Pump Centre Conference, April 30, 2014, Telford, UK
Choosing between a separate programmable logic controller (PLC) or one built into a variable-speed drive can be difficult when deciding why and where to put intelligence in a modern pumping station. At this year’s Pump Centre Conference, ABB is discussing the benefits of the various options with support from actual reference sites.
In one of the breakout sessions, ABB also offers guidance on choosing the right motor for an application. With so many motor choices, from induction motors, permanent magnet motors and synchronous reluctance motors, ABB guides the user through the decision, shedding light on efficiency regulations, EU MEPS, and the differences between IE2, IE3 and IE4.
On display will be the ABB drive for water and wastewater, the ACQ810; a range designed for all of the applications commonly used in the industry to optimise the system and to save energy. The modules feature tailor-made pump control functions for single and multi-pump systems with intelligent features like anti-ragging, multi-pump control, level control, flow calculation and pump protection. These functions are designed to ensure smooth, disturbance-free operation of water and wastewater processes, maximising energy efficiency while reducing unnecessary downtime. The power range is expanded from 0.37 kW to 500 kW.
Also being shown is the synchronous reluctance motor (SynRM). ABB offers this motor in two formats and with two drive products: IE4 motor or high output (HO) motor with either the ACQ810 or the ACS880 making a dedicated machinery package (ACQ810 + SynRM) or a dedicated industrial package (ACS880 + SynRM).
There will be on-stand demonstrations from ABB showing how harmonic distortion can cause electric motors and other equipment to behave erratically. Mitigation techniques to help tackle the problem will also be demonstrated through the use of ABB low harmonic variable-speed drive technology, active and passive filters, rectifiers and chokes.
