Flow Like an Egyptian
Virtual Instrumentation for
Emissions Monitoring
ON THE WEB
EXCLUSIVE: Globetrotting
with Greg Shinskey
From Sustainable Plant:
Deepwater Horizon’s
Impact on the
Role of EH&S
Wireless
Comes of Age
Even in the notoriously conservative process
industries, wireless has moved past
AUGUST 2012
the early adopter stage and into
day-to-day operations.
10 years
over 40,000 sites
Thanks to our
comprehensive
approach to
Trusted Wireless
Creating a wireless solution comes down
to two things: reliable data transmission
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In the 10 years that we’ve been serving
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Why are we installed so often?
Our Trusted Wireless provides
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We can create your Trusted Wireless
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© 2012 PHOENIX CONTACT
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be used in the United States, Canada and Europe.
®
© COPYRIGHT 2012 OMEGA ENGINEERING, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
System 800xA Extended Automation. Elevating
Operator Performance
Operator Effectiveness: In order to keep your plant running safely and at its optimum
level, your operators need to be equipped to recognize abnormal situations and
handle them through effective decision making. Advanced alarm management, easy
navigation to plant-wide actionable information, dogged attention to human factors
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performance to new heights. That’s the Power of Integration.
Join the conversation at www.processautomationinsights.com
Plan now for Automation & Power World 2012
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"VHVTUr7PMVNF997r/VNCFS
F E AT U R E S
C
O
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R
S
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34 / Wireless Comes of Age
Even in the notoriously conservative process industries,
wireless has moved past the early adopter stage and into
day-to-day operations. by Nancy Bartels
F
L
O
W
45 / Flow Like an Egyptian
Back to Basics: Measuring Flow in Open Channels. by
Walt Boyes
E N V I R O N M E N
M O N I T O R I N G
T A
L
51 / Virtual Instrumentation
Monitors Arkansas Emissions
Arkansas Electric Cooperative says software sensors are
just as good as hardware sensors, with less maintenance
and fewer headaches. by Walt Boyes
0 / 5 ) & 8 & #
Exclusive: Globetrotting with Greg Shinskey. www.controlglobal.com/1208_GlobetrottingGS.html
From Sustainable Plant: Deepwater Horizon’s Impact on the Role of EH&S www.controlglobal.com/articles/2012/ismail-paquin-environment-health-safety.
html
CONTROL (ISSN 1049-5541) is published monthly by PUTMAN Media COMPANY (also publishers of CONTROL DESIGN, CHEMICAL PROCESSING, FOOD PROCESSING, INDUSTRIAL NETWORKING,
PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING, and PLANT SERVICES ), 555 W. Pierce Rd., Ste. 301, Itasca, IL 60143. (Phone 630/467-1300; Fax 630/467-1124.) Address all correspondence to Editorial and Executive Offices, same address. Periodicals Postage Paid at Itasca, IL, and at additional mailing offices. Printed in the United States. ©Putman Media 2012. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or part without
consent of the copyright owner. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to CONTROL, P.O. Box 3428, Northbrook, IL 60065-3428. SUBSCRIPTIONS: Qualified-reader subscriptions are accepted from Operating Management in the control
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accepted at $200 (Airmail only.) CONTROL assumes no responsibility for validity of claims in items reported. Canada Post International Publications Mail Product Sales Agreement No. 40028661. Canadian Mail Distributor Information:
Frontier/BWI,PO Box 1051,Fort Erie,Ontario, Canada, L2A 5N8.
A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2 XXXDPOUSPMHMPCBMDPN 5
Flowing with great possibilities.
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9 / Editor’s Page
33 / Resources
Natural Gas, Sustainability
and the Far North
ABB and Statoil explore for natural gas
in the deep, cold, ecologically important
Barents Sea.
All about safety systems.
13 / On the Web
Easy Listening
If Abigail Adams had been a process engineer, she would have listened to ControlGlobal podcasts.
Building on our
successes together
in the United States
55 / Ask the Experts
Can you really optimize a process in the
same way a dog herds sheep? And, liquified
petroleum gas problems.
57 / Roundup
Your I/O product needs met here.
60 / Products
15 / Feedback
Readers take on the case against Lambda
tuning and the automation job market.
Endress+Hauser’s new flow transmitter and
sensors, plus a generous helping of other
process automation goodies.
16 / Other Voices
65 / Control Talk
What Is a High-Performance HMI?
After decades of work, we’re still trying to
get these right.
Smart Calibration
McMillan and Weiner discuss trends in calibration with Fluke’s Glenn Gardiner.
23 / On the Bus
67 / Ad Index
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John Rezabek adds wireless to his toolbox
for easing commissioning woes.
Now a word from our sponsors.
24 / In Process
ABB’s Arctic adventure, Siemens’ strategy
for growth, Phoenix Contact’s new digs
and other process news.
68 / Control Report
Priorities and Pigeon Holes
Jim Montague lifts the fog of virtualized
computing and cloud-based services.
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CIRCULATION AUDITED MAY 2011
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EDITOR’S PAGE
Natural Gas, Sustainability and the Far North
In June, I went to Hammerfest, Norway, for an ABB press event and tour of the Statoil
LNG plant and terminal on Melkøya Island. With all the argumentative media attention
to the proposed Canadian LNG pipeline, and the apparent debacle over fracking, I
WALT BOYES
found the attitude of the Norwegian oil company and ABB executives refreshing.
EDITOR IN CHIEF
wboyes@putman.net
First, what you have to know is Melkøya is the
first large-scale attempt to extract natural gas
(and some oil) from the Barents Sea and the
Arctic. If you look up Hammerfest on the map,
you can see just how far north it is. We were
there over the summer solstice (June 21) and
there really was midnight sun. It was as light at
2:30 a.m. as it was at 2:30 p.m. the next day. The
Barents Sea region is environmentally fragile,
as are most Arctic and sub-Arctic regions.
Statoil has evolved many new techniques to
ensure enhanced safety at the wellhead, particularly in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon
event in 2010. One of those techniques is the
use of completely submersible wellhead systems instead of floating platforms. These totally
automated stations are protected from damage
due to ice and storms, and the pipelines from
these stations are laid along the sea floor all the
way to Hammerfest. Power goes out to the undersea platforms, as does the return CO2.
It is the opinion of Øivind Nilsen, vice president of production for Statoil, that this is a
major step forward for the safety and environmental friendliness of natural gas extraction.
Unlike other LNG plants, at Melkøya, CO2 is
stripped off the gas, but not released to atmosphere. To minimize the carbon footprint of
the plant, the CO2 is captured and re-injected
into the gas wells.
Nilsen and Per Erik Holsten, head of ABB’s
process automation division in Norway, said
that the Norwegian government was being very
cautious about permitting wholesale development in the Barents Sea. It appears that much
of the world’s cod and other fish are spawned
there, and it is just as much of an ecologically
sensitive region as the Alaska pipeline area.
Béla Lipták has written for years in these
pages about the right and wrong way to do
things, such as control nuclear power plants
and fracking, among others. He continues to
point out that if control engineers were running these projects, they might get done more
safely, faster and with less damage to the environment. I don’t know if he’s right or not, but it
is beginning to look like it.
I’ve written often about the fact that automation and control professionals often don’t have
the business skills they need to pursue their careers in the 21st century. They often don’t have
the requisite political and social skills either.
That means that our opinions don’t count as
much as our experience and expertise should
merit. We’d much rather be in the plant, making it work or work better than trying to understand how the business we work for is run, or
how to make what we do more environmentally sustainable, so we can leave and undamaged ecosphere and a decent standard of living
to our children.
If you have an opinion about the way your
plant, your country or your world is being run,
it is up to you to take action and do something
about it. Don’t just say, “Well, let George do it.”
There is no “George,” and “George” won’t do
it. Only we can.
If you believe that, for example, natural gas
can be extracted safely and sustainably from
the Arctic, go do it, and go tell people how. The
vast majority of our fellow citizens have so little
scientific training that they simply don’t know
which “expert” to believe. We do have the
knowledge and the training. We need to lead.
If you think I’m on to something, let me
know.
According to
Statoil executives,
this is a major
step forward for
the safety and
environmental
friendliness
of natural gas
extraction.
A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2 www.controlglobal.com
9
All the Tools you Need for Embedded
Measurements and Control,
in one rugged box.
Q
Graphical Software
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Custom Triggering
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Signal Analysis
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Control Algorithms
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Industrial Networks
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Custom Timing
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Expansion Systems
The NI CompactRIO hardware platform can handle your embedded measurement and
control applications, and do it in a way that outperforms other off-the-shelf systems so
you don’t have to spend time developing a custom solution. The range of high-quality
measurements, coupled with an extremely rugged design and the ability to modify
the hardware using NI LabVIEW system design software, gives you all the benefits of
customization with the convenience of an off-the-shelf platform.
>> To learn more about CompactRIO, visit ni.com/compactRIO
©2012 National Instruments. All rights reserved. CompactRIO, LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments.
Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. 05310
800 891 2755
What is PlantTria ?
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‹ Isolates control valve mechanical issues
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‹ :[HIPSPaLZVWLYH[PVUZI`YLK\JPUN]HYPHIPSP[`
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www.PlantTriage.com
or call: +1-262-369-7711
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Editor of BPÕ
s internal newsletter
Technology in Action
CONTROL ONLINE
Search this site | Tips
www.controlglobal.com/thismonth
Easy Listening
NANCY BARTELS
This summer, I’m spending a good deal of time with Abigail
Adams, one of our amazing Founding Mothers. While her
husband, John, was busy practicing sedition and serving as
one of our fledgling country’s overseas representatives, Abigail, the parson’s
daughter from Weymouth, Mass., who had no formal education whatever, was
raising five children and successfully managing the family finances, investments and her own small business. She also carried on a voluminous correspondence, not only with family members, but also with the likes of Thomas
Jefferson on topics ranging from colonial politics to family gossip to the superiority of the French to the English theater in the 1780s. She would go on to
become First Lady. She was one tough, savvy. spirited sister—and she had absolutely nothing to do with process automation.
She gets a mention here simply because I’m listening to her biography in
the car. (Abigail Adams, by Woody Holton, Simon & Schuster, 2009). Like
most Americans, I spend too much time driving from
one place to another, but once I discovered the virtues
of the CD and, later, the MP3 player, all that time sitting
in traffic is more productive. Instead of repetitive traffic
reports and annoying “Top 40” or “Golden Oldie” stations, I can listen to biographies, novels, commentary,
even college courses. The podcast is a beautiful thing.
If your tastes run more toward process automation than biographies or
novels, ControlGlobal can help. We have more than 200 podcasts on subjects ranging from the RS-485 standard (www.controlglobal.com/multimedia/2012/podcast-advantech-rs-485-standard.html) to “Upgrading Your DCS
with No BS” (www.controlglobal.com/multimedia/2012/webcast-upgradingdcs.html). We also cover everything from process security (www.controlglobal.com/multimedia/2011/process-security-podcast.html) to best practices in industrial networking (www.controlglobal.com/multimedia/2010/
BestPracticessIN1004.html). Flow measurement, asset management, calibration, process analyzers and just about every other process automation
topic get a nod in one of our podcasts.
Some of these many podcasts are produced here at the Process Automation
Media Network. Others are produced by vendors. Every month a podcast associated with the cover story for that month becomes available. All are free.
Just go to the ControlGlobal home page at www.controlglobal.com and
click on the “Multimedia” tab at the top of the page. That will take you to a
complete list of all our available podcasts.
Good parson’s daughter that she was, Mrs. Adams disapproved strongly of
wasting time. I think she would have liked the idea of the podcast—a way of
turning “downtime” to productive use.
MANAGING EDITOR
nbar tels@putman.net
Getting on the Right Bus
With hundreds to choose from, it’s
hard to pick the right bus for your application needs. This white paper tells
you how.
Operator Effectiveness
The need—and potential payoff—for
more effective operators is well understood. Learn how to transform your
people into strategic assets.
Successful DCS Migration
Here’s how it’s done.
To download these papers, go to www.
ControlGlobal.com/whitepapers.
Control en Español
ControlGlobal now has process control resources written in Spanish. www.
controlglobal.com/resource_centers/
espanol/index.html
Productivity Through
Integrated Engineering
www.controlglobal.com/
industrynews/2012/productivitythrough-integrated-engineering.html
Low-Cost, USB-Configured Temperature
Transmitters
www.controlglobal.com/
vendornews/2012/acromagtemperature-transmitters.html
ControlGlobal E-News
Multimedia Alerts
White Paper Alerts
Go to www.controlglobal.com and
follow instructions to register for our
free weekly e-newsletters.
Updated every business day, the Control Global online magazine is available at no charge.
Go to www.controlglobal.com and follow instructions to register for our free weekly e-newsletters.
A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2 www.controlglobal.com
13
Density calibration is just one less thing to worry about
when you choose Echotel® Ultrasonic Level Switches.
The more you rely on Echotel, the less you’ll worry if your current tuning fork is calibrated to the
right density – or can measure your low-density liquids at all. Unlike tuning fork technology, Echotel
Model 961 Single–Point and Model 962 Dual–Point ultrasonic level switches provide continuously
accurate and reliable level control independent of the liquid density. With the capability to read
any density, even below 0.6 SG, and no DIP switch to configure, you’ll be assured of superior
overfill prevention across your tank inventory.
Echotel Gap Technology Offers MORE Than Tuning Fork Technology
MORE Efficiency – Dual–point capability allows two-point detection from
the same unit.
MORE Versatility – Echotel can be remote mounted for easy access and control.
MORE Information – Separate relay outputs for diagnostics and level alarms.
MORE Advanced Diagnostics – Thorough testing of electronics, transducer,
crystals, and for electromagnetic noise.
Get more performance from Echotel. www.magnetrol.com
G N I K A E P S YL L A C I N H C E T
FEEDBACK
IN MEMORY OF JULIE CAPPELLETTI-LANGE,
VICE PRESIDENT 1984-2012
81*&3$&3%46*5&r*5"4$"*--*/0*4
President & CEO: JOHN M. CAPPELLETTI
CFO: JANE B. VOLLAND
VP, Circulation: JERRY CLARK
publishing team
Group Publisher/VP Content: KEITH LARSON
klarson@putman.net
Midwest/Southeast Regional Sales Manager: GREG ZAMIN
gzamin@putman.net
'BY
Western Regional Sales Manager: LAURA MARTINEZ
'BY
lmar tinez@putman.net
Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Regional Sales Manager: DAVE FISHER
'BY
dfisher@putman.net
Inside Accounts Manager: POLLY DICKSON
pdickson@putman.net
Subscriptions/Circulation: JERRY CLARK, JACK JONES
foster reprints
Reprints Marketing Manager: JILL KALETHA
FY U'BY
jillk@fosterprinting.com
editorial team
Editor in Chief: WALT BOYES
wboyes@putman.net
&YFDVUJWF&EJUPS+*..0/5"(6&
jmontague@putman.net
Senior Managing Editor, Digital Media: KATHERINE BONFANTE
kbonfante@putman.net
The Case Against Lambda Tuning
In the May 2012 issue of Control, an article
by F. Greg Shinskey, “The Case Against
Lambda Tuning,” (www.controlglobal.
com/articles/2012/shinskey-case-againstlambda-tuning.html compares the performances of minimum integrated absolute
error (IAE) tuning and Lambda tuning.
