water pipeline network

[ericwong42]

Hi All,

Our company would like to use LabView for doing analysis work for water pipeline network.

We are looking for a software both capability of the control and the flow assessment on real time. Actually air is the working fluid at the normal condition in the system. We would like to control both of mass and pressure. We want not only to check those result data from our virtual design but to control those results data with the system requirement in the system performance point of view.

Could somebody here be able to give us some examples or hints?

Cheers,

Eric

[TCPlomp]

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@ericwong42 wrote:

Hi All,

Our company would like to use LabView for doing analysis work for water pipeline network.

We are looking for a software both capability of the control and the flow assessment on real time. Actually air is the working fluid at the normal condition in the system. We would like to control both of mass and pressure. We want not only to check those result data from our virtual design but to control those results data with the system requirement in the system performance point of view.

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Hi Eric,

when someone asks if it can be done with LabVIEW my answer is always yes.
But be aware that LV is a programming language.
I think you can do what you want with LV, but you have to contact your local NI rep to find out what your bottle necks might be.
If you want to program the software yourself (and are a novice LV) I advice you to take the beginner course, it is expensive but will give you a kickstart.

Ton

[DuffmanSays]

Eric,

It sounds to me like you are interested in integrating your control and analysis operations using LabVIEW. This is actually an excellent application of National Instruments hardware and software.

You mentioned that you need to analyze and control your pipeline in real-time. I would suggest you take at our Programmable Automation Controllers which offer a real-time operating system on an embedded controller. You can select one of many systems depending on your required speeds and I/O counts. The various I/O modules that come as part of each control system can then read data from pressure and flow transducers. LabVIEW programming on the controller and on a host PC can analyze the data and compare to a LabVIEW-built model. Results of this analysis can then be used to control your system in real-time.

Your local NI representative would be best suited to help you select the correct system for your needs, but please feel free to post back if you need additional advice. There are many example programs online and packaged with LabVIEW that can assist with programming any of these solutions. I hope this information was helpful for you. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance. Thanks,

Mike D.
National Instruments
Applications Engineer

[ericwong42]

Hi Mike D,

Thanks for your reply first. It is good that i have got a hint for my start point.

At first, i have been to contact the local NI representative in AUS, what they replied "i haven't been able to find an example specific to your needs, and http://zone.ni.com/devzone/cda/main got many examples there.".

However, i have tried to look for the examples by the given link, unfortunately, i couldn't find one. Thus, I would like you here could kindly send me some examples in relation to our case, so that we are able to do the evaluation of the software in order to decide we have to go on or not.

Again, we are still at the beginner stage, so we would like to get more information as well as support from NI. It might give us more confidence to go on with NI. Also, Do you have any simple example that can show us a simple pipeline network such as 4 pumps connected in parallel to 4 different destinations with valves/switch as below?

pump ------                          --------- A

               \                       /

pump ------  --------------------- ------------ B

               /                       \

pump ------                         ---------- C

Cheers,

Eric

[DuffmanSays]

Eric,

It might be difficult to locate an example that is specific to your application for several reasons. Primarily, most of the example code on the site will be aimed at illustrating basic concepts and will not be comprehensive solutions. Additionally, example programs must be written specific to the hardware for which you are programming. Before you can view example code, you must consider the platform for which you would like to develop. As linked previously, our Programmable Automation Controllers (PACs) come in many different form factors from which to choose. Lastly, example programs are written such that they can be executed by anyone who has the hardware; it is rare that an example will be written under the assumption that a user will have several specific I/O points (such as pumps, valves, transducers, and switches). You will find various examples for data acquisition, data analysis, process control, and user interface separately. From these pieces, you can build an application that specifically meets your needs.

That being said, we do have several resources that will assist in your selection of a hardware platform. These can also show you how code can be configured for basic operations. Your final application will consist of several basic blocks used together to control your system. I would suggest you take a look at the product pages for FieldPoint and CompactRIO. One of these two forms of Programmable Automation Controllers should align closely enough with your application to begin searching for example code.

Below I have linked several resources that may be of interest. The first link is to a list of Web Events for our Compact FieldPoint line of Programmable Automation Controllers. The "Advanced Control Schemes with Programmable Automation Controllers" is quite a detailed look at Compact FieldPoint. It provides you with an overview of process control as well as a look at the code behind the application. I have also included links that might help you to choose a real-time system as well as to get a feel for what LabVIEW can do to acquire, analyze, and present your data.

I apologize if this is not exactly what you were looking for in example code. While our sales representatives may be able to talk about specific applications, it is less likely that we will have a turn-key solution for you to browse. We are more than happy to provide you with the tools and the support to build your application. Please let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns. Thank you,

Mike D.
National Instruments
Applications Engineer

Compact FieldPoint Web Events

Selecting a Real-Time System Tutorial

Acquire, Analyze, Present Tutorial