Client Writeups
CLIENT: Bay Motor Winding/Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi
Design and build of 3-pump control system that delivers a 35% reduced operating energy consumption and cost savings
A three-stage vertical pump system to handle the waste water Lift Station tank levels at different flow and rate conditions, if one pump is not enough the the second pump comes on and if that is still not enough then all three pumps come on which is the maximum discharge rate for the pump station.
PROJECT CHALLENGES
The pump controller had to have SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) data collection and transmission, plus flow control of the motor dependent on water volume. It had to be able to operate from different input signal devices (float and pressure sensors) as well as to have a by-pass in the event the VFD was not working.
Water and waste pumping systems upgrades
In its ongoing efforts to control waste water and flood control, Keesler AFB contracted Bay Motor Winding of Gulfport, Mississipi to develop pumping systems for the base. SID-TEC was hired by Bay Motor Winding as the sub-contractor to design and build three separate pump control panels (shown below) using state of the art VFD’s (Variable Frequency Drives) with a custom 3 contactor bypass.
Significant pump energy operating costs
There are a number of benefits in using the Invertec V3 ECO line of VFD’s. They are fitted with an active front end which prevents harmonic distortion of the incoming 3 phase power, and maintains a 0.96 power factor without the need of external filters. They run at 35% less current than other VFD’s on the same motors and pumps which means that there is a 35% operating energy cost savings. The ECO drive is fitted with a feature that is set during the Auto Tune function where the output of the VFD limits the size of the output pulses to only those that the motor can convert into rotating energy. In so doing illuminates the free floating motor fluxes the produce shaft current which requires the need for shaft grounding bars and damage to motor bearings and winding insulation.
For more information on the ECO line of VFD’s click here or call us at: (727) 581-5620.
