DESC:ENVIRONMENT FRIENDLY HYDRAULIC BOOSTER SYSTEM
Technical Field
[0001] The embodiments herein generally relate to a booster system and, more particularly, to a hydraulic booster system for faster decanting of CNG from LCV cascade with enhanced energy efficiency. 5
Description of the Related Art
[0002] In recent times, fuel is perishing at an alarming rate and rise in carbon emission is another major issue the world is facing today. Therefore, there has risen a dire need to safeguard every ounce of it and switch over to green fuel. Most of the developing countries do not have the means and facilities to install expensive machinery and technology 10 to avoid any kind of fuel wastage. In the small cities and remote locations of India, there is no proper fuel (GAS) pipeline network available. At such locations, hydraulic CNG booster compressors are mandatory to build CNG fueling stations.
[0003] A conventional Hydraulic CNG booster installed has inherent deficiencies such as, huge man power cost, frequent break downs, excessive power consumption, 15 reliability issues and uptime of the fueling equipment. This directly affects the sale of CNG cars, it’s users and the sale of CNG gas from every CNG station and thereby reduces the revenue and facing issues of switching over to the CNG cars which emit less carbon. The conventional CNG boosters have to be monitored on a regular basis to ensure proper working conditions. There are drawbacks in monitoring the condition of the conventional boosters and 20 execute a timely operation as the maintenance due to the uptime of the boosters are critical and most gas fueling stations work round the clock. In order to physically monitor the conventional boosters, dedicated staff must be recruited for the purpose of operating the booster, recording and sharing the fuel station data with a superior and compile all the information finally to assess the health of the boosters. As all the readings must be recorded 25 manually, skilled man power availability becomes critical and there are high possibilities for human errors as well. Considering the delay in operation and maintenance, this leads to
3
down-time of the machine and revenue loss. Additionally, the operator must check for any abnormalities constantly every three shifts, which is expensive and decreases the revenue and profitability.
[0004] The boosters manufactured in India are equipped with water-cooled shell and tube heat exchangers and radiators for cooling the gas and hydraulic oil, which is based on 5 the European design. As the boosters manufactured in India are based on the European design to endure the European weather, they have the ability to withstand/ perform at only 15-25 °C. However, the Indian temperature range varies from 04-48°C based on the location. The conventional design is made up from a complex system, a water-cooling circuit (with distilled water) consisting of a water pump, additional electric motors, shell and tube heat 10 exchanger and radiators which consume additional energy and increases maintenance and reduces reliability. The water-cooled design system in the conventional booster increases the energy consumption and results in overheating of the hydraulic oil and gas, as heat transfer takes place indirectly, where the water cools the gas and oil. The water gets cooled in the radiator and then water is re-circulated in a closed loop. Additional water-cooling pump and 15 motor are required which consumes 1.5-2 KW power additionally due to dual heat transfer i.e. from Air to water and then again from water to Gas/Oil. The distilled water as an additional utility also gets added which becomes difficult to maintain in a remote location as it needs to be topped up at frequent intervals. Since, the cooling is done by water as a media the cooling becomes inefficient and the gas temperature goes beyond 120°C and oil 20 temperature goes beyond 70°C. Due to all these deficiencies, the conventional booster ends in frequent maintenance, breakdowns causing high power consumption and huge energy loss over a period of life cycle.
[0005] Additionally, in a typical case the conventional booster takes about 75 minutes for decanting the gas from a 3000 WL cascade from 230-30 bar at suction. During this 25 process of decanting, the motor starts and stops around 30-40 times within a span of 75 minutes. During these 75 minutes of decanting, the fuel station loses few customers during peak hours due to the extended time period of decanting. Moreover, due to the frequent start and stops of the main motor (consuming 37 KW in the bigger capacity booster with an auxiliary motor of 1.5 KW & 2.2 KW with every start) and the auxiliary motors, the 30
4
maintenance of all motors and the electrical system increases substantially and reduces the reliability of the electrical system.
