PACE - Process & Control Engineering - August 2012

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AUGUST 2012 | VOL.65 NO.7

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CONTENTS

Published monthly by Reed Business Information Pty Ltd

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IN THIS ISSUE

Deputy Editor: Isaac Leung Tel: (02) 9422 2956 Email: isaac.leung@reedbusiness.com.au Group Sales Manager: Tim Richards Tel: (02) 9422 2818 Mobile: 0420 550 799 Email: tim.richards@reedbusiness.com.au

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OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF:

Viewpoint 6

Wireless Focus 21

Case Study 14

Engineering Update 24

MPC vs. ARC The choice of technology to use for APC is a matter of understanding which tool is best for each application.

Intelligent design Developing an unmanned natural gas site with zero normal operating presence required a reliable distributed control system.

Security concerns overplayed Industrial wireless standards are robust and secure enough to provide a valid solution for any industrial process application.

Inspecting wind farms A Melbourne based company has developed an innovative system for the inspection of wind farm turbine blades.

Technology Report 33

Leak testing The economic life of a leak detector is now determined by how it will handle leak test requirements that are not yet on your docket.

IICA Corner 38

Technology Expos These events allow end-users to experience the latest products and services.

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Case Study Toyota plant links fire protection and control systems to effectively decrease risks.

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COMMENT

EDITOR’S MESSAGE

Collaborating for content Kevin Gomez Editor

Next Issue

• Water & Wastewater • Information Integration • Sensors & Analysers • Process Control in Power Generation

WITH the carbon tax finally a reality, it is timely to look at wind farms and focus on some of the technologies behind this energy source. In this issue we feature a home-grown engineering consultancy that lives by the motto ‘complex problems, simple solutions’.

Unveiled last month, Braendler Engineering’s new wind turbine blade inspection service provides a proactive approach to monitoring and managing wind turbine blades, enabling an integrated platform for data collection, analysis and maintenance scheduling.

In this issue, we also take a look at wireless and our contributing writer attempts to

allay security related concerns often linked to the implementation of this technology. Both WirelessHART and ISA100.11a have robust security mechanisms although each camp gives it their own spin. Our contributing writer is from Yokogawa who are proponents of ISA100.11a.

Coming up soon is a perspective from WirelessHART. The industry is probably awaiting the day when the two standards coalesce.

However, the unequivocal message to users is to get on with wireless implementation and don’t be sidetracked by the standards wars.

In this issue we also look

at leak testing with the author taking the view that engineers are better off looking at models designed for multi-generation products testing.

It’s not just leak testing – this piece of advice would not go astray in a host of other instrumentation areas.

But with many companies holding back on capital expenditure, it comes down to a case of proving a reasonable return on investment.

A little over a year ago, we teamed up with the Institute of Instrumentation Control and Automation Australia (IICA) and PACE became the IICA’s official and exclusive publication.

In another welcome development, we have just entered into an agreement with Profibus Australia whereby PACE is their exclusive and official publication. Our readers can look forward to a lot more useful technical content and application features.

As we develop strategic relationships to bring our readers the best content, PACE will always remain independent and vendor neutral – as it has since it commenced publication 59 years ago. We constantly strive to deliver usable and useful information that will allow our readers to make informed choices. kevin.gomez@reedbusiness.com.au

PARTNERSHIP

Profibus Australia selects PACE as official publication IN A move designed to better serve the process control and automation industry, Profibus Australia has formed a partnership with the automation and instrumentation industry’s leading magazine, PACE. Under this arrangement, PACE will be the exclusive official publication of Profibus Australia.

Key decision makers within both groups reacted favourably to the initial proposal, describing it as a logical step forward for two complementary industry groups seeking similar operational outcomes for the the country’s engineering community. Also, PACE process control and automation sector. will now have access to high-quality case studies and A D _ P Australia A C E M believes E T A Pthe R_ 1 2 . p will d f faciliP a g ecan draw 4 2upon 0 / non-partisan 0 3 / 1 2 , technical 5 : 1content 1 P from M Profibus agreement tate widespread awareness for fieldbus technology in Profibus Australia’s local and international resources.

Many PACE readers would welcome more Australian applications and case studies that present leading technologies in a local perspective.

“There are many unique user experiences involving fieldbus technology in the process industries that will benefit Australia’s engineering community. And now, through our new working relationship with PACE, we have the ideal vehicle to ensure these case studies reach a broader reader base. That’s positive news for the local fieldbus community and a good development for all process industries,” said Profibus Australia Chairman Rafael Koenig. www.profibusaustralia.com.au

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PACE.AUGUST12.PG006.pdf

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oPInIon

Process control

MPC vs. ARC: not either/or The choice of which technology to use for advanced process control is a matter of understanding which tool is best for each application, writes Dick Hill.

I

N THE 35 years since they introduced distributed control systems, automation system suppliers have provided their process industry customers with far more than the ubiquitous PID control function block in their suite of available function blocks.

Many of these additional DCS function blocks originated back in the days before multivariable or model predictive control (MPC) was commercially available. We now refer to putting together functions such as leadlag, dead time, or selectors to formulate advanced control as “advanced regulatory control” or “ARC.” ARC and MPC are both types of advanced process control (APC).

While distributed control systems provide advanced control capabilities in the many useful function blocks available, some process industry end users moved away from function blocks in favour of developing MPC models for advanced process control.

Before MPC, if the process required advanced control techniques, the process control practitioners had to assemble the correct control functions to achieve the required results. These evolved into what we now call advanced regulatory control.

Modern process control assumes that the regulatory control provided by the process control system is solid, with well-tuned loops and the controllers operating in the correct mode. Without good basic regulatory control, advanced process control will not perform well.

But what about advanced regulatory control? Now that MPC is so widely accepted and used, are control engineers and other practitioners still taking advantage of the ARC capabilities built into most DCSs? An entire culture has evolved around the use of MPC. MPC has earned widespread respect and acceptance due to its often-spectacular payback. Despite the considerable implementation cost often involved, users have cited MPC projects that have delivered return on investment in 18 months or less.

As a result, the “culture of MPC,” 6 www.pacetoday.com.au August 2012

Some applications will lend themselves to using DCS function blocks while others are best solved using model predictive controllers.

might unduly influence some companies to implement MPC, when in some cases, advanced regulatory control implemented right in the DCS control blocks might actually provide the best solution.

Not highlighted as much is the fact that MPC requires a continued investment. The models are built based on

the set of process conditions, feedstocks, ambient conditions, variable interactions, and business objectives that exist at that point in time. Over time, however, any or all of these may change, requiring the model to be modified or rebuilt for the MPC to continuing driving value.