In the article, it also made a reference to
our paper (Chia, Lefkowitz) “Robust PID
Tuning Using IMC Technology,” InTech,
Oct-Nov, 1992.
Shinskey stated that the article by Chia
and Lefkowitz encouraged the false assumption that load disturbances enter the
loop directly at the controlled variable.
That certainly was not our intention.
Our article provided a framework of using internal model-based control (IMC) to
come up with PID parameters. Indeed, setpoint changes were used and discussed as
an example. In IMC-based tuning, different
tuning parameters are recommended for setpoint changes and disturbance rejection.
Shinskey’s article compares the performances of two different PI controllers, minimum IAE and Lambda tuning, for an integrating process. He pointed out that the use
of integral action will unavoidably cause
overshoot. Indeed, in IMC-based tuning,
not PI, but a PID control, is recommended
as derivative action improves the stability.
Even though integral action will contribute
to overshoot and oscillation, we continue to
recommend integral action, so that setpoint
will be tracked properly in the presence of
sustained disturbances that pass through
the integrating process.
TIEN-LI CHIA, PH.D.
PRESIDENT, CONTROLSOF T INC
tlcchia@controlsof tinc.com
Help Wanted
I just read “Process
Automation
Jobs: Help Wanted”
(July 2012, www.
controlglobal.com/
a r t icle s / 2012 / he bert-process-automation-jobs.html).
You were on the
mark regarding the current job market. I
just changed jobs, and my experience was
that I could be very particular about what
kind of position and what geographical
market I wanted.
J U LY 2 0 1 2
executive team
PE TER LIE TZ
SR. PROCESS CONTROL ENGINEER
LyondellBasell Industries
Correction
In the July issue, Figure 4 in “Safely Drilling in the Arctic Ocean” by Béla Lipták
was incorrect. The corrected version of the
illustration is below. We regret the error.
Managing Editor: NANCY BARTELS
nbar tels@putman.net
One of the winches
Senior Technical Editor: DAN HEBERT
dheber t@putman.net
Contributing Editor: JOHN REZABEK
Columnists: BÉLA LIPTÁK, GREG MCMILLAN, STAN WEINER
Editorial Assistant: LORI GOLDBERG
design & production team
71$SFBUJWF4FSWJDFTSTEVE HERNER
Throttling range
(0-100%) by
changing the
catenary of
the rode
100%
0%
sherner@putman.net
Associate Art Director: BRIAN HERTEL
Maximum position (100%)
of the >100 ton chain-rode
Minimum position (0%)
of the miles long chain-rode
Ocean bottom
bher tel@putman.net
Force throttling range
Senior Production Manager: ANETTA GAUTHIER
0%
agauthier@putman.net
JESSE H. NEAL AWARD WINNER
ELEVEN ASBPE EDITORIAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS
TWENTY-FIVE ASBPE EXCELLENCE IN GRAPHICS AWARDS
ASBPE 2009 MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR FINALIST
FOUR OZZIE AWARDS FOR GRAPHICS EXCELLENCE
100%
STABLE OPERATIONS
Figure 4: Winds and waves can make the ship yaw, pitch, roll or drift, but the manipulation of
the chain-rodes that throttle both force and catenary in all directions can keep the ship within a
3-dimensional envelope around the well.
A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2 www.controlglobal.com
15
OTHER VOICES
What Is the High-Performance HMI?
The industry today is in a state of confusion regarding basic process control systems’
(BPCSs) human-machine interfaces (HMIs). The industry has about 40 years experience
IAN NIMMO
with man- or human-machine Interfaces in one form or another. With the evolution of the
PRESIDENT,
USER-CENTERED DESIGN SERVICES
inimmo@MyControlRoom.com
BPCS, the HMI has evolved over a period of 50 years and has transitioned from physical
lights, switches and annunciator panels with
analog gauges and trend displays to electronic
simulations and finally to computer interfaces.
But, the computer interfaces were designed
with little knowledge or science added into the
design, and many issues still remain because of
this. To help understand the issues and the proposed solutions, we need to understand the current state of the industry. What specific problems
we are trying to eliminate?
A quick survey of the current state of the HMI
design using a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis reveals that the
industry has fully adapted to the current state,
and, in spite of known problems and limitations,
is reluctant to change. This is mainly because
change requires commitment to learn a new
system, which involves design, implementation,
testing, documentation and training.
Process control operators learn to live with
design flaws, and often take the easy way out
and continue to live with the less than perfect
systems they grew up with. The strength of the
existing system is that it evolved from panels to
electronics to a first-generation faceplate equivalent and finally to a crude, graphical interface
based on plant design.
The HMI many people have been using
evolved from a hard panel to group faceplate displays and then to P&ID graphics-integrating faceplates. This has been an easy solution, first taking
the controllers from the panel and placing them
into groups on a computer display, and then using
the faceplate live values within a P&ID graphic.
Operators learn to
live with design
flaws, and often
take the easy way
out, and live with
the less-thanperfect systems
they grew up with.
THE OLD, FAMILIAR PANEL WALL.
Figure 1. The panel wall is the starting point of the evolution to the current HMI design used in most
process automation operations.
16
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
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OTHER VOICES
Current state
SWOT analysis
-
-
SWOT analysis
-
Evolution
Easy
Context
Familiarity
Strengths Vendor supported
Short wavelength colors
Color’s vividness
Hue
Aesthetics
- Saturation
- Arousal Saturation
Blue and yellow combinations
Weaknesses
+
Opportunites
Threats
+
+
WHAT TO LIKE ABOUT THE CURRENT SYSTEM
Figure 2. This strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis outlines the capabilities of common HMI designs.
The black backgrounds and bright, fully saturated colors were not designed. They were more a symptom of the
technology, one that the vendors did not mind because
bright, fully saturated colors are aestheticly pleasing to
the eye, even though they may be 180° from the best practices learned from the science of using color. The vendors
still sell their systems based on this premise, rather than
on the science of using color correctly.
This statement can be proved by looking at automation vendors’ websites and viewing the examples they use
to promote their systems. Even though they may have
policies supporting the new ASM Consortium-promoted
graphics (www.asmconsortium.net), grey-scale does not
sell systems.
As we examine the weakness or problems that are created by this solution, we can read of multiple accident/
incident reports that identify the HMI as a contributor to
these incidents. We also discover that operators struggle
with tracking information or getting overloaded with information because their graphics are not task-based, and
information is scattered by the P&ID design. The old
groups were faster, as they were assembled based on tasks.
Problems with the Old Way
We see navigation issues caused by lack of hierarchy, in which
everything is designed at the same level with no overview. We
also see inconsistencies in design because no structure was
anticipated by the design. We also see operators trying to get
around this issue by requesting more screens. I have actually
seen a single operator with more than 24 screens, even though
the new standards and guidelines recommend only four process control screens per operator based on short term memory
(STM) issues and the limitations on the operator’s ability to
track more screens.
In additon, ergonomic design principles also help us
18
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
WHY USERS LIKE THE CURRENT SYSTEM
A SWOT analysis reveals the strengths of current HMI
graphic systems and reasons why many users are reluctant to rethink their design:
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understand that main screens should be within a 30° and
60° design.
These kinds of graphics have basic readability issues during
“normal operations,” let alone when data is moving fast during both abnormal operating conditions (AOCs) and emergency operations. These have been categorized as issues with
clarity, consistency, too much variety, overload, visual noise
and luminance contrast.
Many operators complain of eye-strain because of highcontrast color usage and the use of >3:1 contrast ratio for
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OTHER VOICES
improve readability by addressing text font and character size or height, and by controlling color and following strict coding rules. Apply similar rules for lines and
graphic objects. Address visual clutter, and follow rules
regarding how much white space should be left and how
many screens each operator should be following. Develop of a hierarchy of graphics views—overview, unit
view, detail view and diagnostic view—instead of just using a f lat P&ID view. P&IDs normally live down at the
detail view. Also, training, management of change and documentation practices often need to be added to a graphic enhancement project.
All or Nothing?
PRETTY, BUT NOT EFFICIENT
Figure 3. Current designs may be aesthetically pleasing, but they ignore
basic color science best practices.
colors, such as extremes of brightness from yellow-on-black
backgrounds.
The eye has to adjust to light and dark continuously, especially with the extremes of light and dark in the environment. Most control rooms with these style graphics are kept
dark to reduce glare issues. However, windows, task lights,
ceiling lights and windows all create problems in these types
of environments.
Graphics designed in this way suffer from poor or lacking
functionality. They create an environment that supports human error. For example, they exacerbate short-term memory
issues. These can inclulde operators forgetting they’ve made
a manual move, such as opening a drain valve or bypassing
an alarm. This system also generally creates high levels of
cognitive workload as operators try to diagnose problems by
searching for information, all the while keeping an eye on
the operation. In the past, we have experienced many data
entry problems, which often happen when the operator is
several moves ahead of display updates.
The bigger issue with human error is one I’ve described
as situation awareness issues. These touch on some of other
areas, such as salience or misplaced salience, data overload
and attention tunneling. Each of these deserve a white paper of its own. Other issues include distractions, communication breakdowns, out-of-loop syndrome, complexity
creep, workload, fatigue, and working with the wrong mental model due to use of P&ID style.
Some quick fixes are available, and include reviewing
existing graphics against a formal philosophy and style
guide, addressing issues around consistency, and only
making graphics pop for important information. You can
20
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
Some of the biggest questions I’m often asked are, “Is it all or
nothing? Can we do anything to our existing graphics without throwing away what we have? Or, do we have to redesign
them totally?” Those are great questions.
I view improvement as an iterative process. Often it all
depends on what else is happening. If you’re going through
an automation replacement, it makes sense to redesign the
graphics to today’s new standards. Many parts of a current
design—the good parts—can be kept, but chances are the
new techniques will require something that does not exist
in the present design. Many of our customers testify that the
new design techniques often result in a significant reduction
in the number of graphics or schematics.
The important thing is to have a roadmap, in the form
of a philosophy and style guide, which will ensure that the
designer and users understand the rules for designing and
building graphics, and address the issues of consistency,
clarity, variability, etc.
In additon, the greatest lesson that designers and users
need to understand about BPCS graphics is that they need
to be layered. The background layer should be for fixed reference information, the next layer for variable information,
then notifications, then alarms, and finally safety-critical
alarms.
The pop-outs at the very front are controlled by color,
thickness, brightness, contrast, etc. This allows different priorities to catch the operator’s attention, provides improved
situational awareness, and allows the graphic to work with
the alarm system, rather than being a competitor for the operator’s attention.
Finally, new graphics should be designed to the new lifecycle model promoted by ISA-101 draft standard, and follow Human Factor/Ergonomic rules outlined in the ISO
11064-5 standard.
[Editor’s mote: In the October 2012 issue, Ian Nimmo will
focus on taking advantages of the opportunities offered by following best practices in HMI design.]
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ON THE BUS
Easier Commissioning with Wireless
I always admired and valued the techs that would show up for the job with a tool apron
chock-full of digital multimeters, analog calibrators, trim pot screwdrivers, test leads,
handheld communicators, you name it. My friend Al was one of these guys: ready for
any contingency and no tedious trips back to the shop to retrieve the necessary tool.
In 1980 or 1990, even in 2000, Al’s tools and
methods were how you went from broken to
functional. But today, users and their service
providers who set out to impose the paradigms
of the 4-20 mA era can be inefficient at best.
In the worst case, the old ways can create some
angst and frustration.
Al’s been retired for a few years now, and to
some degree we’re retiring some of his tools.
Loop check and commissioning teams still
need them in their toolbox, but the degree to
which the last generation of tools are necessary is declining. Practically every device has
a microprocessor in it, and if the end user is
exploiting standard protocols for digital integration—Foundation fieldbus (FF), Profibus PA
or HART—the vital information is knowable
within moments of landing the wires. With a
capable system, the end user or start-up technician is mouse clicks away from knowing 99% of
what they need to know about the newly terminated device without ever lifting a wire.
It’s true that with wired HART you still have
some dealings with analog 4-20 mA, but it’s
common for HART devices to support methods for simulating loop current, as well as an
“analog trim” function. As with the more modern protocols, it’s common for the user to invoke these functions with mouse clicks. WirelessHART and ISA 100.11a devices are on par
with the fieldbuses because they’re virtually all
digital from the time they’re powered up. The
suppliers that support these protocols are the
leaders in our industry, and they’ve made great
strides in making complex commissioning of
digitally integrated devices, whether fieldbus,
HART or wireless, as painless and streamlined
as possible. You can get most of the job done
and find the vast majority of errors whilst sipping your tea in the comfortable, air-conditioned control house.
Once your device is powered up and talking
to the host without errors, showing the proper
tag number and service, what else do you need
to check? Well I’m afraid some trips to the plant
are still needed. Maybe you want to pump up
some DP cells to do a range validation, but I
wouldn’t endorse an in-place “calibration” of
pressure devices unless such a range check reveals an unacceptable error. But you can’t apply
pressure to vortex shedding meters, ultrasonic
meters, radar or nuclear. What our plants have
done for FF is simply to verify “the right tag
in the right place” by momentarily disconnecting the device locally, and verifying the corresponding tag in the DCS. We do this again in
the field junction box to ensure the pairs are
properly tagged. The person in the house can
check everything else—alarm settings, linearization, full scale engineering units, interlocks—without ever leaving his seat.
This method does require a systems-savvy
individual at the engineering workstation.
There’s a new way to relieve this person of commissioning duties and make loop check a oneperson job. You can use 802.11a/b/g/n wireless Ethernet to port a remote client session
from your engineering workstation to the field.
The “system” view is portable and can, in theory, be viewed from each device as it’s tested.
For the commissioning stage, concerns about
stringent network security and area classification might be less than the operating phase,
but there’s a good chance your client will want
the wireless network to persist beyond start-up.
One’s “mesh” access points can be relocated as
needed to facilitate the areas that are ready to
commission.
Provided we can address concerns about security, the potential for “mobile worker” applications is considerable. Check with your systems supplier about the ways they can help.
JOHN REZ ABEK
CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
JRezabek@ashland.com
With a capable
system, the end
user is mouseclicks away from
knowing 99% of
what he needs to
know about the
device without ever
lifting a wire.
