A water utility in the coastal southern US is using Advantech panel PCs and LTE-enabled gateways to keep the water flowing at its reverse osmosis plant.
The utility needed to modernise its reverse osmosis system, including migrating its software from Rockwell Automation FactoryTalk to Inductive Automation Ignition and using LTE-enabled gateways to send telemetry data through a cellular network.
The project background
The utility uses reverse osmosis to produce water for municipality residents – who use approximately 11 million potable gallons (around 42 million litres) every day.
Reverse osmosis uses pressure to separate dissolved salts and other ions from water. As pressurised water moves through a semi-permeable membrane, it allows water molecules to pass but discards dissolved salt and other ions.
The process is less expensive than buying water from local distributors.
The system design
Ignition is an industrial application platform with tools for building human-machine interface (HMI), supervisory control, and data acquisition solutions. Ignition empowers users to connect data, develop automation systems and scale systems.
To upgrade hardware and easily migrate to Ignition, Advantech supplied industrial-grade panel PCs that were Ignition compatible, cost-effective and had larger panels than the old equipment.
The Advantech PPC-3211SW is an all-in-one light panel PC with a wide-format, 21.5-inch industrial-grade LCD. Its high-durability design includes a true-flat touchscreen, an IP65-rated front panel, and a die-cast aluminium alloy enclosure, making it ideal for water system operations.
For utilising cellular networks, the utility implemented Advantech’s ICR-3241W, LTE Cat.4 VPN gateways. The ICR-3241W is ideal for connecting IP or serial devices to cellular networks. With LTE Cat.4 upload speeds of up to 50 Mbps and download speeds of up to 150 Mbps, the ICR-3241W router provides ample bandwidth for high-data and critical applications.
The utility continues to add IoT technologies for real-time monitoring and management in additional applications.
Overcoming the challenges
With outdoor tank locations, all panel PCs, sensors and associated monitoring equipment are also outdoors. Not only must the equipment be able to function in rugged, open-air environments, but technicians were having trouble viewing existing panel screens due to high sunlight.
Advantech’s sunlight readable panel PCs displays are optically bonded with material that fills the gap between the glass cover and the LCD panel, providing a reflection rate of <0.2%. The Advantech TPC-1251T has an industrial 12.1-inch XGA TFT LCD display providing intensity and brilliance for outdoor application requirements.
With the modernised thin client panel PCs, technicians are able to check metrics more quickly, but the second part of the solution involves remote monitoring data for critical errors.
Technicians cannot be on-site at field tanks 24/7, so a system of real-time monitoring and alerts is key. The utility implemented the ICR3241W LTE Cat.4 VPN gateway at tank locations. The ICR-3241W offers FirstNet-certified connectivity.
FirstNet, built by AT&T, is the first high-speed nationwide wireless broadband network dedicated to public safety. Only FirstNet-certified devices may access the network, making it highly secure and less prone to network congestion. The inter-operable communications platform allows utilities to receive information and condition alerts more quickly. They are able to work faster and in turn, are better equipped to make improved working decisions.
For more information on digitising water system process, check out Advantech’s white paper.
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Article courtesy of Advantech.