So here’s a good question: If all the process needs to perform better is feedforward, do you really need to build (and maintain) a model to accomplish this? In many instances, advanced control could be accomplished by configuring function blocks and tuning each to remove loop interaction, provide feedforward action, and other advanced regulatory control techniques. If so, could this possibly be a better approach than MPC? More to the point, how’s a plant to decide?

There is no substitute for knowing

your process and the skills of your control personnel. The process control culture in any plant or company has evolved over many years with deep roots in “how we’ve always done it”.

All plants must continuously maintain basic regulatory control to provide the stable, well-tuned base layer. However, above this foundation, plants have options for performing APC functions.

It’s important to note here that the choice of which technology to use for advanced process control – MPC or ARC – is not an “either/or” decision, but rather a matter of understanding which tool, or combination of tools, is best for each application. But how do you know if you have the right balance?

The decision to implement an advanced control application using model predictive control, advanced regulatory control or some combination is more than a technology decision.

Both tool sets can perform well for a variety of applications.

Users must take support for the implemented application into consideration. If the staff at the site is not trained in maintaining MPC models, then ARC could be a better choice. If uniformity across the enterprise is important, it is important that the company considers how it will support remote locations, regardless of whether it chooses MPC or ARC. In the end, both MPC and ARC may be the right decision. Some applications will lend themselves to using DCS function blocks, while others are best solved using model predictive controllers.

If you question whether you’re using the right combination, benchmarking can help you at least determine if you are alone or with the majority. End users in process plants may find it worthwhile to participate in ARC Advisory Group’s Benchmarking Consortium, which addresses MPC performance and other key issues.

[Dick Hill (dhill@arcweb.com) is Vice President, ARC Advisory Group.] www.arcweb.com

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CONVERSATION

RESEARCH

Simulation Analysing residual weld stresses leads to better structures. By Kevin Gomez.

ANSTO’s Dr Philip Bendeich has spent over five years developing the capability to accurately analyse residual stresses and predict residual stresses in welds. He recently spoke to PACE about his work and its application to Australian industry.

“ ProTrac measures reliably – even under extreme conditions.”

How does your research relate to industry?

The science of predicting the residual stresses of welds may be used in many industries such as power, shipbuilding or petrochemicals. We tend to concentrate on the power industry and have traditionally done an awful lot of work with Australian power stations – in particular it’s high temperature componentry.

If you looked at say something like the aluminium industry, they might have an issue with stress corrosion cracking.

So there are a number of industries that probably could benefit from our work.

I think in Australia, it’s probably a bit too advanced for a lot of industries to invest in, as it’s very expensive to do that type of analysis. But if you’re looking at the design of future power stations, this development is going to help.

We’re combining the weld residual

stresses more with the damage and fracture mechanics. This includes high temperature creep crack growth which is a bit different to regular fracture mechanics.

What software tools do you use?

We use SIMULIA Abaqus software from Dassault Systèmes as our primary tool as its flexibility is a major advantage. This is provided to us by simulation solution provider Simuserv. It enables us to do weld analysis, for example. There are other dedicated packages out there but they’re black boxes – you can’t look into them. SIMULIA Abaqus allows you to write new routines, implement your own ideas and have a fairly open picture of what’s actually going on in your analysis.

It’s also the package most researchers in this field use because of its adapt> ability. If we were to go with a

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CONVERSATION

different package, it would be much harder for us to talk to most of our collaborators overseas.

it in a nuclear plant, but certainly in a coal-fired plant. You can monitor a crack, and you can keep it running for a little bit longer. As long as you’ve got the confidence from your analysis to show that it’s not going to fail rapidly.

If a crack is found, you might say, ‘no, I will let that one keep going’.

Australia’s power stations are ageing – many have reached the end of their design life. A lot of them were designed before computers were readily available, so there is a certain amount of conservatism built in and some extended life may be drawn out of them. The cost of replacing a power station is not cheap, and nobody wants to do it right now.

they need to take that to their regulators and are prepared to spend the extra effort on it.

However all this work we’re doing can go into any station – they can be designed more optimally. The higher temperature you run them, the more efficient they are, so you’re cutting your CO2. If you don’t want to replace components all the time, you might optimise a welding procedure to give you a different residual stress profile.

You might change the design of a component if you think you’re going to get a longer life out of it.

The Isight package is a good tool as it has the potential to let you optimise the design of components in any type of power generator plant.

You mentioned designing future power stations. What’s the degree of accuracy your analysis can provide?

It’s very good. I cannot quantify it but you can get a fairly good idea of the stresses that you’re going to get in there.

You can use it in combination with things like high temperature remaining life studies and creep rupture studies.

If you go down the detailed FEA (Finite Element Analysis) path, you’ll find that’s quite an advanced analysis.

Quite often you’re drawing on a lot of methodologies that are codified. If you step outside the code, you’ve got to How does your work help get more justify yourself. There’s a lot of conservalife out of our infrastructure assets?

How has the private sector accepted tism built into the codes.

We do a lot of work with the Welding your work?

So you build a model and you work Technology Institute of Australia which They think it’s very expensive to get out the residual stress across a weld. You has a very strong Power Gen group. As a stress analysis done in Australia. A can then adjust your fracture mechanics far as putting weld stresses in, they’re number of industries could have saved analysis, your crack growth analysis. also a very conservative industry. The YouA can get a lot more life out of the nuclear industry overseas is the most D_ P ACE P L CAUG_ 1 2 . p d f P a g e 1 1 1 / 0 7 / 1 2 , millions 4 : 2of7 dollars P Mif we had been able to conduct a stress analysis for them, component. I’m not suggesting you do interested in weld stress analysis because

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however they felt $50,000 for an analysis was too expensive. They have chosen instead to spend the same amount of money replacing a component every year, and risk whatever’s going to happen if it cracks up.

It’s difficult to get the Australian private sector to see the value in this work – they’re very conservative, as well.

A lot of them believe this is just a model and it can’t possibly be right. So it’s a hard road to take, to try and convince people you can do it properly. But you can’t do it quickly, and you can’t do it cheaply.

Also, modelling is something you have to verify. You can do good models and you can do bad models, and you’ve got to know whether they’re good or not. You also have to know why they’re good.

[Dr Philip Bendeich is Research Scientist, Structural Integrity Group, Institute of Materials Engineering, ANSTO.]

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BEHIND THE SCENES

Well prepared to fight factory fires Fire protection systems need to be connected to a site’s control system to effectively decrease the risk of property damage, downtime and even death, writes Sarah Falson.

