monitoring tank water level and that can be controlled remotely is designed. The system integrated Arduino UNO with a soil moisture sensor, HCSR04 ultrasonic sensor, and ESP8266 Wi-Fi module that gives the system capable of being controlled remotely via the internet, thus achieving optimal irrigation using the internet of things (IoT). Some of the challenges facing the existing irrigation system are water wastage, poor performance, and high cost of implementation. The design system helps to control water supply to crops when it is needed, and also monitors soil moisture, temperature, and water tank level. After carrying out the experiments for 15 days, the system saved approximately 49% of the water used in traditional irrigation method. The system is useful in large farming areas to minimize human effort and reduce the cost of hiring personnel.</span>

Fabrication of a Stainless-Steel Pump Impeller by Integrated 3D Sand Printing and Casting: Mechanical Characterization and Performance Study in a Chemical Plant

The emergence of additive manufacturing is renovating the landscape of available production technologies. In this paper, we describe the fabrication of a closed vane pump impeller (ϕ 206 mm, height 68 mm, weight 4 kg) by binder jetting 3D printing of a sand mould followed by casting using stainless steel 316 to create an identical copy of a part in service in a chemical plant in Tarragona, Spain. The original part was reverse engineered and used to create a sand mould by binder jetting 3D printing on which new impellers were fabricated by casting. Metallographic studies showed an austenitic matrix with 6.3% of ferritic phase and 40 μm × 8 μm ferrite grains without precipitated carbides. The impeller was put into operation in a centrifugal pump at a polyol/polyglycol plant belonging to Dow Chemical Ibérica SL from October 2020 to April 2021. Process variables related to the pump behaviour were compared with the same variables obtained in previous cycles with the original impeller for three different product viscosities (30, 180, and 500 cSt). At 500 cSt, the average current consumption was 9.34 A as compared with the 9.41 A measured with the original impeller. Similarly, the pump pressure remained essentially constant during process operation with both impellers (3.97 bar with the new impeller vs. 3.99 bar with the old). Other monitored parameters (product flow, tank level) were similar in both cases, validating the fabrication strategy from an operational point of view. This work further demonstrated that the implementation of additive manufacturing technologies in chemical process engineering is a useful solution to fabricate spare parts that are difficult to replicate with other technologies, providing consequent economic benefits.

Dynamic Modelling of a Water Distribution Laboratory set-up System with SCADA Capabilities

Level control systems are widely implemented in various processes in the process industries, water distribution system (WDS) in particular. An efficient WDS is represented by a system which is able to transfer a desired amount of water automatically, within a specified time. In current practice, the distribution of water is done manually. Although the system has proven sufficient so far, the current increase in general population has resulted in increasing demand of clean water, hence the need for a more efficient water distribution system has become the priority in the water industry. One method to resolve this is through automation of the distribution system. Hence, in this research, an automated WDS is set-up in the laboratory, which dynamically represents a real system. The laboratory set-up is utilized to design a control algorithm by obtaining the mathematical model of the system, i.e. the highlight of this paper. Since the laboratory set-up is part of a supervisory, control and data acquisition (SCADA) system of the WDS, the mathematical model of the system is obtained from the logged data, utilizing system identification technique, prediction error method (PEM) in MATLAB. Band pass filter is used to remove electrical noises. From the results obtained, a mathematical model of 6th order is obtained with best fits of 99.9998% and a mean square error of 0.00000000388. The mathematical model obtained represents the relationship between the reservoir tank level and the incoming motor speed.

Design PI Controller for Tank Level in Industrial Process

In today’s chemical, refinery, and petrochemical sectors, separation tanks are one of the most significant separating processes. One or more separation tanks must operate consistently and reliably for multiple facilities’ safe and efficient operation. Therefore, in this paper, a PI controller unit has been designed to improve the performance of the tank level controller of the industrial process in Basrah Refinery Station. The overall system mathematical model has been derived and simulated by MATLAB to evaluate the performance. Further, to improve the performance of the tank level controller, optimal PI parameters should be calculated, which Closed-Loop PID Autotuner has been used for this task. Several experiments have been conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed system. The results indicated that the PI controller based on the Autotuner Method is superior to the conventional PI controller in terms of ease to implement and configuration also less time to get optimal PI gains.

