KR102775328B1 - Pipe damage detecting system and method for detecting pipe damage using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

In a pipe damage assessment system and a pipe damage assessment method using the same, the pipe damage assessment system includes a piping system, a assessment unit, and a control unit. The piping system includes a plurality of pipes, a plurality of valves provided in the pipes, and a pressure sensor provided in each of the valves. The assessment unit is provided in each of the valves, and assesses damage to the piping system based on the pressure of each valve measured by the pressure sensor. The control unit is provided in each of the valves, and when damage to the piping system is assessed, blocks each valve to a pre-designed stage. In this case, the assessment unit determines whether damage has occurred around each valve based on the pressure measured by the pressure sensor as each valve is blocked to the pre-designed stage.

Description

{PIPE DAMAGE DETECTING SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DETECTING PIPE DAMAGE USING THE SAME}

The present invention relates to a pipe damage assessment system and a pipe damage assessment method using the same, and more specifically, to a pipe damage assessment system and a pipe damage assessment method using the same, in which, when a pipe at a specific location in a piping system designed in various ways is damaged, valves installed in the relevant pipe individually monitor pressure changes according to a blocking angle and automatically block the damaged pipe, thereby quickly restoring the pressure of an undamaged pipe.

In a complex piping system, various technologies are being developed to accurately determine when a pipe at a specific location is damaged.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-2290217 discloses a technology for controlling operation by determining a location of damage by receiving sensing signals from a plurality of valves installed in a pipe, and in this case, the sensing signals transmitted are transmitted using a communication means such as digital communication, analog communication, or PLC communication.

In addition, Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-1915638 discloses a technology for a multi-channel valve control and self-fault diagnosis system that can remotely control and monitor the operating status of a valve, thereby providing operating status or maintenance information and even preventing failures.

However, in the case of the above conventional technologies, they are characterized by using a sensing signal generated from a valve, such as a smart valve, to determine whether there is damage. However, when a piping system is designed in a closed environment such as a trap, transmission of the sensing signal through a communication module such as the digital communication, analog communication, or PLC communication may not be effective.

That is, due to the characteristics of the operation being performed in the long-distance ocean and the fact that each space is designed to be sealed off from one another, the transmission of the sensing signal is limited, which causes a problem of delay in more rapid judgment of the location of damage.

Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-2290217 Republic of Korea Patent No. 10-1915638

Accordingly, the technical problem of the present invention was conceived from this point, and the purpose of the present invention is to provide a pipe damage judgment system which, when a pipe at a specific location in a pipe system operated at a certain pressure or higher is damaged, individually monitors the pressure change according to the blocking angle of the valves installed in the pipe and automatically blocks the damaged pipe, thereby quickly restoring the pressure of the undamaged pipe, and enables rapid pipe damage judgment regardless of the communication environment.

In addition, another object of the present invention is to provide a pipe damage assessment method using the above pipe damage assessment system.

According to one embodiment of the present invention for realizing the above-described object, a system for determining damage to a pipe includes a piping system, a determination unit, and a control unit. The piping system includes a plurality of pipes, a plurality of valves provided in the pipes, and a pressure sensor provided in each of the valves. The determination unit is provided in each of the valves, and determines damage to the piping system based on the pressure of each valve measured by the pressure sensor. The control unit is provided in each of the valves, and when damage to the piping system is determined, blocks each valve to a pre-designed stage. In this case, the determination unit determines whether damage has occurred around each valve based on the pressure measured by the pressure sensor as each valve is blocked to the pre-designed stage.

In one embodiment, the pressure sensor may include an inlet pressure sensor that measures the pressure at the inlet of each valve through which the flow flows in, and an outlet pressure sensor that measures the pressure at the outlet of each valve through which the flow flows out.

In one embodiment, the piping system may be determined to be damaged if the pressure measured by the inlet and outlet pressure sensors drops below a preset value in all valves.

In one embodiment, the designed step of blocking the valve may include the step of blocking the valve by a first angle, or the step of blocking the valve by the first angle and at least one additional time blocking the valve by an angle different from the first angle.

In one embodiment, the first angle may be in a range of 40 degrees or more and 90 degrees or less.

In one embodiment, each of the valves may further include a calculation unit that calculates the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure at the valve by blocking the valve to the designed stage.

In one embodiment, the calculation unit calculates a damage criterion value (R _rupture ) in the valve based on the following equation (1),

Equation (1)

At this time, P _out can be the outlet pressure of the valve, and ΔP can be the difference between the inlet pressure and outlet pressure of the valve.

In one embodiment, the judgment unit can determine whether damage has occurred around each valve based on the calculation result of the calculation unit.

In a method for determining damage to a pipe according to another embodiment of the present invention for realizing the above-described further object, a pipe system including a plurality of pipes and valves provided in the pipes is driven. The pressure of each valve is measured using a pressure sensor provided in each of the valves. A determination unit provided in each of the valves determines damage to the pipe system based on the measured pressure of each valve. When damage to the pipe system is determined, a control unit provided in each of the valves blocks the valves to a pre-designed stage. By blocking each valve to the pre-designed stage, it is determined whether damage has occurred around each valve based on the pressure measured in each valve.

In one embodiment, the step of measuring the pressure of each valve may measure the pressure at the inlet of each valve and the pressure at the outlet of each valve, respectively.

