Pump monitoring system and method
Provided herein is a system and method for monitoring, troubleshooting, and providing predictive maintenance to pumps systems. The methods provided herein can utilize and/or interpret physical phenomena of pump systems and components thereof. The physical phenomena may include, but is not limited to, vibration, temperature, sound, or similar characteristics. Further, a cloud-based system can collect data from autonomously operated systems, to provide visualizations of collected data via a user interface, and analyze the collected data with various models to predict maintenance, determine optimizations, and facilitate troubleshooting of the systems.
1 . A method for monitoring a pump system, comprising:
monitoring, via at least one vibration sensor, at least one characteristic of fluid flow throughout the pump system with the at least one vibration sensor, wherein the at least one vibration sensor is located proximate a component of the pump system to detect fluid vibration of the fluid flow;
transmitting, by the at least one vibration sensor, sensor data associated with the at least one monitored characteristic of the fluid flow to a remote computer in communication with the at least one vibration sensor, wherein the sensor data is accessible to a user from a user device in communication with the remote computer;
determining, by at least one processor of the remote computer, a fault condition relating to the at least one monitored characteristic of the fluid flow, the fault condition triggered when the sensor data is indicative of a condition that exceeds a threshold value, wherein the at least one processor uses amplitudes of the sensor data associated with the at least one monitored characteristic of the fluid flow and rotational speed data of the pump system to determine the fault condition, wherein when determining the fault condition, the at least one processor is configured to use the amplitudes of the sensor data and the rotational speed data of the pump system at least by sorting rotational speed values in the rotational speed data in an ascending or descending order according to the maximum amplitude associated with each rotational speed value, and wherein the threshold value is configured to correlate with the at least one monitored characteristic of the fluid flow;
transmitting, by the at least one processor of the remote computer, a health detection notification signal when the fault condition is triggered; and
issuing, by the user device, a warning based on the received health detection notification signal to notify the user, the warning comprising at least one or more of: an email, an SMS message, a cloud-based message, an alarm sound, and/or a light signal.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one vibration sensor is disposed proximate a pump head of the pump system to detect fluid vibration.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein a communications component is coupled with the at least one vibration sensor to receive the sensor data, and the communications component is communicatively coupled with a mesh network to transmit the sensor data remotely to the remote computer.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises determining, by the remote computer, an optimization signal based on the health detection notification signal when the fault condition is triggered; transmitting, by the remote computer, the optimization signal to the user device; and issuing, by the user device, a recommendation based on the optimization signal onto the user device to guide the user with resolving the fault condition in the fluid flow.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the fault condition is triggered when the sensor is indicative of the condition that exceeds the threshold value for a predetermined time period.
6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor bases the fault condition at least on magnitudes of the amplitudes of the sensor data when the amplitudes of the sensor data are plotted against the rotational speed data of the pump system.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to divide each rotational speed value by the number of teeth on a gear of the pump when determining the fault condition.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine differences in values of the rotational speed and filter out the differences in values of the rotational speed based on a frequency resolution of the rotational speed data when determining the fault condition.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor further uses the number of teeth on a gear of the pump system to determine the fault condition.
10 . A monitoring system for a pumping unit, comprising:
a collection and communication device disposed in the pumping unit and having one or more processors configured to execute computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the collection and communication device to acquire data from the pumping unit and transmit acquired data to a remote computing system, the collection and communication device comprising:
a vibration sensor proximate a component of the pumping unit configured to detect vibrations within fluid flowing through the pumping unit and provide vibration data corresponding to a characteristic of the fluid flow through the pumping unit; and
a communication component configured to transmit the vibration data to the remote computing system; and
a client device communicatively coupled to the remote computing system,
wherein the remote computing system has one or more processors configured to execute computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the remote computing system to receive the acquired data, analyze the acquired data with one or more predetermined models, and transmit a health detection notification signal to the client device when the analysis of the acquired data by the remote computing system is indicative of a fault condition in the fluid flow, wherein the analysis of the acquired data utilizes amplitudes of the vibration data and rotational speed data of the pumping unit at least by sorting rotational speed values in the rotational speed data in an ascending or descending order according to the maximum amplitude associated with each rotational speed value, and wherein the client device is configured to receive the health detection notification signal and issue a warning of the fault condition in the fluid flow based on the health detection notification signal.
11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the remote computing system is configured to determine an actual performance of the pumping unit based on the acquired data and compare the actual performance to a predetermined predicted performance based on the one or more predetermined models.
12 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the acquired data is also indicative of a predicted pump life of the pumping unit.
13 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the fault condition is indicative of a current fault or a predicted future fault for the pumping unit.
14 . The system of claim 10 , wherein the computer-executable instructions of the remote computing system, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the remote computing system to transmit an optimization signal to the client device based on the analysis of the health detection notification signal, wherein the client device is further configured to receive the optimization signal and issue a recommendation for resolving the fault condition in the fluid flow by a user of the pumping unit based on the optimization signal.
15 . The system of claim 14 , wherein the fault condition is dry-run, and wherein the recommendation is at least one of: prime the pumping unit, replenish source tank, and/or remove air.
16 . A system for detecting a condition of a pump unit, the system comprising:
a pump comprising a rotating shaft engaged with a rotating pump head to pump a target fluid;
a vibration sensor disposed proximate a component of the pump unit to detect fluid vibration of the target fluid and produce vibration data;
a communication component communicatively coupled with the vibration sensor to transmit the vibration data; and
a remote computing device disposed remotely from the pump, communicatively coupled to the communication component, and configured to receive the vibration data from the communication component, wherein the remote computing device comprises a processor for processing data and instructions, and memory comprising instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the remote computing device to determine a health condition of the pump unit based at least on amplitudes of the vibration data and rotational speed data of the component of the pump unit and provide the health condition of the pump unit to an end user device remotely coupled with the remote computing device, the end user device configured to issue a warning based on the provided health condition,
wherein the health condition of the pump unit is indicative of a fault condition in the target fluid flowing through the pump, and
wherein to determine the health condition, the instructions, when executed by the processor, at least cause the remote computing device to at least sort rotational speed values in the rotational speed data in an ascending or descending order according to the maximum amplitude associated with each rotational speed value.
17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein the wherein the instructions of the remote computing device, when executed by the processor, further cause the remote computing device to determine an optimization signal and provide the optimization signal to the end user device, wherein the optimization signal corresponds to the health condition of the pump and is indicative of a recommendation for resolving the fault condition in the target fluid flowing through the pump.
18 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the fault condition is cavitation, and wherein the recommendation is at least one of: reduce vapor pressure, reduce the length of a suction line the pump, reduce the viscosity of the target fluid, remove upstream blockage, and/or open suction valve.
19 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the fault condition is dry-run, and wherein the recommendation is at least one of: prime the pump, replenish source tank, and/or remove air.
20 . The system of claim 17 , wherein the fault condition is an overpressure in a relief valve, and wherein the recommendation is at least one of: open a valve, remove downstream blockage, and/or reset the relief valve.