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LoRa Telemetry SATEA-2018
Presented by
Somnath Bera, Anuj Verma NTPC Vindhyachal | 21 Dec 2018
Remote Telemetry using LoRa Wide Area Network technique (LoRa WAN Technique)
Low Power
Long Range
Low Data Rate
LoRa WAN is becoming popular day-by-day 2
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NTPC Limited at a Glance
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
50000
60000
1986 - 87 1991 - 92 1996 - 97 2001 - 02 2012 - 13 2014 - 15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
3100
11333
16795
20249
41184
44398 46653
51698 52946
Present Capacity: 52,946 MW (including JVs)
NTPC : SALIENT FEATURES NTPC : SALIENT FEATURES
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Installed Capacity 52,946 MW
(870 MW Solar,
800 MW Hydro,
40 MW Wind,
51,218 MW Coal & Gas)
Ongoing Projects 20,000 MW
NTPC : SALIENT FEATURES
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VSTPS at a Glance
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VSTPS Foundation stone laid by the then
Prime Minister late Smt. Indira Gandhi on
12th November 1982
NTPC VSTPS : Inception and Expansion
Expansion from Stage-I to Stage-V and
Total Installed Capacity of 4760 MW,
largest in India
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Capacity
Stage-1 = 210MW X 6 (1988- 92)
Stage-2 = 500MW X 2 (2000)
Stage-3 = 500MW X 2 (2006-07)
Stage-4 = 500MW X 2 (2013-14)
Stage-5 = 500MW X 1 (2015)
Total capacity= 4760 MW
Land 5800 Acres including ash dyke
Water Source Discharge canal from NTPC Singrauli
Coal Source Nigahi, Dudhichua Coal Mines of NCL
Beneficiaries
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Chhattisgarh, Gujrat, Goa , Daman and
Diu, Dadra, Nagar Haweli
About VSTPS: Inception and Expansion
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NTPC Vision NTPC Mission
“To be the World’s Leading Power Company, Energizing India’s growth”
Provide Reliable Power And Related Solutions In An Economical, Efficient and Environment Friendly Manner, Driven By Innovation and Agility.
VSTPS Vision VSTPS Mission
To be India’s Leading Power Station, Exceeding Stakeholders’ Expectations.
Striving towards Excellence in all Functions while: Generating Affordable, Reliable and Sustainable Power. Adopting Safe, Eco-friendly and Innovative approaches. Applying State-of-the-art Technologies in changing Business Scenario. Caring & Uplifting Community & Society around us.
NTPC Core values
Integrity, Customer Focus, Organisational Pride, Mutual Respect and Trust, Initiative and Learning, Total Quality and Safety
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A s o n 3 1 s t M a r c h 2 0 1 8
N T P C V i n d h y a c h a l T h e M o s t P r o f i t a b l e B u s i n e s s U n i t o f N T P C
Employee Strength
10% of 46,100
MW
Installed Capacity Power Generation Profit
7% of
19,739
16% of 10,343
Cr
14% of 266
BU
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VSTPS Global Benchmarking Rank Station Country Capacity (MW) Rank Station Country Capacity (MW)
1 Taichung Taiwan 5500 6 Guohua Taishan China 5000
2 Belchatow Poland 5472 7 Jiaxing China 5000
3 Tuoketuo China 5400 8 Paiton Indonesia 4870
4 Guodian Beilun China 5000 9 VSTPS India 4760
5 Waigaoqiao China 5000 10 Mundra India 4620
VSTPS National Benchmarking Rank Power Station Capacity Units Size and Rating 1 Vindhyachal Super Thermal Power Station 4760 MW 13 6X 210MW , 7X 500MW
2 Mundra Thermal Power Station 4620 MW 9 4X330MW, 5X660MW
3 Mundra Ultra Mega Power Plant 4000 MW 5 5X800MW
4 Sasan Ultra Mega Power Plant 3960 MW 6 6x660 MW
5 Talcher Super Thermal Power Station 3000 MW 6 6X500MW
6 Sipat Super Thermal Power Plant 2980 MW 5 2X500MW,3X660MW
7 Dadri Thermal Power Station 2637 MW 12 4 x 210+2 X 490 (Coal), 4 x 301.9 + 2 X 154.15 -Gas
8 Ramagundam& Korba STPS 2600 MW 7 3X200MW,4X500MW
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MH: [VALUE] MW, [PERCENTAGE]
MP: [VALUE] MW, [PERCENTAGE]
Gujrat: [VALUE] MW,
[PERCENTAGE]
Goa and DD [VALUE] MW,
[PERCENTAGE]
CG: [VALUE] MW, [PERCENTAGE]
DNH and Others [VALUE] MW,
[PERCENTAGE]
Maharashtra MP Gujrat Goa and DD Chhatisgarh Others
Power Allocation
to Our
Customers
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Section 1: Project Background and Purpose
Coal based thermal power plant is one of the greatest polluter of the present time next to automobiles. To keep these polluters in check NGT (National Green
Tribunal) plays an important role. They not only insist on control of pollutants but also insist on measurement and monitoring at the source of pollution. One such
problem area for us is the ash dyke over flow lagoon water level
02 03 04
Ash disposal out of plant
Ash produced out of burning of coal is mixed
with slurry and then transported to the ash
dyke where it is stored in ash pond submerged
under water
Surplus water storage
The surplus water is
spilled over into the
adjacent overflow lagoon
and there from it goes into
the ash water re-
circulation pump house
Ash water recirculation
pumps
Water is pumped back to
the power house again by
the Ash water
recirculation pumps
Zero Discharge
Besides saving of water
we also achieve zero
discharge of polluted
water into the natural
drainage system
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Ash Disposal Process
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Satellite view of ash dykes at NTPC Vindhyachal
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Problem statement: The ash water lagoon is happened to be situated some 10 to 15 kms away from a typical power house while the ash slurry control room is located at the foot of the power house. . The ash water recirculation pump house is located somewhere near the ash dyke but certainly it has the distinct disadvantage of monitoring the lagoon water level. The overflow lagoon water level may be brought into this pump house but this pump house is not a priority location therefore, for 24*7 monitoring the level is to be brought into the main ash slurry control room which is there inside the power house campus. Bringing water level to such a great distance is not only a difficult thing but itself is a challenge. But armed with LoRa technology we took up the challenge and moved towards an achievable solution. Discharges from the ash dykes to be controlled in an integrated way such that on real time basis there is no overflow from any of the several ash dykes of VSTPS.
