The development of technologies does not stop. Nowadays, digitalization is one of the main trends that has already penetrated all industries. Ravshan Esanovich Akhmedov is one of the top managers of the Samarkand city water utility, who had a significant impact on the development of the city’s infrastructure. He shared his thoughts on how digital technologies function in the field of urban water supply.
One of the key factors on which the comfort of city residents depends is the stability of the water supply. It relies on the reliability of the equipment of pumping stations and its uninterrupted function. The main challenge out there is to maximize the stability of powerful asynchronous pumps that supply water to consumers.
Ravshan Akhmedov implemented the solution in Samarkand, which made it possible to raise the stability of the entire water supply system to a new level. So, he introduced new equipment, such as a frequency regulator of pumps, at the city’s pumping stations.
A frequency regulator or converter is a device, which is designed to regulate the frequency of voltage. It controls engine torque and speed. Thanks to it, one can ensure smooth starting of AC motors and precise compliance with its parameters. As a result, it is possible to achieve stable function and stable operation of the pumps; they are less likely to fail due to signal instability. Because of this, the overall efficiency of the entire system increases and the final and the most important parameter, which is the cost of water supplied to homes and businesses in the city, decreases as well.
Returning to the topic of digitalization: a frequency converter is not just an electrical device. It is a complex microcontroller with program logic and a lot of other functions, where the principal ones are the following:
- managing communication between devices in the network (one controller can work with several pumps at the same time);
- logging and transmitting data related to equipment operation.
Particularly the last factor is essential when it comes to digital technologies. Thanks to keeping protocols, constantly monitoring parameters in real time, saving and analyzing the obtained data, it is possible not only to keep statistics of the system’s operation, but also gain an understanding of the issues and the main needs of the industry as a whole in order to improve its performance.
The biggest achievement of Ravshan Akhmedov was the introduction of frequency converters at the pumping stations of Samarkand. After modernizing the city water supply system, the cost of water decreased, the stability of pumps increased (the number of failures and breakdowns decreased), and overall energy consumption decreased.
Reference
Over the years of professional activity, Ravshan Esanovich Akhmedov had a significant influence on the development of the water supply, water treatment, and sanitation system of Samarkand. The solutions brought to life thanks to his efforts still continue to provide a high level of comfort to city residents.
Additionally, Ravshan Akhmedov is an active public figure, teacher at the Samarkand State Institute of Architecture and Civil Engineering, and laureate of national awards and prizes of the Republic of Uzbekistan. He is one of the co-authors of the textbook “Organization of the operation of water supply and sewerage systems and their usage.” His scientific work, which is widely used in technical educational institutions of the republic, has been widely used in practice.