[0006] Another disadvantage of the conventional boosters is that they are equipped with two separate cylinders, one for HP and one for LP. They operate at different hydraulic oil pressure or horizontal cylinders with differential pistons having three different cylinders 5 and having four oil seals. Due to this it requires higher Oil flow and higher pressure. In our case since we get advantage of differential pressure, it requires lesser oil pressure, hence less power. Our Oil pump is of variable displacement type ensuring High flow at low pressure and low flow at higher pressure as required, thus ensuring minimum power consumption. This causes extra frictional losses and all the seals are also required to be cooled with cooling 10 water again. Even after this process, the gas temperature goes beyond 120 °C. Eventually, all this results in high energy consumption, reduced efficiency and leads to frequent failures of piston rings, seals etc. This leads to breakdown and down time of boosters. This adds up additional power consumption, less reliability due to frequent oil seal failures, high operation cost and revenue loss. 15
[0007] Therefore, there arises a need to address the deficiencies of the system and up gradation with advanced technological inventions in the existing conventional Boosters. This necessitates for an IoT enabled hydraulic booster with air cooled heat exchangers for oil & gas eliminating cooling water circuit, energy efficient vertically integrated differential inline piston cylinder design fully controlled by PLC integrated with an intelligent software 20 (operating system) for enhancing energy efficiency, faster decanting and 100% uptime which is capable of monitoring remotely for CNG Hydraulic Boosters along with additional features like Securing connection of assets with hardware or software connectivity solutions.
SUMMARY 25
[0008] In view of the foregoing, an embodiment herein provides a hydraulic booster system for decanting Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) from a Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) cascade. The hydraulic booster system comprises an inline piston-cylinder, and a control unit. The inline piston-cylinder is integrated vertically in the hydraulic booster system. The inline piston-cylinder is configured to apply differential pressure on an 30
5
inflowing gas of the CNG from the LCV cascade to compress the inflowing gas to obtain a compressed inflowed gas. The control unit is configured to control loading/unloading of the inline piston cylinder with a decanting process for decanting the CNG from the LCV cascade. The control unit controls the loading/unloading of the inline piston cylinder by determining a pressure cut in and pressure cut off in the LCV cascade by determining a rate 5 of increase of pressure and a rate of decrease of pressure of the LCV cascade during the decanting process, calculating a volume (Referred to standard NTP Condition) of the CNG in the LCV cascade with the pressure cut in and the pressure cut off in the LCV cascade, and at least one of loading or unloading the inflowing gas into the inline piston cylinder based on the volume (Referred to standard NTP Condition) of the CNG in the LCV cascade, thereby 10 enabling decanting of the CNG from the LCV cascade.
[0009] In some embodiments, the hydraulic booster system includes at least one air-cooled heat exchanger that is configured to generate an air flow to lower down a temperature in the hydraulic booster system.
[0010] In some embodiments, the control unit calculates the volume (Referred to 15 standard NTP Condition) of the CNG in the LCV cascade based on a feedback of the rate of increase of pressure or the rate of decrease of pressure in the LCV cascade.
[0011] In some embodiments, the control unit is configured to control the process of allowing and stopping of the inflowing gas into the inline piston cylinder with the pressure cut in and the pressure cut off. 20
[0012] In some embodiments, the hydraulic booster system includes an communication unit that is configured to remote monitoring of readings of one or more parameters in the hydraulic booster system.
[0013] In some embodiments, the one or more parameters include any of suction pressure, suction temperature, discharge pressure, discharge temperature, power 25 consumption, discharge gas flow, intermediate gas pressure, temperature, flow, and cumulative discharge totalizer, compressor running hour, and oil level in the hydraulic booster system.
6
[0014] In some embodiments, the hydraulic booster system includes a micron filter that is configured to filter the CNG flowing in from the LCV cascade. The micron filter filters any of dirt or moisture in the CNG.
[0015] In some embodiments, the hydraulic booster system includes a flow meter that is configured to calculate mass of the discharged CNG, wherein the CNG from the flow 5 meter is transmitted to a stationary cascade or dispenser.
[0016] In another aspect, a method for decanting Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) from a Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) cascade is provided. The method includes determining a pressure cut in and pressure cut off in the LCV cascade by determining a rate of increase of pressure and a rate of decrease of pressure of the LCV cascade during a 10 decanting process, calculating a volume (Referred to standard NTP Condition) of the CNG in the LCV cascade with the pressure cut in and the pressure cut off, and at least one of loading or unloading the inflowing gas into the inline piston cylinder based on the volume (Referred to standard NTP Condition) of the CNG in the LCV cascade, thereby enabling decanting of the CNG from the LCV cascade. 15
[0017] In some embodiments, the method includes monitoring and recording the one or more parameters using an IoT device, and alerting a user about preventive maintenance and operation by analyzing the one or more parameters using the IoT device.