A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2 www.controlglobal.com
23
IN PROCESS
Natural Gas in the Frozen North
Statoil and ABB go deeper and colder for liquified natural gas.
In June, Editor in Chief Walt Boyes
went to Norway for an ABB-sponsored
press tour of the Statoil LNG complex
on Melkøya Island in the fjord near
Hammerfest. Hammerfest is one of
the most northerly cities in the world,
some 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle, and it argues with Honningsvåg
over which is the northernmost city in
Norway.
The press tour bus went through a
long undersea tunnel to Melkøya Island, in the fjord off Hammerfest for
briefings and a tour of the plant. The
Melkøya LNG complex was built to
serve the Snøhvit subsea well field
complex. According to Statoil’s website
(http://tinyurl.com/bnnooz6): “Snøhvit is the first offshore development in
the Barents Sea. Without surface installations, this project involves bringing natural gas to land for liquefaction and export from the first plant of
its kind in Europe. It is also the world’s
northernmost liquefied natural gas facility. Snøhvit is the first major development on the Norwegian continental
shelf with no surface installations.
“The seabed facilities are designed
to be over-trawlable, so that neither
they nor fishing equipment will suffer any damage from coming into contact. No fixed or floating units are positioned in the Barents Sea. Instead, the
subsea production facilities stand on
the seabed, in water depths of 250 m
to 345 m. A total of 20 wells are due
to produce gas from the Snøhvit, Askeladd and Albatross fields. This output is
transported to land through a 143-kilometer pipeline.”
The carbon dioxide injection pipeline Statoil’s website mentions is in
place so that the LNG plant can have
a vastly reduced carbon footprint. In24
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
GOING FOR GAS IN THE COLD
Melkøya LNG Facility, Hammerfest, Norway is the northernmost LNG facility in the world.
stead of releasing the CO2 as most facilities do, the Melkøya facility is designed to capture the carbon and
re-inject it into the well field. This will
cut the plant’s carbon emissions by at
least half compared to a normal LNG
plant.
Statoil’s vice president of production, Øivind Nilsen, talked about the
plant and how it was constructed. The
business end of the plant was actually
built on a barge in Spain and towed to
the site. In the meantime, a drydock
had been built to fit the barge. The
dock was filled, the barge floated in,
and then the dock was emptied, leaving the plant permanently attached.
This necessitated the plant being
built very compactly—perhaps too
compactly, but it works. Nilsen noted
that this gave Statoil enough real estate
on the island to make two more plants
of the same size. “We have lots of expansion room,” he said.
Nilsen talked about what arctic gas
means to Statoil in terms of new markets
and revenues. He noted that if the planet
continues to warm, the Northeast Passage is expected to open up all the way
from Hammerfest to Vladivostok, Russia, and then to Japan and China. Shipping LNG that way will be faster and
cheaper than going through the Suez or
Panama Canals or around the Horn or
Africa. Even though the prices for natural gas are low in the United States currently, Nilsen sees the U.S. as a fertile
market in the future.
Per Erik Holsten, ABB’s head of division for Process Automation in Norway, talked about the specific challenges of working in the Arctic and the
Barents Sea. He noted that the area is
ecologically fragile, home to spawning
grounds for many food fishes, including cod, and needs to have especially
high levels of environmental care
taken with any undersea work, as well
as with plants such as Melkøya. He described the design of the undersea facilities as “environmentally friendly.”
Håvard Devold, vice president for oil
Wireless...
The Market Spoke... We Listened!
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IN PROCESS
and gas upstream market, talked about
the innovative electrification systems
that ABB and Statoil are pioneering,
including high-voltage direct-current
(HVDC) undersea lines to each of the
subsea installations, so there is less energy loss than with AC transmission.
Some of these lines are long, and doing HVDC is less expensive than AC
would be.
Veli-Matti Reinikkala, head of process automation for ABB, gave his view
of the opportunities for ABB in oil and
gas production from now until 2015.
He sees this industry vertical as providing significant growth for ABB globally, and he believes the Arctic finds
will be core to ABB’s business.
The tour group was suited up and
did a full-scale tour of the plant. The
plant includes field devices from
many vendors, including Siemens and
Endress+Hauser, but the control system is all ABB System 800xA. One of
the interesting things was the large collection of fish swimming in the plant
water intake, including flounder and
other food fishes.
Borghild Lunde, ABB vice president
of strategy and business development,
talked about the challenges that subsea
oil and gas exploration produce. The
title of her talk was “Subsea: Longer,
Deeper, Colder,” and she discussed
what the future holds for wells further
from shore, deeper and colder than any
drilled so far. These challenges are, of
course, compounded with the need for
environmental sustainability and a low
carbon footprint.
Statoil, working with ABB, is doing some extremely innovative work
in subsea exploration and drilling and
in the extraction of natural gas. The
HVDC and carbon dioxide return
lines alone are nearly unique, and the
completely underwater gas well installations are very forward-looking and
environmentally friendly. With complete subsea installations, the chances
of a blowout like Deepwater Horizon
are vastly reduced.
26
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
Productivity Through
‘Integrated Engineering’
Drives Siemens’
Automation Strategy
During the last week of June in Washington, D.C., engineers actually outnumbered the lawyers and lobbyists
at one downtown hotel, as more than
300 industrial automation professionals from more than 100 companies convened for the 2012 Siemens Automation Summit, the annual conference for
U.S. users of Siemens Industry Inc.’s automation systems and components.
In addition to user application presentations and requisite updates on new
and forthcoming Siemens product capabilities, Automation Summit attendees gained a broad perspective on the
trends shaping the U.S. industrial sector, as well as Siemens’ short- and longterm strategies for making its users’ efforts more productive and businesses
more sustainable for the long haul.
Despite ongoing malaise in the
broader global economy, Raj Batra, president of the industry automation division
for Siemens Industry, pointed in his keynote address to manufacturing as an important driver of U.S. economic growth.
Noting that the Institute for Supply
Management’s Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) is now in its 34th consecutive
month of economic expansion, and that
a conjunction of recent studies predicts
increased re-shoring of manufacturing
activities, “manufacturing is the engine
behind the U.S. economic growth landscape,” Batra said. “It’s all trending in the
right direction.”
Meanwhile, the Great Recession
didn’t change the global demographic
trends that will drive manufacturing
investment in future years, according
to Batra. A few numbers make his case:
a 147% rise in commodity prices since
2000; three billion people set to enter
the middle class in the next 20 years;
and a global automotive fleet predicted
to double by 2030. “Higher productivity will need to supply 30% of this new
demand,” said Batra citing a recent
McKinsey & Co. report.
Closer to home, Helmuth Ludwig,
CEO of Siemens Industry, pointed to
record low domestic natural gas prices,
as well as the non-agility of global supply chains, as key contributors to a
“manufacturing renaissance in the
United States.” Increasingly, dynamic
customer demands require companies to innovate more quickly. But if
months of inventory of previous generation product already are in shipping
containers crossing the Pacific, innovations can’t be brought to market quickly
enough, according to Ludwig. Add in
lower natural gas costs and increasing
parity of worker wages worldwide, and
these supply chains effects make domestic manufacturing for domestic demand all the more compelling.
Ludwig’s perspective clearly is shaped
by his latest assignment before taking the
reins of Siemens Industry as head of the
company’s strategically important Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) unit.
Siemens PLM is an umbrella organization consisting of a range of engineering
tools and capabilities from Siemens for
designing everything from paper clips to
process plants, and for managing associated data throughout a product or production asset’s lifecycle.
Indeed, the company clearly has
pinned its future offering and value
proposition on the ability to integrate
traditionally disparate silos of design
and manufacturing tasks. The common
thread here is the automation itself, and
the company is betting that it can help
companies bring better products to market more quickly through a unified environment that brings design, simulation,
automation and manufacturing together.
This integrated engineering theme
was foundational to the company’s automation roadmap presentation by Eckard Eberle, CEO, industrial automation
systems, for global parent Siemens AG.
How?
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IN PROCESS
“It’s all about being faster from
product to production,” Eberle said,
explaining how the integration of the
engineering tools can change serial
tasks of design and manufacturing
into more concurrent, even parallel,
tasks. “In the future, up to 50% faster
time-to-market is possible,” Eberle
predicted.
From a platform perspective, the
company’s new TIA Portal provides an
integrated tool for all factory automation tasks, and the Comos plant engineering and maintenance system is
integrated with the company’s PCS 7
process automation system to provide
“seamless information flow from P&I
diagrams to the process automation system,” Eberle said. Providing flexibility
in execution is another key Siemens focus in order for customers to better handle high numbers of production variations, Eberle said, citing Audi’s current
23 automotive models—up from only
three in 1970.
Siemens’ integrated approach to
standard and safety-related automation
is intended to make it easier for customers to protect personnel, environment, machines and processes, Eberle
said. Other key Siemens deliverables
include security—of both intellectual
property and plant availability—and
sustainability in resource consumption, Eberle said. “After all, the cheapest energy is the energy you don’t use.”
Phoenix Contact’s
New Digs
Top company officials from the United
States and Germany marked the grand
opening of Phoenix Contact’s new
Customer and Technology Center in
Ann Arbor, Mich. Approximately 40
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employees work in the 27,000-squarefoot building. Phoenix Contact purchased the property in 2010 and has
completed extensive renovations to
make the center into a modern training, demonstration and software development facility. The centerpiece
of the facility is a demonstration room
highlighting the ways Phoenix Contact products can meet customer needs
in five specific industries: automotive,
power generation, oil and gas, transportation and water/wastewater
“Our investment in this customer
and technology Center in Ann Arbor is
a clear commitment towards the American market and our future strategies,”
said Roland Bent, senior vice president
for marketing and development, Phoenix Contact GmbH & Co. KG.
Jack Nehlig, president of Phoenix Contact USA, stated, “Our new Ann Arbor
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IN PROCESS
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CSIA Launches
New Website
The Control System Integrators Association (CSIA, www.controlsys.org) has
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launched a new, enhanced website, designed to serve as a resource for clients
of control system integrators, in addition to information for current and prospective members. The website reflects
CSIA’s expanded mission to educate
buyers about the control system integration process, the benefits of retaining
CSIA members, and the added security
and value CSIA certification brings to
control system integration projects.
“Serving control system integrators
and raising the bar for successful business management continues to be our
primary mission,” said Robert Lowe,
CSIA’s executive director. “Our leadership recognized that raising awareness
of control system integration and the
value that CSIA membership brings to
the end user would ultimately help our
members succeed.”
Visitors to the new website’s home
page will be asked to self-select their
audience type. One side of the site is
written for clients (“end users”) who are
looking for a solution to their industrial
automation needs. The other side is for
integrators who are interested in learning more about the association and the
benefits CSIA membership affords.
Content for prospective clients of
CSIA members includes information
about the types of services a control
system integrator performs in particular industries, along with case studies
related to that industry. Additionally,
there is a list of certified members who
work in that particular industry. Visitors can search all industries by choosing a menu item that directs them to
CSIA’s popular “Find an Integrator”
search engine.
On the integrator side of the new
site, visitors can expect leaner, more
focused content written with the notime-to-waste integrator in mind.
News, events and information about
best practices and the certification process appear here, along with a link to
the CSIA Connected Community, the
CSIA’s social media site available to all
members and registered guests.
Get Ready. Fall 2012.
Learn more: fluke.com/wireless
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efficiency, today’s safety automation technology from Rockwell Automation
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Every month, Control ’s editors take a specific product area, collect all the latest, significant tools we can find,
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A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2 www.controlglobal.com
33
WIRELESS
Wireless
Comes of Age
34
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
WIRELESS
Even in the notoriously conservative process industries, wireless has
moved past the early adopter stage and into day-to-day operations.
by Nancy Bartels
honeywell.com), says, “What we’re seeing over the last
year is that the early adopters have gone through the experiment and are implementing it [wireless] in a meaningful way. More people, who are followers, are just getting their feet wet. They’re doing fewer applications, but
there are quite a few folks doing more and more.”
Remote Access
© 2012 Rasmusson & Willey LLC
Getting necessary and, if not necessary, certainly useful
data from remote areas of operation at a reasonable cost is a
big driver for implementing wireless.
At specialty chemicals manufacturer Lubrizol’s (www.
lubrizol.com) Deer Park, Texas, facility, wireless monitoring is in place in the tank farm (Figure 3). Keith Simpson, Lubrizol’s I & E controls manager at Deer Park, explains: “The Deer Park tank farm is hundreds of tanks
spread around the manufacturing facility, and some are
separated by a public road and in outlying areas. We’re
70%
2008 survey
2010 survey
2012 survey
60%
50%
% respondents
It is a truism that the process industries are slow to adopt
the new. That’s certainly been the case with wireless in
process operations. In spite of the best efforts of some of
the biggest names in process automation, such as Emerson Process Management (www.emerson.com) and Honeywell Process Systems (https://honeywellprocess.com),
organizations such as ISA (www.isa.org) and the HART
Communication Foundation (www.hartcomm.org), and
a lot of media hype and users’ real-world experience with
it in their private lives, wireless has been a tough sell in
process plants.
But that is finally changing. Earlier this year, Global Automation Research (www.globalautomationresearch.com)
released the results of a survey of end users of wireless process instrumentation transmitters and found that 67% of
those surveyed were using them, compared to 43% in 2008.
Furthermore, wireless technology has moved from small
test applications and simple monitoring to safety, asset protection and mainstream problem solving—and even some
control. Furthermore, 63% of the respondents worked for
companies that had considered using wireless, up a full 20
percentage points from 2008. The number of respondents
working for companies that have decided against using
wireless dropped to 4% (Figure 1).
The survey also reported that 40% of the respondents’
companies have been using wireless for more than a year,
and 15% for more than four years (Figure 2). The dominant application of wireless remains field monitoring,
including tank farms, remote water and wastewater facilities, field data collection, temperature profiling, leak
detection and f lare monitoring. But safety and environmental monitoring is up, while wireless for process monitoring remains unchanged over the last two years at a
little over 20%.
The benefits reported include savings on materials and
labor, increased efficiency, increased data accuracy and
easier maintenance. One of the respondents summed up
the savings for his company this way: “[Wireless is a] very
cost-effective method to bring additional points into the
control system. We are seeing wireless installation costs
about 70% less than a similar wired installation.”
Joseph Citrano, global wireless product marketing
manager for Honeywell Sensing and Control (sensing.
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Not considered yet
Decided against
using them
We are using them
WIRELESS ON THE RISE
Figure 1. This year 63% of respondents to the Global Automation Research survey said their companies had considered using wireless, up
20% in four years.
A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2 www.controlglobal.com
35
WIRELESS
installing wireless transmitters for
tank pressures and temperatures.”