In one embodiment, in the step of determining damage to the piping system, if the pressure measured at the inlet and outlet of each valve drops below a preset value, the piping system may be determined to be damaged.

In one embodiment, the step of blocking the valve to the designed degree may include the step of blocking the valve to a first angle, or the step of blocking the valve to the first angle and at least one additional time blocking the valve to an angle different from the first angle.

In one embodiment, in the step of determining whether damage has occurred around each valve, a calculation unit provided in each of the valves calculates the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure at each valve as each valve is blocked at a pre-designed stage, thereby determining whether damage has occurred around each valve.

In one embodiment, in the step of determining whether damage has occurred around each valve, by blocking each valve to a pre-designed stage, a damage criterion value (R _rupture ) is calculated based on the following equation (1) for each valve to determine whether damage has occurred around each valve.

Equation (1)

At this time, P _out can be the outlet pressure of the valve, and ΔP can be the difference between the inlet pressure and outlet pressure of the valve.

In one embodiment, in the step of determining whether damage has occurred around each valve, by blocking each valve at a pre-designed stage, at least two or more of the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure at each valve, the outlet pressure of each valve, the damage reference value (R _rupture ) calculated at each valve, and the reciprocal of the damage reference value are simultaneously considered to determine whether damage has occurred around each valve.

In one embodiment, in the step of determining whether damage has occurred around each valve, if it is determined that damage has occurred around each valve, the valve may be actuated by itself to close, and if it is determined that no damage has occurred around each valve, the valve may be actuated by itself to open.

According to embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to determine whether a pipe around a valve is damaged based on pressure information from a pressure sensor provided in the valve, so that a quick and rapid determination can be made even in various environments where the communication environment is not smooth.

In this case, the limitation of difficulty in making the above judgment with only simple pressure information when the valve is fully open is overcome, and by applying a pre-designed valve blocking step and obtaining pressure change information accordingly, it is possible to easily determine whether the pipe is damaged around the valve through only a predetermined operation on the pressure signal.

In particular, since valve blocking through the valve blocking step can be performed in a relatively short time, the time for the above judgment can be shortened, and thereby the valve around the damaged pipe can be quickly blocked while minimizing the aggravation of secondary damage due to pipe damage.

That is, by utilizing the pressure of the valves around the damaged pipe, especially the rapid decrease in the outlet pressure and the increase in the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure, it is possible to quickly detect whether there is a damaged pipe around the valve.

Furthermore, as described above, the valve can be quickly determined whether there is a damaged pipe located nearby, and controlled to shut itself off if there is a damaged pipe located nearby, thereby blocking the fluid from flowing into the damaged pipe.

Additionally, if the damaged pipe is not located nearby, it can be controlled to reopen on its own, thereby restoring the pressure in the entire piping system and continuously maintaining smooth fluid flow through other pipes.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a pipe damage assessment system according to one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a piping system to which the pipe damage assessment system of Figure 1 is applied.
Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a pressure sensor provided in the Nth valve in Figure 2.
Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating a pipe damage assessment method using the pipe damage assessment system of Figure 1.
Fig. 5a is a graph illustrating a state in which pressure drops in all valves in the pipe damage judgment method of Fig. 4, and Figs. 5b to 5f are graphs illustrating pressure measurement results when valves are blocked at various angles in the pipe damage judgment method of Fig. 4.
Figure 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which damage occurs at a specific location in the piping system of Figure 2.
Figures 7a to 7c are graphs showing the pressure difference at each valve, the outlet pressure at each valve, and the damage judgment criterion value (pressure) as the blocking angle of the valve is varied when the damage of Figure 6 occurs.
FIG. 8a is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which damage occurs at another location in the piping system of FIG. 2, FIG. 8b is a graph showing the state of pressure change in valves located in the path from the pump to the damaged location when the damage of FIG. 8a occurs, and FIG. 8c is a graph showing the state in which the pressure of the undamaged piping system is restored through blocking control (stage 1 blocking) of surrounding valves when the damage of FIG. 8a occurs.

The present invention can be modified in various ways and can take various forms, and thus embodiments are described in detail in the text. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to a specific disclosed form, but should be understood to include all modifications, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and technical scope of the present invention. In describing each drawing, similar reference numerals are used for similar components. Terms such as first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms.

The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. The terminology used in this application is used only to describe specific embodiments and is not intended to limit the invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

In this application, it should be understood that terms such as “comprise” or “consist of” are intended to specify the presence of a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described in the specification, but do not exclude in advance the possibility of the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries, such as those defined in common dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the meaning they have in the context of the relevant art, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly defined in this application.

Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in more detail.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a pipe damage assessment system according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a pipe system to which the pipe damage assessment system of Fig. 1 is applied. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a pressure sensor provided in the Nth valve in Fig. 2.

First, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the pipe damage judgment system (10) according to the present embodiment includes a pipe system (100), a judgment unit (500), a calculation unit (600), and a control unit (700), and the pipe system (100) includes a pipe (200), a valve unit (300), and a pressure sensor (400).

The above piping system (100) can be designed in various ways and is not limited to a specific structure. However, for convenience of explanation, the piping system as in Fig. 2 is described below as an example.

That is, as illustrated in FIG. 2, in the piping system (100), a storage unit (201) for storing circulating fluid is provided on one side, and a plurality of pipes extend from the storage unit (201) and the fluid flows in a predetermined area.