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Improvement Activities like PIP, POGs and Innovations
Department Balanced Set of Lead - Lag Indicators
Department Objectives and Annual Business Plan
Critical Success Factors to realise the Objectives and Strategies
Station Advanatges and Core Competencies
VSTPS Station Objectives and associated Strategies Strategic Challenges
SWOT
External Environment Scanning a) through PESTLE b) Benchmarking and
Best Practices
Needs & Expectations of Stakeholders
Internal Performance Analysis
MoU Targets Gap Analysis Audits and Assessments, PEM Feedback Benchmarking and Best Practices
VSTPS Vision and Mission
1.01 Organizational Approach to Project Planning:
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Political, Environmental,
Social, Technological and
Legal analysis
PESTLE Analysis
Needs and Expectations of the
stakeholders are outlined
Stakeholder analysis Analysis of our Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and
threats
SWOT analysis
Analysis of Tangible/
intangible assets, organizational
capabilities and the core competencies.
Resource
analysis
1.02 Project Identification Process: First step is the internal & external analysis
Internal Performance
Analysis Comparing the MOU
targets with audit reports and doing the gap analysis
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1.02 Project Identification Process After the internal and external environment scanning , the results are compared with the VSTPS objectives, strategies and individual department objectives and their annual plans to arrive at the lead lag indicators. Based upon the gap in previous year’s target and
achievement, the departments finally take up improvement or Innovation projects. In VSTPS, highest preference is accorded to those projects that facilitates the compliance to the statutory norms.
1.03 Project Selection Process: In VSTPS, the identified projects are screened by the station management committee(SMC) for implementing some of them based on following factors.
Their relevance to the Departmental Objective and Ultimately Station Objectives
The Gaps identified in previous year’s target and achievement.
Benchmarking with Peer NTPC Stations and Other Private Sector Thermal Power Plants
For not just meeting Needs and Expectations of our Customers but achieving Customer Delight
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
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1.03 Project Selection Process: Station management committee consisting the representative from each department
does the evaluation using following models.
System Description
Non Numeric models Here the project is selected based on the potential of the project to meet
compliance/statutory requirements. May present value in terms of:
• The Operating Necessity
• Competitive Necessity
Benefit Measurement
Models(Economic
models)
Analysing the completed value of the project in different ways.
May present the value in terms of :
• Benefit Cost Ratio
• Return on Investment
• Present value and Net present Value
• Internal rate of return
• Opportunity Cost
Project Prioritization: The project prioritization is done based on the following criterions:
Statutory/ Environmental
Compliance Potential
Projected Cost/ Benefit analysis
Projected Duration Analysis
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1.04 Project Selection(Specific): VSTPS management wanted an increased value proposition for Statutory Bodies for increased Compliance and an increased ease of operation for stakeholders. NGT had requested compliance to Zero Discharge from Ash Dykes of VSTPS . From section 1.03, it can be inferred that highest priority is accorded to those projects which leads to the statutory compliance.This project is chosen over the other potential projects as it is simultaneously achieving the business goal of ash water management as well as the goal of stakeholder’s satisfaction (NGT). The project addresses the regulatory concern that will be mandatory in the near future. We have selected for V3 dyke at VSTPS for the first stage as it is small dyke and water spillage goes to NTPC singrauli, which they object. The project is chosen to solve the following Business and the stakeholder problems:
• Information about the Ash Dyke level of all the dykes needs to be at one place.
• Moving from Open Loop System to Closed Loop System
Business Problem
• NGT has to ensure there is no spillage from Ash Dykes
• NGT/SPCB/PCB visits once in Six months Stakeholder Problem
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1.05 a) Project Goal
• Achieving zero discharge from the ash water lagoons with the help of the judicious water balancing.
• In the first step the V3 dyke level will be brought to the stage 3 ash slurry pump
house.
1.05 b) Project Benefit
• Total Ash disposal & no spillage from overflow lagoon into natural body.
• This project will help achieve the organization’s objective to be a responsible generator using clean and green practices.
1.05 c) Project Benefits linkage to the organization objectives.
• One of the component of the VSTPS mission is to Strive towards Excellence in all Functions while Adopting Safe, Eco-friendly and Innovative approaches- This project is totally in tandem with this as it attempts to achieve zero discharge into natural water bodies thus contributing significantly towards environmental conservation.
• It will also help the organization to achieve 100 percent environmental compliance and thus
ensuring faster clearances for future projects from the state authorities owing to a very good track record.
