Signals are processed from level measurement
devices to monitor and control
levels in wells as well as flow in flumes,
weirs, or open channels.
The District of La Rochelle is a
scenic port located on the west
coast of France between
Bordeaux and Nantes. It consists
of 18 associated communities
with a total population of 140,000.
In May 2001, local government
began a major upgrade of its aging
water treatment system, renewing the
local measurement devices, control
equipment and automation system, and
extending remote monitoring of the
116 pumping stations.
A special challenge of the project
was to integrate some of the existing
level measurement solutions such as
hydrostatic pressure sensors with new
ultrasonic level measurement systems,
lift pump control monitoring and data
acquisition.
This major project involved numerous
companies and contracts, including
EAO as panel builder and installer,
and DIGIMAT for the automation. For
level measurement equipment, pump
station monitoring and control equipment,
La Rochelle chose Milltronics
EnviroRanger®, a state-of-the-art ultrasonic
system from Siemens.
Using non-contacting ultrasonic
technology and patented Sonic
Intelligence® echo-processing techniques,
EnviroRanger monitors and
controls liquid levels in wells and/or
liquid flow in flumes, weirs, or open
channels. Five relays can be used to
control any combination of alarms or
pumps. Advanced pump control features
save energy and cut maintenance
requirements. The system monitors lift
stations and collects data such as state
of operation, number of pump starts,
pump run time, and pump efficiency.
At each La Rochelle station, an
EnviroRanger controller processes signals
received from level measurement
devices. In some wells, new Echomax®
XRS-5 ultrasonic transducers were
installed to measure level. In other stations,
existing pressure sensors were
connected directly to the analog input
on the EnviroRanger. Pressure sensors
are gradually being replaced by ultrasonic
transducers because they are
easy to install and require virtually no
maintenance.
Using built-in telemetry interface
(RS232 Modbus port), data is transmitted
via landline to the control room
at the District head office. Remote
telemetry units have various communications
capabilities including remote
alarming via voice server, pager monitoring,
mobile text message, duty
hours personnel management, and
other functions.
Contact: www.siemens-milltronics.com.
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