For example, the first pipe (210) extends to one side from the storage unit (201), and the first pipe (210) branches off and extends to the second pipe (220).

In contrast, the fourth pipe (240) extends to the other side from the storage unit (201), and the fourth pipe (240) branches off and extends to the third pipe (230), at which time the third pipe (230) can extend parallel to the second pipe (220).

Thus, a plurality of fifth to eighth pipes (250, 260, 270, 280) may be connected in parallel between the second pipe (220) and the third pipe (230). Furthermore, a ninth pipe (290) may be additionally extended from a specific location of the third pipe (230) as needed.

That is, if the above pipes are configured as in Fig. 2, the valve part (300) can be provided at each major location among the above pipes.

For example, the first to third valves (301, 302, 303) may be provided spaced apart from each other on the second pipe (220), and the eighth to tenth valves (308, 309, 310) may be provided spaced apart from each other on the third pipe (230).

Additionally, the fourth valve (304) may be provided on the eighth pipe (280), the fifth valve (305) may be provided on the seventh pipe (270), the sixth valve (306) may be provided on the sixth pipe (260), and the seventh valve (307) may be provided on the fifth pipe (250).

In this case, the position of the above valves is a design choice as explained above and is not limited to that illustrated in Fig. 2.

Meanwhile, referring to FIG. 3, the pressure sensor (400) includes an inlet pressure sensor provided at the inlet of each valve, and an outlet pressure sensor provided at the outlet, for each of the valves.

That is, as a specific valve, for the first valve (301), a first inlet pressure sensor (411) provided on the inlet side of the first valve (301) and measuring the pressure at the inlet of the first valve (301), and a first outlet pressure sensor (412) provided on the outlet side of the first valve (301) and measuring the pressure at the outlet of the first valve (301) constitute the first pressure sensor (400).

As described above, the pressure sensor (400) measures the pressure at the inlet and the pressure at the outlet of each valve, and the pressure measurement results thus measured are provided to the judgment unit (500) or the calculation unit (600).

In the present embodiment, just as the pressure sensor (400) is individually provided for each valve, the judgment unit (500), the calculation unit (600), and the control unit (700) are also individually provided for each valve, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3.

That is, the first valve (301) is equipped with a first judgment unit (501), a first calculation unit (601), and a first control unit (701), and can perform a predetermined judgment and necessary calculation based on the measurement result from the first valve (301), and further, can perform control over the operation of the first valve (301).

Furthermore, although not shown, each valve is equipped with a judgment unit, an operation unit, and a control unit, so that measurement of necessary data, operation, and control of necessary operations can be performed for the corresponding valve.

Below, the functions of the judgment unit, calculation unit, and control unit performed in each valve are described. Meanwhile, for the convenience of explanation, the term 'corresponding valve' is used below, and 'corresponding valve' means each valve equipped with a judgment unit, calculation unit, and control unit and in which linked operations are performed.

That is, the judgment unit (500) determines damage to the piping system (100), i.e., the pipe (200), based on the pressure of the corresponding valve measured by the pressure sensor (400).

The above control unit (700) blocks the corresponding valve at a pre-designed stage when the judgment unit (500) determines that the pipe (200) is damaged. In this case, the pre-designed stage means that the valves are blocked simultaneously at the closing angle by setting a closing angle for blocking the corresponding valves in advance. A detailed description of this will be provided later.

Meanwhile, when the control unit (700) blocks the corresponding valve at the designed stage, the pressure of the corresponding valve measured by the pressure sensor (400) changes as the valve is blocked.

Accordingly, the calculation unit (600) receives information on changes in the pressure of the corresponding valve and performs a predetermined calculation to determine whether damage has occurred around the corresponding valve.

In this case, the calculation unit (600) can calculate, for example, the pressure difference (ΔP), which is the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure in the corresponding valve, and additionally calculate the damage reference value (R _rupture ) defined by Equation (1) described below.

Thus, based on the information of the pressure difference (ΔP) or the damage reference value (R _rupture ) calculated in the calculation unit (600), the judgment unit (500) determines whether damage has occurred around the valve.

Thereafter, if the control unit (700) determines that damage has occurred around the valve, it performs control on the valve to block the valve and prevent the fluid from flowing into the damaged pipe.

Hereinafter, a method for determining pipe damage using the above pipe damage determination system (10) will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and the drawings described below.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a pipe damage assessment method using the pipe damage assessment system of Fig. 1. Fig. 5a is a graph illustrating a state in which pressure drops in all valves in the pipe damage assessment method of Fig. 4, and Figs. 5b to 5f are graphs illustrating pressure measurement results when valves are blocked at various angles in the pipe damage assessment method of Fig. 4.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, in the pipe damage assessment method using the pipe damage assessment system (10), first, the pipe system (100) provided with the pipe (200) and the valve part (300) is driven (step S10).

Thereafter, referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the pressure in each of the valves included in the valve unit (300), for example, the first to tenth valves (301, ..., 310) in the piping system of FIG. 2, is measured (step S20).

In this case, the pressure measurement at each of the above valves is measured by the inlet pressure sensor and the outlet pressure sensor provided at each valve, as described above, so that the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure of each valve are measured separately.

Information about the pressure measured in this way is first provided to the judgment unit (500) provided in each valve.