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Automation of the current crude lagoon level measurement
process
Measurement and trend of ash water
lagoon available right at the command
centre
A judicious and dynamic state where there is no overflow
from any of the overflow lagoon during real time
1.06 Success Measures
To achieve the zero discharge state in less
than 2 hours Real-time Temperature
measurements along with the lagoon level
to better predict their relationship
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Section 2: Project Framework 2.01 Project statement
At present, VSTPS has 4 dykes(6 dykes after internal partition) and 3 overflow lagoons. As per NGT, there shall be zero discharge from these lagoons into the natural bodies. There is no Realtime level measurement of these remote lagoons in the control rooms which makes controlling the levels difficult for operation department. The difficulty increases with the fact that we are 13 units,5 stages(4760 MW) and we have 24 inflow lines and only 4 outflow water lines for lagoons and as of now 1 is under buttressing(out for 2 years) ,1 dykes is under raising(7 months out) and third one is about to be raised. This makes the situation very complex given so many parameters. With the help of our project, we will be having the levels , wind direction and the water temperature and their trends in the control room, and with a careful analysis of these values Shift charge engineer will be able to accurately embarge upon the strategy for controlling the inflow and outflow to achieve the zero discharge or to reduce the unit load in the worst case scenarios. In the present scenario, despite having our good operational experience we need to do some time consuming hit and trial to achieve the equilibrium. This gap between the present crude method and the aimed desired state will be narrowed by using the latest, cheap yet efficient low power spread spectrum technology technology .
2.02 Project type This project is a Ash Dyke Water level Monitoring Process Improvement Project. At present, we are relying on a manual input from the spot and adjusting the inputs and outputs the lagoons depending upon his first hand observations. The spots are very remote and out in the middle of the dyke area. Besides, the present method is very crude. This project will automate this lagoon level measurement process and will considerably save the time and energy involved. We have used this project because this project aims to achieve the statutory and regulatory guidelines with the help of the technology with minimal cost implications and minimum power consumption with minimal deployment time.
2.03 Scope Statement
In scope Out of scope
1. Developing the control model for ash water lagoon level management considering the influences of temp & wind direction by AHM.
2. Deploying the control strategy (inflow and outflow of the lagoons guided by their levels) by the operation department.
3. Making the process self sustainable by deploying the solar panels to power the sender unit at the lagoon.
1. Direct Command to Ash Water recirculation Pump that will empty the lagoon automatically. 2. Integration of the machine learning aspects in this project that will eliminate the need of an operation personnel who is required to analyse the data and take the necessary actions by arriving at the automated control strategy.
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2.04 Assumptions/ Expectations
S.
No
Expectations UTILITY in Project Responsibility Centre
1. Timely Financial Approvals Procurement of the LoRa
Transceivers.
Project champion and the
VSTPS finance department.
2. Required dyke Infrastructure Mounting the LoRa
transceivers at the dyke.
Civil Construction group
3. Arrangement of internal resources
like batteries and microprocessors.
Required emission power. C&I department
4. Analysis of the trends of the ash
water lagoon level, temperature
and the wind directions to achieve
the dynamic water balancing.
To be done in the verification
stage of the project- to arrive
at the results.
VSTPS Operation.
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Project: Milestones
START DATE END DATE DESCRIPTION
12-04-2017 13-04-2017 PC presentation on the spread spectrum technology.
02-05-2017 06-05-2017 Project initiation after discussing with the project
champion. 1st
10-05-2017 15-05-2017 Team formation and brainstorming sessions. 2nd
20-05-2017 30-05-2017 Series of small experimentations. 3rd
01-06-2017 01-06-2017 Chlorine plant experiment. 4th
15-06-2017 15-06-2017 Report on LoRa technology published in EFY magazine.
20-06-2017 21-06-2017 Moving on from ultrasonic probe to the high precision
LASER probe for level monitoring. 5th
25-06-2017 25-08-2017 Financial approvals and Prototype testing at V3 dyke 6th
01-09-2017 01-11-2017
Project showcased at the BE assessment of VSTPS in presence of quality champion C.S Kumar, also exhibited at
O&M conference (2017).
01-03-2018 01-05-2018 Installation of the pilot project at V3 dyke, relay at
Unit#10 boiler and receiver at Ash slurry pump house stage#3.
7th
10-05-2018 10-05-2018 Paper published in Elector international magazine.
March 2019 July 2019 Deployment at V1 dyke( currently under buttressing) and
V4 dyke. 8th
2.05 Project Schedule / High-Level Plan
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2.05 Project Schedule(Gantt Chart)
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2.06 Budget (Financial or Resource)
S.
No
Resources Source of resources Project phase Resource Tracking
1. Uploader unit, relay unit ,
down comer unit and ATMEGA-
328 PU MCU on Arduino for a
single V3 dyke unit
Procurement
(Cost- Rs 20000)
purchased at the beginning
of the project at the time of
the small experimentation
phase.
Records maintained by the
Contract management
group and VSTPS finance.
2. Additional infrastructure, boxes,
power supply unit, solar panel,
batteries, Sensors - Laser ,
Temperature, Wind direction &
speed
Internal resources from C&I
department
Before prototype testing
phase
Records maintained with
C&I department as well as
the project team. Proper
IOM’s are issued for
acquisitions of the
resources.
3. Erection of masts at dykes,
mechanical infrastructure
Dyke infrastructure group Installation phase at V3
dyke.
Tracking done by the civil
group of the VSTPS.