I

NDUSTRIAL fires are one of the biggest threats to the safety and ongoing production of manufacturing operations, causing damage to capital equipment, production loss, and sometimes even death.

A study performed by the US National Fire Protection Association in 2002 estimated that production downtime can account for up to 65% of the total damage incurred in a fire-affected manufacturing operation. The National Research Council of Canada estimated in 1995 that loss of output ranged from 10 to 15% of direct property losses in terms of fire, which in Australia equates to about 12.5% of the property loss, or $68 million.

It is clear that fire protection ought to be a mainstay in any industrial business. But with hazards including chemicals and furnaces present in many manufacturing operations, protecMONITORING: The VESDA suite was selected due to its early detection capability. tion needs to involve more than just a few fire blankets and hose reels; it must be built in to a manufacturer’s control system if a business is to have Project announced in September sedans from late 2012. sion and fire/smoke detection system any chance of safeguarding itself from 2010. The car-maker will: construct a Consulting engineering firm, within the existing Dyno and Engine potential disaster. new furnace house; upgrade its entire Norman Disney & Young (NDY), has Test areas.

One company that has taken the 20,000m2 floor plan; install new, been brought on-board to manage the Three-pronged approach initiative is automotive manufacturer energy-efficient manufacturing equipfire protection systems upgrade at the Performing a project of this magnitude Toyota Australia, which recently ment; and overhaul its fire protection soon-to-be-launched engine and casting is no small feat. But for a customer as commissioned a site-wide fire protection services – all in the name of manufacshop facility, as well as to rationalise the large as Toyota, with global producoverhaul A D _ atP its A Altona, C E S I Victoria C A U premises, G _ 1 2 . p turing d f more P a gfuel-efficient e 1 1 engines 6 / 0 7for/ its 1 2 , existing 8 : 4fire 3 services A M water supply for tion expectations and delivery times > as part of its Engine Plant Renewal locally-built Camry and Camry Hybrid the site, and upgrade the fire suppres-

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BEHIND THE SCENES

to adhere to, NDY certainly had its work cut out for it.

“The engine/casting shop upgrade was evolving on a daily basis, and keeping up with the changes that affected the design of the fire protection services was quite a challenge,” said NDY senior fire protection services engineer, Jeremy Donohoe.

NDY became involved in the project in mid-2011, when the team was asked to audit Toyota’s existing fire protection services. This phase, which Donohoe refers to as ‘Project No. 1’, is expected to wrap-up in late 2012 when the new engine and casting facility is complete.

For Project No. 1, NDY was responsible for designing and installing a highsensitivity aspirated smoke detection system and new furnace house, which was then networked to the existing site graphics and control software, reducing cabling cost. According to Donohoe, this enabled Toyota fire safety officers to a site-wide fire control and AD_ P interrogate A C E O Mthe R Asmoke U G _detec1 2 . p SUBSTATION: df P a g e Toyota 1 1 8Australia / 0 7 / recently 1 2 , commissioned 4 : 2 5 PM protection overhaul at its Altona premises. tion system for the entire facility, from a

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single location.

The next phase of the overhaul, Project No. 2, saw NDY liaise with the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board (MFB) to audit the existing water supply infrastructure for the entire Altona site. According to Donohoe, an important element of the brief was to ensure there was no effect to the plant’s uptime, so a large portion of the works, which will begin in June this year, will be scheduled outside of normal production hours.

“Toyota commissioned this project given that some components of the fire services water supply infrastructure was ageing and nearing the end of its life.

Toyota also realised that the rationalisation of fire service booster pumps, water storage tanks and fire brigade booster facilities would save on ongoing maintenance costs,” said Donohoe.

The key objective of Project No. 2 was to provide an integrated and reliable fire service where water is sourced from a site ring main, designed to supply the concurrent water supply requirements

PACE.AUGUST12.PG013.pdf

of both the fire sprinklers and hydrants/ hose reels.

The final stage, Project No. 3, saw NDY recommend an alternate, ‘people safe’, fire suppression system within Toyota’s Dyno and Engine Test areas.

According to Donohoe, the legacy system involved C02 gas, which presents a health risk to workers. Design works for this stage of the project are expected to be completed by June.

“A medium pressure water mist fire suppression system was recommended on the basis that the system is suitable for use on expected fire hazards found with engine test cells, is safe for use in occupied areas, and offers advantages for integration into existing buildings,” Donohoe explained.

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fire or a significant thermal event to activate. The VESDA system is capable of detecting fire events at the earliest stage,” said Hart.

The Xtralis team installed 26 VESDA Laser Plus units at the Toyota plant, each treated as a detection zone, making locating and identifying an event location more effective. These detection zones were wired back to a fire indicator panel and a VSM4 managefrom an operator point-of-view. ment system, Hart explained.

Toyota commissioned Xtralis, an “VESDA works by continuously early warning safety and security soludrawing air into a distributed pipe tions provider, to supply an aspirated network via a high-efficiency aspirator. smoke detection system, called VESDA, The air sample then passes through a for the new engine and casting plant, dual-stage filter. The first stage removes and also for the new furnace house. dust and dirt from the air sample According to Xtralis regional sales before it enters the laser detection manager Michael Hart, Toyota chose chamber. The second, ultra-fine stage Systems integration the VESDA suite due to its early detecprovides an additional clean-air supply It was imperative that the new safety tion capability; this had been lacking in to keep the detector’s optical surfaces systems equipment could integrate seamthe car-maker’s previous fire protection free from contamination, ensuring lessly with smoke detectors that were system, he said. stable calibration and long detector life already installed in a number of the build“The existing system consisted as well as minimising nuisance alarms,” ingsAacross D _ Pthe A site.

C E ItRwas O Calso A Uimportant G _ 1 2 . p of d thermal f P adetectors g e 1 and1a 1sprinkler / 0 7 / 1 2 , said 4 Hart. : 3 2 PM that any new equipment was easy-to-use system; these systems required flaming “The VESDA units provide

It was imperative that the new safety systems equipment integrate seamlessly with smoke detectors already installed.

‘Absolute’ detection, meaning the sensitivity of the detector can be confirmed and configured to best suit the environment that it is protecting.

“From the filter, the air sample goes through a calibrated detection chamber where it is exposed to a laser light source. When smoke is present, light is scattered within the detection chamber and is instantly identified by the highlysensitive receiver system.

“The signal is then processed and presented via a bar-graph display, alarm threshold indicators and/or a graphic display. VESDA detectors can then communicate the event information to a fire alarm control panel, a software management system or a building management system, via relays or a High Level Interface (HLI).”