Thus, referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 4, the judgment unit (500) determines whether the piping system (100) is damaged based on the information about the measured pressure (step S30).

Specifically, referring to FIG. 5a simultaneously, if damage occurs in any pipe of the piping system (100), the inlet pressure as well as the outlet pressure of all valves included in the piping system (100), for example, the first to tenth valves, drop simultaneously.

At this time, if a predetermined pressure value is defined in advance as a preset value (P _th ) as a criterion for judging damage to the piping system (100), the judgment unit (500) can determine that damage has occurred in the piping system (100) as soon as the inlet pressure and outlet pressure in all of the valves drop below the preset value (P _th ).

In the case of the above judgment unit (500), as described above, it is provided for each valve, and ultimately, based on information about the pressure measured for each valve, the judgment unit provided for each valve determines whether the measured pressure drops below the preset value (P _th ).

Thus, based on the judgment result of the pressure drop determined by the judgment unit equipped in each valve, if it is determined that the inlet pressure and outlet pressure of all valves have dropped below the preset value (P _th ), it can be determined that damage has occurred in the piping system (100).

In this case, the above-mentioned preset value (P _th ) can be arbitrarily set in various ways, and in a situation where the flow rate must be supplied to all pipes at the designed pressure (P _design ), it can be defined by considering a predetermined margin value (P _margin ) from the designed pressure.

That is, the above-mentioned preset value (P _th ) can be set by excluding a predetermined margin value (P _margin ) from the designed pressure (P _design ) at which the flow rate should be supplied.

As described above, if both the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure obtained from all the valves of the piping system (100) drop below the preset value (P _th ), it is determined that damage has occurred in the piping system (100) (step S30).

Thereafter, referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the control unit (700) receives the judgment result from the judgment unit (500) and simultaneously blocks the corresponding valve in a pre-designed step (step S40).

That is, the control unit (700) provided in each valve individually controls each of the first to tenth valves, for example, to perform blocking at a pre-designed stage.

In this case, the control unit (700) is also provided for each valve as described above, and performs control for only one valve, but the application of the pre-designed steps in performing the control for each valve is the same. That is, each control unit performs blocking by applying the pre-designed steps for each valve.

In addition, the above-mentioned designed steps can be individually applied to each valve, and accordingly, based on the designed steps, each valve independently determines whether it is a valve close to a damaged location, and ultimately, each valve is controlled to block or open on its own.

At this time, the above-mentioned designed step may be, for example, a step of blocking each of the valves by a first angle.

That is, as shown in Fig. 5b, in the above-mentioned designed stage, each control unit controls the corresponding valves, so that the corresponding valves can be controlled to be blocked by 60 degrees.

In contrast, as illustrated in FIGS. 5c to 5f, in the designed step, each of the control units may control each of the valves so that the valves are blocked by 70 degrees (FIG. 5c), 80 degrees (FIG. 5d), or 85 degrees (FIG. 5e). In this case, the illustrated graph illustrates the smallest blocking angle as 60 degrees, but it may also be selected from a range of 40 to 80 degrees.

In this case, blocking the valve by the angle exemplified above means blocking the flow of fluid by rotating the valve based on the state where the valve is 100% open (0 degree blocking), and assuming that 90 degree blocking completely blocks the valve (0% open), it means blocking the valve by any angle in the range of 40 to 85 degrees. In other words, blocking by 80 degrees ultimately means opening the valve by 11%.

As described above, the above-described designed step means that the control unit provided in each valve blocks the valve by the first angle once, and accordingly, all valves can be blocked by the first angle once.

In contrast, the above-described designed step may mean that after blocking once at the first angle as described above, additionally blocking at a second angle different from the first angle. In this case, the second angle may be a range greater than the first angle, and may be any angle within the range of up to 90 degrees as exemplified above. For example, if the first angle is 70 degrees, the second angle may be 85 degrees.

Furthermore, it may mean that after additionally blocking at the second angle, additionally blocking at a third angle.

That is, the above-mentioned designed step may mean that each valve controlled by each control unit sequentially performs blocking at different angles at least twice. In this case, the angle at which the blocking is performed is arbitrarily selected from the range of 40 to 85 degrees as exemplified above, and it is necessary that the subsequent angle be set larger than the previous angle.

As described above, the control unit (700) performs blocking on each of the valves at a blocking angle included in the designed step based on the designed step (step S40).

Thereafter, referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, the pressure sensor (400) measures the pressure, i.e., the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure, at each valve as each of the valves is blocked to the above-designed stage (step S50), and information about the pressure thus measured is provided to each calculation unit (600) equipped in each valve.

In this case, the pressure sensor (400) measures both the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure of each of the valves as described above, and the measured results are provided to the calculation unit (600) provided in the corresponding valve.

Thus, referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the calculation unit (600) first calculates the pressure change (ΔP), which is the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure at the corresponding valve, based on the pressure information measured by the pressure sensor (400) (step S50).

In this case, the calculation unit (600) also obtains information on the minimum pressure at the corresponding valve. Generally, the minimum pressure among the inlet pressure and outlet pressure measured at the corresponding valve corresponds to the outlet pressure, so the information on the minimum pressure can be said to be information on the outlet pressure at the corresponding valve.

