Scientists of the South Ural State University have developed a unique control system for the electric drive of the pump unit, which will significantly reduce energy costs and increase the reliability of the equipment of thermal power plants. Development is patented.
Economic benefit
Energy conservation is one of the key areas of the Russian economy. Scientists at the Polytechnic Institute of SUSU investigated the coolant supply system at thermal power plants as part of interdepartmental collaboration. As a result, an innovative system for regulating the electric drive of a pumping unit for pumps of power plants or other pumping units with excellent performance was created. The author of the idea is Yuri Usynin, Professor, Department of Automated Electric Drive, Polytechnic Institute of SUSU, Doctor of Technical Sciences.
“To push the coolant (first water, then steam) through the boiler unit, rather powerful pumping units are required, which spend much electricity on converting electrical energy into mechanical work on compressing the coolant. Our development will allow starting conditions to reduce the cost of electricity for the drive of such pump units by about 3-4%, which will provide a tangible economic effect,” states one of the authors of the development Konstantin Osintsev, head of the department of industrial heat power engineering.
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The innovative dual pump system
Traditional electric drives have great power and therefore are practically uncontrollable. The peculiarity of the system for regulating the electric drive of a pump unit created by scientists of SUSU is it contains two electric motors of two pumps connected in series. This allows you to adjust the flow rate of the fluid pumped by the pump unit with a synchronous jet engine and also improves the accuracy of the electric drive of the pump unit.
“The first unregulated synchronous electric motor is connected directly to the multiphase supply network. The second is an adjustable synchronous electric motor to the same network through a controlled converter,” explains Konstantin Osintsev.
An innovative electric drive control system developed by SUSU scientists allows reducing the cost of electricity for driving pump units thanks to the use of an additional pump, called a booster pump. It prevents such a negative phenomenon as cavitation - boiling of liquid at the inlet to the main pump. This is necessary in order for the boiler unit to work reliably and for a long time, without accidents.
“Since cavitation is dangerous due to erosive destruction of the blades of the pumping unit, the use of the electric drive control system we have proposed reduces the accidents and increases the reliability of the system. Secondly, the system allows you to reduce the cost of electricity for the drive of this pump at the time of commissioning of boiler units,” emphasizes the scientist SUSU.
The development of a system for regulating the electric drive of a pumping unit has already been patented by scientists of South Ural State University. The project will be extended with partners from the Center for Energy Saving and Energy Efficiency of Kazan Energy University and the company Privodnaya Technika. At the following stage, the researchers plan to implement the created system, and at the moment the development team is in search of an industrial partner and a platform for implementation.