Towards Reliability and Safety Improvement of Measurement and Control Processes on Ships: Implementation of Wireless Hart Protocol

Abstract Measurement and control systems in maritime engineering applications are quite similar to those in shore based engineering applications except for some unique features which differentiate between each of them. These features are either related to the specific nature and purpose of the maritime application (Various types of commercial ships, oil/gas rigs and others) or linked to the harsh environmental conditions such as salinity, corrosion and vibration which usually exist in higher levels than shore based applications. Accordingly and due to such a specific nature of maritime engineering applications, more requirements should be considered to ensure reliability and stability for measurement and control process avoiding any negative effects that might be associated with such a unique engineering environment. As was discussed in (Abotaleb, 2021), smart transmitters based on hybrid analogue-digital (HART) and digital (Foundation Fieldbus and Profibus PA) communication protocols with additional diagnostic information, they might be a possible wired alternative for analogue transmitters (mostly based on 4-20 mA analogue standard). Similarly, wireless HART protocol can be an alternative for 4-20 mA analogue transmitters. This article will discuss the possibility of replacing classical 4-20 mA analogue transmitters with wireless HART smart transmitters on commercial ships as an example for maritime engineering application. The first section of the discussion will include a theoretical background for the basic principles of wireless HART protocol among other wireless technologies used in industrial automation. The second section of the article will discuss the possibility of utilising wireless HART protocol in the most common measurement and control systems on any commercial ship in order to discover the degree to which wireless HART can be fully or partially integrated with maritime engineering applications. Afterwards, better realization for such a concept will be rendered by an analytical planning case study conducted for tank level measurement system on different types of commercial ships. Based on both the theoretical and the analytical sections, the experimental section will manifest the importance of some of the necessary key elements to implement a reliable wireless HART network. These key elements are RSSI levels, supply voltage stability and the capability of wireless HART adapters to integrate between wired HART protocol and wireless HART network.

Automatic Water Level Indicator and Controller

Abstract: This Project mainly aims at optimizing the use of water. Since water wastage has become a major and global issue now, hence water conservation has now become more important. One of the common sources of wastage we encounter is the overflow of water. This project aims to help judge the water level inside the water tank and display it accordingly on the screen while also preventing any overflow of water which is achieved through the Arduino Uno. The ultrasonic sensors used helps determine the water level in tank which is then send to the Arduino Uno, the LCD then attached to it displays the level to us. According to the level of water inside the tank, the Arduino helps turn ON or OFF the servo motor hence closing the source of water. In this way, through the automation of water control, we intent to save the energy and our natural resource. Keywords: Arduino-UNO, DC motor, LCD display, Servo, Ultrasonic sensor

Analysis of a newly developed hybrid pneumatic powertrain configuration for transit bus applications

In the current study, a new hybrid compressed natural gas, liquid nitrogen-based powertrain configuration is developed and analyzed for more environmentally-benign transit buses. The conceptual design extracts power from high-pressure nitrogen via three-stage expansion air motors. When the high-pressure LN2 tank level is critically low, a hydraulic pump powered via a CNG-based internal combustion engine is utilized to repressurize the liquid nitrogen. At the end of the expansion process, low-pressure nitrogen is condensed via a helium-based cryocooler system and stored in a low-pressure tank. The performance of the present conceptual system is evaluated via energy and exergy approaches. The power requirements, fuel consumption ratios and CO2 emission ratios are presented with respect to driving modes. The utilization of different fuel types as a secondary energy source for the powertrain is comparatively evaluated. The effects of various design and operational parameters on the system performance are investigated through parametric studies. The proposed system can operate with energy and exergy efficiencies of 46.6% and 67.5%, respectively while emitting 0.0768 kg CO2 eq per kilometer in city driving at a speed of 40 km/h (11.11 m/s).

COD/TN ratios shift the microbial community assembly of a pilot-scale shortcut nitrification-denitrification process for biogas slurry treatment.

