PETER NICHOLAS FRANCINO
Engineers in Renfrew, PA

8140296, Mar 20, 2012

Mar 12, 2008

12/047139

Peter N. Francino - Renfrew PA, US
Xu Cheng - Pittsburgh PA, US
Frederick C. Huff - Pittsburgh PA, US

Emerson Process Management Power & Water Solutions, Inc. - Pittsburgh PA

G06F 11/30

702182

A statistical performance evaluation system for a thermodynamic device and process uses the achievable performance derived from statistics and real-time data for the device or process to evaluate the current performance of the device or process, and to adjust the operations of the device or process accordingly, or provide feedback to an operator or other monitoring system for taking corrective actions to obtain performance approaching the optimum achievable performance. The achievable performance of the device or process is derived from data collected during operational periods when the best achievable performance is anticipated, such as after maintenance is performed, and supersedes the ideal or design performance specified by the manufacturer, which typically does not represent the actual operating conditions in the field, as the basis for evaluating the real-time performance of the device. The statistical performance evaluation system may set desired upper and lower limits for performance parameters, and compare desired limits to the actual performance parameter values to determine the readjustment to be made to the operation of the device or process.

8200369, Jun 12, 2012

Mar 12, 2008

12/047217

Xu Cheng - Pittsburgh PA, US
Frederick C. Huff - Pittsburgh PA, US
Peter N. Francino - Renfrew PA, US
Konrad Swirski - Warsaw, PL

Emerson Process Management Power & Water Solutions, Inc. - Pittsburgh PA

G06F 1/26

700287, 700291, 700108, 700 95, 700121, 701100

A technique of implementing performance monitoring in a power plant is appropriate to control operating parameters and factors connected with the efficiency of the energy production process in an energy marketplace that is more complex than in the past, and that takes variable costs besides the cost of fuel into account, e. g. , environmental credits, equipment degradation and repair costs, electrical energy trade market factors like ramp rate, LMP (Locational Marginal Pricing) factors, the ability to deliver contracted power levels and spot transactions, etc. The technique applies a statistical analysis to collected power plant data to determine the factors that are best controlled or changed to affect (increase) the efficiency or other primary performance indication of the plant, as well as to establish baseline or best-possible operational constraints to be used to control the plant in the future.

8433450, Apr 30, 2013

Sep 11, 2009

12/558236

Peter N. Francino - Renfrew PA, US
Frederick C. Huff - Pittsburgh PA, US
Harry Robert Winn - Belle Vernon PA, US
David Glen Foster - Delmont PA, US

Emerson Process Management Power & Water Solutions, Inc. - Pittsburgh PA

G05B 13/02, G06N 5/02

700288, 700 28, 700 33, 700 49, 706 47

An optimization and control system for a utility plant that uses fan based air cooled condensers controls the operation of the power generation system at the plant in conjunction with the operation of the air cooled condensers so as to run the power plant at an optimum operating point associated with minimizing or reducing the cost energy produced by the plant. The optimization and control system includes an optimizer having a numerical solver that determines values for a set of control variables associated with an optimal operating point of the plant and an expert system that oversees and modifies the control variable settings prior to providing these settings to a plant controller. The numerical solver uses an objective function and one or more models of plant equipment to determine the operating point of the plant that minimizes the cost per unit of useful energy generated by the plant.

7288921, Oct 30, 2007

Jun 25, 2004

10/876431

Frederick C. Huff - Pittsburgh PA, US
Xu Cheng - Pittsburgh PA, US
Peter N. Francino - Renfrew PA, US

Emerson Process Management Power & Water Solutions, Inc. - Pittsburgh PA

H02P 9/10, H02P 9/14, F01D 17/04, F01D 17/02, H02J 3/06

322 20, 322 24, 290 40 R, 290 40 B, 705412, 703 3

An economic dispatch program optimally allocates load demand specifying real power and reactive power to be generated by a power plant among various power generators in a manner so that each of the power generators are operated within its optimal operating space as defined by a reactive capability curve. Allocating a power demand with consideration of the reactive capability curves of the power generators results in optimal generation of real power and reactive power as specified by the load demand. Alternatively, the economic dispatch program allocates load demand specifying real power and reactive power to be delivered by a power grid among various power plants wherein one or more of the various power plants have capacity limits exhibited by reactive capability curves.

7383790, Jun 10, 2008

Jun 6, 2005

11/146170

Peter N. Francino - Renfrew PA, US
Xu Cheng - Pittsburgh PA, US

Emerson Process Management Power & Water Solutions, Inc. - Pittsburgh PA

F22B 37/48

122379, 153181, 700275

A statistical process control system employs a consistent soot blowing operation for a heat exchange section of, for example, a fuel burning boiler, collects heat absorption data for the heat exchange section and analyzes the distribution of the heat absorption data as well as various parameters of the heat absorption distribution to readjust the soot blowing operation. The statistical process control system may set a desired lower heat absorption limit and a desired upper heat absorption limit and compare them, respectively, with an actual lower heat absorption limit and an actual upper heat absorption limit to determine the readjustment to be made to the soot blowing operation. Alternatively, the statistical process control system may be used to determine permanent slagging of the heat exchange section.

