Juha Viholainen

Testing the accuracy of pump flow calculation without metering

Simo Hammo, laboratory manager and Juha Viholainen, research assistant from Lappeenranta University of Technology, Finland, define the accuracy of the flow control function of the ABB industrial drive, ACS800 pump control application program 7.1, and study different factors related to flow calculation.

Pump operation monitoring applying frequency converter

Variable speed driven (VSD) pumps are nowadays widely used in industry applications. Variable speed pumping improves operational flexibility of the pump drive compared with throttle control. In many cases this results in energy cost savings. Nowadays, the performance of frequency converters allows their use as an intelligent monitoring device for the pump drive. This provides new possibilities for the maintenance and operation personnel. In this article, some functions provided by the frequency converter for pump condition and operation monitoring are explained. The applicability of a frequency converter for monitoring purposes is also discussed.

VSD – control in simulated systems

To reduce the energy consumption of a parallel pumping system the whole pumping process and its components must be monitored. Simulated environments can be used in finding energy saving potential, which could be realized with different technical solutions such as VSD installment or changing speed adjustment methods.

Flow control with variable speed drives

This paper focuses on how integrated flow measurement works on variable speed drives (VSDs) that are used to control the speed of pumps. With the measurement feature it is possible to build a pumping system without using separate flow-meters. Having a system with fewer parts makes it more reliable and also less expensive. The flow can be measured with sufficient accuracy for most purposes. The integrated approach can also help in finding leaking spots in the system.