In this study, effects of carbon to nitrogen (COD/TN) ratios of biogas slurry on shortcut nitrification-denitrification in a pilot-scale integrated fixed film activated sludge (IFAS) system were investigated. Lowering the COD/TN ratio from 11.7 to 6.2 exerted a negative impact on shortcut nitrification-denitrification performance. Accordingly, the NH3-N and TN removal rates decreased from 94.4 to 91.2% and 92.3 to 85.9%, respectively. The dynamics of microbial assembly was analyzed by MiSeq sequencing, and the denitrifying functional genes were quantified by qPCR. The results showed that ammonia oxidizing bacteria and amoA gene were more abundant on the biofilm of oxic tank, indicating they play a key role in NH3-N removal. Autotrophic, endogenous, and fast heterotrophic kinetics denitrifiers were coexisted and enriched in the IFAS system with a decreasing of COD/TN ratio. TN removal was mainly affected by denitrifiers (including Arenimonas, Acidovorax, and Thaurea) harboring narG and nirS genes. Canonical correspondence analysis proved that COD/TN ratio was the most critical factor driving the succession of microbial community. Dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH were found positively correlated with denitrifiers at low COD/TN ratio conditions. As a result, NH3-N and TN removal were effectively enhanced when the DO level in the oxic tank of IFAS system was increased to 1.0-3.0 mg/L.

A Heuristic Method for Modeling Odor Emissions from Open Roof Rectangular Tanks

This paper presents heuristic equations for estimating odor emissions from open-roof rectangular tanks as a function of the tank orientation, wind direction, wind speed and distance of the emitting surface from the tank top. These types of equations are important because they may help to improve emission calculations to avoid overestimations, which are damaging to the plant owner, and underestimations, which are negative for the population around the plant. Odor emissions were determined for four tanks with the same area, different shape factors and two different orientations and then used as inputs for a dispersion model in order to calculate separation distances and evaluate their differences. The results show that different separation distances were obtained depending on the tank orientation, shape factor and level of filling. Future field applications to verify and improve the proposed equations are desirable. If the effect of the tank orientation on odor emission is proven, the design of future industrial plants containing open-roof rectangular tanks should consider the results of detailed wind data analysis.

Novel Strategy of Adaptive Predictive Control Based on a MIMO-ARX Model

Many industrial processes include MIMO (multiple-input, multiple-output) systems that are difficult to control by standard commercial controllers. This paper describes a MIMO case of a class of SISO-APC (single-input, single-output adaptive predictive controller) based upon an ARX (autoregressive with exogenous variable) model. This class of SISO-APC based on ARX models has been successfully and extensively used in many industrial applications. This approach aims to minimize the barriers between the theory of predictive adaptive control and its application in the industrial environment. The proposed MIMO-APC (MIMO adaptive predictive controller) performance is validated with two simulated processes: a quadrotor drone and the quadruple tank process. In the first experiment the proposed MIMO APC shows ISE-IAE-ITAE performance indices improvements of up to 25%, 25.4% and 38.9%, respectively. For the quadruple tank process the water levels in the lower tanks follow closely the set points, with the exception of a 13% overshoot in tank 1 for the minimum phase behavior response. The controller responses show significant performance improvements when compared with previously published MIMO control strategies.

Rollover stability analysis of liquid tank truck taking into account the road profiles

The rollover stability of the tank truck was quite poor compare with others due to the influence of the oscillating liquid inside the tank. In addition, it was also affected by road excitation during driving. Therefore, the paper presents the impact of the road profiles in turning and lane change maneuvers on the rollover stability characteristics of a liquid tank truck. Firstly, the study applies the quasi-static method and the roll model to built the dynamic model of a circular cross-section tank truck. After that, the Lagrange method and the D'Alembert's principle are used to set up the differential equations which are then used to investigate rollover stability of vehicle corresponding with each liquid level. The research used the value of the load transfer ratio (LTR), crest factor of LTR and the roll angle of suspension to evaluate vehicle stability in the time domain and the transfer function magnitude of LTR in the frequency domain. The simulation results had shown that the tank truck tends to a rollover phenomenon at the fluid level in tank of 50% and 75% (0.8m and 1.2m) when the vehicle ran survey road profiles in a steady state turning maneuver and in a lane change maneuver as there was not the road excitation. The research results can provide recommendations when operating liquid tank truck, developing control systems and warning of rollover.