Cost was a big factor in making wireless an attractive option, and not only
because the cost of running all those
wires was eliminated. “People frequently
forget that not only do you not have to
pay for the wires, conduit, etc, but also
you don’t have to pay for the engineering design of a field wiring system. Wireless eliminates that cost as well,” Simpson explains. “We had to decide where to
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put the wireless gateway and the network
switch, but that’s what the wiring system
engineering was restricted to.”
Lubrizol went with the WirelessHART protocol for the same reason
that many end users choose one protocol over another. “Most of our wired
apps are HART,” says Simpson.
Furthermore, Lubrizol uses Emerson’s
(www.emerson.com) DeltaV automation system and its AMS asset management suite, both of which integrate
seamlessly with the HART protocol.
That AMS integration was another
selling point for going wireless. “WirelessHart places no restriction on our use
of AMS,” Simpson says.
Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals Italy
(www.lundbeck.com/lupi), a producer of active pharmaceutical ingredients and cGMP intermediates
in Padova (Padua), overcame its remote facilities problem in a similar
fashion. The company needed to
monitor and record groundwater levels at 10 monitoring wells around the
facility.
According to Nicola Ribon, a project engineer at Lundbeck, the company began by monitoring three wells
using a wired solution, but when the
project expanded, and those wells
on the periphery of the plant were
included, wireless became the answer. “Because of the distances between those wells and the recorder,
we chose a wireless solution. Moreover, a couple of wells are outside the
grounds of the facility in the middle
of the street, so it was impossible to
reach them with cables.”
Timing was another factor in the
decision. “We needed to use the system for only a short period, probably a year,” explains Ribon. “After
that we can reuse the wireless system
to collect and record other kinds of
data. That’s not possible with cables;
you need to dismantle them.”
The wireless technology is from
Endress+Hauser (www.endress.com)
and is based on the WirelessHART
© 2012 Siemens Industry, Inc.
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Answers for industry.
60%
2008 survey
2010 survey
2012 survey
50%
% respondents
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
None yet
Less than
a year
One to
three years
More than
four years
MORE AND MORE EXPERIENCE
Figure 2. The percentage of survey respondents not using wireless at all
has fallen nearly 30% in four years, and 40% have been using it more
than a year.
© 2012 Rasmusson & Willey LLC
WIRELESS
protocol. “Basically [we chose these products] because we
just used Endress+Hauser level transmitters for the first
cabled application. We know the performances of these
transmitters, and we choose to maintain the same partnership with E+H also for our wireless application,” Ribon explains.
Oil and gas giant Petronas (www.petronas.com.my),
based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is running a pilot
project at its granular urea plant in Gurun, Kedah province. According to A. Aziz B. Ahmad, project engineer,
“We are using wireless applications to monitor pressure
and tank levels. We’re using it to bring local information
back to the control rooms.”
As with many wireless converts, cabling plays a big role
in the decision to cut the wires. “We run out of spare cable,” Ahmad says simply. He adds that knowing that wireless technology was going to be used only for monitoring
and not for control was also a factor in making the move.
Although wireless for control is certainly a possibility in
the future, for now, no one is ready to take that leap.
Ahmad says that his team had the choice of going with
either the WirelessHART or the ISA 100.11a protocol,
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WIRELESS
and they chose ISA 100, or more accurately, they chose
technology from Yokogawa (www.yokogawa.com), which
uses the ISA 100.11a protocol. The standards issue didn’t
really arise, says Ahmad. “Yokogawa was the first to offer
their transmitter,” he says.
The company also offered significant backup and support.
“Yokogawa played a critical role in getting us comfortable
with the standard and the wireless field technologies. They
have conducted site surveys, given the appropriate support
and even imparted valuable knowledge to our engineers during installation phase,” says Ahmed.
So far, Petronas’ experience has been a good one. In
fact, says Ahmad, “We are satisfied with the progression
and the proposed solution this far, and are seeing smooth
integration between Yokogawa’s wireless products and
our existing system. We will explore the expansion of
wireless in our operation, as we are seeing very positive
throughput with the wireless solution installed in our
plant. In fact we have added another wireless installation
for tank level measurement and upgraded our PRM system to enjoy more asset management benefits.”
Other Uses
Wireless isn’t just about remote connectivity. Another focus is on diagnostics. Over the last year or so, the MOL Plc
Danube Refinery in Százhalombatta, Hungary, has been developing a strategy for expanding the use of wireless in its
operations with a focus on two areas, monitoring and diagnostics, says Gábor Bereznai, head of instrumentation, control and electrical at the refinery.
MOL will be monitoring corrosion, the temperature of
fire heaters, the efficiency of heat exchangers, temperature
and differential pressure transmitters and the open/closed
position of valves.
The MOL refinery was the 2010 HART plant of the year, so
it already has a strong infrastructure of wired HART devices,
but there were some problems. Bereznai explains, “We had
positioners we couldn’t use because the gates between the
positioners and the DCS were not HART-ready. Our explosion-proof barriers weren’t HART-ready either.”
So the company went to Emerson for THUM modules
(The THUM can be retrofit on any existing two- or fourwire HART device, enabling wireless transmission of measurement and diagnostics.) The THUM adapter “allows us
to get around this problem,” says Bereznai.
The THUM adapter also allows MOL to connect many of
its field devices to its Emerson AMS asset management system, and in another adaptation, meet government emissions
reporting requirements. “We created an app where we can
use pyrometers and THUM adaptors together to measure
emission rates,” says Bereznai.
And don’t forget safety and security functions. Wireless
monitoring of eyewash stations and safety showers, as well
as personnel location, is an easier sell, perhaps, than applications such as monitoring and maintenance. Such applications are available from many vendors, including Honeywell, Emerson, Apprion (www.apprion.com) and BS&B
Industrial Wireless Solutions (www.bsbwireless.com),
among others.
Glitches
As effective as these solutions are, getting them running is
not all roses and lollipops. As with any new technology, there
are glitches in the system and a learning curve.
How do you
correctly
identify and
implement the ideal
Ethernet cable to ensure
reliable network performance?
©2012 TURCK
askTURCK.com
Courtesy of Lubrizol
WIRELESS
KEEPING AN EYE ON THE TANK FARM
Figure 3. At Lubrizol’s Deer Park, Texas, facility, temperatures and
pressures at the tank farm are monitored wirelessly.
Honeywell Sensing’s Citrano observes, “Early on people
had bad experiences with wireless because it wasn’t really fit
for the purpose. When you got into discussions with people
[we found] reliability and security were issues. Battery life
was a problem too, but as people get better at setting up their
networks—they would have too much messaging going over
one node—and as they get more experience, they can avoid
these problems.”
Lundbeck’s Ribon reports, “At the beginning we had some
problems with communication between some repeaters/
adapters.; we discovered some radio noise due to a huge radio antenna placed about 300 meters from our facility. We
solved the problem by moving some repeaters in areas where
there was less interference and by placing some shields near
the repeaters.”
Speaking about MOL’s integration of field instrumentation with the refinery’s AMS system, Bereznai says, “When
we started, the communication was slow. We wanted to create a fingerprint curve, which is very communication-intensive. Working with Emerson, we developed a fast-loop function to help with this, but it took some time to find the
Continued on page 42
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WIRELESS
CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?
According to both ARC Advisory Group (www.arcweb.
com) and Global Automation Research (www.globalautomationresearch.com), one of the factors continuing to
slow the adoption of wireless communications in the process industries is the concern and confusion about standards. Many end users are holding off, waiting to find out
who is going to “win” the “standards wars.”
In the end, that waiting may be unnecessary. For one
thing, the WirelessHART vs. ISA100 dispute may end up
like the one between VHS and BetaMax. Both will be overtaken by some other, better technology.
Meanwhile, Process Automation Hall of Fame member
Tom Phinney points out, “A product designed for either is
capable of running the other one in practice.” It’s a matter
of getting the necessary firmware, he says. Right now, for
the most part, that’s up to the individual vendor, most of
whom are picking one standard or the other.
But some are looking past the standards wars. Nivis Wireless Sensor Networks (www.nivis.com) offers
technology that will work for both ISA100.11a and WirelessHART, as well as for IPv6 over LoW Power wireless
Area Networks (6LoWPAN). The target for 6LoWPAN is
applications that need wireless Internet connectivity at
lower data rates for devices with very limited form factors,
such as automation or water metering.
Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Chongqing, China, a member of the ISA 100 committee, has had ISA 100.11a, WirelessHART and the Chinese wireless standard, WIA-PA, all working together.
The Fieldbus Foundation is also hedging its bets. At the
ACHEMA 2012 show in Frankfort, Germany, in June, the
foundation released the latest version of the its technical
specifications, which include key elements of Foundation
fieldbus for Remote Operations Management technology
that enables manufacturers to begin developing Foundation fieldbus for remote devices. Specifications have been
added for transducer blocks for both wired and WirelessHART devices. The ISA 100.11a portion of the specifications should be available sometime during the month of
August, according to Larry O’Brien, the foundaton’s global
marketing manager.
Foundation for ROM is the first example of the capability of integrating ISA 100.11a, WirelessHART, wired Hart
and wired H1 protocols into a single standard environment without sacrificing the diagnostic capabilities of the
existing wireless devices. Those capabilities are mapped
into the block structure to provide a standard environment
for data management, quality and more, eliminating the
need for highly customized, more costly solutions, says
O’Brien.
In process and industrial automation,
you need accurate monitoring, consistent
uptime and real ROI. Be sure. With the
Banner SureCross Wireless Network. Visit
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Or call (888) 373-6767.
Customers First
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New Solutions — Every Day
WIRELESS
© 2012 Rasmusson & Willey LLC
50%
% respondents
40%
30%
2012
2017
20%
10%
0%
None
Other
WIA-PA
ISA100.11a
WirelessHart
THE BIG DOGS
Figure 4. WirelessHART and ISA100.11a are not the only wireless proto-
cols out there, but they dominate the field right now.
Emerson in the U.S. helped us find the solution.”
The reality is that at present, at least, most wireless users find the systems too slow to use for industrial control.
“You can have problems with interference, and you can
lose some data,” says Ribon. “This is acceptable only for
monitoring non-critical parameters.”
Still, wireless systems can be surprisingly reliable. “In the
last two years, we’ve had bad storms with very heavy lightning and have had no problems [with the wireless],” says
Bereznai. “We did welding just a few centimeters from the
transmitters, and that didn’t affect the signals.”
Bereznai adds that MOL hasn’t replaced the batteries in
his system in the two years it has been operating.
The Elephant in the Room
If there is one thing still making many potential wireless
adopters uneasy, it is the on-going debate about on which
protocol to standardize. According to the Global Automation 2012 survey, 40% of the respondents are waiting
for a single international standard, up from 20% in 2010.
There are multiple standards and protocols out there,
but the two big dogs in the field are WirelessHART and
ISA-100.11a (Figure 4). An entire forest and several billion electrons have been killed off in the debate over
which of these two standards is better and which one
will “win” in the end. In reality, we shall probably see
both of them around for a good long time to come.
The politics of the matter aside, in many respects,
they are equally valid and useful. There are differences
between them, but they aren’t insurmountable. The
choice the end user makes will depend on what his or
her goal is.
42
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
Process Automation Hall of Fame member Tom Phinney, who has been instrumental in developing both
WirelessHART and ISA 100.11a, says, “WirelessHART
is more restrictive in terms of its development potential. ISA100.11a is built around the Internet and IPV 6,
[the latest version of the Internet protocol]. In the longer
term, ISA 100.11a has more potential. WirelessHART
does not use standard Internet technologies, but those
will be available to leverage with ISA 100. ISA 100 has
great longevity built into it. The truth is, it will be a
next-generation protocol.”
However, WirelessHART has its advantages as well,
he explains. “WirelessHART is easier to understand and
implement. It has progressed further in terms of implementation and product variety.”
Practically speaking, “Some of the minutae are different, but functionally they are similar,” says Mike
Cushing, product marketing manager for pressure and
temperature products at Siemens Industry (www.usa.
siemens.com), which makes WirelessHART-compatible
products. “ISA 100 is a larger umbrella for all kinds of
communications. WirelessHART is more focused on instruments connecting to the control system. There are
some technical differences, but they are not huge. ISA
100 is trying to cover all wireless applications in an operation, where WirelessHART is focused on instruments
alone.”
Wayne Manges, program manager at Oak Ridge National Labs (www.ornl.gov), chairman of the ISA 100.11a
standards committee, and a veteran wireless evangelist,
says, “WirelessHART is simpler to deploy, but ISA 100
is more f lexible.”
He adds, “If you have a process or application that
cannot stand more than 100-ms latency, you can’t use
WirelessHART. If you don’t want to have to pick a lot of
options, ISA 100 may not be what you want because it
has options for better security, reliability and throughput. WirelessHART is meant to have no options. WirelessHART also has lower growth options. ISA can go up
to 10,000 sensors. WirelessHART in that case would
require intermediate networks and servers, etc. ISA is
meant to be part of a whole suite of standards. If you
want to do RFID, you have to use a separate system in
WirelessHART.”
Not everyone completely agrees with this assessment.
Mark Nixon, research director at Emerson and a member of the Process Automation Hall of Fame, who has
also been involved in the development of both Wireless
HART and ISA 100.11a says, “Both WirelessHART and
ISA100.11a provide mechanisms for allocating communication resources. In both cases, the user may decide to
inf luence the number of hops between the device and
WIRELESS
the gateway by locating access points and backbone routers. In the case of WirelessHART, the standard allows for
placing many access points. In the case of ISA100.11a,
the standard allows for using multiple subnets. From the
standpoint of latency, there is no technical basis to state
that either WirelessHART or ISA100.11a is better.”
He goes on to say, “The security specified by WirelessHART is very similar to ISA100.11a. The differences
boil down to a couple of key things: ISA100.11a allows
users to disable security and provides partial support for
over-the-air provisioning (OTAP). I would argue that allowing security to be disabled creates more work for users—it forces users to have to check security settings. It
also creates a security concern for users in that a) they
may have missed enabling security, and b) it could open
a vulnerability allowing hackers to disable key security
settings.” He continues, “With WirelessHART the mesh is always on. ISA100.11a allows for the mesh features to not
be enabled. Since mesh networks are inherently more
reliable, for ISA100.11a to have the same reliability as
WirelessHART, mesh capabilities must be enabled.”
Nixon also argues that ultimately WirelessHART does
have better throughput than ISA100.11a.
If you have wondered why the wireless standards war
has been so long and protracted, now you know. The
good news is that for those of us without a scorecard,
there is a way through the technical maze.
Manges, one of whose briefs is to work with the U.S.
Dept. of Energy and the Advanced Manufacturing Office
to encourage the use of wireless and make it available for
use with the smart grid, says, “In a way, you don’t need to
reach a standards agreement. It really doesn’t matter who
wins. The technology is there to work together. Protocols
are designed to co-exist with others without hurting one
another. WirelessHART and ISA are not interoperable,
but they can coexist.”