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2.07 Risk Management
Anticipated Risk Mitigation Plan
Resource Risk- The radios will be having a long lead time.
We will loan few transceivers from known resources and
promptly will place the order with ALI express.com
Schedule Risk- Deploying manpower will be the special
task as this project will be done in ex-officio capacity.
Hence giving time to additional work will a challenge.
Working on Sundays ,holidays and the off duty hours.
Motivation from the project head will be another inbuilt
motivation machinery.
Infrastructure Risk – Pilferage , vandalism and an
unobstructed Line of sight was required between the
transmitter and the receiver.
The device will be fixed on a mast beneath a small 10 Watt
Solar PV cell and then the whole mast will be erected
inside overflow lagoon.
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Risk
Reassessment Risk
Audits
Variance
& Trend
analysis
Reserve
Analysis Status
meetings
Project risk reviews at
all team meetings &
Major reviews at major
milestones
Examine and
document the
effectiveness of the
risk response planning
in controlling risk
monitoring overall
project cost &
Schedule performance
against a baseline
plan
comparing available
reserves with amount
of risk remaining at
the time and
determines whether
reserves are sufficient
Risks management
discussed with project
champion at the
project meetings.
Risk Monitoring and control
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Section 3: Project Stakeholders and the Project Team
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3.01 Stakeholders and how they were Identified:
Sl Stakeholders Interests Influence Impact
1 Operation
(Internal)
Ash Water Recirculation Pumps and Ash Slurry Pumps Operation lies with Operation
Department/ Control of the ash water overflow lagoon is their responsibility.
Medium High
2 AHM
(Internal)
Providing facilities of discharging, Line Availability, Maintenance of Ash Pipelines.
High Low
3 O&M Civil
(Internal)
Where Ash Discharge is to be done, that area is constructed by O&M civil, Buttressing of
ash dykes is also their responsibility.
Erection of the project infrastructure is also their responsibility.
High Low
4 Irrigation Department
(External)
They are responsible for the maintenance and desilting of the natural reservoirs, thus
overflow from ash water lagoons will be problematic for them.
Low High
5 Business Excellence
department VSTPS
(Internal)
Monitoring of all the Process improvement projects is under their ambit. They have the
specialisations of TQM tools & techniques used in projects.
Medium Low
6 SPCB, CPCB
(External)
We have to comply by their direction of zero ash water discharge into the natural bodies. High High
7 NGT
(External)
It acts as the tribunal and it’s mandate is binding on us. It can also impose penalties for
the non- compliance.
High High
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abo
ut
Project Champion Shri A.K Tewary
ED, NTPC VSTPS
Vision- The project will empower the operation department to take the decisions in ash water balancing based on a
streamlined approach and the Realtime parameters rather than relying upon the manual inputs and thus arriving at the judicious
and dynamic state of zero ash water discharge.
3.02 Project Champion
Communication plan- Every month during ORT, Business excellence department organise the meeting of the project team with the station management committee headed by project champion to review the status of the ongoing projects.
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3.03 Project Team Selection
S.No Team
Member
Stakeholder
Department
Skill set Skill usage Addressing skill gap
1.
Somnath Bera
(Team Leader)
AGM, AHM
Experience in ash dyke management.
Business Excellence assessors
Author of papers on microelectronics
devices.
Devising & Conducting LoRa
experiments for long range
communication using minimal
power.
Assembling and mounting of
the LoRa transceivers
Self learning from YouTube
videos on IOTs & Machine
Learnings, Attending Webinars of
EFY groups on LoRa technology
etc.
2. Neeraj Tiwari Dy. Manager, BE VSTPS IMS auditor, 6sigma, TQM tools, 5 S
auditor.
Providing training on TQM
tools to other team members
Exposure of the ash dyke area
via field experience, classroom
training on Arduino, Wi-Fi
enabled devices, Remote
telemetry & IOT understanding.
3. Anuj Verma Asst Manager, Operation Operational experience Using project results for
dynamic water balancing.
Classroom training on the TQM
tools and exposure of ash dyke
via field experience.
4. Aniket Dy. Manager, AHM AHM Pipe line & Dyke management Field experiments. PC
presentation, C & VC+
Programming language
By classroom training on Arduino,
Wi-Fi enabled devices, Remote
telemetry & IOT understanding
5. Jeetendra Powar Dy. Manager, AHM AHM Pump group, BAH & Dry system Field experiments. PC
presentation, C & VC+
programming language
By classroom training on Arduino,
Wi-Fi enabled devices, Remote
telemetry & IOT understanding
6. B.L Patel Engineer, AHM AHM Pump group, BAH & Dry system Field erections & Testing By classroom training on
Electronics and Arduino
understanding
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T E A M P R E P A R A T I O N
Phase 1 Team Formation Team was formed during the PC
presentation, few team meetings occurred with project champion,
responsibility matrix developed and goals and responsibilities were
charted.
Phase 2 Team Building activities Team leader arranged for some team building activities in the
township’s park, Innovation centre (Manthan room).
(Trust walk, Fun electronic
project, Team birthday line-up)
Phase 3 Team Training The technology demonstration was shown by the team leader to all the
team members in his Lab. Classroom training organised for
TQM tools
Phase 4 Performing phase Team members engage in their
defined tasks and complete their allotted responsibilities.
