SYSTEMS FOR MEASURING PROPERTIES OF WATER IN A WATER DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM

• US 20180372708A1
• Filed: 08/31/2018
• Published: 12/27/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mueller International LLC (Mueller Water Products Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Mueller International LLC (Mueller Water Products Incorporated)
• Inventors: Clark, Kenneth A., Sitnikov, Timofey, Gifford, Paul
• Granted Patent: US 11,255,835 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: E03B 7/071 Arrangement of safety devices in domestic pipe systems, e.g. devices for automatic shut-off
• CPC Class Codes: E03F 3/04 Pipes or fittings specially adapted to sewers manufacture of concrete tubes B28; pipes or pipe fittings in general F16L
• CPC Class Codes: F17D 5/00 Protection or supervision of installations arrangements for protecting foundations E02D31/00; protecting pipes from damage or internal or external wear F16L57/00, against corrosion and scale F16L58/00; investigation of the fluid-tightness of structures G01M3/00
• CPC Class Codes: G01F 15/063 using electrical means
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 3/00 Investigating fluid-tightness of structures
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 3/243 for pipes
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 33/18 Water
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/06 Energy or water supply
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/18 Status alarms G08B21/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/7025 Pipe line transport

Abstract

Systems and methods of measuring properties of water in a water distribution system are provided. An analysis system, according to one embodiment, comprises a plurality of water sensors connected at various points to the water distribution system, each of the plurality of water sensors configured to measure a property of water. The analysis system also includes a computer server configured to communicate with the plurality of water sensors via a network and receive water measurement data from the plurality of water sensors. The computer server comprises a processor, a database configured to store the water measurement data, and a system health monitoring module configured to evaluate the health of the water distribution system to obtain health data. The analysis system further includes at least one client device configured to communicate with the computer server via the network and receive the health data from the computer server.

Claims

1. An analysis system comprising:

a plurality of water sensors connected at various points to a water distribution system, each of the plurality of water sensors configured to measure a property of water;

a computer server configured to communicate with the plurality of water sensors via a network and receive water measurement data from the plurality of water sensors, the computer server comprising;

a processor;

a database configured to store the water measurement data; and

a system health monitoring module configured to evaluate the health of the water distribution system to obtain health data; and

at least one client device configured to communicate with the computer server via the network and receive the health data from the computer server.

2. The analysis system of claim 1, wherein the computer server further comprises a memory configured to store a web application having web site logic.

3. The analysis system of claim 1, wherein the system health monitoring module is configured to use empirical methods and multiple data points to evaluate the health of the water distribution system.

4. The analysis system of claim 1, wherein the system health monitoring module is a neural network.

5. The analysis system of claim 1, wherein the system health monitoring module is configured to evaluate the health of the water distribution system based on the location of each of the water sensors within the water distribution system and the time of day when the water sensors measure the property of the water.

6. The analysis system of claim 1, wherein the system health monitoring module is configured to use statistical analysis to determine if data points of the water measurement data are abnormal with respect to baseline points.

7. The analysis system of claim 1, wherein the system health monitoring module is configured to use the Mahalanobis-Tagushi System (MTS) for determining the health of the water distribution system.

8. The analysis system of claim 7, wherein the system health monitoring module is further configured to use pattern recognition to analyze multi-variate data.

9. The analysis system of claim 7, wherein the system health monitoring module is further configured to use a predictive method for analyzing patterns in the water measurement data.

10. The analysis system of claim 1, wherein the computer server is configured to read the water measurement data in real-time.

11. The analysis system of claim 1, wherein the computer server is configured to perform hydraulic simulation.

12. The analysis system of claim 1, wherein the computer server is configured to control pump power levels.

13. A method of sensing a property of water within a water distribution system, the method comprising the steps of:

periodically sampling water within a water distribution system according to a sampling rate such that multiple water samples are obtained during each of at least one predefined logging interval;

measuring a property of the water for each of the multiple water samples; and

storing a maximum of two values of the measured property for each predefined logging interval, wherein the two values include a highest value measured and a lowest value measured.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of discarding an intermediate value when the value of the measured property falls between the highest value and the lowest value.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

replacing a previous highest value stored at an earlier time with a new highest value when a value of a measured property is higher than the previous highest value; and

discarding the previous highest value.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

replacing a previous lowest value stored at an earlier time with a new lowest value when a value of a measured property is lower than the previous lowest value; and

discarding the previous lowest value.

17. The method of claim 13, further comprising the steps of:

determining if a value of a measured property is outside of a normal range; and

sending an alarm signal to notify a user that the measured property is outside the normal range.

18. The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of uploading the highest value and lowest value for each of a plurality of logging intervals to a server.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of uploading occurs periodically, and wherein the communication assembly is in a sleep mode between each uploading.

20. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

analyzing the two values for each predefined logging interval to determine if the two values are within a normal range of values; and

if either of the two values are not within the normal range, communicating at least one of the two values to a web site, the web site configured to send a notification to a user.