Patent ID: 12211371

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various apparatuses or processes will be described below to provide an example of each claimed embodiment. No embodiment described below limits any claimed embodiment and any claimed embodiment may cover processes or apparatuses that differ from those described below. The claimed embodiments are not limited to apparatuses or processes having all of the features of any one apparatus or process described below or to features common to multiple or all of the apparatuses described below.

One or more systems described herein may be implemented in computer programs executing on programmable computers, each comprising at least one processor, a data storage system (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device, and at least one output device. For example, and without limitation, the programmable computer may be a programmable logic unit, a mainframe computer, server, and personal computer, cloud-based program or system, laptop, server, smartphone, or tablet device.

Each program is preferably implemented in a high-level procedural or object oriented programming and/or scripting language to communicate with a computer system. However, the programs can be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. In any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language. Each such computer program is preferably stored on a storage media or a device readable by a general or special purpose programmable computer for configuring and operating the computer when the storage media or device is read by the computer to perform the procedures described herein.

A description of an embodiment with several components in communication with each other does not imply that all such components are required. On the contrary a variety of optional components are described to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the present invention.

Further, although process steps, method steps, algorithms or the like may be described (in the disclosure and/or in the claims) in a sequential order, such processes, methods and algorithms may be configured to work in alternate orders. In other words, any sequence or order of steps that may be described does not necessarily indicate a requirement that the steps be performed in that order. The steps of processes described herein may be performed in any order that is practical. Further, some steps may be performed simultaneously.

When a single device or article is described herein, it will be readily apparent that more than one device/article (whether or not they cooperate) may be used in place of a single device/article. Similarly, where more than one device or article is described herein (whether or not they cooperate), it will be readily apparent that a single device/article may be used in place of the more than one device or article.

Referring toFIG.1, shown therein is a heat trace circuit management system100. The system100includes a heat trace circuit110. The heat trace circuit110comprises an electrical heating element102(dashed line) in contact with a length of pipe104. The electrical heating element102may be provided as a cable or wire. The electrical heating element102may be in contact with an outer or inner surface of the pipe104. The pipe104may be a process pipe, or the like, for transporting a fluid. The pipe104is thermally insulated to retain heat loss. Heat generated by the heating element102conductively passes to the pipe104and the contents therein.

The heat trace circuit110includes a heat trace controller106. The heat trace controller106controls operation of the heat trace circuit110by regulating power to the heating element102from a power source108. The power source108is typically an electrical panel board. The heat trace controller106may have configurable settings to control operation of the heat trace circuit110. The configurable settings may be specific the heat trace controller106, the heat trace circuit110or the facility where the heat trace circuit110is installed.

The heat trace circuit110include one or more sensors112to provide input to the heat trace controller106to adjust the power to the circuit110. According to various embodiments, the sensors112may be a temperature sensor (e.g., a resistance temperature detector), a pressure sensor, or other sensor, based on the contents of the pipe104and environment where the heat trace circuit110is installed. A temperature sensor112may measure any one of: the ambient temperature, the temperature of the contents of the pipe104and the temperature of an external surface of the pipe104.

The system100may include a supervisory terminal120. The supervisory terminal120may be a computer, server, or the like, connected to the heat trace controller106. The supervisory terminal120may implement a Modbus communication protocol to exchange data with the heat trace controller106over a serial connection. According to other embodiments, the system100may include a plurality of heat trace circuits110, each connected to the supervisory terminal120. The supervisory terminal120is typically located on-site at the facility where the heat trace circuit110is installed.

The supervisory terminal120is installed with heat trace supervisory software122for recording and displaying data received from the heat trace controller106, for example, operational status data, sensor data and alarm data of the heat trace circuit110. The supervisory software122may be used to send commands to the heat trace controller106and adjust configurable settings of the heat trace controller106. For example, the supervisory software122may be used to reset an alarm that is triggered or adjust a temperature threshold value.

The system100includes a management device114. The management device114may be a computer, a server, a smartphone, a tablet device, or the like. The management device114may be directly connected to the heat trace controller106, or may be connected via a communications network116, or may be connected via the supervisory terminal120(as shown). When directly connected, the management device114may implement a Modbus communication protocol to exchange data with the heat trace controller106over a serial connection. According to other embodiments, the system100may include a plurality of heat trace circuits110, each connected to the management device114. The management device114may be located on-site where the heat trace circuit110is installed or may be located off-site.

