Sensor arrangement for arrangement on a process installation, and method for operating the sensor arrangement and process installation

Abstract

Disclosed is a sensor arrangement on a process installation comprising at least two sensor tiles, wherein each sensor tile comprises a support and a plurality of sensors arranged on the support for determining a physical or chemical variable of a measuring medium, a process characteristic of the measuring medium, and/or a state of the process installation. A first sensor tile comprises a control unit having a transmit and receive module for data exchange with a control unit of a second sensor tile. The first control unit of the first sensor tile and/or a second control unit allocated to the sensor arrangement is designed to weight the values determined by each sensor tile. Weighting may be a function of the measured value variations of the sensor tile, the position of the sensor tile in the process installation, and/or the function of the sensor tile.

Claims

1. A sensor arrangement for arrangement on a process installation having a plurality of measuring points, the sensor arrangement comprising: a plurality of sensor tiles, each sensor tile including: a support that can be arranged locally on the process installation; a control and evaluation unit having a transmit and receive module for data exchange; and a plurality of sensors arranged on the support and embodied for determining physical or chemical variables of a measuring medium and/or a process characteristic of the measuring medium and/or a state of the process installation; and a control and evaluation unit, wherein each of the plurality of sensor tiles is configured for data exchange with another sensor tile of the plurality of sensor tiles, wherein data is exchanged between a first sensor tile and a second sensor tile of the plurality of sensor tiles, wherein the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile and the control and evaluation unit of the sensor arrangement are each designed to determine the physical or chemical variable of the measuring medium and/or the process characteristic of the measuring medium and/or the state of the process installation by weighting values determined by each sensor tile of the plurality of sensor tiles, and wherein the weighting is carried out as a function of measured value variations of at least one sensor of a sensor tile of the plurality of sensor tiles, a position of the respective sensor tile in the process installation, and/or a function of the respective sensor tile.

2. The sensor arrangement according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of different sensors are provided on each sensor tile, wherein the plurality of different sensors are used to determine different physical or chemical variables of the measuring medium and/or different process characteristics of the measuring medium found in the process installation and/or different state variables of the process installation.

3. The sensor arrangement according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of sensors of the same type are arranged one behind the other on a sensor tile in a sensor field in a flow direction or a filling direction of the measuring medium.

4. The sensor arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the first sensor tile has at least two operating states, wherein a first operating state serves for monitoring with regard to the change in the physical or chemical variable of the measuring medium and/or the process characteristic of the measuring medium found in the process installation and/or the state of the process installation and wherein a second operating state serves to determine the physical or chemical variable of the measuring medium and/or the process characteristic of the measuring medium found in the process installation and/or the state of the process installation.

5. The sensor arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the first sensor tile has at least two operating states, wherein a first operating state serves to determine the physical or chemical variable of the measuring medium and/or the process characteristic of the measuring medium found in the process installation and/or the state of the process installation and wherein a second operating state serves to regulate and/or control one or more actuating devices of the process installation, wherein the regulation and/or control is effected by the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile.

6. The sensor arrangement according to claim 4, wherein a switching of the operating states is effected by assigning a function of a sensor tile within the sensor arrangement.

7. The sensor arrangement according to claim 6, wherein the assignment of a function of a sensor tile can be changed by the sensor arrangement during the operation of the process installation.

8. The sensor arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile is configured to calculate, on the basis of the measured values determined by its sensors, a predicted value for the physical or chemical variable of the measuring medium and/or the process characteristic of the measuring medium and/or the state of the process installation at a measuring point of the first sensor tile and, taking into account a geometry of the process installation, a predicted value for the physical or chemical variable of the measuring medium and/or the process characteristic of the measuring medium found in the process installation and/or the state of the process installation at a measuring point of the second sensor tile of the sensor arrangement.

9. The sensor arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile is further configured to compare the predicted value with the value determined by the second sensor tile, to carry out a weighting on the basis of this comparison, and to output a result on the plausibility of the determined value.

10. The sensor arrangement according to claim 8, wherein on the basis of the determined values of the physical or chemical variable of the measuring medium and/or the process characteristic of the measuring medium found in the process installation and/or the state of the process installation, the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile is further configured to output a total value of such variable and/or such process characteristic for the process installation, wherein the measured values of the sensor tiles are individually weighted and taken into account in the calculation.