3.04 Team Preparation
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3.05 Team Routine
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The project was done in an ex-officio capacity. Team used to meet on Saturdays and Sundays for the classroom trainings, field experience and small experimentations. On weekdays, proper communication channels were maintained by sharing educational documents and videos on Team WhatsApp group. Team leader continuously kept the team updated on the new technology developments in LoRa telemetry field. On Sunday evening, team used to visit the dyke area to have a detailed field experience.
S.no Team activities Duration Timings
1 Class room training on Arduino & IOT 2 weeks Saturday (5 to 7 pm) Sunday(9 to 11 am)
2 Building fun projects with Arduino at Manthan hall, RLI VSTPS 2 weeks Saturday (5 to 7 pm) Sunday(9 to 11 am)
3 Exposure to small & powerful C like Arduino Languages at Manthan hall
4 weeks Saturday (5 to 7 pm) Sunday(9 to 11 am)
4 Experiments with Sensors & telemetry. 2 weeks Saturday (5 to 7 pm) Sunday(9 to 11 am)
5 Regular field experiments on Line Of Sight & Power tuning – Enhancing members knowledge on IOT.
1 year Saturday (5 to 7 pm) Sunday(9 to 11 am)
6 Finalizing Working Model & Schematic 1 months Saturday (5 to 7 pm) Sunday(9 to 11 am)
LoRa Remote Telemetry Project Using wireless peer-to-peer connections to fight industrial pollution
Section 4: Project Overview
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One of the difficulties of monitoring parameters in remote locations is getting the data over to a control room over long distances and overcoming’ geographical and man-made obstacles. Coal-based thermal power plants are huge polluters .The Indian government, by means of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), insists on control of pollutants and requires continuous measurement and monitoring directly at the source of pollution. One such problem area for us is the ash dyke over flow lagoon water level. This project shows how LoRa together with Arduino can help to work around such problems.
4.0 PROJECT OVERVIEW
With 2 to 13 dBm radiated power levels and line-of-sight (LOS) LoRa can comfortably transfer data from the ash dyke to the boiler head, which is at a height of 65 meters (200 ft.). From there everything is LOS. However, the ash water control room is a low, one-story building located 1.2 km away from the foot of the boiler. Therefore, as a first step the data from the overflow lagoon (water level, position, temperature and in the future also wind direction), is made available at the 65-meter-high boiler. From there the data is transmitted over a second LoRa link to the Ash water control room.
This LoRa server sends the water level of the overflow lagoon measured with a popular ultrasonic transducer to the repeater at the roof of the boiler Waste streams in a steam electric power plant
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Different LPWANs available in the Market:
LoRa is one of the most popular LPWANs 38
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Features of LoRa
14 Kms 868 MHz and 32
bytes 12 Hours
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LoRa globally operates on license free frequency brands.The frequency band for Europe and Asia is however 868 MHz For India the 865 - 867 MHz band is license free and the same can be used for LoRa or Lora WAN communication.
Human Resources Personnel from Operation,
AHD, Civil
Monitoring / Measurement Field Testing, Pilot Projects
Procedures and Instructions LoRa - the trademark of Semtech's
Long Range Spread Spectrum
Modem technology Manual,
Radiohead package that provides
neat and clean commands
Outputs Ease of Operation in Balancing the
Ash Dyke Water Level without discharging into the natural water
body
Infrastructure Spread Spectrum Wave, Ash Dyke, Overflow lagoon, UCB, Boiler, 10 W Solar Panel
Process
Remote Ash Dyke Level
Monitoring by closed Loop Communication
Inputs Software: 1. Ash dyke uploader 2.
LoRa-433 / 867 MHz Ash dyke
repeater 3. Ash dyke downloader.
Hardware: LoRa 867 MHz
transceiver module, Arduino clone or
ATMEGA328P-PU, Laser probe,
867 MHz 6 dBi rubber antenna,
SX1278 chips
TURTLE Diagram
Remote telemetry with LoRa-433 / 867 MHz
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What is Spread Spectrum ? Spread-spectrum is a method by which a signal with a particular bandwidth is deliberately spread in the frequency domain, resulting in a signal with a greater bandwidth.
1: narrowband signal; 2: spread-spectrum wideband signal; 3: noise floor
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Narrow Band Radio Spread Spectrum Radio
High Power & Costly Equipment Extreme low power & Very cheap ($25 / pair)
Long & Fast coverage Line of Sight & slow coverage
Open to air / no encryption 32 bit encryption
Big setup / Fit for Audio & Video Simple & MCU based / Fit for small 8 byte
data
4.01 Project Approach:
TYPE OF PROJECT: Ash dyke water level monitoring process improvement project.
DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT APPROACH :
The project used a DMADV( Define, Measure, Analyze, Design/ Verify) approach.
Define Measure/ Analyse
Design Verify
• Defining the problem(ash water lagoon overflow) and identifying the root cause of the problem (No remote measurement of lagoon levels)
• Defining the in scope/out scope components of the project.
• Defining the goals/benefit
of the project. • Defining the success
criterion.
A series of experimentation were done at various locations in the plant and the result were analysed so as to arrive at the final most efficient prototype of the LoRa transceiver. Experimentations were done at these areas: • Chlorine leakage plant • Labour gate ZLD system level monitoring • V3 dyke • V4 dyke.
• The device was designed. With 2 to 13 dBm radiated power levels and line-of-sight (LOS) LoRa can comfortably transfer data from the ash dyke to the boiler head, which is at a height of 65 meters (200 ft.).
• Power required was also deduced from the experiments and it was very low(3.3 V only)
• The results were verified by performing the Pilot testing at the site and confirming the accuracy of the data
• Project also verified by operation department by achieving the dynamic water balancing using remote trends.
