Project Title: Fault Detection and isolation of Combined Heat and Power Units
Project Description:
The development of a fault detection scheme for industrial combined heat and power units (CHP) is required. The CHP units are operated unmanned, an onboard microcontroller connected to a central control via a modem link. Prediction of the fouling in the heat recovery process will allow reduced energy loss and unit down-time. The CHP units incorporate two heat exchangers for waste heat recovery; theses are prone to surface fouling , causing serious maintenance problems, loss of revenue and reduced energy recovery. The build up of surface deposits on either side of the heat exchangers is difficult to detect at an early stage from direct examination of data from sensors, and a unit can operate for many months with a reduced heat transfer rate. Often the first sign that a heat exchanger has fouling problems is when an alarm is triggered due to abnormal operating temperatures in the fluid. Analysis of historical data will be carried out to develop an appropriate method of detecting fouling build up in each heat exchanger at an early stage.
Product Details:
A software program will be developed for detecting the on-set of fouling deposits which can be used by CHP engineers to rectify fouling problems at a planned unit stop reducing downtime and increasing heat recovery. The program will incorporate a technique for distinguishing between assignable fault conditions and random data variation to provide statistical justification of a developing fault condition.
Resources Required:
Matlab software