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Share Your Expertise at Instrumentation and Automation Symposium

Posted 2 days ago, under Education, Event
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One of the longstanding events for knowledge exchange among instrumentation and automation professionals and students is the Instrumentation and Automation Symposium for the Process Industries held annually at Texas A&M University. The next one, its 75th anniversary, will be held January 21-23, 2020. This symposium’s beginning dates back to 1946 as a short course on instrumentation applied in the process industries.

Instrumentation and Automation Symposium for the Process IndustriesI mention all this because Emerson’s James Beall is a member of steering committee for this symposium. He wants to make sure if you have experise to share with other current & future instrumentation and automation professionals, that you submit an abstract by the rapidly approaching May 31 deadline.

The topic areas include instrument reliability, safety instrumented systems, new technology, cyber security and asset management. Here are some of the suggested abstract topics:

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Non-Contacting Radar Level Measurement in Pulp Mills

Posted 3 days ago, under Level, Pulp & Paper
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A pulp mill:

…converts wood chips or other plant fibre source into a thick fibre board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing.

Pulp-paperworld: Radar Technology Overcomes the Toughest Level Measurement ChallengesLevel measurements can be challenging in pulp manufacturing process.

In a Pulp-paperworld article, Radar Technology Overcomes the Toughest Level Measurement Challenges, Emerson’s Ingemar Serneby shares his expertise on how non-contacting radar level measurement technology can address these challenges.

These challenges include:

…turbulence, foaming surfaces, corrosive chemicals, condensation, viscous materials, density and pressure variability, high temperatures, dust generation, and media with a low dielectric constant.

Many level measurement options exist from manually checking levels through sight glasses to:

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Transforming Reliability Work Practices

Posted 4 days ago, under Asset Optimization, Reliability
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Every day, our lives continue to be digitally transformed in how we communicate and engage with each other. It’s not just the technologies in smart phones, smart watches and applications; it’s how we use these technologies to change the way we accomplish things.

The same is true for manufacturers and producers in their digital transformation initiatives. Technologies play a key role, but it’s the changes toward more effective work practices that deliver the value. One example is in keeping plant assets operating reliably.

The traditional approach has asset diagnostic information scattered in different locations. It requires plant personnel to find it and communicate it to the right person in time to address the issue before it leads to slow downs or unplanned downtime. A key way to improve these work practices is to bring together data from predictive intelligence applications and analytical tools to create a holistic picture of asset health.

The Plantweb digital ecosystem is a scalable portfolio of technologies, software and services to help manufacturers and producers drive their digital transformation initiatives. A key reliability-improvement component in this ecosystem is Plantweb Optics—an asset performance platform for managing asset health across the enterprise.

This quick, three-minute YouTube video, Keeping a Close Eye on Critical Assets, shows how Plantweb Optics combines data from multiple asset-based applications and delivers alerts and key performance indicators that are specific to individuals in the roles that need the information. Instead of manually tracking the right person or team to get the data into the right hands, it’s done automatically—enabling the appropriate team to address the issue quicker and more effectively.

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Early Detection of Heat Recovery Steam Generator Tube Leaks

Posted 5 days ago, under Power, Wireless
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A NACE International paper, HRSG Tube Failures: Prediction, Diagnosis and Corrective Actions highlights the challenge of these failures:

Many HRSGs were originally designed for base load operation. Recent economic factors have led to drastically increased cycling of many units. This has exacerbated the rate of failures.

These leaks can lead to forced outages that create associated costs including fines, lost time and replacement power purchases, which can exceed $100,000 USD per incident.

Heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) tubes are stressed by thermal expansion and contraction of the tubes from the combustion turbine exhaust gas. Optimizing steam temperature control can extend the life of the tubes. Monitoring the tubes with acoustic sensors can also help provide early warning to address leaks before they lead to unplanned downtime.

I connected with Emerson’s Juan Panama who explained that fatigue and stress cracking can occur in welds or the tubes themselves, or that poor welds could cause pinhole leaks. Leaks in the tubes themselves (outside of a weld area) are typically caused by corrosion processes, localized overheating, or incorrect metallurgy.

Juan noted that small super heater and re-heater tube leaks are difficult to detect, as no visible indications are present.

Without sensors to detect leaks, plant staff traditionally has checked by going into an outage and shutting down the HRSG (to allow steam to condense back into water to make leaks more visible), or if a leak is large enough by observing an increase in water usage at the control system. Continue Reading ▶

Sizing and Selecting Control Valves for Desuperheaters

Posted 6 days ago, under Final Control Element
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According to Wikipedia, superheated steam is steam:

…at a temperature higher than its vaporization (boiling) point at the absolute pressure where the temperature is measured.

It has:

…tremendous internal energy that can be used for kinetic reaction through mechanical expansion against turbine blades and reciprocating pistons, that produces rotary motion of a shaft. The value of superheated steam in these applications is its ability to release tremendous quantities of internal energy yet remain above the condensation temperature of water vapor; at the pressures at which reaction turbines and reciprocating piston engines operate.

With this property, superheated steam is used in many electrical power producing applications using steam turbines. Desuperheaters perform the function of reducing superheated steam temperature and recovering useful heat in the process.

Process Heating: Desuperheater Application Best PracticesIn a Process Heating magazine article, Desuperheater Application Best Practices, Emerson’s Mark Nord describes the role and importance of proper specification, installation and maintenance of control valves in this application.

Mark opens highlighting the growing operating challenges for power producers.

Increased cyclical operation, daily start-stop and faster ramp rates are required to ensure full-load operation, particularly at daily peak hours, and to maximize profit and plant availability. Changes resulting from environmental regulations and economics also are combining to alter the face of power production.

Steam is an important operational component and:

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