Norman Disney & Young 03 9862 6800 www.ndy.com Xtralis 03 9936 7376 xtralis.com

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05-Oct-11 2:56:09 PM August 2012 www.pacetoday.com.au 13

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BEHIND THE SCENES

Standard for sustainability To achieve zero normal operational presence, the Pohokura production station implemented a new integrated automation control system, writes Prasad Nory.

T

HE Pohokura field, offshore station at Motunui. from Taranaki, is the New Developing an unmanned site — Zealand’s largest natural gas where operations are monitored from resource, owned by a joint a control room in New Plymouth — venture between Shell, Todd Pohokura, required the combined expertise of engiand OMV New Zealand. The producneers, consultants and systems integration station is operated by Shell tors. The Pohokura design contractor, Exploration NZ which uses the services Transfield Worley, appointed systems of Shell Todd Oil Services (STOS). integrator partner Engineering Control The Pohokura field natural gas is Limited (ECL). fed into the national grid network. The One of the requirements for remote first commercial gas flowed from three operation was that the motor control onshore ‘extended reach’ drilling wells centres be integrated into the main in the Southern part of the field in plant control system on an intelligent September 2006. In March 2007, gas network so that the information from and condensate began to flow from the the gas station could be fed back to firstAofD five offshore wells via an undersea _ P A C E M E T A U G _ 1 2 . p the d f control P a room. g e Transfield 1 5 / 0Worley 7 / 1 2 , pipeline back to an onshore production based the new system on the DeviceNet

14 www.pacetoday.com.au August 2012

network together with the AllenBradley ControlLogix platform from Rockwell Automation.

Another requirement was that the status of power switchgear at the 400V MCCs and the plant 11kV main switchboard had to be available in the control room and this switchgear had to be operable from the control room as well. This was achieved by hardwiring the switchgear to discrete I/O in the ControlLogix. Being able to operate the switchgear from remote is also a welcome safety feature as it removes the need for local operation and so does not expose operators to possible harm from such things 3 : 5 2 as P arc M flash as may occur if there is a switchgear fault or failure

whilst it is being operated.

Pohokura produces over 45 per cent of New Zealand’s natural gas which is reticulated around the North Island to industry and domestic consumption.

“By using Shell’s technical expertise we set out to deliver a highly reliable unmanned gas production station with a small environmental footprint,” said Paul Brown, Pohokura Operations Engineer. “A priority for us was to deliver the project on time, on budget and safely, with no harm to personnel or any adverse effects to the neighbours or the environment.”

The operational philosophy for the Pohokura production facility was to establish an unmanned site with zero

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normal operating presence (ZNOP); plant operation would be performed offsite from a remote control room in New Plymouth using a Distributed Control System (DCS). Remote operation is an ideal way to help keep personnel safe and away from potentially hazardous equipment, but its operational success relies on excellent control, fault diagnostics and network capabilities.

“DeviceNet provided a network solution that could help provide reliable communication and also had the added feature of Automatic Device Replacement (ADR), allowing for reduced downtime with automatic download of device parameters,” said Prasad Nory, Industry Manager, Rockwell Automation. ADR consists of configuration and autoaddress recovery which effectively lowers maintenance requirements. Operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, Pohokura has a scheduled proactive maintenance day every month to identify and deal with NETWORKED: The intelligent MCC design utilised the DeviceNet network, potential problems. to the The Transfield Worley electriA D _ P A C E R O C 1 A U G _ 1 2 . communicating pdf Pa ge 1 DOL 1 1 start / 0 motor 7 / 1 starters 2 , 4for : 3control 5 Pand M monitoring.

The E3 plus smart overloads provides enhanced motor protection. cally engineered design was the basis

for a completely integrated solution that required the capabilities of board builders, Switchbuild. The Pohokura solution evolved around the development of two low-voltage motor control centres (MCCs). Two 2.5MVA transformers feed into the first low-voltage MCC via 4000A Air Circuit Breakers (ACBs).

Power from the first MCC is then fed through to the second low voltage MCC. The intelligent MCC design utilised the DeviceNet network, communicating to the DOL start motor starters for control and monitoring. The E3 plus smart overloads provided motor protection that very closely matched the motor operating characteristics with the enhanced protection capabilities such as earth fault, stall, thermistor and loss of load that are normally provided by much more expensive motor protective relays.

An Allen Bradley ControlLogix Programmable Automation Controller is used to provide the comprehensive monitoring and control of the MCCs and feeds back information to the distributed control system. “The Allen >

EtherNet/IP ENABLING BOTH AUTOMATION AND SAFETY CONTROL ON STANDARD, UNMODIFIED ETHERNET. Integrate the safety in your plant using the same unmodified Ethernet network you use for information sharing and automation control. By integrating automation and safety control on the same network, you could lower life-cycle costs, streamline work processes and protect equipment and employees. Rockwell Automation and its partner, Cisco, have been driving these developments so that you can take standard, unmodified Ethernet and do extraordinary things.

See something extraordinary at: www.apac.rockwellautomation.com/ethernetip/PACES

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02-Jul-12 2:11:44 PM August 2012 www.pacetoday.com.au 15

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BEHIND THE SCENES

Bradley solution provides advance load protection. The client has the ability to analyse the performance of their motors and view faults, all in an integral unit that is visible from the distributed control system,” said Donald Liddell, Manager, Switchbuild.

To avoid downtime at Pohokura, ECL developed and incorporated switching Controls in the PAC in the event that power is lost from one of the two 11kV incomers. According to Peter Huitema, Engineer ECL, “Normally when supplies switch over you lose power, even if it’s just a few milliseconds, the motors will shutdown.

To avoid this, we determined how LINKED: The solution evolved around the development of two LV MCCs. many seconds the motor can be with no power without causing any damage.

We used inertia to keep motors running for up to 1.5 seconds, to allow time plant to be operated remotely. “Safety reliability,” said Paul Brown, Pohokura for the other supply to switch over. By to personnel and the environment take Operations Engineer. programming this information into the an even higher priority in a remote To meet environmental standards, Control System we were able to avoid operation so plant and components modifications were made to the original costly shutdowns.” must work reliably with minimal maindesign of the field. Horizontal direcThe implementation of advanced tenance.