In general, when the valve is blocked by a predetermined angle by the control of the control unit (700) in the previous step, as can be seen from FIGS. 5b to 5f, the inlet pressure and outlet pressure in the valve generally increase. That is, the pressure in each valve generally increases due to an increase in the hydraulic pressure of the fluid passing through the valve.

However, for valves located around damaged pipes, the inlet pressure and outlet pressure do not increase as they are because the fluid leaks to the outside due to the damage to the pipe. That is, the pressure increase (change) trends are observed differently for valves located around damaged pipes and valves located around undamaged pipes.

In particular, the fact that these pressure change trends are observed differently is more significantly confirmed as the blocking angle of the valve increases.

That is, in Fig. 2, when the pipe is damaged at the first location (Damage 1) and the second location (Damage 2), the changing trends of the pressures of the first and fourth valves (301, 304) located around the first location (Damage 1) and the seventh and tenth valves (307, 310) located around the second location (Damage 2) are distinct from the changing trends of the pressures of the other valves. In addition, this changing trend is confirmed more significantly as the blocking angle of the valve increases.

That is, as in Fig. 5b, when all valves are controlled to be blocked by 60 degrees, it can be confirmed that the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure tends to increase in the first and fourth valves, and the seventh and tenth valves. However, since the phenomenon of pressure differences also occurs in other valves, it is not easy to clearly determine that the phenomenon occurs only in the first and fourth valves, and the seventh and tenth valves.

However, as shown in FIGS. 5c to 5f, as the blocking angles of the valves are increased, it can be confirmed that the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure in the first and fourth valves, and the seventh and tenth valves, significantly increases compared to the pressure differences in the other valves.

Thus, as in FIG. 5f, when the valves are blocked by 90 degrees, it can be confirmed that the pressure differences in the first and fourth valves and the pressure differences in the seventh and tenth valves are significantly different from the pressure differences in the other valves (i.e., the second, third, fifth, sixth, eighth, and ninth valves). In addition, when the outlet pressure is considered, it can be confirmed that the outlet pressures in the first and fourth valves and the outlet pressures in the seventh and tenth valves are significantly lower than the outlet pressures in the other valves (i.e., the second, third, fifth, sixth, eighth, and ninth valves).

Of course, if the blocking angles of the above valves are designed in multiple stages, the time required to block the damaged pipe will also increase.

Therefore, the blocking angle and blocking stage of the valves can be determined by comprehensively judging the design of the piping system, the amount of fluid flowing through the piping system, etc., and in this process, as explained above, the definition of the designed stage (step S40) is required.

As described above, when the control unit (700) blocks the corresponding valve to the designed stage, the calculation unit (600) calculates the pressure difference at the corresponding valve, i.e., the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure, based on the information about the pressure measured at the corresponding valve.

At this time, the calculation result from the calculation unit (600) is again provided to the judgment unit (500) equipped in the corresponding valve, and accordingly, referring to FIGS. 1, 2, and 4, the judgment unit (500) determines whether damage has occurred around the corresponding valve based on the difference (ΔP) between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure of the corresponding valve (step S60).

Furthermore, based on the judgment as to whether damage has occurred around the valve (step S60), the control unit (700) controls the blocking operation for the valve (steps S70 to S90).

That is, when damage occurs at the first location (Damage 1) and the second location (Damage 2) in the piping system (100) of Fig. 2, as shown in Fig. 5f, the first, fourth, seventh and tenth valves (301, 304, 307, 310) in which the difference (ΔP) between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure is relatively large can be determined to be valves close to the damage location through the determination unit provided in each valve.

Thus, for the first, fourth, seventh and tenth valves (301, 304, 307, 310) which are judged to be valves close to the damaged location, additional operations are performed by the control unit provided in the corresponding valve.

That is, since the first, fourth, seventh and tenth valves (301, 304, 307, 310) are determined to be valves that are located close to the damaged location, each of the control units provided in the corresponding valves controls to block each of the first, fourth, seventh and tenth valves (301, 304, 307, 310), thereby minimizing additional fluid leakage (step S80).

In contrast, for the valves remaining except for the first, fourth, seventh and tenth valves (301, 304, 307, 310), it is determined by the judgment unit provided in the corresponding valve that the valve is not a valve close to the location where damage occurred, and accordingly, the control unit provided in the corresponding valve does not need to control the blocking of the corresponding valve.

Accordingly, the control units provided in the remaining valves, except for the first, fourth, seventh and tenth valves (301, 304, 307, 310), individually control the corresponding valves to release the blocking and open them, and accordingly, the fluid begins to flow through the corresponding valves (step S70).

Thus, in the pipes not close to the damaged location, the pressure is restored and the fluid flows again (step S90).

As described above, in this embodiment, based only on the calculation result of the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure of each valve in the calculation unit (600) provided in each valve, the judgment unit (500) provided in each valve determines whether damage has occurred in the piping around the valve, and the control unit (700) provided in each valve performs control to block or open the valve.

In addition, the calculation unit (600) can additionally calculate the so-called damage criterion value (R _rupture ) (step S60), and the judgment unit (500) can determine whether there is damage around each valve based on this (step S60).

In this case, based on the judgment as to whether damage has occurred around the valve, the control unit (700) controls the blocking operation for the valve (steps S70 to S90) as described above.

