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Retrofit of the cooling system monitoring of the Cyclotron of UCLouvain

Energy saving solution wit Siemens Sinamics G120 drives

Retrofit of the cooling system monitoring of the Cyclotron of UCLouvain

Energy saving solution wit Siemens Sinamics G120 drives

Public Sector, Research & Education

UCLouvain Centre de ressources du Cyclotron

Louvain-la-Neuve Belgium

This application is intended to reduce the energy consumption of the refrigeration circuits of the Cyclotron of UCLouvain.

The Cyclotron and especially its electromagnets generate a lot of thermal power. The necessary cooling system, which is fed by water pumps, is therefore very energy-consuming. For obvious reasons of environmental protection and energy costs, it was decided to retrofit these cooling systems.

The starting point of this renovation project? The installation of frequency converters to control the power of the motors for the cooling pumps. “We worked with on-off motors, which were controlled in real time. So when they were in service, they always used their maximum rated power, without any regulation. The installation of AC drives was thus the key to fine-tune this operation. By using only what is necessary at times when less cooling is required, we were able to significantly reduce our energy demand.

Refreshing ideas and solutions
As part of this project, we decided not only to install frequency inverters, but also to renew the electrical cabinets. CEBEO, Siemens Approved Partner – Value Added Reseller, suggested to use Siemens Sinamics G120 frequency converters for our various water circulation pumps.

A frequency converter of this type has also installed on the fan of the cooling tower.

To bring all this data together and to be able to control the safety parameters, a Simatic S7-1500 PLC from Siemens has been installed, with two HMIs to visualize and control these PLCs.   One HMI is located in the pump room and the other is located in the particle accelerator control room. That way everything can be monitored remotely. This Simatic PLC plays a crucial role. This not only allows to manage the water level that is consumed in the cooling circuits, but the valves that regulate the temperature of that water can also be controlled. In other words, this PLC is an indispensable link in the safety aspect of the installation.

Our initial ambition was to save 400 MWh of energy annually, which roughly corresponds to the annual consumption of 150 households. And as the October 2021 figures show, the results are in line with those expectations.

Laurent Standaert, Deputy Head of the Cyclotron Resource Center (CRC) platform of UCLouvain

The advantages are indeed many: the Sinamics G120 frequency converter is very intuitive and easy to set up. Operation and control are done centrally from the TIA platform. Choosing a total system from Siemens also means that the diagnosis status of all components (frequency converter, PLC, HMI) can be displayed immediately. Which in turn results in less programming and therefore more time savings. The system is also very solid and energy efficient. Just think of the harmonic attenuation thanks to the built-in DC coil, the low apparent power due to a high power factor, the current reduction at part load and the energy-saving (ECO) mode.

Louvain / Retrofit of the cooling system monitoring of the Cyclotron of UCLouvain

Public Sector, Research & Education

UCLouvain Centre de ressources du Cyclotron

Louvain-la-Neuve Belgium

Public Sector, Research & Education

UCLouvain Centre de ressources du Cyclotron

Louvain-la-Neuve Belgium

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