Automatic sand filter system controller
AssigneeSaudi Arabian Oil Company
InventorHussain Saud Al-Sada
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system includes a sand filter disposed within a tank. A pipe connected to the tank is configured to flow fluid in or out of the tank. The system includes a valve configured to selectively allow fluid to flow through the pipe and a flowmeter configured to measure a flow rate of fluid through the pipe. An automatic control unit includes one or more processors and a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to perform operations including determining a debris accumulation status for the sand filter based in part on flow measurements from the flowmeter, and determining a failure status of the valve based in part on flow measurements from the flowmeter.
Claims16
A system comprising:
- a sand filter disposed within a tank;
- a pipe connected to the tank and configured to flow fluid in or out of the tank;
- a valve configured to selectively allow fluid to flow through the pipe;
- a flowmeter configured to measure a flow rate of fluid through the pipe;
- and
- an automatic control unit comprising one or more processors and a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to perform operations, the operations comprising:
- transmitting signals to switch the valve between an open position and a closed position;
- after transmitting a signal to switch the valve to the open position, determining a debris accumulation status for the sand filter based in part on a determination by the automatic control unit of whether a flow rate measured with the flowmeter is below a threshold flow rate corresponding to an expected flow rate through the sand filter having a specified degree of debris accumulation;
- and
- after transmitting a signal to switch the valve to the closed position, determining a failure status of the valve based in part on a determination by the automatic control unit of whether a flow rate measured with the flowmeter is above a non-zero threshold flow rate corresponding to an expected leakage of the valve.
A method comprising:
- transmitting, by an automatic control unit comprising one or more processors and a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions executable by the one or more processors to perform operations, signals to a valve of a system comprising:
- a sand filter disposed within a tank;
- a pipe connected to the tank and configured to flow fluid in or out of the tank;
- a flowmeter configured to measure a flow rate of fluid through the pipe, wherein the valve is configured to selectively allow fluid to flow through the pipe, and wherein the signals comprise signals to switch the valve between an open position and a closed position;
- after transmitting a signal to switch the valve to the open position, determining, by the automatic control unit a debris accumulation status for the sand filter based in part on a determination by the automatic control unit of whether a flow rate measured with the a flowmeter is below a threshold flow rate corresponding to an expected flow rate through the sand filter having a specified degree of debris accumulation;
- and
- after transmitting a signal to switch the valve to the closed position, determining, by the automatic control unit and based in part on a determination by the automatic control unit of whether a flow rate measured with the flowmeter is above a non-zero threshold flow rate corresponding to an expected leakage of the valve, a failure status of the valve.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.