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27th May 2010
Emerson’s Smart Wireless network delivers improved furnace
operation and safety for Ternium Siderar at Argentine steel plant
Rosemount® wireless transmitters measure and transmit data for determining pig iron
levels in furnace hearth despite harsh conditions - saving 50% over the cost of a wired
alternative
Emerson Process Management’s Smart Wireless network is helping deliver improved
furnace operation and safety at Ternium Siderar’s steelmaking facility in San Nicolás,
Argentina while realising 50 per cent installed cost savings compared to a wired solution.
Emerson’s self-organising wireless network delivers reliable electromotive force (emf)
data directly to a plant SCADA despite harsh conditions that include temperatures as high
as 60° C and high electromagnetic noise. The emf measurements enable Ternium to
calculate the amount of pig iron in the hearth, enabling smoother and safer furnace
operations.
“We’ve improved furnace energy efficiency, process stability, and safety,” said Esteban
Pagliero, Ternium Siderar electronic engineer. “Knowing the emf enables calculation of
the amount of iron and slag inside the hearth, enabling the improved operations. This
allows us to avoid raising the operation level by too much, which considerably increases
the risk of serious accidents.”
Five Rosemount® 648 wireless transmitters collect and send data from electrodes
soldered near tapholes onto the hearth’s shell. The devices transmit continuous data to a
Smart Wireless Gateway, located 50 metres away in another room, which sends the
information to the facility’s SCADA.
Ternium use Emerson’s AMS™ Suite predictive maintenance software to manage the new
devices, which enables technicians to configure them, run diagnostic checks, and monitor
alarms and alerts.
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The Smart Wireless solution saved Ternium start-up time and money. The company
would have had to install a wired solution during multiple routine maintenance stoppages
of its furnace, which occur every two months. Wires were also impractical because of the
high temperatures in the steel runner and the network layout needed.
“Smart Wireless decreased our installation costs and time considerably,” said Pagliero.
“We gained a 50 per cent installed cost saving with the wireless solution.”
Wireless also made it much easier and quicker for Ternium to relocate electrodes on the
hearth to detect the best possible emf signal.
“Wireless technology provided us with the ability to easily move the transmitters
whenever we needed to move the electrodes. It would have taken months to do so with a
wired network,” Pagliero said. “The entire installation would have taken six months in all.
Installation and start-up with wireless, including finding the optimum location for the
process measurement, was completed in seven days.”
In addition to the Smart Wireless solutions already installed at Ternium Siderar, Emerson
offers a wide range of wireless field instrumentation and plant operations equipment,
including Fisher® position monitors, Rosemount Analytical and Machinery Health™
Management devices, and native wireless interfaces to DeltaV™ digital automation
systems, and SmartStart™ services.
For more information about Smart Wireless, visit
www.EmersonProcess.eu/SmartWireless and for videos go to
www.EmersonSmartWireless.com/Videos
- ENDS -
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Notes for the Editor
About Emerson Process Management
Emerson Process Management (www.EmersonProcess.com), an Emerson business, is a
leader in helping businesses automate their production, processing and distribution in the
chemical, oil and gas, refining, pulp and paper, power, water and wastewater treatment,
metals and mining, food and beverage, life sciences and other industries. The company
combines superior products and technology with industry-specific engineering, consulting,
project management and maintenance services. Its brands include PlantWeb™,
Syncade™, DeltaV™, Fisher®, Micro Motion®, Rosemount®, Daniel®, Ovation™, and AMS™
Suite.
About Emerson
Emerson, based in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, is a global leader in bringing technology and
engineering together to provide innovative solutions for customers in industrial,
commercial, and consumer markets through its network power, process management,
industrial automation, climate technologies, and appliance and tools businesses. Sales in
fiscal 2009 were $20.9 billion. For more information, visit www.Emerson.com
Rosemount, AMS, Fisher, Machinery Health, DeltaV and SmartStart are marks of Emerson Process
Management. Other marks are property of their respective owners.
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CONTACT ADDRESSES:
If you wish to publish for your readers the contact information for
Emerson Process Management, the relevant information will be:
Emerson Process Management
Blegistrasse 21
6341 Baar
Switzerland
Email:
infocentral@ap.emersonprocess.com
Web:
www.EmersonProcess.eu/SmartWireless
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