Predicting daily water tank level fluctuations by using ARIMA model. A case study

The intrinsic dynamical features of water demand highlight the need of proper operational management of tanks in water distribution networks. In addition, due to the water resource scarcity, sustainable management of urban systems is essential. For this purpose, the aid of a predictive model is crucial since it allows to give short term forecasts that can be used to predict the oscillations of relevant parameters, i.e. tanks level and/or water demand. Urban water managers can use these predictions to implement actions aimed at the optimisation of the network function. Among several modelling techniques, the univariate time series analysis is instrumental since it allows forecasting the studied parameter by using the measurements of the parameter itself. In this paper, an autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model is calibrated on water levels data, measured in an urban tank in Benevento, Campania region (Italy) and then tested on a large dataset not used to tune the parameters. The validation and forecast phases show good performances of the model on a short-term forecast horizon demonstrating the excellent potentiality of this techniques. Finally, the residuals and errors analysis complete the work suggesting possible future implementations and improvements of this technique.

Tank Volume Calculations and Level Calibrations for Partially-Filled Liquid Process and Storage Vessels

Tank Volume Calculations and Level Calibrations for Partially-Filled Liquid Process and Storage Vessels

PID control implementation in multiple input and multiple output (MIMO) water mixing tank via Ziegler–Nichols and direct synthesis methods

This study deals with the modeling of two PI controllers to control first-order systems [cold water (CW) to tanklevel and hot water (HW) to temperature] using Ziegler–Nichols (ZN) and direct synthesis methods and to test bothcontrollers for set-point tracking and disturbance rejection modes for multiple input and multiple output (MIMO)water mixing tank. The ZN method is a technique used for tuning controllers, and it used both proportional andintegral actions in the present investigation. This method was performed by setting the integral (I) and derivative(D) gains to zero. It was applied to the open-loop reaction of the process to the change in the water level and thetemperature (the control variables) and the plotter on the computer recorded the response. The evaluated processvariables, such as K (for the proportional action) and ? (for the integral action), are plugged into the ZN equationwith the specific multiplier constants for the gains of a controller with PI actions. The ZN technique was utilized toobtain a PI controller for both the CW to tank level system and the HW to temperature system. The direct synthesis(DS) method was applied to a desired closed-loop transfer function. The design of the controller was based on aprocess model. This method was applied to set-point changes in the control system and later fixed to responsesto disturbances. The DS technique was implemented on the two systems, the CW to tank level and the HW totemperature. It was able to control the impact of the sensitive HW to temperature system. However, the controllerperformance across the CW to tank level system was extremely inefficient as oscillations were observed.

PID Control Implementation in Multiple Input and Multiple Output (MIMO) Water Mixing Tank via Ziegler-Nichols and Direct Synthesis Methods

This study deals with the modeling of two PI controllers to control first-order systems (cold water [CW] to tank level and hot water [HW] to temperature) using Ziegler-Nichols (ZN) and direct synthesis methods and to test both controllers for set-point tracking and disturbance rejection modes for Multiple Input and Multiple Output (MIMO) water mixing tank. The ZN method is a technique used for tuning controllers, and it used both proportional and integral actions in the present investigation. This method was performed by setting the integral (I) and derivative (D) gains to zero. It was applied to the open-loop reaction of the process to the change in the water level and the temperature (the control variables) and the plotter on the computer recorded the response. The evaluated process variables, such as K (for the proportional action) and ? (for the integral action), are plugged into the ZN equation with the specific multiplier constants for the gains of a controller with PI actions. The ZN technique was utilized to obtain a PI controller for both the CW to tank level system and the HW to temperature system. The direct synthesis (DS) method was applied to a desired closed-loop transfer function. The design of the controller was based on a process model. This method was applied to set-point changes in the control system and later fixed to responses to disturbances. The DS technique was implemented on the two systems, the CW to tank level and the HW to temperature. It was able to control the impact of the sensitive HW to temperature system. However, the controller performance across the CW to tank level system was extremely inefficient as oscillations were observed.

