Smart Pumping
Any kind of pumps?
A smart pump control is usually implemented if the pump is electrically connected to a variable drive.
Please do get in touch to discuss your specific application.
Context in the world of Flow Battery
Flow battery requires liquid to be move around the system, mainly from stack to charge/discharge to the tank where the energy is stored. Stack can also be viewed as mini-tank, they hold a quantity of liquid that requires time to drop from high charge to low charge while the system is discharging, the opposite is true, it takes time to change from low charge to high charge while the system is charging.
Mode of operations
3 Key modes
1) Off --> Ability to switch off the pump - If the pump is critical to the rest of the system, a routine exists to prevent the wider system from operating in auto
2) Auto --> Normal mode of operation
3) Manual/Test --> Specific mode for the commissioning and maintenance team
Smart pumping part of operation mode AUTO
Low Power operation
At low power transfer within the stack, a smart pump controller can be implemented to reduce liquid flow.
Option A - ON-OFF pump: In this configuration, the control is adjusted by reducing the pump's duty cycle; the smaller the power transfer, the lower the duty cycle.
Option B - variable pump drive: In this configuration, the control can be adjusted by reducing the speed of the pump since there is a correlation between pump speed and flow rate.
High power operation
In high-power operation, a smart pump control will have a limited impact. The system's main directive is to protect the stack by maintaining a flow rate sufficient at all times while the stack power is at maximum rate.
Override
Override mode exists to protect the system when predefined conditions are triggered. Example 1: operating while the electrolyte is below a certain temperature. Example 2: The system has entered the taper zone, two specific regions of the expected operating envelope of the system in which the stack reaches its maximum constraint due to either low charge level when discharging or high charge level when charging.