In order to calculate these damage criteria and determine damage based on them, an example is given of a case in which damage occurs at the third location (Damage 3) in the piping system (100) in FIG. 2 described above.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which damage has occurred at a specific location in the piping system of Fig. 2. Figs. 7a to 7c are graphs showing the pressure difference at each valve, the outlet pressure at each valve, and the damage judgment criterion value (pressure) as the blocking angle of the valve is varied when the damage of Fig. 6 has occurred.

That is, as in Fig. 6, when damage occurs at the third location (Damage 3), as described above, the control unit (700) blocks each valve in a pre-designed step (step S40), and the measurement results of the inlet pressure and outlet pressure at each valve are provided to the calculation unit (600) equipped in each valve (step S50).

Accordingly, as illustrated in FIG. 7a, for each of the first to tenth valves (SV01, ..., SV10), the angle at which the valves are blocked is controlled to 40 degrees, 50 degrees, 60 degrees, 70 degrees, or 80 degrees, and the difference (ΔP, P _diff ) between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure at each valve can be calculated.

In the case of Fig. 7a, it is shown that the blocking angle can be sequentially controlled to 40 degrees, 50 degrees, 60 degrees, 70 degrees, or 80 degrees, but is not limited thereto, and can be controlled to one arbitrary angle for each valve.

That is, if the above-described designed step is to block the valve at 60 degrees, as in Fig. 7a, it can be confirmed that the pressure difference is significantly large in the 5th, 8th, and 9th valves (SV05, _SV08 , SV09) (305, 308, 309), which are valves included in the 'A' area, based only on the calculation results for the difference (ΔP, P diff) between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure.

Accordingly, it can be determined that the fifth, eighth and ninth valves are valves proximate to the damaged pipe, and accordingly, the fifth, eighth and ninth valves proximate to the third location (Damage 3), which is the damaged location, can be controlled by each control unit to perform blocking. Furthermore, the remaining valves, excluding the fifth, eighth and ninth valves, can be controlled by each control unit to be opened again.

Meanwhile, as in Fig. 7b, using information on the outlet pressure (Pout) of each valve, it may be possible to reveal the 5th, 8th and 9th valves (area 'B'), which are valves approaching the damaged location, the third location (Damage 3), from the designed stage of blocking the valves at 60 degrees.

In contrast, in the above calculation unit (600), the so-called damage criterion value (R _rupture ) can be calculated (step S60), and based on the damage criterion value calculated in this way, it is possible to more easily determine whether the valve is a valve approaching the damaged location.

In this case, the damage criterion value (R _rupture ) can be calculated using the following equation (1).

Equation (1)

At this time, P _out is the outlet pressure of the valve, and ΔP is the difference between the inlet pressure and outlet pressure of the valve.

Furthermore, the calculation unit (600) may additionally calculate the reciprocal (1/R _rupture ) of the damage reference value (R _rupture ).

That is, referring to Fig. 7c, when the designed step of blocking the valve at 60 degrees is defined, when examining the calculation result for the reciprocal (1/R _rupture ) of the damage criterion value, it can be confirmed that the reciprocal (1/R _rupture ) of the damage criterion value in the 5th, 8th, and 9th valves (SV05, SV08, SV09) (305, 308, 309), which are valves included in the 'C' area, are derived to be significantly larger than the values in the other valves.

Accordingly, each judgment unit equipped in each valve can determine whether the valve is located close to the damaged pipe based on the damage criterion value (R _rupture ) or the reciprocal of the damage criterion value (1/R _rupture ), and it can be determined that the fifth, eighth, and ninth valves are valves located close to the damaged pipe.

Furthermore, if it is determined that the valves are close to the damaged location, the control unit equipped in the valves close to the damaged location performs complete blocking of the valves, thereby minimizing leakage of fluid to the outside through the damaged pipe. In this case, if it is determined that the valves are not close to the damaged location, the control unit equipped in the valves opens the valves to control the fluid to flow again.

In the above, an example of determining whether the valve is close to a damaged location based on the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure (ΔP, P _diff ), the outlet pressure (Pout), the damage reference value (R _rupture ), or the reciprocal of the damage reference value (1/R _rupture ) calculated in the calculation unit (600) is described.

In contrast, the calculation unit (600) may simultaneously consider at least two or more factors among the factors of the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure (ΔP, P _diff ), the outlet pressure (Pout), the damage reference value (R _rupture ), and the reciprocal of the damage reference value (1/R _rupture ), or may simultaneously consider all factors to determine whether the valve is close to a damaged location, and a duplicate description thereof will be omitted.

Below, based on another pipe damage state, a state in which the opening or blocking of valves is individually controlled in pipes close to the damage location and in pipes not close to the damage location is specifically described.

FIG. 8a is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which damage occurs at another location in the piping system of FIG. 2, FIG. 8b is a graph showing the state of pressure change in valves located in the path from the pump to the damaged location when the damage of FIG. 8a occurs, and FIG. 8c is a graph showing the state in which the pressure of the undamaged piping system is restored through blocking control (stage 1 blocking) of surrounding valves when the damage of FIG. 8a occurs.

As in Fig. 8a, when damage occurs at the fourth location (Damage 4), the second, third, and seventh valves (302, 303, 307) are positioned between the first pipe (210) (the pump is positioned at the first pipe (210)) and the fourth location (Damage 4).