All components chosen for the was used to AD_ PACEBURJ UL _ 1 2 . p d f P a g e 1 2 7 / 0 6 / 1 2 , tional 2 : drilling 3 8 technology PM engineering has enabled the Pohokura Pohokura project had to have proven eliminate the need to have a pipeline

from the onshore production station out to the offshore platform that would have run over the cliff face and across the foreshore. Instead — and as a first for New Zealand — a pipeline was inserted behind the cliff face and underneath the foreshore, so there was no visible or physical intrusion and the local coastal environment was preserved.

The plant’s processing areas are built in concrete bunds. Before the water is drained into the stormwater treatment systems, an absorbent skimmer removes residual floating hydrocarbons.

Stormwater is further processed via a specially designed “wetland” where plants are utilised as a natural bio-filter.

Filtration through the wetlands removes any residual hydrocarbons.

The value of the operation at Pohokura has been realised and is currently undergoing an expansion to create another plant using the same extendable solution.

[Prasad Nory is Industry Manager, Rockwell Automation.] www.rockwellautomation.com.au

Six of the panels we have built so far in 2012

Our Sydney Systemhaus is ISO 9001 certified for the ‘development, assembly and distribution of customised system solutions,’ making Bürkert the ideal partner for large and small scope projects. In addition to standard panels, we engineer custom panels with pneumatics, I/O, transmitters and programming to meet your wider control system needs. So far this year we have worked on various control system and field instrument projects, including the panels you see above. For professionally built panels with full documentation, call on Bürkert.

Want to know more? Call AU 1300 888 868 or NZ 0800 BURKERT (287 537) PACE Ad 201206 HP-H.indd 2 16 www.pacetoday.com.au August 2012

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IN FOCUS

Smart plants: Tired operators?

Plants are becoming more complex and to succeed in today’s competitive business environment, companies must focus on the operator’s ability to add value in uniquely human ways, writes Mark Tibbitts.

S

MART Plants have emerged Raw data must be from the diversity of possibilities enabled by the fast-changing transformed into pace of modern technology.

Having more data, and richer data, at information by their fingertips offers plant engineers a adding both context real-time snapshot with which to optimise profitability and plan maintenance. and usefulness.

If we take a look at the tools of everyday plant operation, there have been significant advances in applications such as plant asset management and busy control room operator: predictive maintenance. Automation 1. Information. Valuable information vendors have also made their control is spread throughout disparate datasystems and historians very scalable, bases, belonging to different applicaaddressing the need for increasing IO, tions and available through a vendor’s tagsAand data handling.

Modern plants D _ P A C E P H O A U G _ 1 2 . p proprietary df P a software g e 1 tools.

6 / How 0 7 can / 1 2 , present two distinct problems for the an operator make informed decisions,

when the information they need is spread across multiple and often inaccessible databases?

2. Operator overload. Having more data doesn’t guarantee better efficiency and reliability – in fact, the increasing volume of measurements can overwhelm the operator if not carefully managed and presented. Raw data must be transformed into information, by adding both context and usefulness, in order to truly assist an operator.

In recent years, automation vendors have remained competitive by offering additional software applications that hold valuable information proprietary to the To help the oper3 : vendors’ 1 3 Psystems.

M ator achieve a more complete view of

the processes, information from various systems and databases must be made available to them at the right time, and in a familiar and optimised interface.

Intelligent software applications can combine, filter, and give important context to data from multiple sources.

The operator can then make better decisions, improving what we term “human reliability”. When people are given the tools to do their job more effectively, human error and fatigue are reduced and people are empowered to make the decisions that a machine cannot. Here are just a few of the ways plants are benefiting from intelligent software applications. > The problems resulting from

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It is easy to integrate industrial Ethernet from Phoenix Contact into your automation infrastructure and you can benefit from our years of expertise.

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For additional information call 1300 786 411 or visit phoenixcontact.com.au

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August 2012 www.pacetoday.com.au 17

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modern alarm systems are very real.

Many control systems (SCADA and DCSs) have been rolled out over a number of years and had no consistent approach used to define the alarms. The common result is a vastly over-alarmed system, where truly important alarms are often buried in the midst of trivial status annunciations that do not require operator action. High alarm rates often exceed the capability of an operator to manage, and important alarms are missed. This common scenario has contributed to a number of industrial accidents over the years.

PAS’s vendor-neutral PlantState Suite (PSS) software provides many capabilities to intelligently improve alarm systems. It captures alarm settings and occurrences from all major vendors’ automation systems into a consolidated database, logging both the alarms and the operator’s response to those alarms over time. A variety of analyses of both system so that their worth or nuisance alarm occurrences and alarm configurabehaviour can be addressed. Simple tionAmake it possible, for example, to 30/ to1 2 D _ P A C E P C A J U N _ 1 2 . pwork d f practices P a g to e address 1 1as 5few / as 0 5 identify the most frequent alarms on a 50 alarms can usually cut overall alarm

18 www.pacetoday.com.au August 2012

FIGURE 1: This illustrates important process boundaries normally isolated in several different databases.

rates by up to 80 percent. A properly operating alarm system is a key factor in performance. , supporting 1 1 : 4operator 0 AM Intelligent software makes it possible to identify situations that may be very difficult to ascertain using a control system’s standard toolset.

For example: o Identifying exactly which alarms are suppressed, and when and under what circumstances that suppression occurred. It is common to find significant alarms that have been improperly suppressed for long periods of time. o Identifying alarm setpoints or priorities that have been changed compared to their appropriate rationalised settings stored in the master alarm database. Failure of Management of Change systems is common. o Identifying which control loops are in MANUAL rather than Automatic mode (and thus not fulfilling their design function.) Many loops simply will not operate in the Auto mode, often coming as a surprise to the control engineers. o Identifying which controllers have the most manual setpoint or mode changes, indicating failure to operate as designed or in need of redesign.

Proper software assists plant engineers in identifying the most significant issues with the control system, and helps managers prioritise the response of limited automation resources. Such software applications help establish best practices, such as facilitating a proper handover between shifts with reports that

clearly show the current control system status, and highlight otherwise hidden changes such as suppressed alarms.

The appropriate alarm management software can perform in both an analysis and supervisory role. Proper Management-of-change (MOC) to certain control system settings should also update the master database. The software can both audit the settings of multiple automation systems against these documented and proper settings, and also, when necessary, enforcing the master settings back onto the system, ensuring compliance with MOC.

Boundary-aware

Alarm management is an important area where “joined up thinking” can provide operators with crucial information when they need to make safety-critical decisions. Often, equipment design data, alarm settings, and equipment trip settings are located in totally different databases, unavailable to the operator and certainly difficult to use.