The management device114is installed with a heat trace management application118. According to some embodiments, the application118may be a web-based or cloud-based application accessible via a web browser installed on the management device114. The management application118may be used for recording and displaying data received from the heat trace controller106, for example, operational status data, sensor data and alarm data of the heat trace circuit110. The management application118may be used to send commands to the heat trace controller106to adjust configurable settings of the heat trace controller106. For example, the management application118may be used to reset an alarm that is triggered or adjust a temperature threshold value. The management application118may interface with the supervisory software122through an API connection, or other means, to import operational status data, sensor data and alarm data of the heat trace circuit, send commands and adjust configurable settings of the heat trace controller106.

According to embodiments wherein the system100includes a plurality of individual heat trace circuits110installed at one or more facilities, the management software118may be configured to automatically aggrege, process and display the global data received from the plurality of heat trace circuits110, the data specific to the heat trace circuits110at a facility, as well as the data specific to each individual heat trace circuit110at a facility.

According to an embodiment, the management application118may be configured to integrate work ticket data from an external ERP system124with heat trace data to perform real-time scheduling for maintenance/repairs to heat trace circuits that have triggered alarms. For example, the management application118may implement a process to cross-reference heat trace alarms of a particular status with existing in-progress field assessment work tickets and newly submitted work tickets from the ERP system to ensure field assessments are not duplicated.

According to an embodiment, the management application118may be configured to automatically validate heat trace alarms by comparing monitoring fields in the heat trace controller106to alarm parameters independent to the controller's processor and the alarm status of the controller106. Monitoring fields are generally any configurable setting of the heat trace circuit110, for example, current, ground fault current and temperature. The management application118may then automatically energize the heat trace circuit110to validate the alarm.

According to an embodiment, the management application118may be configured to automatically perform heat trace controller configuration audits to check for configurable settings of a heat trace circuit that are out of range. The controller configuration audit includes: extracting heat trace controller setting configurations; identifying settings that are out of range based on a predetermined rule set; and flagging any variances for user review. A predetermined rule set may be established according to industry best practices and designated setpoint schedules for the specific heat trace components used. In some cases, a designated setpoint schedule may not exist for the heat trace controller, or may not include the full settings configuration of the controller. Accordingly, the predetermined rule set may be a combination of industry best practices and a designated setpoint schedule.

According to an embodiment, the management application118may be configured to automatically ensure heat trace circuits110have not been disabled or removed from the supervisory software122by extracting controllers from a supervisory software122database and comparing to a system database126and flagging any variances for user review. Variances may result from the addition or removal or disabling of heat trace controllers106in the supervisory software122. Variances may result from adjustments to heat trace controller106settings in the supervisory software122. A baseline for each heat trace circuit110“design parameters” may be set using the management application118and stored in the system database126for comparison to the supervisory software122database.

According to various embodiments, the management application118may be further configured to implement artificial intelligence (AI) and/or machine learning (ML) algorithms to: a) predict or optimize scheduling for maintenance/repairs by associating an alarm with its failure point to estimate repair times for scheduling purposes; b) predict heat trace cable degradation based on inadequate power output by a heat trace circuit; c) predict heat trace circuit/controller component failure based on alarm history to determine when a component should be replaced prior to failure; and d) implement machine learning to analyze weather forecasts and patterns to adjust alarm prioritization and criticality. The AI and ML algorithms may comprise multiple linear regression models to track the actual electrical and temperature properties (e.g., current at a particular temperature) in a heat trace circuit over time to predict an approximate time of heat trace circuit/component failure.

The management application118may implement AI/ML to: extract scheduled work hours and executed work hours from an external ERP system to predict future maintenance schedules or display an analysis of work time to budget saved and spent; capture environmental temperature data, current alarm data and scheduled work history to generate or optimize future maintenance schedules and predict potential failure of heat trace circuit components; analyze current and historic alarm and repair history to predict future maintenance schedules and potential failure of heat trace circuit components.