And he offers a final word of advice. “If you’re trying to decide which protocol to use, the worst answer is
to do nothing. Use what you have. It’s an enabler. The
sooner you get into it, the sooner you can implement
change.”
Nancy Bar tels is Control’s managing editor
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1-800-FOR-LEVEL
FLOW
Remember the Nilometer? (Figure 1) It’s the first known level meter, simply a huge staff gauge (ruler-like device mounted at the measurement
point), that was used to measure the flood flow of the Nile River for thousands of years. What does it do? It measures the level of the Nile River, so
planting season could be planned. With calculation, measured level can
be used to derive gravity flow in open channels, even ones like the Nile.
In 1889, Irish engineer Robert Manning produced an equation for calculating flow in open conduits from the level in the channel.
Manning’s equation:
k
V = Rh2/3 rS 1/2
n
Q = VA, where
Q = Volumetric flow
A is the cross-sectional area of the wetted perimeter,
V is the cross-sectional average velocity,
k is the units conversion factor,
n is the coefficient of friction,
Rh is the hydraulic radius,
S is the slope of the channel.
Manning’s equation works best in man-made conduits because the hydraulic radius, slope and coefficient of friction can be better known or estimated. It will work in any open channel, but the error expands as these terms
Flow Like an
Egyptian
Back to Basics:
Measuring Flow
in Open Channels
by Walt Boyes
A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2 www.controlglobal.com
45
FLOW
are less well known. Manning’s equation, and its successors,
are often used for calculating the flow in sewers and in manmade irrigation channels.
Although tables of Manning’s “n” are common, it is nearly
impossible to accurately calculate “n,” so it is almost always
an educated guess, based on the engineer’s experience and
expertise. A small change in “n” can result in a large change
in “V” and thus a large change in “Q.”
For real accuracy, the use of a primary device is required.
These are restrictive devices placed in the flow stream that
raise the height of the water behind the restriction to a predictable level based on volumetric flow. Typically, these are
flumes and weirs.
Flumes and Weirs
REALLY OLD-FASHIONED INSTRUMENTATION
Figure 1. Milennia ago, Egyptians measured the level of the Nile
Contracted rectangular
Suppressed rectangular
Cipolletti contracted
Contracted triangular or V-notch
WEIRS
Figure 2. Measurement weirs come in several configurations: v-notch,
rectangular and trapezoidal, among others.
46
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
Courtesy of Water Measurement Manual, 3rd ed., U.S. Dept. of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation
using a staff gauge to plan planting season.
Early in the last century, hydraulic engineers discovered
that there was a relationship between the head height
behind a constriction in the channel and the f low rate
through the constriction. This relationship takes the
form of:
Q = KHn
where Q is volumetric flow, K is a units constant, H is the
head height, and n is a coefficient that is related to the size
and type of constriction.
These constrictions can be divided into two basic groups,
flumes and weirs. There are various types of each.
Weirs have been known for centuries, and were used
as primitive spillways from small earthen dams. Measurement weirs come in several configurations: v-notch, rectangular and trapezoidal, among others (Figure2). The U.S.
Dept. of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation publishes
an online version of its comprehensive “Water Measurement Manual” (www.usbr.gov/pmts/hydraulics_lab/pubs/
manuals/WMM_3rd_2001.pdf), which details all the various types of weirs and flumes, and how to install them and
maintain them.
In a v-notch weir, all the water flows through the weir, and
the level is measured at a known point behind (upstream) of
the weir. This level forms the “H” in our formula.
Sometimes, if very high accuracy is required at the lowest flow rates, a compound weir can be used. This is often a
rectangular weir with a sharp v-notch forming the bottom of
the weir. Thus, the rectangular weir equation can be used
for high flows, and once the flow reduces to below the zero
point of the rectangular weir, the v-notch equation is used.
Many open channel flowmeters have the ability to switch
equations like this.
Flumes have a constriction in the flow, and a “hydraulic
jump” that causes the head height to be linear and repeatable. There are dozens of kinds of flumes. In modern times,
the most common are the Parshall and the Palmer-Bowlus
flumes.
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,62
Parshall flumes are commonly used
for flow measurement at the inlet and
outlet to wastewater treatment plants
and surface water intakes for treatment
plants and power plants. Typically, a
Parshall flume is supplied as a fiberglas “liner” that is installed and then
cemented in place (Figure 3).
Palmer-Bowlus flumes were originally developed for measurement in
sewers and other open conduits with
relatively low flow. There is no constriction, as with a Parshall flume, but
there is a complex hydraulic jump that
forms the point where the height is directly proportional to flow rate, the “H”
in our equation (Figure 4).
Making Flumes and Weirs Work
For a flume or weir to be accurate, it
must be installed properly. Most error problems with open channel flow
A PARSHALL FLUME
A PALMER-BOWLUS FLUME
Figure 3. Parshall Flumes measure flow at
Figure 4. Palmer-Bowlus flumes measure
the inlet and outlet of wastewater treat-
flow in sewers and other open conduits
ment plants and intakes at power plants.
where there is relatively low flow.
measurements are traceable to the accuracy of the flume or weir, not the level
measurement or the flow transmitter.
All flumes and weirs must be installed as close to perfectly level inlet-
to-outlet as possible, and side-to-side,
too. Fiberglass flumes often “bow
in” when concrete is poured behind
them, and this produces unexpected
inaccuracies, which may not be able
Courtesy of Water Measurement Manual, 3rd ed., U.S. Dept. of the
Interior, Bureau of Reclamation
FLOW
The Proof (test) is in the measurement.
Is safety important to you?
Solution for in situ proof testing
When you utilize a safety system such as SIL, SIS or API2350, you
are familiar with mandatory level instrument proof tests. Most require
you to take your vessel off line and manipulate the level in the vessel
or remove the instrument completely for testing.
These methods typically:
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FLOW
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Figure 5. The Datagator can measure above the submergence point of the standard
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to be calibrated out, except by in-situ
flow testing and the use of a strapping
table in the flowmeter.
All flumes and weirs have what is
called the “submergence point” where
the level goes above the measurement
range of the device. Flow may continue
to be moving in either direction during
submergence, but the measurement is
meaningless during that condition.
In the early 1990s, a special kind of
flume was invented, tradenamed Datagator (www.yestech.com/renaissance/).
This primary device is based on a
Palmer-Bowlus flume, but is capable
of measuring above the submergence
point of the standard flume, as well as
measuring flow in both forward and reverse directions (Figure 5).
Level Measurement Instrumentation
There are many ways to measure
the level behind a f lume or weir.
The oldest, based on the Nilometer, is the Mark I Calibrated Eyeball with a staff gauge. A staff gauge
is a ruler-like device mounted at the
measurement point in the f lume,
weir or channel. The user “eyeballs”
the reading on the staff gauge and
Most error problems are traceable
to the accuracy of the flume or
weir, not the level measurement.
records the level for use in calculating volumetric f low.
Other types of level measurement
devices that have been used for open
channel flow monitoring include ultrasonic (downlooking) and ultrasonic
(uplooking); pulse radar, differential
pressure transmitters, and capacitance
and RF admittance devices.
For many years, floats have been
used, with stilling wells, to measure
the level in the channel or flume or
weir. Each of these types of level measurement devices have their features
and benefits, but the accuracy of each
as a flow measurement instrument is
dependent on the accuracy and correct installation of the flume or weir of
which it is measuring the level.
So now you have a quick, backto-basics look at open channel flow
monitoring.
Walt Boyes is Control’s editor in chief.
E N V I R O N M E N TA L
MONITORING
Virtual
Instrumentation
Monitors Arkansas
Emissions
Arkansas Electric Cooperative says
software sensors are just as good
as hardware sensors, with less
maintenance and fewer headaches.
by Walt Boyes
Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. (AECC,
www.aecc.com), like most companies today, must
meet stringent regulatory standards for environmental quality with a continuous emissions monitoring system (CEMS) that provides reliable and
accurate data.
“Our Henry L. Oswald Generating Facility has
hardware-based CEM monitors that are reaching
their retirement time,” says Tim Bivens, senior
environmental analyst with AECC. “We had to
consider doing a rip and replace, or do something
else.”
Bivens describes the facility: “The Oswald
Generating Station is a 510-megawatt (MW),
combined-cycle, natural gas combustion turbine
plant located in Pulaski County, 0.5 miles south
of Wrightsville, Ark. The plant (Figure 1) consists of six GE LM6000 aeroderivative combustion turbines, one GE Electric Frame 7EA combustion turbine, seven duct burners and two steam
turbines. The plant confi guration is commonly
known as a ‘Seven on Two.’ ”
A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2 www.controlglobal.com
51
E N V I R O N M E N TA L M O N I TO R I N G
OSWALD GENERATING STATION
Figure 1. The CEM modules at the Henry L. Oswald generating facility in Pulaski County, Ark., were reaching the end of their usable
lives. The choice was to “rip and replace, or do something else,” in this case, going to a software CEMS instead.
“This means the seven combustion turbines (CTs), or
fewer, provide steam to one or both steam turbines, depending on the current power demand. The plant is not configured for the CTs to operate in simple cycle mode,” Bivens
explained.
He continues, “The plant is designed to supply approximately 75 MW to 510 MW of power during high electrical demand hours of each day, usually between the hours of
7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m., and ramp down to approximately
75 MW during off-peak hours. This daily load cycling results in reduced power production each day during hours
when there is less demand for the power.”
The six LM combustion turbines are equipped with
steam injection for emission control of oxides of nitrogen
(NOx). The Title V Air Permit limits the six LMs to a threehour rolling average of 25 ppm and a yearly average of 22
ppm NOx corrected to 15% oxygen (O2). The 7EA combustion turbine utilizes dry low NOX (DLN) burners for NOx
control. The 7EA is limited to a three-hour rolling average
of 9 ppm NOx corrected to 15% O2.
The facility currently operates and maintains seven
CEMS that are subject to the Acid Rain Program under
40 CFR Part 75 and the Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR)
for the NOx ozone season trading program. Each system is
52
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
comprised of an O2 monitor and a NOx monitor. The emissions are monitored every minute, and the data is passed
to the existing, common data acquisition handling system
(DAHS), which calculates the hourly emissions for each
CT. Each calendar quarter the NOx (lbs/mmBtu) and other
plant data are electronically reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The CEMS undergo a
calibration check each operating day, linearity checks each
quality-assured (QA) quarter and an annual relative accuracy test audit (RATA).
Rip and Replace or Do Something Else
The CEM analyzers that monitor emissions on Oswald’s
seven multi-stage gas turbines needed replacement. They
were elderly and obsolete. “Our options,” Bivens says, “were
to either replace the analyzers with new analyzers or replace
the hardware-based CEMS with an alternate solution. Replacing the hardware-based system with new hardware was
going to be very expensive.”
Fortunately, Bivens says, one of his colleagues had worked
with Pavilion’s software-based CEMS at another facility, and
knew about it. On his recommendation, AECC contacted
Rockwell Automation (www.ra.rockwell.com), which had
acquired Pavilion, and asked for a proposal.
E N V I R O N M E N TA L M O N I TO R I N G
Miller continues, “The use of hybrid modeling through
empirical models and first principles knowledge gives
AECC an excellent representation of its process behavior.”
Software CEM also has the versatility to predict emissions
in the extreme operating ranges of unit operations, he adds.
When AECC initially considered a hardware CEMS, it
understood the challenges of ultra-low NOx emission limits
that exist with high signal-to-noise levels on analyzers. The
result is often poor readings and potential NOx absorption
into the sample line.
A heated sample line can have as much as 1-ppm to 2-ppm
NOx absorption. On 40-ppm low-NOx applications, there is no
effect. However, for ultra-low-NOx applications, where the NOx
is less than 5 ppm or 10ppm, it becomes a significant issue for
hardware-based CEMS. With Software CEM, these problems
are alleviated, since there are no analyzers or system samplers required to predict emissions in extreme operating environments.
“The actual install for the Software CMS cost more than
installing new hardware-based monitors would have, but
over a five-year baseline, it will be considerably cheaper,”
Bivens says. “Plus, we free up an instrument tech that had to
spend all his time working with the hardware, and there’s no
quarterly maintenance necessary. We estimate the payback
time to be between five and seven years.”
Real-time
visualization
Metadata warehouse
(optional)
Predictions
Tx’Fy’ ... Pz’
Sensor models
Tx Fy ... Pz
raw values
Tx’
Tx
Dif
Alarms
Cache
No
Ti
Greater than
tolerance
Yes
Browser-based client
v
v
v
Tx Fy Pz
Cache
Patented sensor validation
Validated sensor
buffer
Real-time
environment
management
reports
(optional)
Ti’
Data reconcoliation
Inputs
Fuel flows
Fuel Quality
Air Flow
Process O2
Temperatures
Ambient
Humidity
Outputs
NOx
O2
CO
Emission alarms
sensor alarms
Application server
“Software CEM is a model-based, predictive emissions
monitoring system (PEMS) powered by the Pavilion8 software engine,” says Joseph Miller, technical consultant with
Rockwell Automation. “It uses powerful hybrid models of
the process with real-time sensor validation to provide predictive emissions values.”
Software CEM operates in real time using existing
process sensor data. These process values enable the
plant to monitor operating conditions that could affect
final emissions output. Software CEM uses a patented
sensor validation system as a qualifier to detect sensor
failures and set appropriate alarms. The system uses existing sensors to generate a model of all sensors in the
process. This allows data validation to continue accurate
emissions predictions during a sensor failure, providing
for near 100% uptime. This predictive methodology also
gives AECC the ability to simultaneously incorporate
process behavior and feedback into the control strategy
of its gas turbines.
“After we trained the model,” Bivens says, “we’re consistently getting data that replicates that from the hardware-based CEMS. We still have it installed and are still
reporting its data while we wait for certification for the
software CEMS.”
Data qualification and
sensor validation
DCS
PLC
LIMS
Historians
Analyzer
Manual
entry
HOW SOFTWARE CEMS WORKS
Figure 2. Software CEM’s predictive methodology uses powerful hybrid models of the process with real-time sensor validation to
provide predictive emissions values.
A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2 www.controlglobal.com
53
E N V I R O N M E N TA L M O N I TO R I N G
The Oswald generating facility’s seven
combustion turbines each have 15 points
where sensors monitor the process for variables such as fuel flow and temperature and
pressure. The existing CEMS consisted of
21 hardware analyzers and Teledyne Monitor Labs’ (www.teledyne-ml.com) RegPerfect software for reporting.
“There was sort of a missed communication. We didn’t know that Pavilion had a reporting package, so we decided to stay with
RegPerfect,” Bivens says. “Rockwell did the
necessary software interconnection, so that
the data from the software CEMS goes into
the RegPerfect database just as well as the
hardware data does.”