By aggregating all of the alarm settings and other operational boundary information, such as SIS trips and equipment design constraints from their respective plant databases, equipment status relative to important boundaries can be clearly depicted. Using the context of a boundary hierarchy, vulnerable areas are exposed and the operator has better information to prevent the system tripping and to keep productivity optimal. Such techniques can also visualise to plant management whether the

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process is being operated within acceptable, or allowable, or safe boundaries.

By depicting the process conditions relative to these limits, problems with the operation of both the control system and the safety system can be revealed at a glance. Some or all of these settings may need automated adjustment based on the dynamics of the process.

Intelligent software can further help by managing these dynamic adjustments across platforms.

By supervising alarms across heterogeneous plant automation systems, software can also automatically detect and report any deviations to this boundary hierarchy. This provides additional FIGURE 2: Depicting information rather than raw data. assurance to keep configuration parameters such as alarm limits and instrument ranges within the safe operating boundaries of the plant. Operators are provided ation awareness and abnormal situation ously described to provide context. Such with an HMI to monitor and interact detection capability. depictions make it possible to for an with the control system. However, most In Figure 2, a single glance resolves operator to monitor hundreds or thouprocess graphics used by operators today a compressor’s operational status, clearly sands of individual sensors and quickly are simple P&ID views covered with and quickly identifying the normal, identify problems before alarms even hundreds of numbers, a depiction that abnormal, and alarmed conditions A D _ P A C E A MS A U G _ 1 2 . p d f P a g e 1 2 6 / 0 6 / 1 2 , occur.

1 0 The : 2 knowledge 9 A M of experienced provides for the operator quite poor situusing the boundary hierarchy previoperators and engineers is embedded

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into the depiction. It is clear that there are merits in integrating pertinent information from multiple sources for the specific purposes of alarm management and high performance HMI, but the next big opportunity for smart plants is to consolidate the information housed in disparate databases throughout the plant so that knowledge is captured and shared.

In tomorrow’s smart plants, operators will be able to add and link information about upsets, malfunctions, incident reviews, procedures, work orders, and similar experience-based knowledge to the equipment or asset. The information housed in multiple disparate databases will become searchable as if it were in a single database, and the search will be filtered so as to be relevant to the task currently being performed. The new technology that enables this capability is a context-based process knowledge and decision-support system.

[Mark Tibbitts is Director of Operations Effectiveness, PAS.] 08 8294 3709 www.pas.com

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IN FOCUS

Wireless concerns are overplayed Industrial wireless standards incorporating a host of security features and are robust and secure enough to provide a valid solution for any industrial process application, writes Simon Lillie.

W

IRELESS is a hot topic and is being discussed in forums, print and day-to-day conversations around the globe. In each of these discussions the security of a wireless network is the main topic of concern.

This is unfortunate and almost completely unfounded as the correct wireless system is ideally suited to many industrial situations, especially in areas where hard-wired connections are expensive or impractical due to distance, access or physical hazards.

Most of us have come into the industrial wireless world via our use of wireless for home and office applications. We have seen that security on these types of networks was initially poor or lacking.

Due to these past experiences, everyone is now wary of wireless communications, especially when we start looking at employing it in industrial process and production plants.

In reality, industrial wireless systems are purpose-built to address these security issues in the same way internet banking has been securely deployed around the world. However, of the two common standards, ISA100.11a and WirelessHART, one is claimed to be easier to secure than the other due to its additional in-built safety protocols.

Robust security features are built into the standards and the devices in each of the systems and these cannot be disabled. The two standards have been designed to ensure data and system integrity as well as ensuring they still remain easy to use and employ.

Encryption

The protection of data is one of the main features of the industrial wireless standards. Data security is implemented from the device to gateway utilising Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 128 bit encryption.

Wireless messages are enciphered such that only the final destination can decipher and utilise the data. AES is based on a design principle known as a substitution-permutation network.

Potential security risk

For a WirelessHART network, a HART communicator is employed to manually enter the join key into each field device.

A common join key (like a physical ‘master key’) can be used across multiple devices making set-up easy, but this also means that security could potentially be compromised.

ISA100.11a wireless devices take join keys one step further. For these devices infrared (IR) communication is used to ensure a secure and short range connection to a PC. Authorised software on the PC then provides a fully encrypted join key which is unique to each individual field device and cannot be copied or compromised.

That way, only a properly authenticated device is permitted to join the network. This is an important safeguard for industrial wireless users.

Interference

Industrial wireless systems are purpose-built to address these security issues in the same way internet banking has been securely deployed around the world.

The AES-128 encryption method is extremely secure. All known attacks on AES are computationally infeasible which is why it is used in applications such as internet banking.

This is further demonstrated by the

fact that the US government previously announced that the design and strength of all key lengths of the AES algorithm are sufficient to protect classified information up to the “secret” level.

For AES-128 bit, the key can be recovered with a computational complexity of 2126.1.

To further ensure security on an industrial wireless network, a security join key is also employed. The join key serves as authentication to the network security manager that the device should be allowed onto the network.

If a device does not broadcast the correct join key it is not permitted to enter the wireless network or to send any data on it, effectively preventing rogue devices from compromising the network.

Apart from data integrity, the wireless network must also be secure against interference – another key concern among those yet to make the step to industrial wireless. The ISA100.11a and WirelessHART standards employ a 2.4GHz frequency for data transmission.

This frequency is within the Industrial Scientific and Medical (ISM) band which is open world wide and hence is used by many other wireless technologies as well, such a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

It is essential that the industrial wireless standards can co-exist with these other technologies and hence they have a number of in-built features to ensure this is successful. There are several technologies employed in the ISA100.11a and WirelessHART standards to minimise interference, which include: Frequency / Channel Hopping.

The 2.4GHz frequency is divided into 16 non-overlapping channels. Devices employ a channel hopping sequence to enable them to reduce the chances of interference with other networks. The ISA100.11a or WirelessHART network manager allocates the frequencies and > hopping sequence to be employed August 2012 www.pacetoday.com.au 21

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SOLUTION: There are several technologies to minimise interference. automatically without any user intervenhighly utilised by other networks, the tion being required.

ISA100.11a or WirelessHART network Channel Blacklisting. The wireless can avoid operating on these channels and network can be manually configured to hence reduce the potential of interference. avoidA one or more frequency channels.

D _ P A C E C O N J U N _ 1 2 . p d Direct f P Sequence a g e 1Spread 1 4 Spectrum / 0 5 / 1 2 If there are specific frequencies that are (DSSS). This technology allows the

wireless transmission to be spread over the entire frequency channel. Devices with the correct decoding information receive the data while for other devices it , appears 5 : as 3 noise 1 Pand M is disregarded.