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4.02 Tools used throughout Project, 4.03 Tool output at different Stages of Project and 4.04 How Team was
prepared to use the Tool
S. No
Project Phase Tools Used Tool Utility Tool Outputs
Training on Tool
1
Define phase of DMADV project approach.
Fish Bone Diagram
Pareto Analysis
Controllability analysis
Doing cause effect analysis for the
problem.
Identifying most important causes
having 80 % occurrence probability
Identifying the controllable causes
along with their mitigation plan.
All the causes were identified which were leading to ash water lagoon
overflow.
Dike space less, Improper AWRP combination , ASDL outages and
improper ASDL combination are the most prominent causes.
Scope of the project got defined- Real time level monitoring.
Classroom Training on TQM tools imparted by the BE
department.
2 Measure phase of DMADV project approach.
Experimentation ( Chlorine plant , Labour
gate and V3 dyke experiments)
Ascertaining the optimum LoRa
infrastructure for data link.
Two low-cost LoRa modules together with a microcontroller can easily create a reliable data link for
this application.
Field Experience and demonstrations done by
Team leader.
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S. No
Project Phase Tools Used Tool Utility Tool Outputs
Training on Tool
3
Analyse phase of DMADV project approach.
Team Brainstorming sessions.
Analysing the results of the experiments to find correct sensor probes
Using the LoRa Repeater unit on the boiler top to repeat the signal in the
control room.
200mw emission power is enough
Moving on from ultrasonic probes to the Laser probes.
Classroom Training on DMADV approach and TQM
tools by BE department.
4 Design phase of DMADV project approach.
Prototype testing at V3 dyke.
Testing the actual functioning of the
setup via prototype.
Using Arduino MCU, the prototype met its desired expectations
Field Experience and demonstrations done by
Team leader.
5 Verify phase of DMADV project approach
Execution- installation of the pilot project at V3
dyke.
Pilot testing for solution validation.
Dynamic balancing achieved in less than 2 hours.
Classroom Training sessions/ demonstrations on LoRa
technology
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4.05 Dealing with Project Risks
S.No Risks Involved Mitigation
1 Resource Risk The Chips has to be sourced from China through Aliexpress. Hence, there was always high lead time and also risk of chips getting lost, damaged or turning out to be faulty.
Mitigation-We loaned few transceivers from known resources and promptly placed the order with ALI express.com.
2 Schedule Risk Deploying manpower was the special task as this project was done in ex-officio capacity. Hence giving time to additional work was a challenge.
Mitigation-Working on Sundays ,holidays and the off duty hours. Motivation from the project head was another inbuilt motivation machinery. Inherent learning of new technology was another driving factor which was a fun factor here.
3 Infrastructure risk– Pilferage , vandalism and an unobstructed Line of sight was required between the transmitter and the receiver.
The device was fixed on a mast beneath a small 10 Watt Solar PV cell and then the whole mast was erected inside overflow lagoon. Continuous air flow also helps avoid deposition of dust on the panels. A solar MPPT was also deployed for optimum tapping from the solar PV cell for better recharging of the 3300 mAH battery.
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4.06 Encountering and Handling Resistance as a Risk: Stakeholder Resistance
Sl Stakeholders Resistance Faced How Resistance was Resolved
1 Operation Clearance for experimenting with pipelines and AWRS pumps got mostly
delayed
By intimating them day before about the experiment
and taking PTW for the work
2 AHM Making out time from their routine activities required much efforts By rewarding the team to motivate them to work
extra shifts to make up for scarcity of man power
3 O&M Civil Making out time from their routine activities required much efforts By rewarding the team to motivate them to work
extra shifts to make up for scarcity of man power
4 NGT, SPCB and CPCB Pressure to comply with their orders as early as possible By building an Individual Relationship
5 Top Management Apprehensions due to Ignorance of New Technology By presenting several rounds of demonstrations
about the project and convincing them about the
success of the project
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01 02 03 04
Operation Giving Clearance for experimenting with pipelines and AWRS
pumps
O&M civil Erection of masts at
dykes, mechanical
infrastructure
C&I department Additional infrastructure,
boxes, power supply unit,
solar panel, batteries,
Sensors - Laser ,
Temperature, Wind direction
& speed
Top Management Reviewing the
project on regular basis and providing
all the necessary clearances
4.07 Stakeholder Involvement
Besides team, other stakeholders also played a major role in the project completion. The non team member stakeholders supported us in different phases of the project.
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Section 5: Project Walkthrough
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DEFINE
Measure
Analyse Design
Verify
Arduino MCU, LoRa Transceivers, Laser Sensors
P2P telemetry and location of the repeater unit deduced from the experimentation/ 200 mw emission power enough.
NGT Visit – Feb’17: Problem defined
Experimentation at chemical plant, labour gate zero discharge, testing at V3 & V4 dyke.
Dynamic balancing achieved
5.0 Project Walkthrough
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5.01 Data driven Project Flow- Define phase of DMADV approach
a) Here is the data from the define phase where we have used Fish bone diagram to do the cause effect analysis for the ash water overflow problem.
Ash water Lagoon overflow to the natural reservoir
Ash water lagoon level high
Dyke Breach Dyke not available/ Dyke restriction.