That is, the fluid provided through the first pipe (210) must be provided to the fourth location through the second, third and seventh valves (302, 303, 307), but damage has occurred at the fourth location (Damage 4).

Referring to FIG. 8b, as described above, when damage occurs at the fourth location, the inlet pressure and outlet pressure (the outlet pressure is exemplified in FIG. 8b) of each of the second, third, and seventh valves (302, 303, 307) drop below the preset value (P _th ), and thus it is determined that damage occurs in the piping system (100).

Accordingly, the control unit provided in each of the second, third and seventh valves (302, 303, 307) performs a blocking operation for the second, third and seventh valves (302, 303, 307) (step S40). In this case, the blocking operation may be performed as a pre-designed step as described above, and for example, each of the second, third and seventh valves (302, 303, 307) may be blocked by 50 degrees.

Meanwhile, in Fig. 8b, only the second, third and seventh valves (302, 303, 307) are exemplified, but as described above, the above-described blocking operation should be performed for practically all valves.

As described above, after the blocking operation is performed, if the pressure is measured again by the pressure sensors provided in each of the second, third, and seventh valves (302, 303, 307), the measured outlet pressure can be measured as in the '1st Step' of Fig. 8b.

That is, the pressure of the second valve (302) located far from the fourth position where the damage occurred is restored to above the preset value (P _th ), but the degree of pressure recovery decreases as it approaches the fourth position where the damage occurred. Accordingly, the seventh valve (307) located immediately adjacent to the fourth position where the damage occurred is still maintained in a state where there is almost no pressure change.

Accordingly, the judgment unit equipped in the second valve (302) determines that no damage has occurred to the pipe around the second valve (302) based on the pressure difference of the second valve (302) calculated by the calculation unit (in this case, in addition to the pressure difference as described above, the damage reference value or the inverse of the damage reference value may be considered). Accordingly, the control unit equipped in the second valve (302) opens the second valve (302) to perform the flow of fluid.

However, in the case of the third and seventh valves (303, 307), they may be additionally blocked according to the designed stage. That is, in the case of the third and seventh valves (303, 307), they may be controlled to additionally close at an angle of, for example, 60 degrees.

According to this control, the pressure of the third and seventh valves (303, 307) becomes variable, and the outlet pressure as in the '2nd Step' of Fig. 8b can be measured.

That is, the pressure of the third valve (303), which is located further away from the fourth position where the damage occurred, is restored to above the preset value (P _th ), but the pressure of the seventh valve (307), which is directly adjacent to the fourth position where the damage occurred, is still maintained in a state where there is almost no change in pressure.

Accordingly, the judgment unit equipped in the third valve (303) determines that no damage has occurred to the pipe around the third valve (303) based on the pressure difference of the third valve (303) calculated by the calculation unit (in this case, in addition to the pressure difference as described above, the damage reference value or the inverse of the damage reference value may be considered). Accordingly, the control unit equipped in the third valve (303) opens the third valve (303) to allow the fluid to flow.

However, the judgment unit equipped in the fourth valve (304) determines that the pipe is damaged around the fourth valve (304), i.e., in an adjacent location, based on the pressure difference of the fourth valve (304) calculated in the calculation unit (in this case, in addition to the pressure difference as described above, the damage reference value or the inverse of the damage reference value may be considered), and accordingly, the control unit equipped in the fourth valve (304) blocks the fourth valve (304) to stop the flow of fluid.

Meanwhile, in Fig. 8b, the operation is described only for the path formed by arrows and the second, third and seventh valves (302, 303, 307) located therein. The tenth valve (310), which is located in a different direction from the fourth location where actual damage occurred, performs substantially the same operation as the seventh valve (307).

This can be confirmed through Fig. 8c, which is a graph collectively showing the measurement results of the outlet pressures of all the first to tenth valves.

That is, as illustrated in Fig. 8c, when a damage situation occurs, the outlet pressures of all of the first to tenth valves drop, and when the blocking angles of each of the first to tenth valves are controlled according to the designed stage, the outlet pressures of the remaining valves, except for the valves close to the location where the damage occurred (the seventh and tenth valves), are restored.

However, the outlet pressure of the valves close to the location where the damage occurred is not restored, and as a result, the valves close to the location where the damage occurred are blocked by themselves, stopping the flow of fluid.

Thus, when damage occurs in the piping system, only the valves near the damaged location are controlled to be shut off, and the valves in other locations are controlled to be opened so that the required flow is continuously performed.

According to the embodiments of the present invention as described above, it is possible to determine whether a pipe around a valve is damaged based on pressure information of a pressure sensor provided in the valve, so that a quick and rapid determination can be made even in various environments where the communication environment is not smooth.

In this case, the limitation of difficulty in making the above judgment with only simple pressure information when the valve is fully open is overcome, and by applying a pre-designed valve blocking step and obtaining pressure change information accordingly, it is possible to easily determine whether the pipe is damaged around the valve through only a predetermined operation on the pressure signal.

In particular, since valve blocking through the valve blocking step can be performed in a relatively short time, the time for the above judgment can be shortened, and thereby the valve around the damaged pipe can be quickly blocked while minimizing the aggravation of secondary damage due to pipe damage.

That is, by utilizing the pressure of the valves around the damaged pipe, especially the rapid decrease in the outlet pressure and the increase in the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure, it is possible to quickly detect whether there is a damaged pipe around the valve.

