Optimizing Pipeline Transportation Using a Fuzzy Controller

This paper describes a case of a Proportional Integral (PI) Fuzzy controller development, in order to optimize pipeline transportation capacity. Real process data were acquired so that a real pipeline could be simulated. The fuzzy adaptive PI controller system was developed and interacts with a hydraulic simulator, working on the set-point of a conventional PI controller. A conducted research prior to this work has shown that holding the intermediate delivery valves open as much time as possible, even if this results in a low flow delivering, is better than do a fast delivering in terms of pipeline transportation capacity. The objective of this system is to control the amount of products to be delivered to intermediate stations in such a way that the control valve remains open while the batch is running. Besides that, the control valve opening fraction is changed very smoothly preventing transients in the pipe, until it is closed, which occurs when the station has received the expected demand. In order to accomplish that some information have to be loaded in the software like product demand per station, operational limits of the valve being controlled (minimum and maximum flow, the flow meter operational limits were also observed) and products transported at the segment monitored. The software developed can be easily deployed as a specialist system generating logic to be embedded in SCADA Systems or standalone software.