Methods and processes implemented using the management software118are described in more detail below.

Referring toFIG.2, shown therein is a diagram of a heat trace controller200, according to an embodiment. The heat trace controller200may be the controller106shown inFIG.1. The heat trace controller200may control the operation of a single heat trace circuit (as shown inFIG.1) or may control the operation of a plurality of heat trace circuits connected to the controller.

The heat trace controller200includes an electromechanical or solid-state relay202to open or close the path of current from a power source212to the electrical device206. The heat trace controller200includes a current transformer204for measuring the current supplied into an electrical heating element (or cable)206to detect ground faults.

The heat trace controller200has configurable settings to control operation of the heat trace circuit and response to alarms. For example, the heat trace controller200may have configurable settings for a low current alarm, a ground fault condition, a low temperature alarm, etc. Generally, the heat trace controller200may have 30-40 configurable settings.

The heat trace controller200includes a process controller208(i.e., a computer processor). The process controller208is configured to operate the heat trace controller200(and by extension the heat trace circuit the controller200commands) according to the configurable settings of the controller208. The process controller208is further configured to regulate the flow of current into the heating element206. The process controller208may be further configured to receive and process input received from one or more connected sensors, for example, an ambient temperature sensor210. Based on the data received from the sensor210, the process controller208may automatically adjust the flow of current into the heat trace cable (heating element206).

The process controller208may be configured to trigger an alarm if, for example, a ground fault is detected by the current transformer204or if the ambient temperature data from the temperature sensor210indicates a drop below a threshold temperature. The process controller208may be further configured to transmit operational status data of the heat trace circuit and sensor data received from the sensor210to a supervisory terminal and/or a management device for storage, processing and/or display.

Referring toFIG.3, shown there is a flowchart of an alarm management method300, according to an embodiment. The method may be implemented by the application118on the management device114shown inFIG.1.

At302, heat trace circuit data is imported from heat trace supervisory software into heat trace management software. The heat trace circuit data comprises: an identifier tag for each heat trace circuit; alarm data of each heat trace circuit including type of alarm, when it was triggered and a current alarm status; and configuration settings of the heat trace controller, for example, a low current threshold, a low temperature threshold, etc.

At304, work lists and/or scheduling data is imported from an ERP data system. The scheduling data includes open/closed work tickets (including engineering work, maintenance work, construction work, etc.), pre-scheduled maintenance events and other facility specific information including time entry, tagging, etc. The scheduling data may further include the spent work time for a work ticket or maintenance event.

At306, process data, operations data and weather data are imported. The process data is data specific to the facility where the heat trace circuits are installed. Process data includes, what process equipment heat trace circuits are installed (e.g., 2-inch condensate line containing fluid parameters of X). Operations data includes, for example, data specific to the facility where the heat trace circuit is installed (e.g., petroleum refinery X, address, etc.). Weather data includes local weather both current, historical, and forecast.

Data imported at Acts302,304and306may stored in a database or cloud database accessible by the management software. The imported data may be synchronized with previously imported data. For example, a previous alarm status may be synchronized to a current alarm status. Preferably, the data importation at Acts302,304,306is performed automatically in real-time through APIs connected to relevant the software or system. Acts302,304,306may be performed simultaneously. The data imported at Acts302,403and306may be used to modify predetermined rule sets as described below.

At308, the imported data is processed by an alarm prioritization method (FIG.4).

At310, following the alarm prioritization process, it is determined whether to exclude any alarms. Alarms may be excluded if the alarm is triggered by electrical lock out, or a forced-on request.

Electrical lock out refers to a situation where existing work is being performed on the heat trace circuit associated to the alarm. In such a situation, power to the heat trace circuit may be shut off to perform the work. The loss of power to the circuit triggers an alarm by default, however the alarm is not the result of a defect or fault in the heat trace circuit itself. Thus, when a heat trace circuit is electrically locked out, a lock out tag associated to the circuit is stored in a list and compared with the identifier tag of the circuit the alarm is associated.

