Power plant
The software and hardware platform kSense can be used at power facilities (PF) and electric power stations for preliminary assessment and to enable efficient operation. The platform will enable owners and managers of power facilities to have automatic control over:
- Fuel quality;
- PF operating conditions, with key parameters highlighted;
- Maintenance needs;
- Efficient battery charging;
- Maintenance quality, i.e. whether the repairs carried out comply with work specifications, how much time was actually spent and what are the equipment's exact parameters after the repairs;
- Employee arrival times;
- Time spent by each employee in back rooms;
- Time spent by each employee in back rooms;
- The best climate conditions on PF premises.
This list may be extended upon the customer's request.
The platform comprises the following equipment:
| For the platform to work, the above mentioned units need to be installed on the PF premises first, after which data collection can commence, followed by its transmission to the kBrain module hosted on the server. In the absence of a local server, the data can be processed in Microsoft Azure or a similar cloud service. This requires that the facility be equipped with a communication channel that transfers data at a rate of at least 2 Mbps. |
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This list of sensors may be extended upon the customer's request.
The on-premise kHUB subsystem accumulates sensor data from the facility's sensors and systems, as well as video stream data, and exchanges the data with the platform's cloud components. The data is encrypted and transferred to the platform's server/cloud subsystem. A mathematical model is used to process the data and to produce a set of reference parameters, thereby finding an efficient way to improve the surveyed facility's performance.
After the data has been processed and analyzed, kHub receives the reports required for analysis and, if necessary, a set of instructions to automatically optimize the power facility's systems.
Solution architecture:
- kFace
- kBrain
- kHUB
- Utility infrastructure
- PF software systems
- Actuating devices
- Sensors
- Video cameras
- Display
Defining the power facility's efficiency and further development options
The facility's performance is assessed by kBrain, the platform's compute kernel which processes the data it receives from kHUB. Two embedded systems – a predictive analytics system and an expert system – carry out real-time data analysis and time series statistical analysis. Having analyzed the data, the movement patterns of personnel, and the resources consumed, the platform automatically performs as follows:
- Identifies factors that prevent the equipment from operating with maximum efficiency;
- Generates a set of recommendations on the optimum operating mode for the facility's equipment;
- Maintains the operating conditions of the facility's utility systems at the optimum level;
- Monitors fuel quality to sustain the lifespan and productivity of energy equipment;
- Identifies negative trends in equipment operation and initiates maintenance.
To optimize staff work, the platform generates individual recommendations. The recommendations and other background information is displayed on wearable devices or on additional work zone monitors.
Presenting results
kFace is the platform's interface subsystem. The results of the data processing are displayed via dashboards pre-grouped in kFace. The results can be easily uploaded to the facility's software-based accounting systems.
Summary
The kSense platform will help to increase the power facility's efficiency by 10-15%, cut insurance costs by 20% via foreseeable risk.