Summary

AXI International specializes in fuel polishing, a technology that is important to ensure the uninterrupted functioning of data centers, which are mission-critical facilities requiring 24/7 uptime to support cloud computing, AI processing, and digital infrastructure. These facilities generally rely on diesel-powered backup generators. Their sophisticated fuel polishing systems are controlled by Unitronics controllers. UniStream PLC + HMI all-in-one units provide graphical user interfaces (GUIs)for the end user. Please see their FPS, STS, and MTC Product Lines for more information.

About the Company

Founded in Florida in 1990, AXI International engineers and manufactures intelligent fuel management solutions that clean, restore, and maintain fuel wherever it is used or stored. The rapid rise in hyperscale, enterprise, and colocation data centers, which rely on diesel-powered backup generators, has created great demand for their fuel polishing systems (FPS & STS product lines).

The Challenge

AXI International set out to develop a new line of advanced Fuel Polishing Systems (FPS), essential for ensuring clean and stable diesel fuel for data centers’ backup generators.

To meet this goal, AXI needed a user-friendly solution that would provide PLC control while allowing customers to easily operate their polishers via a controller’s touchscreen HMI.

Data centers, tasked with managing the massive surges in data driven by AI and other data-intensive technologies, cannot afford downtime; uninterrupted power is crucial to avoid outages that could cost hundreds of thousands of USD per hour. Their operations depend on consistent energy supplies, often supported by backup generators that require clean diesel fuel.

However, diesel fuel degrades over time. Sludge and sediment accumulate at the bottom of fuel tanks, accelerated by water contamination—caused by seepage or condensation—and this jeopardizes generator reliability and performance. AXI’s polishing systems continually remove impurities from fuel and are therefore essential in ensuring uninterrupted power supply and system reliability.

The Solution

To tackle this challenge, AXI International selected Unitronics' UniStream PLC + HMI. This provides the ideal combination of PLC control and HMI usability and includes an easily configured, built-in Alarm system. This enables customers to maintain diesel fuel quality and keep the generators running reliably, thereby ensuring a continuous supply of power to maximize data center uptime.

The completed fully automated fuel maintenance system can remove water, sludge, and other contaminants from fuel storage tanks through routine filtration, according to a schedule set by the end users.

Additional runtimes are configured in the same way. The software informs users if there are conflicts with currently active runtime schedules and prevents the pump from running during those conflicted times. This level of automation is key for data center operators, who require systems that can self-monitor and alert them before issues escalate into critical failures.

The Benefits

By integrating UniStream controllers, with integrated HMI panels and an advanced Alarm system into its polishers, AXI is able to provide clear benefits to its data center customers:

Easy Configuration and More—via HMI

Via the pre-programmed HMI screens, end-users can:

• Implement Multi-Tank Fuel Maintenance: easily polish and transfer fuel between multiple fuel storage tanks.
• Schedule: establish automatic fuel polishing routines with start and stop times.
• Switch from automatic to manual mode: for example, for fuel transfer between tanks.
• Monitor Diesel Quality Metrics: ensure fuel meets the required purity standards for generator reliability in mission-critical data center environments.
• Monitor Tank Levels: the PLC handles all aspects of tank level monitoring and management and displays status on its embedded HMI screen.
• Diagnostics: system errors are displayed on a dedicated HMI screen to allow end-users to troubleshoot errors and clear them when appropriate.
• Enable Fuel Maintenance System Options:
  • Fuel Heater Application for Low Temperature Environments.
  • Auto Water Drain Application to increase the water holding capacity of the system.
  • Multi-Point Application for Large Tanks with multiple, difficult to reach baffled compartments.
  • Pressure Transmitter for Filter Capacity Alerts.

Communications

• Remote Access via VNC: end-users can use UniStream’s User Access Control (UAC) to set access levels for administrators and staff, to allow authorized remote users to interact with the system’s HMI application.
• UniStream’s built-in MODBUS: allows end-users to easily configure and monitor system components and peripherals, both discrete and analog.
• Future Proofing: Unitronics UniStream is the only PLC currently embedded with native Redfish, the universal data center protocol. As Redfish grows as the standard for communication between data center components, using programmable controllers that support Redfish is an asset to companies in this sector.
• Seamless Integration with Data Center Management Software: Supports integration into DCIM (Data Center Infrastructure Management) platforms for real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance.

Alarms, Alerts, Notifications

AXI implemented UniStream’s advanced Alarm screens to create a smart automated system that enables end-users to:

• Define setpoints: for example, for vacuum, pressure, flow, and filter statuses.
• Configure: critical, major, minor, and warning Alarms.
• Automatically Send Notifications: to allow rapid response when setpoints are exceeded.
• View Banners: active Alarms can be displayed in a banner at the bottom.
• Set Notification Schedules: for new Alarms, daily email data reports, and Alarm logs to be sent to specific staff.
• Reduce Emergency Maintenance Costs: automated alerts enable proactive maintenance, preventing unexpected failures and reducing repair expenses.

Conclusion

AXI International was able, with Unitronics’ UniStream PLC + HMI, to deliver FPS systems that allow their end-users to easily purify the diesel fuel used for backup data center generators. Their customers can configure their systems, set up schedules, receive Alarm notifications that enable them to act when necessary, and more—all via pre-programmed HMI screens.

As data center energy demand continues to increase and the number of FPS, STS, and MTC system orders rise, AXI International recently opted to enter a volume agreement with Unitronics and order a special run of dedicated faceplates for UniStream, branded with the AXI logo.

With UniStream control, AXI ensures a clean, high-quality supply of diesel fuel that keeps the generators running reliably, allowing data centers to meet strict uptime requirements and maintain business continuity even during power disruptions.