Forced-on request refers to a situation where a facility will override the automatic control of a heat trace circuit and the circuit is forced on to bypass any configurable settings to always be on. The always on operation of the heat trace circuit may thus trigger alarms when the always on state of the circuit falls outside of the configurable settings range. Typically, alarms triggered as a result of forcing on the heat trace circuit are filtered out/excluded. In some cases, an alarm triggered in a forced-on heat trace circuit will be recorded for alarm visibility and energy consumption tracking purposes. To determine whether an alarm in a forced-on circuit is a valid alarm, rather than an alarm caused by forcing on, some controllers will have a specific register that is readable (e.g., “control state=always on”) to assess when/how an alarm is triggered.

At312, if an alarm is excluded, no action is taken.

At314, it is determined whether there is an existing work request for the alarm in the ERP system that is currently in progress. The identifier tag for the alarm may be cross referenced with the work tickets in the ERP system to determine whether a work ticket has been opened for the alarm and whether any work is in progress.

At316, if there is no work request for the alarm, a new work request for the alarm is submitted to the ERP system to open a new work ticket for the alarm.

At318, if an existing work request for the alarm exists in the ERP system, then it is determined whether the alarm criticality has increased in priority since the work request was submitted. If the priority is the same or has decreased, no action is taken.

At320, if the alarm criticality priority has increased, the existing work request in the ERP system is updated to reflect the increase in priority to initiate field troubleshooting for further assessment or repair.

Following Act316, or Act320, as the case may be, the method300concludes at322.

The method300may be advantageous for processing a large number of alarms from a plurality of heat trace circuits in real-time, to avoid confusion and duplication of work. Furthermore, the method300may be implemented to coordinate work to be performed across a plurality of facilities according to alarm prioritization which is updated in real-time.

Referring toFIG.4, shown there is a flowchart of an alarm prioritization method400, according to an embodiment. The method may be implemented by the application118on the management device114shown inFIG.1.

At402, a criticality matrix is established. The criticality matrix is a facility-specific customized rule set for rating the importance of an alarm and prioritizing alarms for repair/maintenance. The criticality matrix plots alarm criticality rules and process criticality rules. An alarm criticality rule may be, for example, a non-operation alarm for a heat trace circuit is a high priority, whereas a low-operation alarm is a low priority. A process criticality rules are generally facility specific and relate to the criticality of equipment to the overall process the facility performs. A process criticality rule may be, for example, process pipe A transporting fluid X has a high priority when the ambient temperature is Z whereas process pipe B transporting fluid Y has a low priority.

The criticality matrix is created based on predetermined default rule sets for alarm and process criticality, as modified by the data imported at Acts302-306in method300. For example, a predetermined default process criticality rule may be modified or weighted according to the process data received at Act306. The criticality matrix may be approved by a facility prior to implementation.

The criticality matrix may be refined in successive implementations of the method400based on how well the prioritization of alarms works at Act404.

At404, each alarming circuit is assigned a criticality rating based on the rules stipulated in the criticality matrix. The criticality rating may refer to a class (e.g., high priority, low priority, ignore) and/or a specific criticality value. Alarms are prioritized according to the criticality rating from highest priority to ignore.

At406, an alarm testing process is identified for each alarm based on the criticality rating class for that alarm. For example, alarms rated as high priority, may be subject a first testing processing, whereas alarms rated as low priority may be subject to a second testing process. Alarms rated as ignore will not be tested.

At408, the testing process identified for an alarm criticality class is automatically run on all respective alarms within that alarm criticality class. Advantageously, the tests are run independent to the heat trace controller alarm status, rather than simply assuming the alarm is valid and there is a fault in the associated heat trace controller or heat trace circuit.

A self-test of the heat trace circuit is initiated when the alarm pertains to whether the circuit is energized or not. The parameters of the heat trace circuit and configurable settings of the heat trace controller are assessed to determine if alarm conditions are actually met. For example, a low or high current alarm will trigger a self-test to energize the circuit for a short period of time to confirm if the circuit will energize and draw current. A low or high temperature alarm will trigger an independent comparison of the circuit temperature setpoint value to a low temperature/high temperature alarm setting. A temperature sensor failure alarm will trigger an assessment of whether the temperature reading is within a valid temperature range.

At410, it is assessed whether the alarm is still valid following the automatic independent test. If the alarm is deemed not to be valid, it is dismissed at412. If the alarm is deemed to be valid, the alarm is processed based on facility maintenance procedures414.

