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Press Release |
9th September 2002 |
| Innovative data transfer solution aids Far East energy efficiency project. |
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Specialist data collection company Terrington Systems has devised an innovative data transfer solution, which could help revolutionise power station energy use worldwide. The transfer of data is a key part of a scheme designed to minimise costs for a pioneering gas turbine efficiency project. Terrington Systems has supplied the latest in data capture equipment and developed an ingenious and cost effective way of transferring vast amounts of industrial process data from two power stations in the Far East to the UK for a unique research project based in Bristol. In the £100,000 data transfer contract, Terrington Systems, based at Science City York, is collecting and transferring the data from two power stations based in Thailand. The data analysis is being carried out by Thermodyne, Bristol,
which is developing new software to improve the efficiency
of the power stations. If adopted elsewhere the software
may have a significant long-term environmental benefit by
reducing emissions into the atmosphere. Thermodyne managing
director, Professor Roy Peacock, says, "What we are
achieving at the generating stations in Thailand Terrington Systems, a subsidiary of Aerosystems International, Yeovil, has applied a Terrington Systems Industrial Data Recorder (T5 IDR) which uses the company's own Raider technology, originally developed for military use, to capture the data from the turbines at both power stations. more…….. Managing Director, Mark Williams, says: "Research of this type needs significant quantities of reliable, uncorrupted data and our innovative solution has delivered this accurately in an extremely cost effective way." The company's ingenious method for transferring the data, which is collected continuously, 24/7, prevents the cost of the analysis and research from being prohibitive. The T5 IDR records the data, which includes details of the gas turbines' performance including the turbine speeds, temperature and pressures and sends it across the Internet every day by automatically dialling up the service provider in Thailand. The T5 IDR receives instructions from the Internet and then downloads its computer file. After receiving instructions to compress the data, the T5 IDR then sends the data so it can be collected by Thermodyne in Bristol. This means that each entire 24-hours of complex industrial processing data is transferred worldwide for the cost of a local telephone call. Terrington Systems project manager, Andy Birkinshaw, says: "Continual analysis of this data enables Thermodyne to assess how efficiently the turbine is working by studying the gas path state. Understanding this allows them to reconfigure the gas turbine to run more efficiently and make significant savings." Analysis of the optimum running criteria may also lead to long-term environmental benefits as power generation companies come to understand that they do not have to burn too much energy to create the same output. Thermodyne managing director, Professor Roy Peacock, says: "We have developed a new method of engine health monitoring and control which gives an accurate assessment of gas turbine engine component performance, even if the engine is not fully instrumented. more……… "To reach a reliable conclusion our research must analyse a considerable wealth of data and, if Terrington Systems had not devised such an innovative means of collecting and transferring the data at minimal cost, the final outcome may not be so valuable to this project and perhaps, eventually, the power generation industry worldwide." For further information please contact: |