Low Duty Cycle Operation.

Employing Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) means the network can be divided into configurable length timeslots, typically between 10-14msec.

Wireless transmissions then occur at precise, pre-determined times and hence limit the network loading and chances of collisions.

The industrial wireless standards, ISA100.11a and WirelessHART, have been designed with security in mind. By employing AES-128 bit encryption and secure join keys, data security is ensured.

Numerous methods to minimise interference are also built into the standards to ensure they can co-exist with other technologies.

With all these features we can now see that the industrial wireless standards are robust and secure enough to provide a valid solution for any industrial process application.

[Simon Lillie is Product Specialist, Field Instruments, Yokogawa Australia.]

Yokogawa Australia 02 8870 1100 www.yokogawa.com.au

PROTECTION: The wireless network must be secure against interference.

22 www.pacetoday.com.au August 2012

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NEW PRODUCTS

Multipulse positive displacement flowmeters Coriolis mass flowmeters ABB has announced the CoriolisMaster FCB330 and FCB350 compact Coriolis mass flowmeters for measuring gases and liquids. The FCB330 and FCB350 are the new part of the CoriolisMaster family of direct mass flow measurement products and provide accurate measurements of multiple variables with a single, compact device: flow (mass and volume, with accuracies to 0.1%), density, concentration, and temperature. The new double tube design has no moving parts and requires no up- or downstream piping, saving more than 40% in length and meter volume. This minimises maintenance and installation space, and allows retrofitting of older flowmeters in tight places where Coriolis meters could not be used in the past. The design also uses wider inner tube diameters, producing lower pressure drops and higher capacities. This saves up to 25% pump power, making the new mass flowmeter the better alternative to mechanical meters and their requisite filters that can cause pressure drops and blocked pipes.

The compact FCB330 and FCB350 are designed for a variety of flow measurement applications in oil and gas, chemical, power, and food and beverage industries. The meter features an optimised sensor with superior zero point and temperature stability.

ABB Australia 1300 782 527 www.abbaustralia.com.au

Trimec Flow Products Multipulse positive displacement flowmeters utilises the oscillating piston design principle with performance enhanced by the use of modern engineering materials to provide a cost effective and reliable solution for a range of industrial flow measurement applications. Its design offers the advantage of only one moving part with both high resolution open collector and reed switch outputs as standard. As each piston rotation passes a known liquid volume, the inherent repeatability of the Multipulse positive displacement flowmeter makes it suited to batching and dispensing duties. Commonly metered liquids range from non-conductive low viscosity solvents through to extremely viscous lubricants, chemicals and food bases.

Trimec Flow Products 03 9937 1811 www.trimec-fp.com.au

Wireless I/O cable replacer ZigSense ZS-P2P-001 is a pair of wireless cable replacer nodes designed to transfer wired I/O data between two remote locations using license-free radio frequencies. High speed communications and full duplex data transfer enable digital and analogue I/O signals to be transferred reliably over short or long distances.

Analogue signals in the format of DC voltage or current (4-20 mA) generated by tank level, temperature, pressure, flow or digital conditions generated by pumps, motors, alarm conditions.

Conlab 03 9842 7711 www.conlab.com.au

Network Auto-Tester Fluke Networks has released the LinkRunner AT Network Auto-Tester for frontline technicians and managers to troubleshoot or verify Ethernet connectivity. With one touch of a button, the LinkRunner AT performs six essential connectivity tests and returns the results to the user in less than ten seconds. This speed and simplicity, combined with the ability to customise additional tests, enables technicians at every skill level to automatically perform a standardised set of tests and reduce errors. Fluke Networks identified six key Ethernet connectivity tests for the AutoTest feature. The tests, which ensure Ethernet connectivity, include continuity, link/speed/duplex, DHCP and DNS server availability and performance, key resource connectivity through TCP port open or ping, nearest switch and port identification and PoE performance.

Fluke Networks 02 8850 3333 www.flukenetworks.com

Rugged wireless instrumentation Schneider Electric has launched its Accutech range of wireless instrumentation products which provide cost-effective and easy to install alternatives to traditional, hard-wired sensors. The products come with pushbutton configuration, power, radio and sensor in one unit, and are suited to harsh environments. The products have a secure license-free radio, with a range of up to 1000m, and built-in batteries that last up to 10 years. The units are designed for the majority of industrial applications, from the plant floor to remote installations with extreme conditions. Up to 256 Accutech base radios can coexist and each base radio can support 100 field instruments with up to 1 second sampling on all instruments.

Schneider Electric 1300 369 233 www.schneider-electric.com.au

AUGUST 2012 www.pacetoday.com.au 23

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BEHIND THE SCENES

A smart way to inspect wind farms As wind farms become more prevalent on the Australian landscape, increasing attention is being given to the proper maintenance of these valuable assets, writes Hartley Henderson.

M

ELBOURNE based company, Braendler Engineering, is a leading designer and manufacturer of asset inspection systems that are used around the world in the energy, printing, food and packaging industries.

The company has now turned its attention to the development of an innovative system for the inspection of wind farm turbine blades.

Braendler managing director, Dr David Braendler, says that each of these giant turbines, which are about 80 metres off the ground, is valued at around $4 million so timely maintenance is critical for such a valuable asset.

“Each turbine has a 25 year life span and manual inspections involving ropes and cranes are generally programmed every two years, but a lot can happen in that time. The main issue is damage to the blades including through lightning strikes, as well as dust pitting which creates dimples on the surface of the blade and can grow quickly into a significant defect,” he said.

“Manual inspection is costly, requires significant time and effort, has inherent safety issues, and is prone to human error. Also, manually captured images are not easy to utilise, and the end result is that the condition of the blades is difficult to monitor and therefore allocation of maintenance funding can be ineffective.

“To address these issues we have designed and produced the Aether Blade Inspection Service which consists of data capture, data storage and processing, and data analysis and reporting.

“The system is designed to rapidly capture and categorise defects across the entire blade surface. In turn, the Aether software that Braendler has developed allows assessment of blade condition and enables appropriate maintenance to be scheduled to maximise the lifetime of the asset.”

High powered scopes

Braendler explains that Aether Data Capture (ADC) captures high defini24 www.pacetoday.com.au August 2012

MAPPING: Wind farms worldwide produce 249GW of capacity while in Australia the capacity is 2.2GW and growing.

tion digital images of the blades using computer controlled imaging platforms specifically designed for this application.

“Using high powered scopes which are mounted on a mobile rig on the ground, the Aether system captures images of comparable quality to ropes and crane based inspections,” he said.