[0018] The vertical placement of the inline piston cylinder causes minimum wear and tear of cylinder lining, piston rings and oil seals. Usage of the differential pressure in the 20 hydraulic booster system consumes less electrical power. The inline piston cylinder 116 consumes 0.054KWH/kg power as against conventional boosters consume 0.075 – 0.08 KWH/kg. The hydraulic booster system including pusher fans cools the CNG and oil in the hydraulic booster system, making the process energy efficient. The air-cooled heat exchanger along with the inline piston cylinder and the control unit saves up to 30% energy. The air-25 cooled heat exchanger enables the hydraulic booster system to function efficiently by withstanding in high ambient temperature up to 50? across all regions. In addition to this our packages need neither CNG nor Instrument air supply for operating instruments , unlike other conventional packages. This reduces substantially the CNG / Int. air consumption , Eliminating Air Compressor , motor , receiver , dryer , interconnecting piping and avoiding 30
7
their maintenance . Saving of installed power about 2.2 kW.
[0019] The control unit reduces a decanting time of the LCV cascade and increases the decanting speed substantially. The control unit reduces start-stop to about a maximum of 6 times during one decanting cycle. The communication unit eliminates human effort and human error by automating the monitoring of the hydraulic booster system remotely. The 5 communication unit predicts maintenance requirements and thereby avoiding breakdown, maintains almost 100% up-time of the hydraulic booster system. [0020] The hydraulic booster system provides remote monitoring of the hydraulic booster system, and eliminates the human errors, manpower availability, downtime of the machine, high power consumption, operation and maintenance of the hydraulic booster 10 system, and enhances a performance at a gas fueling station. The hydraulic booster system enables prediction and rectification of any abnormal parameters and maintain the equipment seamlessly with the control unit and the communication unit. The hydraulic booster system provides easy development, deployment and testing with preconfigured solutions. The hydraulic booster system may store to distribute and purchase applications. The hydraulic 15 booster system may provide broad spectrum APIs, including analytical services, native cloud development, data visualization and exploration. The hydraulic booster system may enable users to easily transfer test data using plug-and-play connectivity through secure APIs. Data may be stored for the contract lifecycle without time limitation, allowing for re-use to build more applications. 20 [0021] The hydraulic booster system may reduce CNG including air consumption, and eliminates air compressor, motor, receiver, dryer, and interconnecting pipes with maintenance. The hydraulic booster system may save about 2.2 kW of power.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0022] The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following detailed 25 description with reference to the drawings, in which:
[0023] FIG. 1 illustrates a system view of a hydraulic booster system for decanting Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) according to some embodiments herein;
[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the hydraulic booster system according to
8
some embodiments herein;
[0025] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of a communication unit according to some embodiments herein;
[0026] FIG. 4A-4B are exemplary views of user interface on a user device according to some embodiments herein; 5
[0027] FIGS. 5A-5B are exemplary views of the hydraulic booster system according to some embodiments herein;
[0028] FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary pictorial view of the hydraulic booster system according to some embodiments herein;
[0029] FIG. 7 illustrates a system view of remote monitoring of one or more 10 hydraulic booster systems using the user device according to some embodiments herein; and
[0030] FIG. 8 illustrates a method of decanting Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) from a Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) cascade according to some embodiments herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 15
[0031] The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended 20 merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be constructed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein.
[0032] As mentioned, there remains a need for a hydraulic booster system that can overcome the existing drawbacks/deficiencies in the conventional hydraulic booster with an IoT enabled Hydraulic Booster with enhanced energy efficiency and faster decanting for CNG fueling solutions. Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1
9
through 8, where similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the figures, preferred embodiments are shown.
