In today’s globally competitive world, all modern producing businesses aim to use energy more efficiently to reduce production costs. However, this is challenging for two reasons. First, industrial production becomes more and more automated which increases energy demand automatically. Second, industrial electricity prices have raised by about 3.5% per year on average in every EU member state in the last decade. In this context, companies have identified the improvement of energy efficiency by using means of industrial maintenance as the most effective way to achieve higher profits and strengthen competitiveness.
There are two drivers of energy costs of producing companies which are often underestimated but contribute substantially to increasing energy consumption: worn out machine parts and leaks in compressed air systems (CAS). CAS are accounted for about 10 % of industrial consumption of electricity in the world. Industrial sectors like automotive, automation, machinery and plant engineering emphasize leakage prevention in CAS as the means with the highest savings potential of energy-waste, as up to 30 % of compressed air escapes from leakages. Commonly used screw compressors used for industrial applications, e.g. air tools use, can easily cause an annual waste of several million m³ of compressed air per compressor even when leaks are very small. As CAS are often laid throughout the whole factory, leaks might be very small and air is invisible, leaks are hardly to detect. Up to now, there are no sufficient solutions at market.
Therefore, SONOTEC has developed an innovative device based on ultrasonic technology for two purposes: to identify easily leaks in CAS and to detect worn out parts of machinery which both cause increasing energy consumption. The technology consists of a technological platform, the SONAPHONE, an ultrasonic airborne sound sensor (for leak detection), an ultrasonic structure-borne sound sensor (for machinery diagnosis), and several algorithms (software apps) to interpret and illustrate data and to give recommendations for maintenance.
This novel ultrasonic solution for leak detection and machinery wear has benefits for both industry and society. By the SONAPHONE, industrial companies will be able to identify energy saving potentials for reducing their operating costs. This allows companies to offer their products for competitive prices by which in turn society profits. The second main benefit for society are lower carbon emissions as for example only the waste of energy worldwide directly connected to CAS amounts to approximately 228 TWh and involves about 171 million tons of CO2.
Overall objectives of this business innovation project are to
(1) renew the preventive maintenance market for CAS by providing highly improved technology and methods for realistic identification, quantification and reporting of leaks,
(2) introduce a new key technology for the future maintenance market combining ultrasonic sensors and testing software to diagnose frictions in all kinds of surfaces of technical parts
(3) offer companies innovative solutions to cut their energy costs by 42% and to reduce their carbon emissions.
