scholarly journals Shaping Streamflow Using a Real-Time Stormwater Control Network

Sensors ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (7) ◽  
pp. 2259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhiram Mullapudi ◽  
Matthew Bartos ◽  
Brandon Wong ◽  
Branko Kerkez

“Smart” water systems are transforming the field of stormwater management by enabling real-time monitoring and control of previously static infrastructure. While the localized benefits of active control are well-established, the potential for system-scale control of watersheds is poorly understood. This study shows how a real-world smart stormwater system can be leveraged to shape streamflow within an urban watershed. Specifically, we coordinate releases from two internet-controlled stormwater basins to achieve desired control objectives downstream—such as maintaining the flow at a set-point, and generating interleaved waves. In the first part of the study, we describe the construction of the control network using a low-cost, open-source hardware stack and a cloud-based controller scheduling application. Next, we characterize the system’s control capabilities by determining the travel times, decay times, and magnitudes of various waves released from the upstream retention basins. With this characterization in hand, we use the system to generate two desired responses at a critical downstream junction. First, we generate a set-point hydrograph, in which flow is maintained at an approximately constant rate. Next, we generate a series of overlapping and interleaved waves using timed releases from both retention basins. We discuss how these control strategies can be used to stabilize flows, thereby mitigating streambed erosion and reducing contaminant loads into downstream waterbodies.

Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radu L. Sumalan ◽  
Nicoleta Stroia ◽  
Daniel Moga ◽  
Vlad Muresan ◽  
Alexandru Lodin ◽  
...  

This paper presents the development of a cost-effective automatic system for greenhouse environment control. The architectural and functional features were analyzed in the context of the realization of a controlled-environment agricultural system through all its stages: installation, deployment of the software, integration, maintenance, crop control strategy setup and daily operation of the grower. The proposed embedded platform provides remote monitoring and control of the greenhouse environment and is implemented as a distributed sensing and control network integrating wired and wireless nodes. All nodes were built with low-cost, low-power microcontrollers. The key issues that were addressed include the energy-efficient control, the robustness of the distributed control network to faults and a low-cost hardware implementation. The translation of the supervisory growth-planning information to the operational (control network) level is achieved through a specific architecture residing on a crop planning module (CPM) and an interfacing block (IB). A suite of software applications with flows and interfaces developed from a grower-centric perspective was designed and implemented on a multi-tier architecture. The operation of the platform was validated through implementation of sensing and control nodes, application of software for configuration and visualization, and deployment in typical greenhouses.


Author(s):  
Mario L. Ferrari ◽  
Alessandro Sorce ◽  
Aristide F. Massardo

This paper shows the Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) technique developed for the complete emulation of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) based hybrid systems. This approach is based on the coupling of an emulator test rig with a real-time software for components which are not included in the plant. The experimental facility is composed of a T100 microturbine (100 kW electrical power size) modified for the connection to an SOFC emulator device. This component is composed of both anodic and cathodic vessels including also the anodic recirculation system which is carried out with a single stage ejector, driven by an air flow in the primary duct. However, no real stack material was installed in the plant. For this reason, a real-time dynamic software was developed in the Matlab-Simulink environment including all the SOFC system components (the fuel cell stack with the calculation of the electrochemical aspects considering also the real losses, the reformer, and a cathodic recirculation based on a blower, etc.). This tool was coupled with the real system utilizing a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) data exchange approach (the model receives flow data from the plant at the inlet duct of the cathodic vessel, while it is able to operate on the turbine changing its set-point of electrical load or turbine outlet temperature). So, the software is operated to control plant properties to generate the effect of a real SOFC in the rig. In stand-alone mode the turbine load is changed with the objective of matching the measured Turbine Outlet Temperature (TOT) value with the calculated one by the model. In grid-connected mode the software/hardware matching is obtained through a direct manipulation of the TOT set-point. This approach was essential to analyze the matching issues between the SOFC and the micro gas turbine devoting several tests on critical operations, such as start-up, shutdown and load changes. Special attention was focused on tests carried out to solve the control system issues for the entire real hybrid plant emulated with this HIL approach. Hence, the innovative control strategies were developed and successfully tested considering both the Proportional Integral Derivative and advanced approaches. Thanks to the experimental tests carried out with this HIL system, a comparison between different control strategies was performed including a statistic analysis on the results The positive performance obtainable with a Model Predictive Control based technique was shown and discussed. So, the HIL system presented in this paper was essential to perform the experimental tests successfully (for real hybrid system development) without the risks of destroying the stack in case of failures. Mainly surge (especially during transient operations, such as load changes) and other critical conditions (e.g. carbon deposition, high pressure difference between the fuel cell sides, high thermal gradients in the stack, excessive thermal stress in the SOFC system components, etc.) have to be carefully avoided in complete plants.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chitra Murugan

Low cost cellulase production has become a major challenge in recent years. The major hurdle in the production of biofuel and other products from biomass is the lack of efficient economically feasible cellulase. This can be achieved by proper monitoring and control of bioprocess. In order to implement any control scheme, the accurate representation of the system in the form of a model is necessary. There are many challenges associated with modeling the fermentation process such as inherent nonlinear dynamic behavior, complexity of process due to co-existence of viable and nonviable cells, presence of solid substrates, etc. Toward the achievement of this goal, researchers have been developing new techniques that can be used to monitor the process online and at-line. These newer techniques have paved the way for designing better control strategies that can be integrated with quality by design (QbD) and process analytic technology (PAT).