[0033] FIG. 1 illustrates a system view of a hydraulic booster system 112 for decanting Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) according to some embodiments herein. The system view includes a user 102, a user device 104, a server 106, a database 108, a network 110, the hydraulic booster system 112 and a fuel station 122. The Hydraulic booster system 112 may be installed at the fuel station 122 for decanting the CNG from a Light Commercial 5 Vehicle (LCV) cascade. The user 102 may be an authorized user, or a staff member at the fuel station 122 or at a remote location, or a senior executive at the fuel station 122. The user device 104 is associated with the user 102. In some embodiments, the user device 104 includes, but not limited to, a handheld device, a mobile phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a tablet, a laptop, a computer, an electronic notebook or a smartphone and the like. 10 The user device 104 may include a mobile application that enables real-time access to the hydraulic booster system 112 through the server 106 using the network 104. The network 110 may be, but not limited to, a wireless network, a wired network, a combination of the wired network and the wireless network or Internet, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ZigBee, cloud or any other communication network. 15
[0034] The hydraulic booster system 112 includes a communication unit 114, an inline piston cylinder 116, a control unit 118 and at least one air-cooled heat exchanger 120. The communication unit 114 is configured to transmit readings of one or more parameters of the hydraulic booster system 112 to the user device 104 through the server 106. The one or more parameters may include, but not limited to, suction pressure, suction temperature, 20 discharge pressure, discharge temperature, power consumption, discharge gas flow, intermediate gas pressure, temperature, flow and cumulative discharge totalizer, compressor running hour, oil level and the like of the hydraulic booster system 112. The server 106 includes a database 108 that stores the one or more parameters of the hydraulic booster system 112. In some embodiments, the database 108 stores any of historical data of the 25 hydraulic booster system 112 or data for analyzing the health of the hydraulic booster system 112. The inline piston cylinder 116 is integrated vertically in the hydraulic booster system 112. The inline piston cylinder 116 is configured to apply differential pressure on an
10
inflowing gas of the CNG from the LCV cascade to compress the inflowing gas to obtain a compressed inflowed gas. In some embodiments, the inline piston cylinder 116 enables an oil pump to operate at the differential pressure. For example, in an event of suction pressure being 100 bar and discharge pressure being 230 bar, the oil pump operates at the differential pressure of only 130 bar. The inline piston cylinder 116 may deliver high efficiency while 5 operating in suction pressure in a range of 230-30 bar. In some embodiments, the inflowing gas is compressed with suction pressure in a range of 30-200 bar and discharges pressure up to 250 bar. The inline piston cylinder 116 include at least two seals that are fitted between an oil compartment and a gas compartment, that operates at a differential pressure.
[0035] The control unit 118 is configured to control loading/unloading of the inline 10 piston cylinder 116 with a decanting process for decanting the CNG from the LCV cascade. In some embodiments, the control unit 118 is a Programmable Logic Controller, PLC with a machine learning model. The inline piston cylinder 116 may be integrated with a machine learning model. The control unit 118 controls the loading/unloading of the inline piston cylinder 116 by (i) determining a pressure cut in and a pressure cut off in the LCV cascade 15 by determining a rate of increase of pressure and a rate of decrease of pressure of the LCV cascade during the decanting process, (ii) calculating a volume of the CNG in the LCV cascade with the pressure cut in and the pressure cut off in the LCV cascade, and (iii) at least one of loading or unloading the inflowing gas into the inline piston cylinder 116 based on the volume of the CNG in the LCV cascade, that enables decanting of the CNG from the LCV 20 cascade. The at least one air-cooled heat exchanger 120 is configured to generate an airflow to lower down a temperature in the hydraulic booster system 112. In some embodiments, the at least one air-cooler heat exchanger 120 is a pusher fan, that cool the gas and oil in the hydraulic booster system 112. The volume may be based on standard NTP condition.
[0036] The rate of increase of pressure and the rate of decrease may be determined 25 either with delay or earlier by the machine learning model in the control unit 118, by calculating the amount of CNG inside the LCV cascade. In some embodiments, the control unit 118 enables one or more operations and controls the process of the one or more parameters in the hydraulic booster system 112. The one or more parameters from the control
11
unit 118 may be in constant communication with the user device 104 via the network 110 and the server 106 to the user 102. In some embodiments, the communication unit 114 is an Internet of Things, IoT unit. The communication unit 114 may enable the user 102 to remote monitor the one or more parameters of the hydraulic booster system 112. The control unit 118 may enable the communication unit 114 to control the processes of loading and 5 unloading of the hydraulic booster system 112. For example, when there is an abnormal parameter or due date for maintenance, the communication unit 114 may send notifications to the user 102 through the user device 104.