11. The sensor arrangement according to claim 10, wherein the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile is further configured to output an uncertainty specification which takes into account the state of the sensor arrangement.

12. The sensor arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the first sensor tile has a data memory on which data records for the current sensor settings of adjacent sensor tiles are stored.

13. The sensor arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the position of the sensor tile in the process installation is weighted as a function of the frequency of the change of state of the process installation at the position when determining the filling level, the temperature of the measuring medium and/or the flow rate.

14. The sensor arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the measured values of sensors for determining different measured variables on a sensor tile are weighted differently as a function of the position and the measured variable to be determined.

15. The sensor arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile is further configured to trigger control events for actuating devices, including for controlling a pump of the process installation and/or a valve of the process installation, based on the weighted value of a sensor tile or the weighted values of the plurality of sensor tiles.

16. The sensor arrangement according to claim 15, wherein control commands of the control and/or evaluation unit of the sensor arrangement are overridden on the basis of the weighted value of a sensor tile or the weighted values of the plurality of sensor tiles.

17. The sensor arrangement according to claim 8, wherein the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile is further configured to determine a state value with regard to the operating state of a single or a subpopulation of the sensor arrangement comprising a plurality of sensor tiles, wherein the state value is specific for individual measured variables and is taken into account for future assignments of functions and weightings along with maintenance decisions with regard to the replacement and/or repair of the sensor tile or the subpopulation of the sensor tiles.

18. A process installation, comprising: a sensor arrangement, including: a plurality of sensor tiles, each sensor tile including: a support which can be arranged locally on the process installation; a control and evaluation unit having a transmit and receive module for data exchange; and a plurality of sensors arranged on the support and embodied for determining physical or chemical variables of a measuring medium and/or a process characteristic of the measuring medium and/or a state of the process installation; and a control and evaluation unit, wherein each of the plurality of sensor tiles is configured for data exchange with another sensor tile of the plurality of sensor tiles, wherein data is exchanged between a first sensor tile and a second sensor tile of the plurality of sensor tiles, wherein the control and evaluation unit of the first sensor tile and the control and evaluation unit of the sensor arrangement are each designed to determine the physical or chemical variable of the measuring medium and/or the process characteristic of the measuring medium and/or the state of the process installation by weighting values determined by each sensor tile of the plurality of sensor tiles, and wherein the weighting is carried out as a function of measured value variations of at least one sensor of a sensor tile of the plurality of sensor tiles, a position of the respective sensor tile in the process installation, and/or a function of the sensor tile.

19. The process installation according to claim 18, wherein, in addition to the sensor arrangement, the process installation includes one or more additional sensors, wherein data is exchanged between the sensor arrangement and such additional sensors.

20. The process installation according to claim 19, wherein the process installation includes actuating devices, wherein data regarding the state of the actuating devices is exchanged with the sensor arrangement such that the actuating devices are controlled as a function of the exchanged data.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

(1) FIG. 1 shows a schematic structure of a process installation with a sensor arrangement comprising a plurality of sensor tiles; and

(2) FIG. 2 shows a sensor tile.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(3) FIG. 1 only shows an example of a process installation 1 in the form of a tank. The process installation is filled with a first liquid medium 3 and has a second gaseous medium 4, for example air or inert gas, in the upper area. Accordingly, a liquid-gas phase boundary 5 is shown. Furthermore, the process installation 1 has a pump 6 at the outlet 8 of the tank, which can be opened, partially opened or closed via a valve 7.

(4) The process installation 1 also has an inlet 9, wherein the inflow of the first and/or second medium can also be controlled and/or regulated via a valve 10.

(5) The control and/or regulation of the inflow, outflow, temperature, retention time and the like can be controlled by a higher-level control and/or evaluation unit 11, which is also referred to as the second control and/or evaluation unit in the following.

(6) A sensor arrangement 18 is arranged along process installation 1 as a network of sensor tiles 12 with a plurality of sensors 101-107 for determining different characteristic values. These can comprise sensors of micro-electromechanics (M EMS sensors).

(7) Preferred sensors 101-107 are, for example, inclination and/or oscillation sensors, particularly based on a gyro sensor or gyroscope, temperature sensors and/or acoustic sensors, in particular sound sensors, along with air humidity sensors, proximity sensors and/or acceleration sensors, are particularly preferred as sensors.