Starter dyke leakage IR problem
Improper ASDL combination
Dyke raising
Improper AWRP combination
Heavy Rain
Dyke less space
Dyke less space
AWRP Tripped
Earthquake
Poor maintenance
ASDL outages Wind flow
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b) The fish bone diagram shows the important causes for the ash water lagoon overflow. Then, We have used the output(important causes) of the fish bone diagram as the input to our next tool – Pareto Analysis.
26%
47%
66%
84%
94% 100%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Dike space less Improper ASDLcombination
Improper AWRPcombination
ASDL outages IR problem Other
Above shown is the data from the pareto analysis. The chart shows that Dike space less , Improper ASDL combination, Improper AWRP combination and ASDL outages are the 4 factors which contributes most (80%) towards the Ash water lagoon overflow. These 4 factors will be the input to our next tool- Controllability analysis.
Pareto Chart
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Parameters Real time Controllability Mitigation Techniques
Dike space less Negative N/A
Improper ASDL combination Positive Realtime level monitoring
Improver AWRP combination Positive Realtime level monitoring
ASDL outage Positive By improving the availability
Scope of this project
c) Below is the data from the Controllability analysis of the 4 important factors leading to the ash water lagoon overflow.
The table shows that Improper ASDL combination and Improper AWRP combination are the 2 controllable factors in preventing ash water lagoon overflow. The solution to both is the Real time ash water lagoon level monitoring which forms the scope of our project. Once the scope of the project got defined next logical step is the Measure phase of DMADV technique.
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Data driven Project Flow – Measure phase of DMADV approach
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Here is the data from the measure phase where we have used Experimentation tool to test the feasibility of the LoRa infrastructure for wireless data transmission.
Chlorine leakage monitoring experiment using LoRa- 1st experiment
Problem- After building a new chemical plant , in the new control room it was required to monitor the chlorine leakage along with the chlorine cylinder temperature of the chlorination plant located some 3.5 kilometers away. Solution provided by the experiment- Two low-cost LoRa modules together with a microcontroller can easily create a reliable data link for the above-mentioned application. Description: Transmitter: 200 mW LoRa on SPI with Arduino, Temperature sensor and leakage signal from C&I panel Receiver : Handheld model with 200 mW LoRa on SPI with Arduino, LCD on I2C and Li-Ion Battery Signals & sensors : The chlorine cylinder temperature sensor, which happened to be out of order, was replaced by a DS18B20 device in a waterproof stainless steel enclosure, capable of measuring temperature down to –55 °C. Chlorine leakage is also measured as a 0–24 V analogue signal. It is converted to a 0–5 V signal by a resistive volt age divider to go to the analog input to the Arduino.
LoRa Transmitter and LoRa receiver used in Chlorine leakage monitoring experimentation
Fig 1:LoRa transmitter(server) Fig 2: LoRa receiver (client)
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Signals & sensors: ZLD: Zero Liquid Discharge system pumps back the drain discharges to a standby clarifloucalator for reuse. The ZLD pumps are run when there is level in the drain. Our system will tell the SCE the level trend on a real time basis. The Transmitter unit has the capability to give the (12 volt) start / trip command to the electrical control panel also. However, it was never used.
Labour gate ZLD system level monitoring using LoRa- 2nd experiment We used an UART based E32TTL 200 mW transceiver module with Arduino and for level pick up we used gang ultrasonic probes [4 meter range , +-1cm tolerance, 3 probes together]. But we found that since level precision is more important that the range of level measurement, we stick to V53LOX TOF laser sensor for precision level measurement [+-1mm precision up to 2100 mm]
Description: Transmitter: 200 mW LoRa on UART with Arduino, V53LOX TOF laser sensor Receiver : Handheld model with 200 mW LoRa on UART with Arduino, LCD on I2C and Li-Ion Battery
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V3 & V4 dyke overflow lagoon level at Boiler drum level – 3rd experiment Description: Transmitter: 200 mW LoRa on SPI with Arduino, V53LOX TOF laser sensor Receiver: Handheld model with 200 mW LoRa on SPI with Arduino, LCD on I2C and Li-Ion Battery Findings: We used 200 mW emission power and we found that the level of V3 and V4 dyke reached comfortably to the Boiler top. The distance between the two place being 14.2 Km.
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Signals & sensors:
Dyke sensors: V53LOX TOF laser sensor for precision water level measurements (+-1mm), DS18B20 for precision digital temperature sensor for lagoon water temperature. Way Forward: The result of this experiment encouraged us and immediately we thought of a repeater unit at boiler top to repeat the signal for the ash water control room situated inside the plant.
Task: Encouraged with the output of first 2 experiments we took the task of transmitting the dyke level on to the boiler 70 m.
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Fig 3: LoRa server at overflow lagoon
Fig 4: LoRa receiver in ash water control room
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30
Conclusion from LoRa Experimentations : Crux of the telemetry – LoRa repeater • With 2 to 13 dBm radiated power levels and line-of-sight (LOS) LoRa can comfortably transfer data from the ash dyke to the
boiler head, which is at a height of 65 meters (200 ft.). From there everything is LOS. However, the ash slurry pump house is a low, one-story building located 1.2 km away from the foot of the boiler. Therefore, as a first step the data from the overflow lagoon (water level, position, temperature and in the future wind velocity & direction), is made available at the 65-meter-high boiler. From there the data is transmitted over a second LoRa link to its final destination: the roof of the ash slurry pump house.
So, what is needed on the boiler unit is nothing but a LoRa repeater. • Accuracy of Laser based sensors is far better than that of ordinary ultrasonic probes thus in design phase we moved on from
ultrasonic probes to laser probes for level measurements.