“Because Pavilion was a stand-alone company before being acquired by Rockwell, we
can interface with many different kinds of
software, not just our own reporting package,” says Miller.
Passing the Audits
“This was our first foray into meeting
40CFR Part 75 with the Software CEMS,”
Miller reports, “and we needed to make sure
that we met an accuracy level of below 7.5%
when compared to the hardware CEMS.
The EPA requires 720 hours of side-by-side
testing to validate a new system for CEMS.”
“This was really hard to do because Oswald is a peaking plant,” Bivens notes. “The
plant comes on in the morning, stays on for
peaking and shuts off in the afternoon and
goes back on in the evenings. We run only
10 to 14 hours a day.”
This made it hard to get that 720 hours.
“Especially,” Bivens says, “because the
hardware CEMS would go down and need
to be repaired. Then we lost our side-byside time.”
Miller add, “So we used the historical
data from the Historian software package to
get the 720 hours, and the EPA agreed to accept this. This way we’ll never have gaps in
the comparison data.”
Bivens adds, “When the hardware works,
we have performed a relative accuracy test
audit (RATA) twice now, and both times
certified at better than 7.5% relative accuracy, which surpassed the U.S EPA,
CAMD requirements of ±10%. The initial
54
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
“After we trained the model, we’re
consistently getting data that
replicates that from the
hardware-based CEMS.”
RATA indicated that the two systems were
within 7.5% of each other. However, our
most current data shows that they are now
within 5% or less of each other. That’s well
below the EPA requirement.
“We’re continuing to use the hardware
CEMS for reporting, because we’re still
waiting for the EPA to send us the certification for the software CEMS,” Bivens
says. “For the first year, we still have to do a
RATA comparing both systems. We did the
first RATA in August of 2010, and were able
to certify both systems to the EPA specifications. We did a second one in July of 2011,
and certified both systems again. We are
waiting for the EPA to permit us to retire
the hardware monitors, and use the software
CEMS only. We expect to hear back from
them any time now.”
Payback
In addition to helping prevent fines for
non-compliance, Miller reports that Software CEM will help AECC save more than
$50,000 per year in costs relative to operating a hardware-based CEM system. Further
cost savings will be achieved over the life cycle of the project due to the higher reliability
and lower maintenance costs of the system.
“We haven’t seen any performance benefit
yet,” Bivens says, “because we’re still running
the hardware monitors and CEMS. When
the hardware comes out, we will see what the
data can tell us. We’re looking into it.
“Unfortunately, out of our five facilities,
only two are feasible for the software CEMS
because the others do not have enough instrumentation on the process to be able to
accurately feed the model.
“But, we’re considering expansion to one
or two of the other plants, pending approval
by the EPA,” Bivens says.
Walt Boyes is Control’s editor in chief.
ASK THE EXPERTS
“Herding” Control and LPG Problems
This column is moderated by Béla Lipták (http://belaliptakpe.com/), automation and safety consultant, who is also the editor of
the Instrument and Automation Engineers’ Handbook (IAEH). If you would like to become a contributing author of the 5th edition, or if you have an automation-related question for this column, write to liptakbela@aol.com
In your articles, you have discussed “herding control”
as a valuable tool in multivariable safety and optimization applications. Is that strategy a theoretical concept, or did you actually design such systems? Have you used
herding control in actual applications?
Q
H. CROWNE Y
HCrowney@aol.com
Yes, I did use the “Puli” algorithm to optimize several
combustion processes, keeping a number of controlled
variables (CO, HC, excess O2, temperature, opacity)
within safe limits inside a “control envelope.” I also used it
in a computer chip manufacturing application, and once in
a building optimization one.
My best known application was the optimization of the
IBM headquarters building at 590 Madison Avenue in New
York City, where I optimized the energy consumption by
“herding” the heat generated in the interior offices (offices
without windows that require cooling even in the winter) to
the perimeter offices that have windows, and, therefore, require heating in the winter.
A
BÉL A LIPTÁK
liptakbela@aol.com
I have two questions. We have an existing liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) spherical tank. On it, there is an
external-cage, low-level switch. Some modifications
are going on, and we have to install an additional level transmitter in parallel with the existing level switch.
I’m asking about the suitability of using a differential pressure cell pressure transmitter and what precautions should
be considered to get accurate readings? Shall we use a diaphragm seal or impulse lines filled with a special liquid?
What other choice can we use instead of using a differential pressure cell pressure transmitter?
My second question is this: We have existing LPG spherical tanks. We are going to implement some modifications to
the inlet/outlet pipeline on these LPG tanks. One shutdown
valve will be installed in the inlet line and one in the outlet line. The client asked us to use (if applicable) shutdown
valves with self-detecting pressure drop to close this valve in
case of line rupture.
Q
According to my experience, we have to install differential
pressure transmitters across the shutdown valve to detect the
pressure drop in case of line rupture, but the use of differential pressure measurement requires too much straight line
upstream and downstream of the shutdown valves, and in this
old plant we do not have it. The client asked us to make survey in the market to find a suitable solution for this problem.
I’m asking about a shutdown valve with the capability to
self-detect the pressure drop/loss inside the fluid line (LPG).
Is there a pneumatically actuated shutdown valve with selfdetecting pressure drop? If yes, what is the vendor name
and contacts? Is it proved in the LPG application? What are
some of the other suitable solutions for this requirement?
L R AGAB ABDEL FAT TAH
ragab.abdelfat tah@ tecnomareegypt.com
FAT TAH
To answer your first question, from the point of view
of reliability and availability, my preference is to use a
radar gauge. However this would require a large nozzle
on the top of the tank and would cost more.
If you decide to use a differential pressure transmitter, you
have the following options:
1. Fill the low pressure connection with a glycol to seal it.
2. Use chemical seals with capillary connections to the
differential pressure cell.
3. Check with Emerson on the applicability of their remote sensor (3051S ERS). I have not tried it so far. However
it might overcome some of the issues with above options.
In the matter of your second question, since you are installing a differential pressure transmitter for determining the
pressure difference, but are not measuring flow, there is no requirement for a straight pipe run. The only thing you should
do is study where to install the low-pressure tapping and what
setting to select to alarm a leak. Your hydraulic guy can advise this.
A
HARVINDAR GAMBHIR
Har vindar.S.Gambhir@ril.com
I suggest using a magnetostrictive level sensor, such
as manufactured by MTS (www.Temposonics.com). It
would have a float that floats on the liquid phase of the
LPG. The float incorporates a set of magnets, and the sensor
detects the position of the magnets within about 0.0005 inch.
A
A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2 www.controlglobal.com
55
ASK THE EXPERTS
Normal
flow
Excess
flow check
valve
Nozzle
Valve stem
Cotter
pin
Nut
Spring
Guide
Valve
head
Normal flow
Body
Piping
Flanged for
tank nozzle
installation
Screwed for
pipe-line
installation
CHECKING EXCESS FLOW
Figure 1 An excess flow check valve consists of a plug, a seat and a spring,
all housed or supported in a cylindrical tube.
[Note from Béla Lipták: the position of the magnets might be
detected accurately, although not that accurately, but the relationship between the magnets position and the level is much
less accurate, because that is also a function of the vapor and
liquid densities, which vary with temperature and pressure.]
DAVE NYCE
DNTHX1138@aol.com
Differential pressure measurement is proportional to
level, if the densities of both the liquid phases are considered: (density liquid – density vapor). Otherwise, any
condensation in the nominally “dry” leg will give a zero error.
Whether LPG “heavies” can condense depends on the
ambient temperature swing. A glycol filled “dry” leg is a
good solution. I am less enamored of using capillary systems, which can be sensitive to sunlight exposure (try to
keep them on the shady side of the tank). Rosemount’s system of a HART-coupled LP sensor may be worth exploring.
The magnetostrictive float transmitters can be a good solution, but can be more difficult to install. Note that these
have zero error if (liquid density – vapor density) varies significantly, to the point where the float just sinks. The zero
error can be as much as 60% of the float length.
Guided-wave radar will work on LPG if selected properly
and it’s economical, but it really works best inside the vessel,
rather than in an external chamber where the LPG may boil
due to solar exposure. Thermal insulation can be desirable
on external chamber devices of any sort if solar radiation is
significant.
A
56
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
In answer to your second question, do this by operating
a pneumatic control valve on the basis of pressure drop
across it; a lower-maintenance and less expensive solution is to use check valves.
On the inlet line to the vessel, you need to install a regular check valve “in reverse,” meaning that it is fully open
when the flow direction is into the tank, but closes as soon as
the flow direction reverses. On the discharge line from the
tank, you should use an excess flow check valve (EFCV).
The EFCV consists of a plug, a seat and a spring, all
housed or supported in a cylindrical tube. The valve connections can be screwed or flanged as shown in Figure 1.
Under normal operating conditions, the force generated by the flowing process fluid is directed against the
valve head and attempts to close it, but the spring is stronger and keeps the valve open. If the flow suddenly increases to an excessive rate, the force against the plug and
the differential pressure across it overcomes the spring
force, and the valve closes. The EFCV does not require
up- and downstream straight runs as the velocity profile
across it does not matter.
Inside the EFCV, there are one or more bleed ports around
the plug, so that after the valve closed, the bleed can equalize
the pressures up- and downstream of the plug, so that it can
reopen, if the pressures equalize. However, if a pipe break occurs, the differential pressure across the valve will remain constant (the difference between the pressure on the tank and the
atmosphere downstream), and the valve will stay closed until
the pipe is repaired. It should be remembered that because
of the required seepage through these valves (which provides
their equalizing feature) they will not give tight shutoff.
A
Tank
BÉL A LIPTÁK
liptakbela@aol.com
You can contact Festo Pneumatics (www.festo.com),
which can provide the following mechanism/pneumatic hook up: a 3/2 N/O (read 3-way, 2-position, normally open) valve, pneumatic operated by loss of pressure,
spring-returned, normal position. The required air supply is
6 bar to above the 3/2 N/O valve, while its outlet port above
the 3/2 N/O valve connects to your automatic pneumatic
shut-off valve. The port that triggers this valve connects to
your rupture line for sensing loss of pneumatic pressure.
To increase safety, you can provide redundancy for logic
validation on line rupture.
I found such systems on the Internet, by using the key
words: “Shutdown Valves, LPG” (www.youtube.com/
watch?v=eFn0xlkHrrMh). Your problem is interesting. I am
not sure if any of these valves have gotten TÜV approval for
emergency shutdown based on the SIL of your plant.
A
IAN H.GIBSON
GER ALD LIU
gibs0108@optusnet.com.au
gerald.liu@shaw.ca
ROUNDUP
Eee-Aye, Eee-Aye, I/O
Not so glamorous, but basic technology you need to run your operation.
DIN-RAIL-MOUNTED I/O WITH USB PORTS
THREE-COMPONENT MARSHALLING
The TT230 series of signal conditioning I/O modules are 12.5-mm wide for
high-density mounting on
DIN-rails and provide a USB
connection to a PC for configuration. Models are available to isolate and convert
thermocouple, RTD, voltage or current input signals to a
4-20mA output. They are loop-powered and support both
source or sink output wiring connections.
Acromag
248/295-0865; www.acromag.com
This marshalling system features three modular components. First, a range of interface modules designed
to reduce cabinet space and
provide feed-through connections for 16 channels. The
second component includes
assembled marshaling cables in several standard lengths including 1.5-meter, 2-meter and 5-meter. The last component
is the new WMF terminal block, which accepts a 5.08mm
(BLZ) or clamshell connecter.
Weidmuller
800/849/9343; www.weidmuller.com
SIMPLIFY REMOTE SENSOR INSTALLATION
TOUGH JUNCTION BOXES
Ion Modbus network nodes
simplify remote sensor installation and help save on wiring costs. Directly connecting to PLCs, touchscreens
and PCs, they offer high data
throughput with less than 1
mS latency. Pluggable terminal blocks for power input, isolated 2-wire RS485 network
port, sensor connection and relay outputs make wiring and
installation minimal and easy.
Electro-Sensors Inc.
1-800-328-6170; www.electro-sensors.com
Turck introduces a new stainless steel version of the company’s junction boxes, designed to provide a robust
connectivity solution on corrosive, off-shore platforms.
Featuring FM approval for
Class 1, Division 2, Groups
A, B, C and D hazardous locations and rated IP67, they ensure optimal performance in areas that present harsh environmental conditions such as dust, water and salt spray.
Turck
800/544-7769; www.turck.us
ETHERNET TO SERIAL GATEWAYS
ETHERNET/IP-BASED, ON-MACHINE DISTRIBUTED I/O
PLX30 gateways are a costeffective solution for connecting devices on dissimilar networks. The module
is a standalone DIN-railmounted protocol gateway
that provides one Ethernet
port and up to four isolated
serial ports. They support multiple I/O connections to EtherNet/IP-enabled PACs, providing real-time transfer of up to
4000 words of data between various devices.
ProSoft Technology
661/716-5100; www.prosoft-technology.com
The new 1732E Slim ArmorBlock digital scheduled output module can schedule an
output in 1 microsecond increments, and trigger multiple outputs at intervals of 100
microseconds. This is useful
in motion applications where
higher resolution of outputs is required. By using CIP Sync
distributed time synchronization, it can register any axis position within the system accurately with a single time-stamp.
Rockwell Automation
www.rockwellautomation.com
A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2 www.controlglobal.com
57
ROUNDUP
58
LOW-COST TEMPERATURE INPUT
RUGGED REMOTE I/O
Temperature Concentrator
System (TCS) reduces the
cost of transmitting multiple
temperature sensor measurements by concentrating up
to 32 signals onto a single
twisted-wire pair. It accepts
any combination of RTD,
T/C, mV and resistance/potentiometer signal inputs, converts them to the HART protocol, and transmits the data on
an economical HART digital data link.
Moore Industries International, Inc.
818/894-7111; www.miinet.com
The ioLogik E1500 Series is
designed to meet both strict
EMC standards and operational environmental requirements of wide temperature and shock resistance.
It is housed in a ruggedized
aluminum enclosure and
comes ready to mount with an integrated DIN-rail. Added
features include temperature range from -40 °F to +185 °F;
and channel-to-channel isolation of all I/O channels.
Moxa
888/MOXA-USA; www.moxa.com
WIRELESS I/O
THREE JUMPERS
Adam-2000Z I/O modules
use IEEE 802.15.4 standard
I/O and latest sensor technology, while supporting 2.4GHz mesh networking to
provide flexibility and build
a cost-effective distributed
monitoring system. The series includes five modules, a Modbus/RTU gateway, router
node, I/O and sensor devices. It features low power consumption, ensured data integrity and more.