2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Suescun ◽  
X. Ostolaza ◽  
M. Garcia-Sanz ◽  
E. Ayesa

This paper presents the real-time control strategies developed to regulate both the ammonia and nitrate concentration in the effluent of the new Vitoria WWTP (Spain). Nitrate control aims at the optimal use of the denitrification potential at any moment. For this purpose, the proposed control algorithm continuously adapts the internal recycle flow in order to maintain a desired nitrate set-point in the anoxic zone. Ammonia control aims at maintaining the required average concentration of ammonia in the effluent by manipulating the Dissolved Oxygen (DO) set-point. The control strategies have been based on a hierarchical structure where a high-level or supervisory control selects the set-point of the low-level or conventional controllers. The design of the controllers was carried out using the Quantitative Feedback Theory QFT for the design of robust control systems. Moving average values of some variables have been introduced in order to eliminate the perturbations associated with the daily 24-hour profiles. The controllers have been verified using long-time dynamic simulations based on a mathematical model previously calibrated in pilot plant. Influent load and temperature used in the simulations correspond to the real values measured in the full-scale WWTP during 12 months. The results obtained in the simulations show the good performance and stability of the control strategies independently from external disturbances. A short-time experimental verification of the controllers in pilot plant with real wastewater is also presented.


MRS Bulletin ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 49-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaus Dietz ◽  
Klaus J. Bachmann

The engineering of advanced micro-electronic circuits, optoelectronic devices, and integrated optical circuits requires precise control of the lateral dimensions and thicknesses of device features and of the stoichiometry and doping of epitaxial semiconductor regions. This is preferably achieved by real-time monitoring and control of the individual deposition and etching processes that constitute the processing sequence. The use of optical probe techniques for the real-time monitoring of etching and/or growth processes is favored because of their nondestructive character and their potential use in real-time feedback control. Some of these methods are ideal in monitoring the overall growth process and/or substrate temperature in industrial applications, requiring low cost and maintenance. For example, in situ reflectance-spectroscopy methods, such as dynamic optical reflectivity (DOS), spectral-resolved normal incidence reflectance spectroscopy (MRS), or pyrometric interferometry (PI), are successfully applied to various deposition processes and provide information on both the growth rate and the composition of the deposits. However, small changes in the reflectance (because of chemical interactions at the surface of the films with the reactants supplied from the vapor phase) are of the order of 10−3 to 10−4 and are hardly observable with normal-incidence reflectance techniques because of the high reflectivity of substrate/film interface, which is typically of the order of 40%–60% for many semiconductors.In order to increase the sensitivity to surface- and interface-related growth properties, alternative optical-observation methods such as reflectance difference spectroscopy (RDS), surface photoabsorption (SPA), and spectral ellipsometry (SE) have been developed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 268-270 ◽  
pp. 772-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsiung Cheng Lin ◽  
Liang Yih Liu ◽  
Kuo Hung Pai

Since the past years, the microprocessor (8051) has been still playing an indispensable role as a controller in industry applications because of fast executing process, low-cost, small size and low power consumption, etc. It, however, usually lacks of long distance transmission, graphical interface and vision. On the other hand, VB is now a very popular software package for graphical interface design due to easy exploring and low price. Combining both superiorities as above, this paper develops a remote visional microprocessor-based monitoring and control platform using VB graphical interface. The nearby PC (server) can collect real-time sensing signals from the 8051 through RS232 and transmit it to remote PCs (client) for on line monitoring mechanism via Internet. Also, the client can send the control signals to the server and thus control the 8051. The real-time case study for feeding care in the Pet House is provided to verify its well performance and remote Web-based capability in term of fast, simple and robust performance.


Author(s):  
Arnon Jadir Rodrigues Alves ◽  
Leandro Tiago Manera ◽  
Marcel Veloso Campos

The objective of this work is to explore the implementation of a low-cost real-time monitoring and control of water consumption together with a user feedback interface. Water usage information will be available in a cloud storage and can be accessed through a mobile application. The collected data allows access and supervision of both client- and water concessionaire. Project feasibility is analyzed in terms of hardware and software, as well as each element required for the design. The simulations were carried out with the purpose of verifying system operation, considering the following metrics: transmission rate, signal strength and transmission quality. After the simulations, the hardware and software were integrated, and the final result was presented through a mobile application. This work presents and applies a design and development methodology of Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) using Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and Smart City in water-distribution systems.


2013 ◽  
Vol 694-697 ◽  
pp. 2572-2575
Author(s):  
Jun Xu ◽  
Gang Yan Li ◽  
Fei Yang

In view of the requirements on multi-target information interaction and implementing complicated control strategies among different ECUs in hybrid electric trucks, an information integration control network based on CAN bus is proposed. A HCS12 dual-core processor MC9S12XDG128 is adopted to design an information integration module for sensor signal acquisition and data transmission in the network. Application layer protocol is defined to optimize the message transmission mechanism. Meanwhile, Rate Monotonic Analysis (RMA) method is adopted to analyze bus load rate and real-time performance of the network. Bench test results have shown that the designed information integration control network for hybrid electric trucks owns good real-time performance and is reliable to implement communication and control tasks with low bus load rate.


Author(s):  
Ashraf Salem ◽  
Osama Moselhi

This paper introduces a newly developed model for automated monitoring and control of productivity in earthmoving operations. The model makes use of advancements in wireless sensing networks, Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence. It utilizes data analytics and a dashboard to provide project managers with actionable data on the status of these operations in near-real time. The model consists of two modules; the first is a low-cost open-source remote sensing data acquisition module for collecting data throughout the execution of earthmoving operations. The collected data is sent to a cloud-based MySQL database, in which the second module is designed to (1) measure actual productivity in near-real-time, (2) detecting the location and condition of hauling roads and (3) monitoring and reporting driving conditions over these roads. Artificial Neural Network (ANN) is used in cloud computing for analyzing the productivity to determine and prioritize causes behind experienced loss of productivity from that planned


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