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Data driven Project Flow – Analyse phase of DMADV approach
With the results from the LoRa experiments , we moved on to the analyse phase of DMADV approach, were we did Team brainstorming sessions to configure the best LoRa infrastructure that will serve the purpose.
We used the brainstorming tool and above is the conclusion from the tool. From there, it was clear that we have deduced the best LoRa infrastructure for remote telemetry and thus the next logical step is to move on to the Design phase and use the prototype testing tool.
Fig 4: LoRa repeater at the Boiler top
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Data driven Project Flow – Design phase of DMADV approach
In the Design phase, prototype was designed and the prototype testing of the LoRa remote telemetry setup was done at VSTPS V3 dyke. The pictures and result from this tool is shown below:
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The picture of the boiler of unit 10 in LOS with LoRa setup at dyke. The prototype met its desired expectations. Normal relay rate was once in 2-3 seconds, when LOS was obstructed it increased to once in 7-8 seconds. Owing to the success of the prototype testing, next logical step was the actual installation of pilot project at V3 dyke.
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Data driven Project Flow – Verification Phase of DMADV approach
In the verification phase, the Execution was done by installation of the pilot project at V3 dyke, relay at Unit#10 boiler and receiver at Ash slurry pump house stage#3 and the results were verified by performing the Pilot testing at the site and confirming the accuracy of the data . Project also acknowledged by operation department by achieving the dynamic water balancing using remote trends within 2 hours.
5.02 Solution Validation
The Report on LoRa telemetry experimentations was published by Electronics For You Magazine in India
The project experiments were acknowledged and validated by the operation department of NTPC VSTPS
The pilot testing results were validated by the Station Finance Department as well as the Business Excellence department
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Before the actual installation, the project champion was convinced of the appropriateness of the LoRa Telemetry as the solution of our problem by referring to the following sources. Only after the proper solution validation , approval was granted from his side for moving ahead with implementation.
Team Leader presented the project at the International O&M conference(2017) organised by NTPC
1
2
3
4
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5.03 Solution justification The Project met its intended objectives, therefore, can be said that the outcomes are justified.
Remote measurement of the ash water lagoon level leads to
zero ash water discharge in the Rihand lake, thus making us an
eco friendly generator (Our mission)
Faster clearances from SPCB and CPCB
because of strict environmental
compliances
During the verification phase of project,
a considerable saving in time and effort
of the operation department in achieving
dynamic water balancing was observed.
The desired results were achieved with minimum financial burden.
Cost of 1 LoRa unit = Rs 20,000
Cost of installation at all 4 dykes = Rs 20000X4 = Rs 80000
1
4 2
3
The actual installation of the LoRa devices is done only after justifying the appropriateness of the solution to the project champion and the Station management committee.
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5.04 Results
Earlier state: Posting patrollers at the overflow lagoons and then experiments with ash line discharges & AWRP running. This used to take 8 to 10 hours to achieve dynamic ash water balancing. Present state: With present +- 1 mm level trend, with any changes in discharge line or running of AWRPs, we can establish the stability in less than two hours.
S.No Project Goal Accomplishment Status
1.
Achieving level measurement at control room and
zero discharge from the ash water lagoons with the
help of the judicious water balancing.
We can achieve the zero discharge state in
less than 2 hours.
2.
In the first step the V3 dyke level will be brought to
the stage 3 ash slurry pump house.
Completed in May 2018.
Table: Project performance against the intended goals
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S.No Project Success Measures Accomplishment Status
1 Automation of the current crude lagoon level measurement process
Achieved – no need of deploying patrolling staff at overflow lagoons.
2 Measurement and trend of ash water lagoon available right at the command centre
Real time measurement being done.
3 To achieve the zero discharge state in less than 2 hours
Dynamic water balancing being achieved in less than 2 hours.
4 Real-time Temperature
measurements along with the lagoon level to better predict their relationship
Temperature measurements being done along with level.
5 A judicious and dynamic state where there is no overflow from any of the overflow lagoon during real time
Currently achieved with V3 dyke. Deployment in other dykes in march 2019.
Results
Conclusion
Using simple and widely available low-cost means it is possible to contribute to solving real-world industrial problems. Environmental hazards can be monitored remotely with the help of cheap LoRa peer-to-peer radio links and a bit of Arduino ingenuity. The projects presented can be used for many other generic remote telemetry operations.
5.05 Maintaining the Gains
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Time taken to achieve the dynamic water balancing will be the key performance indicator for our project during the control period.
Weekly Preventive maintenance of the LoRa devices will be the responsibility of C&I department.
The change from crude monitoring to the automated real-time monitoring will be tracked by us for a period of 1 year to document the visible gains.
To make the device more sustainable, we are moving from battery based devices to solar PV powered devices with integrated MPPT [Maximum Solar Power Point tracker] module.
1
2
3
4
5 In the next level with all the data supplied by the remote links we will deploy a ML (machine learning) solution which will suggest the probable strategy of selecting & running of dykes, ash slurry pumps and AWRS pumps.
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5.06 Project Communication
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Results showcased on Pan NTPC level via presentations in NOCET, PC conclave.
The project results were communicated with the team, internal stakeholders ,SMC and the project champion through presentations in ORT meeting.
1
2
3
4
5 Team leader presented the paper in International O&M conference organised by NTPC.
Results were also shared with CPCB and SPCB by the project champion
Project was also published in National and International Journals like EFY , Elektor & Silicon Chip Magazines.
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