Advantech Industrial Automation Group
888/576-9668 www.advantech.com/ea
2002 Series TopJobs terminal blocks carry three jumper
slots for greater control cabinet flexibility. New DIN-rail
disconnect/test with mechanical interlock, mini-automotive blade-style fuse and
fuse disconnect with pivoting
holder accommodate one output and two input potential
commoning. The third jumper slot permits test and measurement via plugs or taps.
Wago
800/DIN-RAIL; www.wago.us
DISTRIBUTED I/O
CAN IN A SNAP
The ST Series is a modular
distributed I/O system that
operates as a slave device
station for either CC-Link
or Profibus device-level networks. It features a head unit,
power supply and DIN-rail
mounting to form a remote
system or node. It has a scalable architecture that accepts
mix-and-match I/O configurations. Its modular design easily
accepts I/O concentrations from two to 16 I/O points.
Mitsubishi Electric Automation
www.MEAU.com
Snap-SCM-CAN2B is a
high-speed, serial communication module for acquiring
data industrial devices connected to a controller area
network (CAN). With the
module, industrial engineers
can incorporate data from
CAN devices into their control application just like the analog, digital and serial I/O signals received from other Snap
I/O modules installed on the I/O rack.
Opto 22
800/321-6786; www.Opto22.com
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
ROUNDUP
COMPACT, LOW-COST I/O
CONVERT YOUR SIGNALS SEAMLESSLY
The new eI/O family of Ethernet digital I/O solutions
provides system designers
with a compact, low-cost alternative for monitoring and
control and is perfect for a
variety of applications including process control. Five
models offer a choice of optically isolated inputs, reed relay
outputs and Form C relay outputs. They are available in PoE
802.3af versions. DC-powered models are also available.
Sealevel Systems
864/843-4343; www.sealevel.com
Users of CTC Series signal
converters can use a standard,
5-amp secondary CT or lowvoltage (0.333 VAC) ProteCT
current transformer with noncontact ranges as low as 0-5 A
over a conductor to produce a
standard 4-20 mA, two-wire,
loop-powered signal. With DIN-rail mounting and a 24 Vdc
loop-powered supply, CTC series provides simple, snap-in installation that requires no calibration.
NK Technologies
800/959.4014; www.nktechnologies.com
HIGH-SPEED I/O MODULES
DATA ACQUISITON AND CONTROL
Productivity 3000 includes
the P3-HSO high-speed,
output module that supports
pulse/direction, up/down and
quadrature pulse outputs on
each of two independent output channels. P3-HSI highspeed input module has both
differential- and single-ended inputs, and accepts pulse/direction and quadrature signals on each of the two independent input channels.
Automation Direct
800/633-0405; www.automationdirect.com
The MAQ20 industrial data
acquisition and control system is a family of DIN-railmounted,
programmable,
multi-channel, industrially
rugged, signal conditioning
input and output and communication modules. They
mount on industry-standard, 35x7.5 mm gull-wing DIN
rails. Each I/O module has a 1500-Vrms isolation barrier between the field-side and system-side wiring.
Dataforth
800/444-7644; www.dataforth.com
MANUAL CONTROL
FAST ANALOG TO DIGITAL CONVERSION
KL85xx manual operating
modules mount on the outside of control cabinet doors
using a snap-in system for
easy, manual machine intervention without opening the
control cabinet and the convenient observation of process data. The modules can be integrated via bus couplers
into almost any fieldbus system. The modules are configurable through TwinCAT automation software.
Beckhoff Automation
952/890-0000; www.beckhoffautomation.com
Pepperl+Fuchs
introduces
three new G11 Series AS-interface I/O modules. These
Ecolab, clean-design certified modules not only deliver reliable operation, but
also help improve productivity by delivering the fastest
analog to digital conversion available today. They provide
lead break detection and integrated shield connection in
the M12 connector and on the base to maximize reliability.
Pepperl+Fuchs
330/486-0001; www.pepperl-fuchs.us
A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2 www.controlglobal.com
59
CONTROL EXCLUSIVE
Flow Transmitter, Sensors Serve Five Industries
Good things usually come in small packages, but once in awhile many good things come in a small package. Such is the case with Endress+Hauser’s new Proline Promass 100 compact flow transmitter with industryspecific sensors, direct-digital outputs, complete traditional functions, self-diagnostics, seamless communications, web server and more. “Four main groups of end users, including plant builders, skid fabricators, system
integrators and solution providers, have been requesting and
waiting for a compact, full-featured device that can deliver all
their process variables and other values, and do it in a multivariable Coriolis flowmeter package, while still maintaining certifications for customer applications,” explains Jerry Stevens,
E+H’s senior product marketing manager for flow products.
In general, Promass 100 measures mass flow, volume flow,
density, viscosity, concentration and temperature with accuracy up to ±0.05% and with immunity from process and environmental influences. All measurements are fully traceable because the flowmeter is certified on calibration rigs
accredited to ISO/IEC 17025.
Likewise, Promass 100 is approved for operation in Zone
2 and Class 1, Division 2 hazardous areas. And with its intrinsically safe Modbus output, it’s approved for Zone 1 and
Class 1, Division 1. “Many food and life science applications
use high-pressure washing that must meet the IP69K standard for direct spray up to 1200 psi, but NEMA 4x doesn’t
satisfy these requirements, so traditional transmitters don’t
work for them,” says Stevens. “Thanks to its new circuit
board design and low-mass components, Promass 100 has
a 30% smaller footprint than typical flow transmitters, and
this compact design helps it meet these hygiene and sterility
rules. Our design also uses 316L stainless steel enclosures,
instead of the usual powder- or polyurethane-coated transmitters with gaskets, plexiglass windows and seals.”
Next, Promass 100 enables seamless digital communications
and system integration via EtherNet/IP and Modbus RS-485
protocols. “Going with direct-digital outputs allows us to integrate digital buses in Promass 100’s device profile,” add Stevens.
“We’re starting with EtherNet/IP and Modbus, but we’ll add
more digital protocols in coming months.”
Also, because E+H’s customers wanted common tooling
and didn’t want specialized tools for programming, Promass
100 includes an embedded, on-board web server, which enables programming via a web browser. Its use of Internet protocol (IP) addressing also includes several levels of security,
while an embedded HistoROM chip performs secure data
backup, restore and storage functions.
However, while its basic capabilities are innovative and
useful, Promass 100 delivers its tailor-made advantages
60
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC, WEB-READY
Endress+Hauser’s Proline Promass 100 compact, direct-digital
input flow transmitter with industry-optimized sensors.
when it integrates with E+H’s five industry-specific sensors:
r1SPNBTT4JTBGPPEBOECFWFSBHFTQFDJBMJTUGPS
in. to 2-in. lines that combines a fully drainable, single-tube,
stainless-steel flowmeter with the compact Promass transmitter. It’s rated to 150 °C (302 ºF) for CIP/SIP cycles, and it
satisfies all 3-A and U.S. FDA rules.
r1SPNBTT1JTBTJOHMFUVCFTUBJOMFTTTUFFM$PSJPMJT
flowmeter for the life sciences. Its drainable, hygienic design is cleanable on the inside and outside, making it ideal
for sterile processes. It conforms to ASME-BPE 2007, FDA,
EHEDG and 3-A process codes and standards.
r1SPNBTT*JTBTUSBJHIUUVCFEVBMGSFRVFODZNPEF
Coriolis flowmeter made from titanium for low-shear-stress
on sensitive products, reduced pressure-drop and optional
viscosity-measurement applications.
r1SPNBTT'JTBIJHIQFSGPSNBODFEVBMUVCF$PSJPlis flowmeter for custody-transfer quality, final product grading or other high-accuracy applications.
r1SPNBTT&JTBCBTJDMPXFSDPTUEVBMUVCF$PSJPMJT
flowmeter for utility, CIP, water or gas lines.
Ultimately, Stevens reports that Promass 100 will interface with 11 of E+H’s sensors and related systems.
For more information, contact Endress+Hauser at 888/ENDRESS
or visit www.us.endress.com
PRODUCT INTRODUCTIONS
TITAN ENCLOSURES
FAST-COOL TEMPERATURE CALIBRATORS
The frame of the TitanEP
enclosure for electronic packaging has fully welded construction, delivers a certified
static load rating of 5400 lbs,
and has a certified dynamic
load rating of 3300 lbs. It’s
certified to MIL S-901D for
shock and MIL S-810E for vibration, and is available in heights from 12RU to 45RU, 24in. and 29-in. rack widths, and in 25.5-, 30-, and 36-in. rack
depths. A full line of accessories is available.
Amco Enclosures
847/391-8200; www.amcoenclosures.com
Jofra PTC-125 Cooler and
RTC-159 Ultra Cooler calibrators offer a host of innovative features and design improvements. Jofra PTC-125
has a temperature range of
-90 ºC to +125 ºC, and features an intuitive, easy-to-use
interface. The RTC-159, Ametek’s most advanced reference
temperature calibrator, has a range of -100 ºC to +155 ºC.
Their patented cooling technology allows the calibrators to
fast cool to -80 ºC in 65 to 75 minutes.
Ametek Calibration Instruments
800-527-9999, ext. 3555; www.ametekcalibration.com
SAE-THREADED GAUGES
HIGH-PRESSURE FITTINGS
A 7/16 in.-20 SAE thread allows this installed gauge to
be oriented in several ways,
making it easier to view for
technicians. SAE thread
gauges are widely used in
hydraulic and pneumatic installations in the fluid power
industry. The new pressure gauge comes with a standard
bottom-mount and is glycerin-filled with crimp-on stainless
steel o-ring. Silicone fill and a back flange are also available
as options. This new SAE thread gauge is available in pressure ranges from Vac to up to 15,000 psi.
Winters
800/WINTERS; www.winters.com
VICI Valco’s new 360-μm
high-pressure fitting design
permits direct connection of
360-micron OD fused silica,
PEEK, stainless or electroformed nickel tubing without
having to use troublesome
liners. Because of the fittings
compact size and 2-56 threads, a leak-free connection seals
at pressures well in excess of 20,000 psi with the available
manual tool. They are available with a PEEK or stainless
nut; the PEEK nut is supplied with a glass-filled PEEK ferrule, while the stainless nut uses a 316 SS ferrule.
Valco Instruments Co.
800/367-8424; www.vici.com
UNDERWATER PRESSURE MEASUREMENT
SUPER-FAST ETHERNET CONNECTORS
SOR has achieved an IP68
rating in up to 100 feet of
continuous submersion for
its 805PT electronic pressure
transmitter. The submersible
805PT pressure transmitter
will provide precision depth
measurements in liquid applications, such as well monitoring, groundwater and surface water measurement, as well as in municipal and industrial applications where watertight protection is required.
The rugged 805PT pressure transmitter has a low cost of
ownership and comes with a three-year warranty.
SOR
913/956-3086; www.sorinc.com
Lumberg Automation Gigabit Ethernet connectors from
Belden support data rates up
to 10Gbps. Their compact
design with special shielding
ensures reliable data transmission even in the presence
of strong electromagnetic
fields. The connectors support M12 or RJ45 connection
technology, and are available in both self-assembly and
molded versions. Their robust design, ingress protection rating (IP67) and wide temperature range (-30 °C to +90 °C)
make them ideal for harsh industrial environments.
Belden
719/217-2299; www.belden.com
A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2 www.controlglobal.com
61
PRODUCT INTRODUCTIONS
62
FILTER THAT SIGNAL NOISE
ULTRASONIC FLOWMETER
The DIN-rail mount 288
Series signal noise filter removes disturbances from incoming power for industrial
control panels. The 288-2003
pairs a 10A/120VAC receptacle, common-mode choke
and Wago 740 Series PCB
terminal blocks on a 1.75-in. wide open assembly. The 288
Series eliminates placing noise filter components outside of
panels at upstream power sources. It has a 0 °C to +40 °C
operation range.
Wago
800/DIN-RAIL; www.wago.us
Prosonic B 200 measures the
flow and methane content
of biogas for process control,
emissions reporting and energy balancing in anaerobic
digesters and other biogas
producing processes. The
meter body has 316L stainless
steel construction It can also measure direct methane fraction as a function of sound velocity and temperature. Other
outputs include corrected methane volume flow, energy
flow, calorific value, temperature and Wobbe index.
Endress+Hauser
317-535-2108; www.us.endress.com
NEXT-GEN CORIOLIS TECHNOLOGY
CLAMP METERS
The Sitrans FC430 digitally
based flow solution is the
next generation in flowmeter
technology. It features a short
build-in length, suitable for
liquid or gas applications.
The unit is ideal for multiparameter measurement and
can be used in applications, such as fast filling, batch control, blending and dosing, as well as for measuring gases or
fluids. It features a compact frame, high-accuracy measurement of 0.1%, low pressure loss, extremely stable zero point
and data update capabilities of 100 Hertz.
Siemens Industry Sector
www.usa.siemens.com/Coriolis
Fluke 320 Series True-rms
clamp meters are engineered
to produce noise-free, reliable measurements in the
toughest environments. They
are ideal for rugged, all-purpose use in residential, commercial, HVAC/R and light
industrial electrical applications, and feature a slim, ergonomic design, large, easy-to-read display, CAT III 600 V/
CAT IV 300 V safety ratings, true-rms ac voltage and current for accurate measurement of non-linear signals, and
DC current, frequency and resistance up to 40 kilo-ohms.
Fluke
800/443-5853; www.fluke.com
MERCURY-FREE pH SENSORS
DISPENSE WITH THIS
Calomel-free pH and reference electrodes offer the
high performance levels of
calomel electrodes without
the hazardous mercury associated with the design. They
are available in a glass body
or in virtually unbreakable,
chemically resistant thermoplastic. They feature a measurement range of 0-14 pH (0-12.3 pH without Na+ error with
a rapid pH response speed of >95% in 1 second). They are
available in a combination model featuring a pH measuring
cell and reference cell in a single body.
Sensorex
714/895-4344; www.sensorex.com
Liquipure stainless steel solenoid valves contain only
lead-free materials and are
certified by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF),
including the new NSF
372 low-lead standard. The
valve’s stainless-steel orifice
and FKM-FDA or ruby seals ensure superior life, endurance
and resistance to aggressive media, such as cleaning agents.
They come in 2/2 and 3/2 configurations, and can be used
interchangeably with existing sub-base mounting solutions
featuring a 1.26-in. x 1.26-in. interface.
Parker Fluid Control Division.
800/825-8305; www.parker.com/fcd
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
The life cycles of my critical service
valves are already pushed to the
max. And now they want to extend
the time between turnarounds?
