New Technology in an Old Business: Remotely Monitoring Manhattan's Underground Steam System
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New Technology in an Old Business: Remotely Monitoring Manhattan's Underground Steam System
- 1. 1 New Technology in an Old Business: Remotely Monitoring Manhattan's Underground Steam System Alyssa Blumenthal & Janna Ward
- 2. 2 Agenda • Presenter Introductions • Remotely Monitoring Beneath the Streets of Manhattan • New Technology and Challenges • Questions
- 3. 3 Introductions Janna Ward B.S. Industrial Engineering M.S. Systems Engineering Construction Supervisor Alyssa Blumenthal B.S. Sustainable & Renewable Energy Engineering Pursuing M.S. Sustainability Management Management Associate
- 4. 4 New York Steam System • Began in 1882 – 62 steam customers within 3 miles of steam piping • Currently – 1,665 steam customers within 105 miles of steam piping – 6 generating stations
- 5. 5 STEAM PIPE WATER MAINS SEWERS 8 x Sewer ELECTRIC TELEPHONE GAS Under the Streets
- 6. 6 Con Edison Steam System – Components
- 7. 7 Water Hammer • Unexpected release and associated shock wave of high pressure steam or condensate • Can cause serious personal injury and extensive property damage
- 8. 8 Water Hammer – Impacts
- 9. 9 Steam Traps Street Surface Manhole Outside Water Steam Main
- 10. 10 Steam Remote Monitoring Installation Manhole with Float Trap Manhole Secondary NetworkElectric Manhole Instrument Manhole Goal: Utilize new technology to proactively anticipate conditions which increase the likelihood of a water hammer event. The Remote Monitoring System was developed Monitor trap temperature using thermocouples Monitor water level using floats
- 11. 11 • 725 floats • 1,390 traps • Alarms – Cold Trap – Pump – Water Level – Box Temperature Steam Remote Monitoring System
- 12. 12 Field Crew Work - TC Repairs 1 2 3 4 1 4 2 3
- 13. 13 Field Crew Work - Float Repairs
- 14. 14 Remote Telemetric Unit (RTU) • Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) • Thermocouple reader • Digital input block • Modem • Rectifier and fuse • 3 design iterations – Smart Sync (2008-2011) – Bristol (2011-2016) – Stahlin (2016-Current)
- 15. 15 Challenges • Heat • Water Infiltration – Humidity – Flooding • Communication
- 17. 17 Water Infiltration – Wire penetration sealing • Rubberex epoxy • Electric junction boxes with foam Inside Electric Junction Boxes Outside Rubberex Epoxy Penetrations
- 18. 18 Remote Monitoring System: Communication Challenges
- 20. 20 Conclusion With a little creativity and problem solving, old systems can be outfitted with new technology
- 21. 21 Questions?
Editor's Notes
- Learning Objectives: This talk will explore the challenges in designing and implementing a remote monitoring system that provides real time insight underground Manhattan streets, a capability that was never available to the company before. Identify challenges of designing a system that withstand steam manholes temperature and humidity Identify equipment to (1) monitor steam trap functionality and (2) assess manhole water infiltration Understand cost benefits associated with the remote monitoring system and how it is utilized to ensure safe operation
- Largest district steam system in the World Con Edison’s steam system is the largest district steam system in the world. A district steam system generates steam at central plants and distributes the steam through a network of underground pipes directly to buildings. Six Steam generating plants 105 miles of transmission, distribution and service pipes - System extends from Battery Park to 96th Street on the west side Transmission – Designed for 400 psi and 473 F, actually operates around 200psi since there is no pressure reducer between transmission main and distribution main Distribution system – Designed for 200 psi and 413F, operates around 160 psig
- Then we can go into the amount of utilities under the street in the city. Quickly highlight them each as the pictures play and then discuss In general the aging infrastructure all together.
- We just discussed how much is actually hidden under the streets of NYC. This diagram shows in particular the steam system and all of its major components. What I want to highlight are our trap assemblies that are strategically placed within low points of the distribution system to extract and release any condensate build up within the pipes. Is anyone familiar with familiar with Steam? Do you know why we want to remove excess condensate? (See what answers we get) One word…Waterhammer.