(8) Physical/chemical sensors, for example optical-chemical sensors and/or electrochemical sensors, particularly when using very inexpensive electrodes, such as stainless steel or graphite electrodes, can be used for the sensor tile.

(9) So-called “air-quality sensors” are also preferred sensors within the scope of the present invention.

(10) The sensors 101-107 are arranged in a prefabricated pattern on a support of the sensor tile. Furthermore, transmit and/or receive modules can be arranged on the sensor tile.

(11) The population arising from the support with a plurality of sensors 101-107 for the detection of at least three different physical and/or chemical variables is also referred to in the following as sensor tile 12.

(12) Furthermore, a control and/or evaluation unit 100 can be arranged on the sensor tile 12, which will also be referred to as the first control and/or evaluation unit in the following. The sensors 101-107 can be connected to the first control and/or evaluation unit directly or via additional sensors of the sensor tile, as shown in FIG. 2, among others.

(13) The plurality of sensor tiles 12, in particular a plurality of sensor tiles 12 with the same topological structure, are positioned at different locations along a pipeline and/or tank.

(14) The measurement data of the majority of sensor tiles can be detected and managed in an overall acquisition system, for the example by the control and/or evaluation unit 11. Optionally, data consolidated by the subpopulation, particularly including weighted data, of the entire sensor arrangement can be forwarded from a sensor tile to the higher-level control and/or evaluation unit.

(15) The overall acquisition system also allows a distribution of the sensor tiles and/or the individual sensors according to priority and weighting.

(16) For example, depending on the position of the sensor tiles, a different weighting of the determined measured values can be carried out by the sensors of the respective sensor tile.

(17) The data transmission between the sensor tiles and/or between a sensor tile 12 and the second control and/or evaluation unit can be wireless, for example by radio or by means of cable. A signal path 13 between two sensor tiles 12 and a signal path 14 between one sensor tile 12 and the second control and/or evaluation unit 11 is shown in FIG. 1.

(18) The second control and/or evaluation unit 11 can communicate with the pump 6 or, if necessary, also with the valves 7 and 10 via one or more signal paths 15 to transmit control commands or to coordinate control events.

(19) However, a single or multiple sensor tiles 12 can also communicate with the aforementioned components via a signal path 17.

(20) Furthermore, the process installation can also have sensors, such as pressure sensor 16, which is not allocated to the sensor arrangement 18.

(21) For example, sensor measurement data on the inlet side and the outlet side of a pipe system has a higher weighting than sensor measurement data in the middle of the tank.

(22) The sensor tile can also preferably be an array, that is, a sequence of a plurality of sensors of the same type which, for example in the direction of flow, are arranged one behind the other on the support of the sensor tile 12, for example temperature sensors, which are arranged one behind the other in a predetermined direction in order to determine a local trend behavior, for example a rise in temperature.

(23) This local trend behavior, for example a temperature jump, can be used to determine, for example, a medium change in a tank or a pipeline.

(24) In addition, the measurement of the variance of the temperature by the temperature array with a known geometry of the process installation allows an estimation of the temperature development at a location downstream of the sensor. Typically, when a local temperature rise is measured in locally downstream installation sections, a temperature change occurs due to increased mixing.

(25) Due to the array of temperature sensors, not only can a flow velocity be determined based on the time variance of the individual temperature sensors arranged one after the other on the sensor tile, for example at the inlet of a tank; rather, a temperature prognosis can also be determined, for example for the temperature development in the middle of the tank, taking into account the geometrical specifications.

(26) By determining predicted measured values at a first measuring point by the sensors of the sensor tiles at a second, third and/or fourth measuring point, a plausibility check of the measured value at the first measuring point can be performed. If the measured value is outside a tolerance range for the predicted measured value, such measured value can be disregarded.

(27) Alternatively or additionally, the function of the corresponding sensor tile can be modified.

(28) Furthermore, a state value can be determined with regard to the operating state of the sensor tile which can be specific for individual measured variables and which can be taken into account for future assignments of functions and weightings along with maintenance decisions (for example, replacement of a sensor tile).