YOU CAN DO THAT
Maximize uptime and reduce risk with superior valve technology and
engineering. Keeping competitive doesn’t just mean having the right valves. It’s also
about the right partnership. And Emerson delivers on both. Every Fisher ® valve for general and severe service
applications is expertly selected to meet your exact specifications. And our unmatched engineering and
rigorous testing help ensure it will excel in even your most demanding applications. Fisher valves — it’s how
you turn a risky situation into stable, reliable operation. Go to Fisher.com/CriticalService
The Emerson logo is a trademark and a service mark of Emerson Electric Co. © 2012 Emerson Electric Co. D351992X012 MX11 (H:)
PRODUCT INTRODUCTIONS
64
VOLTAGE AND CURRENT TRANSDUCERS
COMPACT INDUSTRIAL PCS
MVTR and MCTR series are
single-phase, RoHS-compliant transducers for measuring voltage and current in
applications requiring a true
RMS calculation of the transducer input. MVTR units
measure true RMS voltage,
while MCTR models measure true RMS current. All models impart a fully isolated, 4-20mA output proportional to
the related input voltage and current, respectively, for the
sinusoidal and non-sinusoidal inputs.
Ohio Semitronics Inc.
614/777-1005; www.ohiosemitronics.com
The VL BPC has an energyefficient Intel Atom N455 1.6
GHz CPU. The fanless VL
BPC 1000 is powered with
24 VDC, is DIN rail-mountable and comes in a compact
form factor that saves valuable panel space. Four USB
ports, two gigabit LAN ports and three serial ports make it
easy to connect to the enterprise and other devices. A VGA
port provides the ability to connect a display for visualization, such as the Phoenix Contact flat panel monitors.
Phoenix Contact
800/322-3225; www.phoenixcontact.com/perfectfi
TRIAXIAL VIBRATION SENSING
BLACK OPS
Model 993B-7-M12 is the
latest addition to Wilcoxon
Research’s three-axis series.
It features a versatile M12
connector. It also boasts an
upgraded external case resulting in a thicker shell for
better resistance to impact.
Designed for both route-based and permanent-mount applications, this triaxial accelerometer hosts three generalpurpose, 100 mV/g vibration sensors with ±10% sensitivity
tolerance. Straight, coiled and Teflon coated-options are
available.
Meggitt Sensing Systems
800/WILCOXON; www.wilcoxon.com
The Black Body BBSL is a
portable, rugged, IR pyrometer calibrator system ideal for
quick medium-temperature
calibration. It offers excellent
stability and auto-tune PID
control. It has a temperature
range of 10 ˚C above ambient
to 350 ˚C, 0.1 ˚C resolution, accuracy of ± 0.5% or minimum 1 ˚C, stability of ± 0.5 ˚C, emissivity of 0.97 to 0.98,
500W power consumption, 20-minute stablization time,
45-minute heating time, calibration traceable to national
standards within ±2 C.
E-Instruments International
215/750-1212; www.E-Inst.com
REMOTE-AREA GAS MONITORING
HYBRID MOTOR STARTER
The new SM100 sampling
pump module draws combustible or toxic gases at 0.05
to 1 LPM from monitored areas to a gas detector, making
it easier and cost-effective to
measure potentially hazardous gases in areas that are too
remote, inaccessible, or too cold, hot or wet for direct sensor monitoring. It supplies gas for up to three gas detectors,
and features a low-flow indicator. It also includes a trouble
relay that provides a local signal indication of the low-flow
condition.
General Monitors
800/330-9161; www.generalmonitors.com
Motus ContactronControl
hybrid motor starter is targeted at industries using motor-controlled motion. It’s
perfectly suited for system or
machine designs that require
motor loads of up to 5 hp. It’s
the first hybrid motor starter
that not only incorporates three mounting options—60-mm
System Classic, 60-mm System Compact and DIN-rail
mounting, but also incorporates short-circuit protection into
the housing of the device, eliminating the need to mount
circuit protection elsewhere in the panel design.
Woehner USA
603 /433-2121; www.woehner.com
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
C O N T R O L TA L K
Calibration Trends
Greg McMillan and Stan Weiner bring their wits and more than 66 years of process
control experience to bear on your questions, comments and problems.
Write to them at controltalk@putman.net.
Greg: An instrument is only as good as its calibration. Instruments have significantly improved, but are not perfect. Resources have
dramatically declined. Mistakes can be made
by the design engineer, vendor, manufacturer,
and the maintenance technician. Good calibration procedures can catch these mistakes.
Stan: Instruments are the only window into
the process. Errors and incorrect ranges can
result in inefficient and unsafe operation. We
asked Glenn Gardner, Fluke’s product planner,
to help complete our perspective on calibration
by taking a look at future trends.
Greg: Stan and I enlisted the help of engineers,
who were proficient in the design, installation,
checkout and start-up of electrical devices and
got specialists to do the high-voltage stuff. We
could focus on instrumentation. In the 1990s,
we saw the start of the decline of instrument
engineers and technicians in the plants, and
the rise of groups for distributed control systems (DCS) and information technology (IT).
Who is making sure the best instrument technology is used and maintained? Are the plant
instrument engineers and technicians becoming extinct?
to pick up how to support the electrical and
power systems. Electrical techs are having a
tougher time learning how to calibrate, configure and troubleshoot instrumentation systems.
GREG MCMILL AN
STAN WEINER, PE
controltalk@putman.net
Greg: Some IT departments thought they
should be responsible for the generation and
use of data.
Glenn: Confusion seems to be lessening, with
IT groups staying on the business technology
(BT) side. It’s noteworthy that the IT workforce
tends to be fairly young, whereas the plant technician workforce in the United States and Europe is nearing retirement. I’m concerned who
will inherit the tribal knowledge required to
maintain the plant systems. The opposite of
this problem is present in emerging regions,
where there are plenty of young engineers and
techs at process plants, but very few experienced mentors.
Glenn: On the engineering side, the workload
is often split between an instrument engineer
responsible for the instrument management
system and a controls engineer, who focuses on
the DCS configuration and performance. On
the technician side, workforce reductions have
caused a trend towards hybrid “E&I” techs that
maintain both automation and electrical systems, including drives and switchgear.
Stan: How are the technicians adapting?
Glenn: The instrument techs seem to be able
A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2 www.controlglobal.com
65
C O N T R O L TA L K
Stan: What are the trends in calibration practices that result from the decrease in resources and expertise?
Glenn: Spot checks (in-situ where possible) are used to make a one-point
calibration. A zero adjustment is used
to compensate for an offset between
the transmitter output and a precision
measurement at the transmitter (e.g. a
precision pressure gage near a pressure
sensor). A span adjustment requires the
removal of the transmitter and a source
to provide at least two operating values
of the process variable measured.
Greg: The measurement errors seen
in a control loop are more often from
offsets or zero shifts than from changes
in span. Also, a zero adjustment can
compensate for a span error for control
at a setpoint. If there is poor control,
the span error shows up as a change
in process gain. Since there are much
larger sources of nonlinearity, the span
error is mostly a consideration when
operating at vastly different setpoints.
Stan: How does this method fit in with
a documenting calibrator?
Glenn: Spot check results and the criticality of the measurement help determine when a full calibration should be
done with a documenting calibrator.
Greg: What are the choices for a calibrating a temperature transmitter?
Glenn: We have three ways of doing
temperature transmitter calibrations.
First, we can use a thermocouple millivolt or RTD resistance source to calibrate the temperature transmitter output. Obviously, this does not test the
accuracy or condition of the sensor.
Second, we can pull out the sensor
and insert it into a temperature bath
and perform a full calibration. This
method is much more common when
the calibration is performed in the
shop rather than the field. Third, some
66
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
thermowells have a slot for the direct
insertion of a reference probe that can
be used to perform a single-point calibration in-situ.
Stan: What are the relative merits of
field and benchtop calibration?
Glenn: Field calibration tends to be
more efficient, causes less process exposure and minimizes loop downtime.
Benchtop calibration enables visual inspection of the primary element, and
allows the technician to use more advanced sourcing equipment, such as
temperature baths and pressure controllers. The benchtop model also is
useful during plant outages, as it allows
the most skilled calibration technician
to focus on calibrating an uninterrupted flow of devices at the benchtop.
uncouples the installation and configuration tasks. Both instrument and calibration management systems are often
available as modules in a broader software system category known as an asset
management system (AMS).
Stan: Progress has been made in making the AMS accessible on operator
screens, so the information is not held
captive in an instrument shop, but a
lot more needs to be done to use their
ever-expanding diagnostic and analysis
capabilities.
Glenn: Several vendors are working
on fleshing out the various modules of
an AMS, including areas such as vibration, thermography, thermodynamic
efficiency, RCM/FMEA analysis, machinery reliability metrics, etc. It’s definitely an exciting area.
Stan: How is the data managed?
Glenn: The best practice is to store
calibration records in a dedicated calibration management system (CMS). A
CMS makes it easy to trend as-found
and as-left data, track calibration assets,
identify past-due calibrations and audit
previous work. About a third of existing
process plants use this method. Alternatively, results can be stored in Excel,
in the Enterprise Resource Planning
(ERP) system or on paper. I’m not a
big advocate of these latter methods.
Excel files are very prone to human
error in data entry, and ERP or paperbased systems do not easily enable proactive tracking and trending.
Greg: What are some other trends developing from smart transmitters?
Glenn: Smart transmitters will lead
vendors to increasingly include digital
communication protocols in their field
calibrators, making them useful for
both commissioning and calibration
workflow. Some plants will favor purchasing large quantities of a few standard smart transmitters, which they
can configure on-site to save costs,
while others will lean towards having
the OEM custom pre-configure each
transmitter.
Stan: What can be done to minimize
spares?
Greg: What about instrument management systems?
Glenn: Instrument management systems (IMS) are particularly useful
for tracking configuration data on
field devices. For supported intelligent devices, automated diagnostics
can also be sent. Configuration files
can be created in advance, and downloaded upon device installation, which
Glenn: The greater configuration flexibility of smart transmitters means that
a spare can be used for many different applications. This can translate to
fewer onsite spares and faster delivery
of those spares by the supplier.
For more on calibration trends and a
Top 10 list, go to www.controlglobal.
com_1208/ControlTalk.html.
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from Allen Bradley to Xycom
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Davis Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
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Moore Industries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
National Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
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CONTROL REPORT
Priorities and Pigeon Holes
I’ve been spending time among the cables and networks again, and it’s freaking me
out. I know it doesn’t help that I’ve never worked hands-on with them. Still, I never had
JIM MONTAGUE
trouble understanding the migration from point-to-point 4-20 mA to fieldbuses, Ether-
E XECUTIVE EDITOR
jmontague@putman.net
net and wireless. No, what’s unhinging me mentally now is the fact that data processing
Nebulous networks
and virtualized
computing can be
better understood
by organizing them
into approachable,
function-based
segments.
68
can apparently happen any place and in any
form—anywhere a smaller, faster, cheaper microprocessor can be located. And what goofs
me up even more is that all this tiny, varied and
far-flung computing power is also dissolving
into an intangible, invisible presence. This is
thanks to all the rack-mounted computers running the equivalent of dozens or hundreds of
virtual PCs, who-knows-where server farms,
and cloud-based computing services, again
aided more by huge leaps in data processing. In
many applications I cover, I can’t even describe
where exactly the numbers are crunched. But
as much as it bugs me, I know it unnerves many
uptime-focused process engineers even more.
Fortunately, while I was covering this
month’s “Break It Up” cover article for Industrial Networking, I was reminded that the disjointed, disembodied feeling that goes with an
invisible network can be fought if process control engineers and their IT counterparts jointly
assess existing networks, prioritize needed
tasks, plan new functions, and cooperate on implementing them. Just organizing, segmenting
and pigeonholing an overall network into subnets separated by managed Ethernet switches
and firewalls can give users a lot of muchneeded peace of mind.
For example, Emirates Aluminum Co., Ltd.
(www.EMAL.ae) recently built its $5.7-billion,
smelting plant in Taweelah, Abu Dhabi, United
Arab Emirates (UAE), to produce 1.4 million
tonnes of aluminum per year, and installed several continuous-process, batch and semi-batch
applications and production networks, as well
as links to upper-level MES and ERP systems.
To keep its networks independent and isolated, but still able to share data where needed,
EMAL worked with consultant and system integrators Keops Technologies Inc. (www.keops.
com) in Montreal, Canada, and Dubai, UAE,
www.controlglobal.com A U G U S T / 2 0 1 2
and BBA (www.bba.ca) in Mont-Saint-Hilaire,
Quebec, Canada. Together they organized demilitarized zones (DMZs) and dual firewalls
for the networks and implemented Ethernetto-the-Factory solutions from Cisco Systems
Inc. (www.cisco.com) and Rockwell Automation (www.rockwellautomation.com). These included Cisco’s Catalyst 3750 and 6500 Series
switches from to form a 10-Gbps fiber-optic network and Rockwell’s dual-facing Allen-Bradley
Stratix 8000 industrial Ethernet switches running Cisco IOS in each production area. As a
result, EMAL uses its DMZs to bridge its enterprise and manufacturing networks, including
its power, energy and material handling, reduction, and carbon and cast house areas. Each has
its own manufacturing network and enterprise
network with a DMZ bridging the two, while
redundant power supplies and Cisco’s Virtual
Switching System provides redundancy.
QED, right? It shouldn’t be a surprise that
logical planning can dispel the fog of nebulous
networks and virtualized computing, and that
both can be better understood and resolved by
organizing networks into approachable, jobbased and function-specific segments.
How about a spooky, Twilight Zone-style,
twist ending? You got it. While writing about
how cooperation can aid industrial networking, I stopped dead near the end when I realized that process control and IT engineers may
not have to cooperate after all. This is because
a cloud-based service can enable a company’s
departments to sign up for their own data processing, bypass many common networking
conflicts, and avoid interacting if they desire.
So though it’s often said you can’t just buy a
black box to solve your problems, microprocessors and the cloud may be proving that you can.
Well, try to get some straight-up, human facetime anyway, even it if it’s only on Skype.
WHAT YOU
ALWAYS WANTED
Our customers tell us that quality means no product hardware failures. Now, that’s a gift that keeps on giving.
When you take Yaskawa drives out of the box, you can count on them to work. In fact, Yaskawa products have a
meantime-between-failure rate (MTBF) of up to 28 years. That means your engineers can spec Yaskawa and never
have to worry. Just program, plug and play.
Get what you want, every time. Call Yaskawa.
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There’s no way I can get all the I/O
change orders done before start-up.
But we can’t start-up until the
change orders are done.
YOU CAN DO THAT
Get the flexibility you need–where and when you need it–with Electronic Marshalling.
Tight project schedules and changing requirements are the norm, not the exception, so
Emerson makes handling them easy by eliminating re-wiring altogether. Only with DeltaV Electronic Marshalling
can you land field cabling wherever and whenever you want, regardless of signal type or control strategies. It’s the
flexibility to add I/O today, tomorrow or ten years from now. See how DeltaV Electronic Marshalling makes it easy,
scan the code below or visit: IOonDemandCalculator.com
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