At416, the alarm is reset. If applicable, the alarm monitoring software (in the supervisory terminal) may also be reset. Following Act416, or Act414, as the case may be, the method400concludes at418wherein step310in method300is performed.

Referring toFIG.5, shown therein is an exemplary criticality matrix500, according to an embodiment. The criticality matrix500includes preset alarm criticality rules520for assigning a criticality rating516based on process and alarm parameters502,504,506,508,510,512,514.

The commodity502is the material or substance contained within a pipe, or vessel (hereafter, the “line”) heated by a heat trace circuit. The line size504is the diameter or volume of the line or vessel being heated by the heat trace circuit. Non-functioning506refers to whether the heat trace circuit is operating or not. Alarm508indicates the type of alarm that is triggered in the heat trace circuit for the line. Process temp510is the normal process temperature of the line. Ambient temp512is the measured ambient temperature for the line. Alarm group514is the description of the group into which an alarm type508is grouped for independent alarm self-testing purposes.

Referring toFIG.6, shown therein is a diagram of a process control network,600, according to an embodiment. The process control network600may be implemented at a site using heat trace circuits. The field devices602comprise a plurality of heat trace controllers/devices604,605,606(e.g., heat trace control panel200inFIG.2). Each heat trace controller604,605,606controls one or more heat trace circuits.

As noted above, the heat trace controllers604,605,606will typically implement a Modbus communication protocol over a serial connection. Each heat trace controller604,605,606is connected to an TCP/IP-RS485 converter608,609either by a wired or wireless connection. Where the connection between the heat trace control panel606and converter608is wireless, data may be transmitted wirelessly between a radio transmitter610connected to the heat trace control panel606to a radio receiver612connected to the converter608.

Typically, a network administrator will not allow access to the internet650on a process control layer620for security purposes. The reason for this, is that the process control layer614controls major mechanical and chemical processes and if a malicious user was to gain access to the process control layer614, they would be able to control the devices604,605,606potentially causing catastrophic results. This makes it difficult to collect data from the devices604,605,606, since a typical monitoring application can collect the data but does not have a means to securely transmit the data to a cloud652where the data can be analyzed.

The process control network600includes a process control layer620which has connectivity to process control devices604,605,606, but has no internet connectivity to ensure there is no outside communication. A supervisory device622(e.g., supervisory terminal120) is connected to the control devices604,605,606to collect heat trace circuit data. The supervisory device622runs a heat trace service624(e.g., supervisory software122) configured to record heat trace data received from the control devices604,605,606.

The process control network600includes a demilitarized zone (DMZ) layer630. The DMZ layer630provides a perimeter network that protects and adds a layer of security to an organization's internal business local area network (BLAN) layer640. The DMZ layer has no internet connectivity. The BLAN layer640includes user devices (e.g., management device642, employee computers, etc.) that have connectivity to the internet650.

To enable secure communications between the process control layer620and the cloud652, a marshal service624is utilized. The marshal service624may be included in the management software118. The marshal service624is a proxy between the DMZ layer630and the BLAN layer640that is configured to only allow egress traffic on a specific port. Since only egress traffic is allowed, the marshal service634does not actively listen for new connections. All communication requests for egress traffic are initiated from the heat trace service624. In this way, all communication to the cloud652originates from the process control layer620and is proxied through the DMZ layer630until it reaches the BLAN layer640which has internet connectivity. This allows for outward communications (i.e., from the process control layer620→cloud652).

However, using the above approach, there is no way to initiate any requests from the cloud652(e.g., to send a reply from the cloud652to the heat trace service624to adjust the devices604,605,606). To achieve this, the heat trace service624establishes an authenticated WebSocket connection when egress traffic is sent. The WebSocket connection is a persistent connection which remains open for an extended period of time. When the cloud652needs to communicate with the heat trace service624, it can issue replies via the heat trace service-initiated WebSocket connection, which are handled on demand.

While the above description provides examples of one or more apparatus, methods, or systems, it will be appreciated that other apparatus, methods, or systems may be within the scope of the claims as interpreted by one of skill in the art.