- Water hammer is an event that occurs as a result of the interaction between steam and water. When steam is in contact with water, the steam will cool thus reducing from it’s gaseous state to water.
- AB = I like having vapor as visuals. I’m thinking we move from intro to the general intro to NYC streets to specifics on steam. So we frame WH as a challenge that builds off of the cramped underground space and the specifics of the steam system. JW – Agreed Marty suggested using only this picture, in the previous slide talk about what water hammer is from outside water and cooling the steam inside pipes, discuss how the water hammer develops each step and then it can build up into this, and flip to this pic.
- The RMS project will have every trap in the distribution system monitored as well as structures that have history of water infiltration. Currently have over 650 of trap combinations There are readings for the upper inlet, upper outlet, lower inlet, and lower outlet, numbered 1,2,3,&4 and corresponding to the numbers on the traps combo on the right. When everything is good at the trap all the temperatures are green. However, if there is an issue the temperatures will show in red. The temperatures will show red if the inlets drop below 300 F, which indicates a cold trap, or if there is an error. If it’s a cold trap a crew is dispatched immediately, but if it’s an error that’s non-emergency work and is something that would be address by my crew. And as I said before this could be an issue with the TC, the connector, the wiring, or possibly one of the internal components of the box. Normal readings Inlet temperature > 300°F Outlet temperature < 250°F Alarms Cold trap; inlets < 300F Blowing trap; outlets > 250F Traps: Use is to assist in drainage of condensate Consists of a disk that remains shut until condensate is detected. Once condensate is detected, the disk will allow the condensate to drain out into the cooling chamber which will eventually be drained to the sewer. Can only drain to sewer no more than 150 F The movement of the disk reacts to the difference in densities of water and steam
- As mentioned previously, the RMS monitors two things, trap temperatures through the use of thermocouples and water level in structures due to water infiltration with the use of a float. New structures are built to contain the RMS equipment to protect it from steam environment. Conduit is run to an electric Manhole power RTU equipment. Conduit is also run to structure the RMS will monitor.
- **JW – Either them both on one slide like this or separated into the two (Now I am thinking just keep it on the one slide) Every location on the map is a location where one of the RTUs is installed in an instrument manhole. In total there are approximately 725 structures monitored for water and 645 trap combos monitored (each trap combination has 2 traps) When everything is running correctly, the RMS system for the steam dispatchers shows all green. The dispatchers look for a few types of alarms. Cold traps – when inlet temperature < 300F - immediate dispatch Pumps/Water Level – A pump alarm is when a low level float alarm goes off in a structure that contains a pump. This could mean that the pump has failed and the water level in the structure needs to be maintained – pump is immediate dispatch, low level float does not require a crew to be dispatched Mid/High level – Mid level requires next available crew in the area / high requires immediate dispatch since main may be impinged upon Box temperature – does not require a dispatch currently, but attempting to move this to higher priority – high temperature can cause equipment to fail and may be a sign of a possible leak
- So regarding TC repairs as I showed earlier on the left is the display you’d see in REMMS of the trap. There are readings for the upper inlet, upper outlet, lower inlet, and lower outlet, numbered 1,2,3,&4 and corresponding to the numbers on the traps combo on the right. When everything is good at the trap all the temperatures are green. However, if there is an issue the temperatures will show in red. The temperatures will show red if the inlets drop below 300 F, which indicates a cold trap, or if there is an error. If it’s a cold trap a crew is dispatched immediately, but if it’s an error that’s non-emergency work and is something that would be address by my crew. And as I said before this could be an issue with the TC, the connector, the wiring, or possibly one of the internal components of the box. Normal readings Inlet temperature > 300°F Outlet temperature < 250°F Alarms Cold trap; inlets < 300F Blowing trap; outlets > 250F
- Now for floats again we have the display from REMMS on the left. In the display the three ovals correspond to the three blocks on the float. Also seen on the display are the heights of each block and the bottom of the pipe. So you see 3” is the height of the bottom float 8” is the height of the middle float, and 12” is the height of the upper float, also for this location 12” is the height of the bottom of the main. And there is a second indicator for the height of the main. The blue square on the left of the ovals with the M is the location of the main in relation to the floats. So if there is no water in the MH, all three ovals will show green. But if there is some water you’ll see them turn red. This means that the water has reached the float and raised it, this creates an alarm that a crew would be dispatched for. As the water level rises the floats will raise in order, increasing the level of the alarm. If they’re shown raised out of order that indicates some type of defect or error, which is non-emergency work and is a job I would have my crew address. And this could be a damaged float, a wiring issue, or an issue with the RTU itself.
