ABSTRACT

AUTOMATION OF TRANSFORMER COOLING SYSTEM USING PLC AND

SCADA
This project aims at different objectives such as automation of plant and energy
saving by continuous operation using Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) control,
reduction of capital cost and time limit. A programmable logic controller is proposed to be
incorporated for the automation part of the project. PLCs have played a major role in the
evolution of automation both in discrete and continuous process application in industrial
control. Now a days PLCs are being extensively used in almost all type of automation,
where electromagnetic relays were used formerly.
The continuous operation of heavy transformers of large industrial plants involves heat
production. which has to be absorbed continuously for the safe and efficient operation. The
project discussed hence forth involves the complete automation of cooling system of such
heavy transformers. In which water is used as a coolant to carry the heat from transformer
oils. Water flows through the water tubes of heat exchanger, the flow of which is controlled
by pumps, control valves etc. The project involves investigation of various working
conditions in the plants and automation of the entire cooling mechanism using
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) and associated SCADA.
The Cooling water facility in a Process industry offers great scope for energy
efficient operation by way of selective switching and speed control of various equipments.
As the power consumption of pumps and fans is directly proportional to cube of speed, a
reduction in speed, keeping the quality and quantity of cooling water required, results in
saving of huge quantum of energy. A Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) is proposed to
be the right choice for the automation of such a system, because of its fast response, simple
programming, reliability and flexibility in operation etc. While PLCs were very good at
quickly controlling automation, they did not share data easily. PLCs would exchange
information with operator interfaces (HMI) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
(SCADA) software packages on the factory floor. Hence the PLC based SCADA system will
provide continuous monitoring and controlling of the system. It has many advantages over
the manual type. It reduces the human work load a lot by checking the pressure, temperature
and closing of the valves etc, and also improves the overall efficiency of operation.