Developing Residential Water Pump Control System - Project Paper Sample

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

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It has taken time and effort to complete this project. However, all would not have been possible without the immense support and assistance of many individuals. I would like to sincerely appreciate all the people who provided assistance and support that made it possible to complete the project. I give special gratitude to all staff members whose great contributions, encouragement and suggestions assisted me to coordinate the project and especially in writing this report.

ABSTRACT

Water scarcity is a major problem in many residential areas. The reason behind such a phenomenon is not only the unavailability of resources but also their wastage. People who can easily access water know the value of it and hence the need to reduce wastage. The aim of this project is to avoid excess overflow of water hence reduce its wastage in residential areas. The proposed system will have four main components: Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), level sensors, relay and motor, and human-machine interface. The purpose of the level sensor is to communicate the current level of the water in the tank to the PLC. Based on the signal from the water level sensors, the PLC will decide whether to turn on or off the motor. The current status of the system will be communicated to the computer by the Multi-Point Interface (MPI) on the PLC and will be viewed and controlled remotely via the Human-Machine Interface (HMI). Automatic control of the level of water in tanks works continuously while at the same time providing accurate quantity of water at a given time. When such a process is automated, labour is not needed hence there elimination of human error. Additionally, the automated system overcomes the shortcomings of conventional systems such as float sensors and reduces cost.

INTRODUCTION

Overview

Access to regular water supply remains a critical problem to many residents in rural communities. Most of the residents resort to using traditional methods to obtain water which may take a lot of time and effort. Furthermore, the water they obtain may not be sufficient to meet their daily needs since they cannot obtain huge amounts of water within the available time. There have been various projects aimed at ensuring regular supply of water to residents but most have not offered efficiency since they employ manual methods. Furthermore, storage of the water on overhead tanks and preventing overflow remains a challenge in many communities. However, with the use of programmable logic controllers (PLCs), the supply of water can be automated hence ensuring efficient and regular supply of water to residents. The issue of water supply is no longer focused on bring potable water to residents but also ensuring that there is continuity of water supply.

This project has been developed to try to improve water accessibility to residents, promote efficiency in the use and management of resources, sustain the benefits for the long-term impacts of the project to the community, and encourage synergy in water resource management. A further motivation for this project is the need to come up with indicators that can be used to measure and determine the effectiveness of water projects. It is also aimed to ensure regular water supply to residents as well as offer the opportunity for implementers to evaluate their work.

Problem Statement

Many residential water supply systems use traditional methods to control the level of water in tanks. However, these systems are not efficient and it is not easy to monitor the level of water in the tank. To increase the efficiency, the systems should be upgraded and made automatic in addition to providing monitoring capabilities. Water pump control using PLCs is a safe option for monitoring the level of water in tanks as there is no need for people to climb on top of tanks to make measurements. All they have to do is to monitor the level of water in the display on their computers which may be located at a remote place.

Project Scope

The scope of the project is to develop a residential water pump control system that us user friendly. It will assists users to pump water from reservoirs water tanks by using an automatic pumping system that also allows them to monitor the water level in the tank. The overall concept of the project involves the use of water level sensors, PLC, relay and motor, and human-machine interface. The sensors will detect the level of water in the tanks and generate a signal that will be transmitted to the PLC. The PLC will then process the input signal and control the relays and motors to allow for an appropriate amount of water to flow into the tank. Finally, the processed data from the PLC will be communicated to the human-machine interface for remote controlling and monitoring.

Report Outline

The report will be organized into five sections as follows:

Chapter 1 is the introduction which will give a brief overview of the project, the problem statement, and the project.

Chapter 2 is the literature review which will give a description of the main components of the water monitoring system, understanding of these components, and the need for automation in water pump control.

Chapter 3 is the design details which will describe the implementation of the project, analysis, and software and hardware design.

Chapter 4 is the result and discussion section where there will be data presentation, analysis and discussion of the findings. The outcome of the research and its connection to practical evidence and theories will be the main purpose of this chapter.

Chapter 5 is the conclusion which will describe the overall achievement of the project in terms of the observation the features, and the functionality and practicability of the project. The chapter will also discuss the recommendations for future projects on the same issue.

LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction Section

This chapter will provide information on water pump control solutions and problems that are related to the current systems. Subsequently, the section will discuss the theoretical concepts of automation, the control process, programming of PLCs, and design automation. Important results that have been reported by various authors will be critically reviewed in the subsequent sections. Literature Review

Automation and Control

Automatic control systems are efficient since they allow operation of processes in an accurate manner. Some process such as water pump control and level monitoring need control systems to increase efficiency. Additionally, the control systems allow achievement of the desired targets by performing actions such as slowing or shutting down pumps and opening valves so as to maintain the set point values according to the operators specification (Cooper, 2006)

Reliability

Automatic control systems should be reliable. Since automation control systems are based on the feedback theory network theory, communication theory, and linear system analysis, they are safe and very reliable to operate (Cooper, 2006). The reliability of the systems is achieved by the interconnection of the various components that form the system and configuring them in a way that produces the desired outcome. The components to be used and the processes that need to be controlled are represented by block diagrams to bring a clear picture of the interconnections and configuration (Cooper, 2006)

Variability Control Reduction

Typically, a control system is made up of several electronic components that are interconnected to ensure accuracy, stability, and smooth transition of a particular process. The signals that control the processes may exhibit some variability in the measured process variable if the processes are controlled poorly (Cooper, 2006). Using standard components and application software greatly assists in eliminating the poorly controlled variability of the systems. In this case, the relationship between the process values and the set point are controlled very well hence avoid any violations (Cooper, 2006). An operator needs to specify a particular set point at which the control system will be able to maintain the process value.

Troubleshooting

PLC have diagnostics and override functions thereby making it easy to trace and correct both software and hardware problems (Petruzella, 2005). There are many types of PLC available in the market such as Siemens, Mitsubishi, Omron, and Nais among others. In this project, Siemens PLC will be utilized since it has the desired input and output controllers. Additionally, the PLC is suitable for controlling valves as well as the speed of motor pumps.

Basic Control Concepts

The basic control process comprises of a control loop that is made up of four main modules as listed below:

Measurement of the state and condition of a process.

The controller performing calculations to determine the appropriate actions by comparing the measured value with a pre-set value or one that is desired.

An output signal from the controller results that manipulates the process through an actuator.

The process that will be manipulated by the output signal that makes it change its condition or state.

Within the components of a control loop process, there are two signals that are of great importance. The...