How it Works
The objective of the SpikeWatcher™ PA system is to look for conditions that can cause failures in fluid distribution systems. These are significant, rapid changes (spikes) in sensor signals that do not occur very often. It records these spikes at a high rate, while steady-state background signals are recorded at a much lower rate. These spikes are often of such a short duration that they are not detected by SCADA or other control systems.
The SpikeWatcher™ PA system saves troubleshooting time by analyzing these spikes in the hardware unit, and summarizing their behavior
SpikeWatcher™ PA can record up to 8 analog channels. One of these channels must be designated as the primary channel which is monitored for spike detection. The primary channel can be changed remotely at any time. For example pressure can be used initially for “water hammer” detection, but later changed to power line voltage to identify power fluctuations.
You can specify the sample rate for recording the spike signal, from 10 mSec to 1 second. The background sample rate can be set from 1 second to 24 hours.
The sensors can be completely independent, or can be shared with the control system.
The properties measured may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Fluid pressure
- Flow rate
- Liquid level
- Electrical current
- Voltage
- Temperature
- Humidity
- Barometric pressure
- Chemistry
The SpikeWatcher™ PA unit samples all of the sensor signals at 1 mSec intervals (1 KHz). Using statistical techniques, and user specifications, it determines if this is a significant change from the background signal of the primary channel. This eliminates random noise and insignificant variations in the readings.
When a spike is detected in the primary channel, the other enabled channels are also recorded at the high rate.
All Qameleon devices are designed for remote operation, from 1 foot away to the other side of the world. The user can set parameters and retrieve data, at any time, using a laptop or desktop computer which is on a network with the SpikeWatcher™ PA unit. They can be connected by Ethernet, WiFi, or cellular.
SpikeWatcher™ PA generates output signals when a spike is detected or the sensor readings fall outside of the user-set limits. These are isolated solid-state relay contacts that can be used to turn on an alarm, control a fan, send a signal to a PLC, or any number of uses.
SpikeWatcher™ PA also sends a notification email when the sensor readings fall outside of the user-set limits. This can be sent to system operators, supervisors, engineers, or a group email account to be distributed as needed.
A daily summary of the unit’s operation can also be sent to the email list, if desired.
SpikeWatcher™ PA is designed to be integrated with other systems, such as SCADA and building management systems, using ModBus over serial and Ethernet.
All variants of SpikeWatcher™ PA have a consistent user interface. This Live View screen shows you the real-time operation of the unit including sensor measurements, calculated values, trends, history of alerts, and an intuitive picture of the equipment being monitored.