[0037] The communication unit 114 may also showcases graphical analysis with trending graphs of the one or more parameters, for enhanced understanding of the user 102. 10 The communication unit 114 may be communicatively connected to the user device 104 via an android application package (APK), iOS App Store Package (IPA), or any such application that may be installed in the user device 104. In some embodiments, the machine learning model can be trained by the historical data of the hydraulic booster system 112 and with the one or more parameters transmitted in real-time. In some embodiments, the machine 15 learning model includes an algorithmic program to determine a number of start/stops in the hydraulic booster system 112 for decanting the CNG from the LCV cascade.
[0038] FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the hydraulic booster system 112 according to some embodiments herein. The hydraulic booster system 112 includes a micron filter 202, an inline piston cylinder 204, an air-cooled gas cooler 212, flow meter 214, a 20 hydraulic power pack 216, a control unit 118 and the communication unit 114. The inline piston cylinder 204 further includes a stage 1 gas 206, a hydraulic oil 208 and a stage 2 gas 210. The hydraulic power pack 216 includes a hydraulic manifold block 218, air cooled oil cooler 220, oil tank 222 and pump 224. The micron filter 202 filters the gas flowing in from the LCV cascade. The micron filter 202 filters any dirt and moisture trapped in the gas. The 25 large air flow at a designed velocity of 4 meter/second generated by the pusher fan of air-cooled gas cooler 212 enables to keep the hydraulic booster system temperature very low at all times by taking away the heat by skin cooling. Pusher fans are also used in the air-cooled gas cooler212 to vent out the hot air from the hydraulic booster system. In some
12
embodiments, the temperature of the gas does not rise above 80-85?. The flow meter 214 calculates the mass of gas discharged outwards. The gas from the flow meter 214 is sent to a stationery cascade or dispenser installed at CNG fuelling station.
[0039] The inflowing gas from the cascade passes through the micron filter 202 at a pressure of 230-30 bar and enters the inline piston cylinder 204. The stage 1 gas 206 and the 5 stage 2 gas 210in the inline piston cylinder 204 apply differential pressure and compress the inflowing gas in two stages. In an embodiment, the inline piston cylinder’s 204two stage compression with the stage 1 gas 206 and the stage 2 gas 210, decreases the compression ratio to less than 3. The hydraulic oil 208 ensures an even distribution of oil in the oil compartment of the Hydraulic CNG Booster system. The inline piston cylinder 204 is 10 vertically installed and is equipped with three pistons i.e., a three pistons combined together on one common shaft. The hydraulic oil 208 in the piston rod pushes the piston rod assembly back and forth driving the gas pistons simultaneously sucking the gas from LCV cascade in stage 1 gas 206 and delivering to stage 2 and then gas 210 compressed up to the desired discharge pressure of 250 bar. 15
[0040] The hydraulic power pack 216 includes the hydraulic manifold block 218.The hydraulic manifold block 218 ensures the distribution of the hydraulic oil 208. The hydraulic manifold block 218 and its controls direct oil first to the hydraulic compartment in the inline piston cylinder 204 to compress the gas then it is routed to the air-cooled oil cooler 220 before reaching the oil tank 222. The oil tank 222 uses the pump 224 to pump the oil to the 20 hydraulic manifold block 218 and re-circulation keeps on going continuously. The control unit 220 and the communication unit 114 store and transmit the data to the user 102.
[0041] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of the communication unit 114 according to some embodiments herein. The communication unit 114 includes a real time monitoring module 302, a parameter alert module 304, a maintenance alert module 306, a prediction 25 module 308, a graphical analysis module 310 and a database 312. In some embodiments, the communication unit 114 is integrated with a PLC panel. The real time monitoring module 302 monitors the one or more parameters in the hydraulic booster system 112 in the real-time. The monitored readings are transmitted to the user device 104, that enables the user 102
13
to obtain information of the hydraulic booster system 112. The parameter alert module 304 is configured to alert the user 102 when the one or more parameters exceeds a preset threshold value. For example, when the one or more parameters crosses the preset threshold value, the parameter alert module 304 enables the communication unit 114 to send an alert notification to the user device 104. The alert notification may be any of a due, or a not due by analyzing 5 the one or more parameters.
