Water utilities and developers

Mechanical and electrical

Electrical - motor

Motor Control Centres (MCC)

The electrical team at Halcrow has considerable experience in planning; designing, specifying and commissioning motor control centres (MCCs).

MCC with motorised ACBs and bus section switch

We have provided a vast number of solutions for many water industry based projects. MCCs range from simple direct-on-line starters to multiple variable speed motor drives. From simple water booster stations to multiple pump water treatment works.

MCC and ICA Panel with HMI interface

As well as providing on-site supervision and commissioning services we can ensure compliance with the client’s specification before the equipment leaves the factory through factory acceptance tests (FATs).

Here we carry out rigorous tests that cover specification, quality and appearance of the MCC cabinet through to required electrical tests. With this phase of the FAT completed we then consider the software and its functionality, checking it actually performs to the client’s requirements.

To provide a greater interface with the plant operators we can specify a Human Machine Interface (HMI). This allows the operator to clearly see the plant and its status as a graphical representation. Operator interaction with the plant is through the HMI.

ICA Control Panels

Instrumentation, Control and Automation (ICA) control panels are intrinsically linked to MCCs. These panels or sections of an MCC are the operational centre of an MCC. Often the ICA section is common with simple motor starter panels.

Intelligent Motor Control

This is where local motor starters are controlled via a PLC incorporating profibus or modbus technology. All control functions and alarms status are available from the local starter or HMI. This can be coupled to a supervisory PC operating system, or to a SCADA system for remote access.

Motor Starters

More commonly used now are variable speed drive units (VSDs) which are usually specified for the control of pumps and fans. These motor drive units offer great efficiency and cost savings against previous methods using fixed speed motors.

Halcrow electrical engineers have a wealth of experience in incorporating VSDs with the control of pumps for the management of water. Click here for further information on Control Philosophy and Functional Design Specifications.

Harmonics

Incorporating VSDs brings about the issue of Harmonics. Halcrow can assist with harmonic studies to the current standard of G5/4. However it is possible that with the use of Regenerative Variable Speed Drives that any harmonic distortion that is created can be eliminated, avoiding the use of filtration.