- I Like Slide 13 depiction better than 12 – This is a more updated picture (From Spencer presentation) Thoughts? I Added the recent boxes JW - Stahlin – major change was how robust the RTU box itself was. JW – Marty mentioned we can name drop and talk about all the new technology in this world there have been several iterations of improvements and we work with companies like : Working Emerson for RMS, Jet Propulsion Lab-NASA (Water Hammer), Siemens & ULC Robotics (Robot Welding) So what technology allows this underground system to be monitored real time from our control center? Besides the floats and the thermocouples, the main piece of equipment is our Remote Telemetric Unit. We have gone through 2 different iterations. We started with the Smart Sync(which all of the modems were 2G and public modems, leaving them more vulnerable and they could not be programmed remotely). This drove the change to our current deisgn the Bristol. Cyber Security (1 Way cyber security –Pulling data) Public Modems Private Modems Lan Network Allowed us to add extra layers of firewalls for data being sent to our con ed servers NEED MORE IN DEPTH INFO REGARDING THI RMS history Originally “applied mesh boxes” basically a black box of sort, that could not be programed… specialized for our sole needs and contained a Nextel modem. If broken, must replace entire box. Applied mesh was then purchased by Smart sync…. They deemed the mesh boxes to be End of Life and discontinued making them even though there was a 100 item PO at the time. Had to hit milestones + DOE money. 2010-2011 led to other companies and to get away from just smart sync. Used Bristol cards from gas and they are fully programmable. Developed software for RTU in house. RTU is a generic name. Modems are used in substation ops. Emerson makes our current boxes. Stahlin – major change was how robust the RTU box itself was. Working Emerson for RMS, Jet Propulsion Lab-NASA (Water Hammer), Siemens & ULC Robotics (Robot Welding)
- JW: Changed some of these to reflect the pictures we have following slides: So now we have the technology to remotely monitor the system, but that’s not it. Steam can be a very extreme environment for software and hardware to sustain in and is a constant challenge throughout designs. After research into unresponsive locations after installed it was determine that the following were contributors to these failures. Space, Heat, Water, and workmanship (Worked on in the field – Carried and slung around – Handles – Sealing the cover ) Three main causes for these failures are: Heat – components are rated for about 150F (components vary, but lowest rating is for 150F). The high heat can cause any plastic housing to start to bubble from the heat, become very brittle and crack. Also electric components can break and malfunction due to the high heats. Water/Moisture Infiltration: Electronics in the RTU box do not work well with moisture and routinely fail when water is able to infiltrate the RTU enclosure. Workmanship – workmanship is more of an indirect cause of the failures of these boxes. The RTU boxes used to be wired in field, meaning the components inside the box were exposed to many of the outdoor elements, including some rain. Waterproofing on boxes was not consistent from crew to crew and many crews were assigned to this work with varying quality of work. The RTU boxes were also assigned a structure ID based on the IP address, so if an IP address or ticket was lost, then the box would be reporting, but would not have a valid structure ID.
- Add Reliability Chart to show where we started to where we are now. And our goals for future PSC and Inspection s Storms – Reducing employee exposure to hazards
- Marty says this is kind of backwards that the technology is in someone's hands that doesn’t know how to use it. Wrong message, but “CUTE” lol. Maybe we can look for another funny one.