(29) In the case of short-term measured value variation of a sensor of a sensor tile, so-called “outliers,” a plausibility check can also be carried out by the other sensors of a sensor tile and/or the entire system, and the incorrect measured value can be disregarded when determining a physical and/or chemical variable of the measuring medium. If the measured value is again within the tolerance range during a subsequent measurement, it can be taken into account again when determining the physical and/or chemical variable.

(30) If a measured value variation of a measured value within a time interval has not occurred, the measured values of such sensor are weighted more heavily when determining the physical and/or chemical variable and/or when determining predicted measured values of other sensors.

(31) However, such forecast calculations are always subject to uncertainties, which are taken into account when weighting the measurement data of a sensor tile.

(32) Furthermore, it is possible that individual sensors of a sensor tile, in particular individual sensors of an array, fail. Within the scope of the present invention, this does not necessarily lead to the failure of the sensor tile or to the non-consideration of the measured values of the sensor tile; rather, the weighting of the measured values is reduced in the case of one or more failed sensors.

(33) As a result, the weighting of the sensor data and plausibility checks ensure that the population of all sensors in the sensor tiles agree on a predicted measured value at the measuring point and/or on a physical and/or chemical variable of the measuring medium.

(34) In an additional aspect of the present invention, the weighting of the measured and predicted measured values results in a distribution of tasks within the overall system.

(35) Thereby, depending on the type of sensor and the position of the sensor tile in the process installation, a single sensor takes on an additional function in addition to determining measurement data. This can be a monitoring function, for example.

(36) If this sensor detects a significant change in the current measured values compared to previous measured values, sensors of additional sensor tiles and/or additional sensors of the same sensor tile can be connected.

(37) This is energy-saving, and the susceptibility of the sensors to malfunction decreases. Therefore, the measurement performance of the entire sensor arrangement is highly variable and is set and managed by the measurement and evaluation unit as a function of the temporal development of the measurement data.

(38) In addition, sensor tiles can be installed at strategic points of a process installation, for example at the inlet and/or outlet area of the process installation. These can control the inflow and/or outflow speed of the measuring medium from the process installation in interaction with actuating devices of the process installation, for example valves or the like. In the event of the detection of particularly hot or corrosive measuring medium, this means that, with appropriate measurement in the inlet area, for example, a zero flow rate can be set, and in the case of the tank, a filling speed of zero can be set by controlling the valve using the sensor measurement data of the sensor tile arranged at the inlet.

(39) The distribution of functions and/or tasks of the individual sensors on a sensor tile or the sensor tiles among each other can vary; thus, it is possible that the control and/or evaluation unit assigns new tasks and/or functions to individual sensors. If a sensor has strongly fluctuating measured values and thus a low weighting, the monitoring function can be withdrawn from it and allocated to a new sensor.

(40) In an additional aspect of the present invention, each individual sensor tile has a data memory and a transmit and receive unit. If a sensor and/or sensor tile is exchanged, a data transfer of the sensor settings occurs at the current point in time.

(41) In the event of the replacement of a single sensor, it can take place through the transfer of data to the data memory of the sensor tile on which the sensor is arranged.

(42) In the event of an exchange of an entire first sensor tile, data is transferred to the data memory of an adjacent second sensor tile. A third replacement sensor tile newly installed instead of the first sensor tile receives the sensor settings from the adjacent second sensor tile at the current point in time when the first sensor tile is in operation.

(43) The transferred sensor settings can include, among other things, the additional tasks and functions of individual sensors or the entire sensor tile and the weighting of the sensor tile and the sensors arranged on it when measuring the physical and/or chemical variable of the measuring medium, along with the measuring range in which the sensors have measured. This simplifies the calibration and adjustment of the sensors to the process, and the sensors of the third sensor tile achieve their optimum measuring performance at an earlier point in time after installation.

(44) In an additional aspect of the present invention, an overall state of the installation is determined by evaluating all measurement data; for example, the installation is in one of the following states:

(45) “in the optimum operating state,”

(46) “within a sufficient tolerance range,”

(47) “outside the permissible tolerance range, but in the stable operating state,” and

(48) “in the destabilized operating state—emergency shutdown is initiated”

(49) As a result, the sensor arrangement according to the invention constitutes a possibility for using measurement data occurring in the process, in order to achieve a continuous adaptation of the measurement, in the sense of a self-learning system.