control of boiler operation using plc and iot

PLC applications are widely used in industries to facilitate and control repetitive processes. One of these applications is industrial automation that includes various automated processes. Boiler Automation is one of it, which demands determination of certain physical parameters and utilizing these

Project Title

control of boiler operation using plc and iot

Project Area of Specialization

Internet of Things

Project Summary

PLC applications are widely used in industries to facilitate and control repetitive processes. One of these applications is industrial automation that includes various automated processes. Boiler Automation is one of it, which demands determination of certain physical parameters and utilizing these parameters to make boiler start-stop or function in any manner we want, but automatically and monitoring it through SCADA. Nowadays, every new industry, before stepping into the production line, never gives up thinking about ways of automating it’s production processes, so as to reduce its overall expenditure in terms of wages, wastage of the materials, due to inaccurate manual work and to reduce overall time taken for the production. The conventional SCADA system installed with PLC requires highly skilled personnel to monitor and operate them. The main problem of SCADA system is its high installation cost and the cost to keep it up to date with the new launch of their operating system. Every industry has to bear high cost of wired communication using optical fibres between sensors in field to PLC and then to SCADA/HMI displays. With the evolving technology industries must be upgraded to increase the efficiency and meet the modern standards. World is entering into era of 4th Industrial Revolution, where everything becomes smart. In this project, our proposed solution of above discussed problem is to replace conventional SCADA system with Internet of Things (IOT). The main theme behind using PLC and IOT is reduction of cost as well as complexity of incorporating huge number of electrical devices, optimization of overall production time, easier error detection and above all automation. IOT will provide a feature of wireless monitoring and control. IOT records the data and apply machine learning techniques to optimize the process for best efficiency and production cost. Conventional SCADA system provides limited wireless control using Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) but IOT provides full wireless access and feature of data storage for future use at very low cost. The upgradation and interconnection of industries by IOT will provide best solution.

The proposed project is to create an overall Rankine cycle-based steam power plant with PLC based controls of boiler and interfacing of PLC with IOT devices. PLC Ladder program is written to control the sensors at the boiler and accessories and the parameters can be seen on a wireless screen via IOT. Data acquisition and live analysis of data will be displayed on screen.

Project Objectives

• To make Rankine cycle based steam power plant
• To control steam power plant and acquire data using PLC
• To interface PLC with IOT modules
• To use IEEE Standards for serial communication between PLC and IOT modules
• Wireless data communication using IOT
• Control of process and monitoring of Sensors parameter on IOT screen
• To perform live analysis on readings from field sensors

Project Implementation Method

Boiler is one of the most important part in any power plant which requires continuous monitoring and inspection.Boiler steam temperature in steam power plant is very complex and hard to control.Boilers can cause many serious injuries and it is critical for the safe operation of the boiler and the steam turbine. Too low level of water may overheat boiler tubes and damage them and too high level may interfere with separating moisture from steam and transfers moisture into the turbine, which reduces the boiler efficiency.In order to automate a power plant and minimize human intervention, there is a need to develop a Boiler Automation system. It is achieved by using Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) that helps to reduce the errors caused by humans and avoids the catastrophic failures. It is then monitored with IOT and full digitalization of the process is done.

 In this project complete Rankine cycle is followed, i.e. water completes its cycle from liquid to gaseous state & than back to liquid state. Process is given below:

1. Water is stored in reservoir tank, a pump is attached to it which will move the water from reservoir to boiler.
2. There is a non-return value attached to the boiler which will enable only the water to flow in & will not allow steam to exit from this line.
3. Boiler contains the gauge glass for indication of water level. A drain valve is also provided at the bottom of the boiler.
4. At the bottom of the boiler, there is an automatic fire system, which will operate according to the temperature already set.
5. At the steam outlet of boiler, a temperature sensor and pressure is used for measuring temperature & pressure just at the exit of boiler on the line.
6. Afterwards, this steam line contains a solenoid valve, which is used to turn the flow of steam on or off.
7. A manual control valve is also provided just after the SOV. This control valve regulates the flow of steam from the line.
8. Steam from this line will go to the input terminal of turbine, which will enable the turbine to rotate. A generator is coupled with the shaft of turbine, which will rotate to produce DC electricity. Number of small loads can be connected to the output of generator for analysis & measurements.
9. The temperature & pressure of output steam will be measured. (if the output from turbine stills has high temperature and pressure, we can send it again to boiler directly)
10. This steam will go to cooling tower, where it will be converted to water using forced cooling.
11. The output water from this line will go back to water reservoir tank. In this way Rankine cycle will be completed.

INTERFACING OF PLC WITH IOT:

• The data stored in PLC is sent to ESP8266 via Tx and Rx pins of Arduino.
•  MAX3232 module is used as an intermediate for interfacing of PLC and Arduino
• Arduino at this end is coded for Rx pin as it receives this data.
• ESP8266 then transmits this data wirelessly via WIFI to server, which in our case is a laptop and can be received and analyzed on website.

Benefits of the Project

• To develop a workbench for lab research work 
• Cost effective, Flexible and sophisticated method for controlling complex systems and  Reliable components
• This research work can be implemented on industrial level commercially
• Conventional SCADA system can be replaced using IOT, which will provide complete access of monitoring and controling, wirelessly and in a cost efficient way. 
• Use of long optical fibre can be eliminated. 
• Using IOT operation at various capacity factors is possible and efficient operation of generation process can be devised. IOT provides great flexibility while integrating large amount of renewable power sources.
• Conventional generators require enough time to ramp up or down which causes discharges of the power sector. This problem can be tackled using IOT with analytics and machine learning techniques to forecast and integrate solar and wind generation.
• Using customer demand response and smart metering, utilities can reduce the power demand in peak hours and in this way renewable energy sources can be integrated with grid to reduce the use of expensive and highly polluting plants.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

This project requires different equipements and the details are given below:

HARDWARE REQUIREMENT:

• PLC (Programmable Logic Control)
• Arduino Mega & ESP8266
• PC/Desktop
• Sensors (Temperature, Pressure, Level)
• Boiler
• Valves (Solenoid, Control, Drain, Non-return, Safety)
• Feed water pump
• Turbine
• Generator
• Load
• Metal Frame

SOFTWARE REQUIREMENT:

• Cx-Programmer
• Arduino IDE

DELIVERABLES

A complete hardware of steam power plant consists of a Boiler, Turbine, Generator, Condenser, Pump, Water Reservoir, Automatic Burner. All these equipments are mounted on metal frame. They are connected to each other using Stainless Steel (SS) pipes and fittings. Different types of valves like control valve, Solenoid operated valve (SOV), Non-return valve, safety value, manual ball valve are used. Commercial sensors are used to record parameters from components. Sensors are integrated with OMRON CPU 12 PLC. PLC is further connected to IOT modules (ESP8266, Arduino) to transfer data on website for wireless monitoring, recording, analysis and control. 

Final Deliverable of the Project

HW/SW integrated system

Core Industry

Energy

Other Industries

IT

Core Technology

Internet of Things (IoT)

Other Technologies

Sustainable Development Goals

Affordable and Clean Energy, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Responsible Consumption and Production, Climate Action

Required Resources

If you need this project, please contact me on contact@adikhanofficial.com