Furthermore, as described above, the valve can be quickly determined whether there is a damaged pipe located nearby, and controlled to shut itself off if there is a damaged pipe located nearby, thereby blocking the fluid from flowing into the damaged pipe.

Additionally, if the damaged pipe is not located nearby, it can be controlled to reopen on its own, thereby restoring the pressure in the entire piping system and continuously maintaining smooth fluid flow through other pipes.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications and changes may be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the claims below.

10: Pipe damage assessment system 100: Piping system
200 : Pipe 300 : Valve part
400: Pressure sensor 410: First pressure sensor
411: 1st inlet pressure sensor 412: 1st outlet pressure sensor
500: Judgment section 600: Operation section
700 : Control Unit

Claims (16)

A piping system comprising a plurality of pipes, a plurality of valves provided in the pipes, and a pressure sensor provided in each of the valves;
A judgment unit provided in each of the above valves to judge damage to the piping system based on the pressure of each valve measured by the pressure sensor; and
Each of the above valves includes a control unit that blocks each valve to a designed stage when damage to the piping system is determined.
The above judgment unit determines whether damage has occurred around each valve based on the pressure measured by the pressure sensor as each valve is blocked at the designed stage.
A pipe damage judgment system characterized in that after determining whether damage has occurred around each of the above valves, the control unit of a valve with damage in the surroundings blocks the valve, the control unit of a valve with no damage in the surroundings releases the blocking of the valve and opens it, and flow begins through the opened valve, thereby restoring the pipe system. In the first paragraph, the pressure sensor,
An inlet pressure sensor for measuring the pressure at the inlet of each of the above valves into which the flow flows; and
A pipe damage assessment system characterized by including an outlet pressure sensor that measures the pressure at the outlet of each valve through which the flow flows out. In the second paragraph,
A pipe damage judgment system characterized in that the pipe system is judged to be damaged when the pressure measured by the inlet and outlet pressure sensors of each of the above valves drops below a preset value. In the third paragraph, the step designed to block the valve is:
a step of blocking the above valve by a first angle, or
A pipe damage assessment system characterized by comprising the step of blocking the valve by the first angle and additionally blocking it at least once by an angle different from the first angle. In the fourth paragraph, the first angle is
A pipe damage assessment system characterized by a range of 40 degrees or more and less than 90 degrees. In the second paragraph,
A pipe damage assessment system further comprising a calculation unit that calculates the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure at the valve by blocking the valve to the designed stage, provided in each of the above valves. In the sixth paragraph, the operation unit,
Based on the following equation (1), the damage criterion value (R _rupture ) in the valve is calculated,
Equation (1)
At this time, a pipe damage judgment system characterized in that P _out is the outlet pressure of the valve and ΔP is the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure of the valve. In paragraph 6 or 7, the judgment unit,
A pipe damage judgment system characterized by judging whether damage has occurred around each valve based on the calculation result of the above calculation unit. A step of driving a piping system including a plurality of pipes and valves provided in the pipes;
A step of measuring the pressure of each valve using a pressure sensor provided in each of the above valves;
A step for determining damage to the piping system based on the measured pressure of each valve, by a judgment unit provided in each of the above valves;
A step for the control unit provided in each of the above valves to block each valve to a pre-designed stage when damage to the piping system is determined; and
By blocking each valve to the designed stage, a step is included to determine whether damage has occurred around each valve based on the pressure measured at each valve.
A method for determining piping damage, characterized in that after determining whether damage has occurred around each of the above valves, the control unit of a valve with damage around it blocks the valve, the control unit of a valve with no damage around it releases the blocking of the valve and opens it, and flow starts through the opened valve, thereby restoring the piping system. In the 9th paragraph, the step of measuring the pressure of each valve is:
A method for determining pipe damage, characterized in that the pressure at the inlet of each valve and the pressure at the outlet of each valve are respectively measured. In the 10th paragraph, in the step of determining damage to the piping system,
A method for determining pipe damage, characterized in that the pipe system is determined to be damaged if the pressure measured at the inlet and outlet falls below the preset value in all valves. In the 9th paragraph, the step of blocking the valve to the designed stage is:
a step of blocking the above valve by a first angle, or
A method for determining pipe damage, characterized by comprising the step of blocking the valve by the first angle and additionally blocking it at least once by an angle different from the first angle. In the 9th paragraph, in the step of determining whether damage has occurred around each valve,
A method for determining pipe damage, characterized in that a calculation unit provided in each of the above valves calculates the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure of each valve as each valve is blocked at a pre-designed stage, and determines whether damage has occurred around each valve. In the 9th paragraph, in the step of determining whether damage has occurred around each valve,
As each valve is blocked at the designed stage, the damage criterion value (R _rupture ) is calculated based on the following equation (1) for each valve to determine whether damage has occurred around each valve.
Equation (1)
At this time, a pipe damage judgment method characterized in that P _out is the outlet pressure of the valve and ΔP is the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure of the valve. In the 9th paragraph, in the step of determining whether damage has occurred around each valve,
A method for determining whether damage has occurred around each valve by simultaneously considering at least two of the difference between the inlet pressure and the outlet pressure at each valve, the outlet pressure of each valve, the damage reference value (R _rupture ) calculated at each valve, and the reciprocal of the damage reference value, by blocking each valve to a pre-designed stage. delete

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