[0042] The maintenance alert module 306 is configured to alert the user 102 for an upcoming due date for a system maintenance. In some embodiments, the maintenance alert module 306 alerts the user 102 in case of a failure of any system components in the hydraulic booster system 112. The prediction module 308 is configured to predict the hydraulic booster 10 system 112 whenever maintenance or timely operations are needed. The graphical representation module 310 is configured to provide the user 102 with graphs for an enhanced and quick understanding of health of the hydraulic booster system 112. The graphs may include a highest value and a lowest value as well. The database 312 stores the data received from the real time monitoring module 302, the parameter alert module 304, the maintenance 15 alert module 306, the prediction alert module 308, and the graphical analysis module 310.
[0043] The data from the database 312 may be stored in a cloud-based server. In some embodiments, the data in the database 312 detects one or more abnormalities in the hydraulic booster system 112. The PLC panel may communicate the database 312 for maintenance, through the maintenance alert module 306 whenever the prediction module 308 20 predicts the maintenance. In some embodiments, the prediction module 308 predict data for break-down and abnormalities of the hydraulic booster system 112.
[0044] In an exemplary embodiment, the hydraulic booster system 112 can be used for natural gas compression. The total time consumed to decant the full LCV by the hydraulic booster system 112 is in a range of 35 minutes to 45 minutes, that decants about 320 Kgs of 25 natural gas, with 17.5 kWH of consumed power. The hydraulic booster system 112 provides a start/stop in a range of 4 to 6 for faster decanting of the natural gas from the LCV.
[0045] FIG. 4A-4B are exemplary views of user interface on the user device 104
14
according to some embodiments herein. The user interface provides enhanced user experience that enables the user 102 to select the one or more boosters listed. For example, a booster 402 is selected and monitored by the user 102 as shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B. The one or more parameters are processed in real time and accompanied with trending values are communicated to the database 108 from the communication unit 114. The control unit 118 5 detects and communicates the maximum value as well, that enables the user 102 to analyze at the level at which the working of the hydraulic booster system 112 is efficiently processing. The user interface notifies the user 102 if any abnormalities occur on the hydraulic booster system 112. The user interface also provides statistics i.e. a report that is generated for analyzing the purpose and the graphs, using the graphical representation module 310. The 10 mobile application may indicate and alert the user 102 through notifications if the parameter reaches its maximum value or if there are any abnormalities.
[0046] FIGS. 5A-5B are exemplary views of the hydraulic booster system 112 according to some embodiments herein. FIG. 5A is a perspective view of the hydraulic booster system 112, that include pusher fans 502, an oil cooler 504, an IoT enabled PLC 506, 15 a hydraulic power pack 508, an inline piston cylinder 510, an oil tank 512, a main motor 514 and an air-cooled gas cooler 516. The pusher fans 502 operates as an exhaust fan to push out hot air created by the hydraulic booster system 112 and reduces temperature by skin cooling. In some embodiments, the pusher fans 502 cools the hydraulic booster system 112 and prevents malfunctioning due to high temperature. The hydraulic booster system 112 may 20 include one or more pusher fans to induce a large airflow of velocity 4m/s. The oil cooler 504 is composed of an air-cooled hydraulic oil cooler, that lowers the temperature of the oil to keep within the desired range as the temperature of the hydraulic booster system 112. The IoT enabled PLC 506 is integrated with a machine learning model, that analyzes the rate of increase of pressure or the rate of decrease of pressure during the decanting process, and 25 calculates the volume of gas in the LCV cascade. In some embodiments, the IoT enabled PLC 506 includes the communication unit 114 and the control unit 118. The hydraulic power pack 508 cools the air and the hydraulic oil and pumps the hydraulic oil back in the hydraulic booster system 112. The inline piston cylinder 510 is integrated vertically in the hydraulic booster system 112 with a two-stage cylinder. The oil tank 512 is used for a storage of at 30
15
least one of oil or fuel. The main motor 514 is configured to drive the hydraulic power pack 508, and routes the oil to the inline piston cylinder 510. The air-cooled gas cooler 516 cools the air as well as the CNG in the hydraulic booster system 112.
