SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AGENT-BASED CONTROL OF SEWER INFRASTRUCTURE

• US 20160378123A1
• Filed: 02/05/2016
• Published: 12/29/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Xylem Vue, Inc. (Xylem, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Luis Montestruque
• Inventors: MONTESTRUQUE, Luis, RUGGABER, Timothy P.
• Granted Patent: US 10,113,304 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: E03F 3/02 Arrangement of sewer pipe-lines or pipe-line systems
• CPC Class Codes: E03F 5/107 Active flow control devices, i.e. moving during flow regulation
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/04 involving the use of models or simulators
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 15/02 electric

Abstract

The present invention is a method and system for control of sewer systems. The invention may implement ABRTC (RTC) to dynamically control of sewer systems to accomplish a desired outcome, such as CSO or SSO reduction or reduce water pollution or reduce surface flooding. In one embodiment, an Agent-Based RTC System assigns an agent to each sewer asset. Each agent measures the current state of its corresponding asset and assigns a virtual cost to any incoming flow to the asset based on the asset hydraulic or water quality state. The virtual cost is communicated to other assets upstream or downstream that may change the hydraulic or water quality state of the asset communicating the virtual cost. The network of agents may thus control the sewer to achieve the desired objective, such as asset hydraulic or water quality state.

Claims

1. A control system to control the flow through a sewer system, where the sewer system includes a plurality of connected sewer assets, said control system comprising:

a first supplying agent associated with a first supplying asset of the plurality of sewer assets, where said first agent includes an electronic device that assigns a first virtual cost to any flow incoming to the first sewer asset, where said first virtual cost is based on a state of said first supplying agent;

a second supplying agent associated with a second supplying asset of the plurality of sewer assets, where said second agent includes an electronic device that assigns a second virtual cost to any flow incoming to the second supplying asset, where said second virtual cost is based on a state of said second supplying asset;

a control agent associated with a control asset, where said control asset includes an electronic device that is adapted to direct the flow from the control asset to said first supplying asset and/or said second supplying asset; and

a computer network to accept said first virtual cost from said first agent and said second virtual cost from said second agent and to provide said first virtual cost and said second virtual cost to said control agent,

where said control agent directs flow from the control asset to said first supplying asset and said second supplying asset by minimizing a cost based on the first virtual cost and said second virtual cost.

2. The control system of claim 1, wherein said first supplying asset includes a first measuring device, and wherein said first supplying agent determines said state of said first supplying agent from an output of said first measuring device.

3. The control system of claim 2, wherein said second supplying asset includes a second measuring device, and wherein said second agent determines said state of said second supplying agent from an output of said second measuring device.

4. The control system of claim 2, wherein said second supplying agent estimates said state of said second supplying agent.

5. The control system of claim 1, wherein said first supplying agent estimates said state of said first supplying agent and, and wherein said second agent estimates said state of said second supplying agent.

6. The control system of claim 1, where said state of said first supplying asset or said state of second supplying agent is a hydraulic state.

7. The control system of claim 6, where said hydraulic is one or more of a predicted hydraulic capacity, flow, level, volume of the asset, resident time of the water in the asset, humidity, or storage capacity.

8. The control system of claim 1, said state of said first supplying asset or said state of said second supplying agent is a water quality state.

9. The control system of claim 1, where said control agent directs flow from the control asset to said first supplying asset and said second supplying asset by minimizing a cost based on the first virtual cost and said second virtual cost and on a forecasted time delay of flow from said control asset to one or more of said first supplying asset and said second supplying asset.

10. The system of claim 1, where said control agent opens a valve of the corresponding control asset.

11. A method for controlling the flow through a sewer system, where the sewer system includes a control asset that provides flow a first supplying asset and a second supplying asset, where the control asset has an associated control asset, where the first supplying asset has an associated first supplying agent, and where the second supplying asset has an associated second supplying agent, where the control agent, the first supplying agent, and the second supplying agent are electronic devices in communication over a network, said method comprising:

in the first supplying agent, determining a first state the first supplying asset;

calculating a first virtual cost of the first supplying asset from the determined first state; and

providing the first virtual cost to the control agent over the network;

in the second supplying agent, determining a second state the second supplying asset;

calculating a second virtual cost of the second supplying asset using the determined second state; and

providing the second virtual cost to the control agent over the network; and

in the control agent, determining a control action of the control asset based on the first virtual cost and the second virtual cost received over the network; and

actuating the control asset to direct a flow to the first supplying asset and/or the second supplying asset.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first asset includes a first measuring device, and wherein said determining the first state the first supplying asset includes utilizing an output of the first measuring device.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said second asset includes a second measuring device, and wherein said determining the second state the second supplying asset includes utilizing an output of the second measuring device.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein said determining the second state the second supplying asset includes estimating the state of the second supplying agent.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein said determining the first state the first supplying asset includes estimating the state of the first supplying agent, and wherein said determining the second state the second supplying asset includes estimating the state of the second supplying agent.

16. The method of claim 11, where said state of said first supplying asset or said state of second supplying agent is a hydraulic state.

17. The method of claim 16, where said hydraulic is one or more of a predicted hydraulic capacity, flow, level, volume of the asset, resident time of the water in the asset, humidity, or storage capacity.

18. The method of claim 11, said state of said first supplying asset or said state of said second supplying agent is a water quality state.

19. The method of claim 11, where said determining a control action of the control asset includes determining a control action to minimize a cost based on the first virtual cost and said second virtual cost.

20. The method of claim 11, where said determining a control action of the control asset includes determining a control action to minimize a cost based on the first virtual cost and said second virtual cost and on a forecasted time delay of flow from said control asset to one or more of said first supplying asset and said second supplying asset.

21. The method of claim 11, where said actuating the control asset includes opening a valve of the control asset.