Real-time consumer aware and alert system based on smart water tank

As population is growing water scarcity is becoming a raising issue year after year. The reasons may vary but there are two main factors which could be considered as key reasons of water shortages. Fresh water sources in Saudi Arabia are very limited and water desalination plants can't cover the high demand. omeowners should pay higher attention to their faucet’s leakages, not only to reduce water wastage but leakages could also impact their own water expenses in addition to our environment and economy. This project presents two tiers (homeowner / national water company) water shortage solution, we can't control the sources in our technical field, but we can improve water distribution system and develop a water monitoring system for clients. Our prototype consists of two parts. A web site to display statistical information and illustrations of different types of estimates and calculations, for national water employees to make water distribution decision more efficient besides clients to monitor their consumption rate and notice alerts of any leakages. The second part of our project focuses on hardware which well be sensing the water level and consumption then send the readings to the server to be presented on the website. It has an ultrasonic sensor installed in water container to detect water level, also there are three faucets each one is connected to a flow meter sensor to detect amount of dispensed water. All sensors are connected to a microcontroller where we embedded functions contains algorithms to calculate consumption rate, leaks detection and tank level to be sent through the Ethernet shield to the website. Finally, our monitoring approach is inexpensive and will reduce shortages by guiding the water pumping only to most needed districts; also, it will take care of water wastage issue approximately around 40% water can be stored using this developed technology.

RANCANG BANGUN WATER LEVEL CONTROL BERBASIS SONOFF SMART SWITCH

The prototype of an automatic water tank filling system based on a sonoff smart switch that works based on the volume of water level in a tank based on a sonoff smart switch has been successfully created. This study aims to determine the working principle of the sonoff switch and automatic water tank filling system. The water sensor used in this study is a float switch type that works based on changes in the value of the high volume of the tank water. For automatic filling of the water tank, a sonoff smart switch and also a float switch have been used as a switch to drain and disconnect the electric current to the pump. The design results show that this automatic water tank filling system can work well, where if the water tank level is below 20% then the water pump will turn "ON" and if the water level in the tank is above 90% then the water pump will turn "OFF".

Reliability analysis of complex water distribution systems: the role of the network connectivity and tanks

Abstract A reliable water distribution network (WDN) can provide an adequate supply service to customers under both normal and abnormal working conditions. The WDN reliability analysis, therefore, is a keystone to improve the supply service efficiency. Strategies for reliability analysis are usually proved on small WDNs, which do not compare with large real complex systems in terms of number of water tanks, pressure reduction valves, variable speed pumps, controlled devices and possible alternative water supply schemes. The topological changes due to pipeline interruptions impact on emptying–filling of water tanks and network pressure status. This work proposes a two-level procedure for mechanical reliability assessment, suited for large real WDNs. It leverages a path/connectivity-based approach to set up reliability indicators for global-level analysis and local screening of the most critical scenarios. The employed advanced hydraulic model includes the automatic detection of topological changes and the robust modelling of water level in tanks using the generalized global gradient algorithm. The extended period simulation enables the reliability assessment of alternative water supply schemes and the sensitivity of tanks and controlled devices to single failure events. The procedure is demonstrated on a real complex network, being consistent with the ongoing digital transition in the WDN management sector.

Echo state networks for online, multi-step MPC relevant identification

This paper presents an online nonlinear system identification algorithm for model predictive control relevant identification, based on an echo state network (ESN) trained using the recursive least squares method with a directional forgetting factor. The proposed online ESN architecture is formed by a reservoir, with fixed recurrent connections, and a reservoir readout mechanism, which is updated online to define the network output. The ESN is used to perform a multi-step prediction task, which can be used for model-predictive control purposes. The proposed online identification algorithm is evaluated in simulation using a conical tank level process and compared with the results of other approaches from the literature. The results show that the proposed algorithm is able to identify the nonlinear characteristics of the process without considering any prior information about it. In addition, the results for long-range predictions are better than the ones obtained with a model linear in its parameters and several baseline ESN models from literature, after the adaptation phase of the proposed algorithm.