2012001, Jan 12, 2012

Jul 26, 2010

12/843670

Peter N. Francino - Renfrew PA, US
Frederick C. Huff - Pittsburgh PA, US

EMERSON PRCESS MANAGEMENT POWER & WATER SOLUTIONS, INC. - Pittsburgh PA

G06F 19/00, G06F 1/26

700291, 703 18

An energy management system uses an expert engine and a numerical solver to determine an optimal manner of using and controlling the various energy consumption, producing and storage equipment in a plant/communities in order to for example reduce energy costs within the plant, and is especially applicable to plants that require or that are capable of using and/or producing different types of energy at different times. The energy management system operates the various energy manufacturing and energy usage components of the plant to minimize the cost of energy over time, or at various different times, while still meeting certain constraints or requirements within the operational system, such as producing a certain amount of heat or cooling, a certain power level, a certain level of production, etc. In some cases, the energy management system may cause the operational equipment of the plant to produce unneeded energy that can be stored until a later time and then used, or that can be sold back to a public utility, for example, so as to reduce the overall cost of energy within the plant.

2012001, Jan 12, 2012

May 20, 2011

13/112697

Peter N. Francino - Renfrew PA, US
Frederick C. Huff - Pittsburgh PA, US
David G. Foster - Delmont PA, US

EMERSON PROCESS MANAGEMENT POWER & WATER SOLUTIONS, INC. - Pittsburgh PA

G06F 1/32

700291

An energy management system uses an expert engine and a numerical solver to determine an optimal manner of using and controlling the various energy consumption, producing and storage equipment in a plant/communities in order to for example reduce energy costs within the plant, and is especially applicable to plants that require or that are capable of using and/or producing different types of energy at different times. The energy management system operates the various energy manufacturing and energy usage components of the plant to minimize the cost of energy over time, or at various different times, while still meeting certain constraints or requirements within the operational system, such as producing a certain amount of heat or cooling, a certain power level, a certain level of production, etc. In some cases, the energy management system may cause the operational equipment of the plant to produce unneeded energy that can be stored until a later time and then used, or that can be sold back to a public utility, for example, so as to reduce the overall cost of energy within the plant.

8290631, Oct 16, 2012

Mar 12, 2009

12/403048

Thomas Sweeney - Verona PA, US
Scott Shaw - Tequesta FL, US
Peter Nicholas Francino - Renfrew PA, US

Emerson Process Management Power & Water Solutions, Inc. - Pittsburgh PA

G05D 7/00

700282, 25112904, 251 3001, 251 25, 91361

Example methods and apparatus to arbitrate valve position sensor redundancy are disclosed. A disclosed example method comprises measuring a first value representative of a position of a valve, measuring a second value representative of the position of the valve, computing a first estimated position of the valve, selecting one of the first and second values based on the first estimated position, and generating a first valve control signal for the valve based on the selected one of the first and second values.

2005028, Dec 29, 2005

Mar 14, 2005

11/079667

Frederick Huff - Pittsburgh PA, US
Xu Cheng - Pittsburgh PA, US
Peter Francino - Renfrew PA, US

EMERSON PROCESS MANAGEMENT POWER & WATER SOLUTIONS, INC. - Pittsburgh PA

H02H007/06

361020000

A system for generating updated reactive capability curves of a generator operates the generator at a number of operating load levels and at a number of different power factors to collect data regarding the real and reactive power generated at each of the various operating load levels and power factors. Subsequently, the system analyzes the collected data to determine an actual reactive capability curve of the generator. The system also provides generator health monitoring and identifies changes and trends in the capability curves of the generator. The updated reactive capability curves may be used by an economic dispatch program in determining optimum MW and MVAR setpoints for the generator.

7385300, Jun 10, 2008

Mar 13, 2007

11/685576

Frederick C. Huff - Pittsburgh PA, US
Xu Cheng - Pittsburgh PA, US
Peter N. Francino - Renfrew PA, US

Emerson Process Management Power & Water Solutions, Inc. - Pittsburgh PA

F02D 29/06, F02D 31/00, F02D 35/00, H02P 9/04, F03D 9/00

290 40F, 290 40 A, 290 44

A system for generating updated reactive capability curves of a generator operates the genarator at a number of operating load levels and at a number of different power factors to collect data regarding the real and reactive power generated at each of the various operating load levels and power factors. Subsequently, the system analyzes the collected data to determine an actual reactive capability curve of the generator. The system also provides generator health monitoring and identifies changes and trends in the capability curves of the generator. The updated reactive capability curves may be used by an economic dispatch program in determining optimum MW and MVAR setpoints for the generator.