[0047] FIG. 5B is a top view of the hydraulic booster system 112, that includes pusher fans for gas cooler 518, pusher fans for hydraulic cooler 520 and a gas suction filter 5 522. The pusher fans for gas cooler 518 operates as an exhaust fan induces fresh air surrounding the hydraulic booster system 112 through one end and pushes out the hot air the other end. The arrows showcase the direction of air flow from being induced in and pushed out from the pusher ,CLAIMS:I/We Claim:
1. A hydraulic booster system (112) for decanting Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) from a 1 Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) cascade, wherein the hydraulic booster system (112) 2 comprises: 3
characterized in that, 4
an inline piston cylinder (116) that is integrated vertically in the hydraulic booster system 5 (112), wherein the inline piston cylinder (116) is configured to apply differential pressure on an 6 inflowing gas of the CNG from the LCV cascade to compress the inflowing gas to obtain a 7 compressed inflowed gas; and 8
a control unit (118) that is configured to control loading/unloading of the inline piston 9 cylinder (116) with a decanting process for decanting the CNG from the LCV cascade, wherein 10 the control unit (118) controls the loading/unloading of the inline piston cylinder (116) by 11
determining a pressure cut in and pressure cut off in the LCV cascade by 12 determining a rate of increase of pressure and a rate of decrease of pressure of the LCV 13 cascade during the decanting process, 14
calculating a volume of the CNG in the LCV cascade with the pressure cut in and 15 the pressure cut off in the LCV cascade, and 16
at least one of loading or unloading the inflowing gas into the inline piston 17 cylinder (116) based on the volume of the CNG in the LCV cascade, thereby enabling 18 decanting of the CNG from the LCV cascade. 19
2. The hydraulic booster system (112) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hydraulic booster 1 system (112) comprises at least one air-cooled heat exchanger (120) that is configured to 2 generate an airflow to lower down a temperature in the hydraulic booster system (112). 3
3. The hydraulic booster system (112) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit (118) 1
18
calculates the volume of the CNG in the LCV cascade based on a feedback of the rate of increase 2 of pressure or the rate of decrease of pressure in the LCV cascade. 3
4. The hydraulic booster system (112) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the control unit (118) 1 is configured to control the process of allowing and stopping of the inflowing gas into the inline 2 piston cylinder (116) with the pressure cut in and the pressure cut off. 3
5. The hydraulic booster system (112) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hydraulic booster 1 system (112) comprises a communication unit (114) that is configured to remote monitoring of 2 readings of one or more parameters in the hydraulic booster system (112). 3
6. The hydraulic booster system (112) as claimed in claim 5, wherein the one or more 1 parameters comprise any of suction pressure, suction temperature, discharge pressure, discharge 2 temperature, power consumption, discharge gas flow, intermediate gas pressure, temperature, 3 flow, and cumulative discharge totalizer, compressor running hour, and oil level in the hydraulic 4 booster system (112). 5
7. The hydraulic booster system (112) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hydraulic booster 1 system (112) comprises a micron filter that is configured to filter the CNG flowing in from the 2 LCV cascade, wherein the micron filter filters any of dirt or moisture in the CNG. 3
8. The hydraulic booster system (112) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hydraulic booster 1 system (112) comprises a flow meter (214) that is configured to measure mass of the discharged 2 CNG, wherein the CNG from the flow meter (214) is transmitted to a stationary cascade or 3 dispenser. 4
9. A method for decanting Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) from a Light Commercial 1 Vehicle (LCV) cascade, wherein the method comprises, 2
19
determining a pressure cut in and pressure cut off in the LCV cascade by determining a 3 rate of increase of pressure and a rate of decrease of pressure of the LCV cascade during a 4 decanting process; 5
calculating a volume of the CNG in the LCV cascade with the pressure cut in and the 6 pressure cut off; and 7
at least one of loading or unloading the inflowing gas into the inline piston cylinder (116) 8 based on the volume of the CNG in the LCV cascade, thereby enabling decanting of the CNG 9 from the LCV cascade. 10
10. The method as claimed in claim 9, wherein the method comprises: 1
monitoring, using an IoT, one or more parameters; 2
recording, using the IoT, the one or more parameters; and 3
alerting, using the IoT, a user about preventive maintenance and operation by analyzing 4 the one or more parameters. 5
Dated this 27th April, 2022
Signature of the Patent Agent:
Arjun Karthik Bala
IN/PA - 1021