“The Aether Storage and Processing Platform (ASP) is dedicated infrastructure used to store the terabytes of data captured by the ADC, and to process the data.

“Aether Data Analysis (ADA) software provides a means to interact with the blade data to assess and review blade condition, plan maintenance and monitor maintenance spend. This software is the interface that enables information to be provided to various stakeholders, including wind farm owners, site managers and OEMs. “The Aether system offers an integrated service that features high definition capture, offline review of defects, defect classification, comparison with historical data, and 100 percent coverage of each blade.”

Technical components of the system include a Swarovski ATM 80 HD scope, a Gigabit Ethernet 29 mega-pixel vision camera, and a high speed machine vision lens. A ruggedised embedded computer is configured to provide precise automated control of the position of the camera, and to focus the lens to capture images of the wind turbine blades.

While Swarovski Optik provided the scope and the interface between the scope, camera lens and the camera, Braendler provided the technology to enable high speed capture of images, and the mechanism to control the pan, tilt and focus of the system, as well as the backend software to stitch the images together.

Braendler points out that data capture by itself is not meaningful.

“A way is needed to stitch the photos together so that they can be analysed for blade defects. This is achieved by the back-end software that we developed > to enable the photos to be merged

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MAR1969_FP_ADv2.pdf

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BEHIND THE SCENES

ANALYSIS: The system rapidly captures and categorises defects across the entire blade surface.

and create an image of the whole blade,” he said.

“These full blade images can then be analysed off-site, any defects can be identified and repaired, and a follow-up inspection can be done to ensure the repairs were effectively carried out.”

Hannes Nothdurfter, optik manager at Swarovski International (Australia), says the ATM 80 HD scope offers pinpoint detail with maximum peripheral focus, and that the fluoride containing HD lenses provide contrastrich images with razor-sharp outlines.

“State-of-the-art electronically assisted processes enable the assembly of precision optics using the latest sensor technology to ensure consistent reproduction quality,” he said.

Wind farms growth

According to www.thewindpower.net, wind farms worldwide produce 249GW of capacity, while in Australia the capacity is 2.2GW and growing. The World Wind Energy Association forecasts that by 2020, worldwide capacity will be 1,500GW. Currently, the Aether system is being utilised at the jointly owned TruEnergy and Acciona Energy wind farm at Cathedral Rocks near Port Lincoln in SA, at Hydro Tasmania’s wind farm at Studland Bay, and is planned to be used in the near future at TruEnergy’s Waterloo wind farm near Claire in SA. TruEnergy wind farm operations manager, Jason Watson, advises that the Aether system presents a number of benefits including the ability to track defects over time and establish the

overall condition of the blade.

“Being ground based, it reduces the time and cost of actually performing the inspections, compared with using cranes, which cost a lot,” he said.

“Blade defects will progress with time, as water in particular can penetrate the fibreglass structure of the blade. As they progress they become more and more expensive.

“Ultimately, the blade may have to be replaced if the defect is severe enough, which costs around $0.5 million in parts, cranes and labour.

“The Aether system has huge potential in the industry. Blades are the most difficult aspect of the wind turbine to manage because of their size and access difficulties.

“What Aether offers is much more than just an inspection tool as it allows the image of the blade to be compared over time, and compared with other blades.

“With this system, we expect to get a much greater understanding of what is developing, including when and why defects occur on the blades so that repairs can be targeted in relation to the most cost effective opportunities.”

TruEnergy 03 8628 1880 www.truenergy.com.au Swarovski International (Australia) 02 8345 7228 www.swarovskioptik.com Braendler Engineering 03 9543 1114 www.braendler.com.au

AD_ F EN I NAether D J Usystem L _ 1 captures 0 . p d images f P aofgcomparable e 1 8 quality / 0 6 /to1 0 , POWERFUL: The ropes and crane based inspections.

PC & PLC Programming Video Image Processing Cost Effective Solutions for your automation technology needs Australia wide.

We specialise in Systems Integration and Projects Big and Small.

Industrial Software & Electronics Tel: (07) 3856 2232 Fax: (07) 3355 1012 Email: info@industrialsoftware.com.au August 2012 www.pacetoday.com.au 27

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NEW PRODUCTS

OsiSense XUK-S photo electric sensor Schneider Electric has launched its latest OsiSense sensor product, the XUK-S photo electric sensor as part of its Telemecanique Sensors brand. The smooth steel case of OsiSense XUK-S comes equipped with a metal flush level button and unlike customary push buttons, the XUK-S is sealed into the device. This makes the product compact and suited to installations in strict hygiene zones, such as those in the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, biomedical technology, and primary packaging industries. Key features are: A resilient 316L stainless steel housing encasement, rated protection of IP69K, and Ecolab certified, suited to harsh environments; The regular acceptance of usage with strong disinfectants and high temperature water rinses with peaks of up to 100°C which means no protective measures are required; Detection settings can be directly adjusted through the built-in teach button, which is fully lockable in operating mode to avoid unexpected use; An output status that is programmable to NO or NC, and a M12 connector to allow for rapid connection. The sensors also include background suppression and polarised reflex.

Pressure sensor with NPN circuit

Energy efficient frequency inverter

The new pressure sensor of the PQ series is suitable for pneumatic applications in robotics and handling.

Using a specially sealed measuring cell, this sensor precisely and reliably detects the pressure in the vacuum and overpressure range. The piezoresistive silicon cell measures, depending on the selected unit, between -1 and 10 bar or -1 and 1 bar. Due to the special sealing of the measuring cell, the pressure sensor is insensitive to liquids and deposits that might occur in the system. High overload resistance and an accuracy of < ± 0.5 % are other features. The slanted 4-digit display can be electronically rotated by 180°.

The new Movitrac LTP B frequency inverter is suited for a variety of drive solutions in a range of applications. The unit series has been designed for universal use offering motor control of both induction and permanent-magnet synchronous motors. A range of control options including an energy saving function provides an optimum drive solution in terms of efficiency and energy consumption. A range of I/O and communication interfaces enable integration into a variety of control systems. An intuitive parameter structure with standard factory settings and an integrated key pad shortens the commissioning process.

ifm efector 1300 365 088 sales.au@ifm.com

SEW-EURODRIVE 03 9933 1000 www.sew-eurodrive.com.au

Tank cleaning machine The Gamajet IX tank cleaning machine ensures a clean at low/medium pressures and volumes and fits in small openings (3”), making it suitable for cleaning tote tanks and smaller tanks. It is fluid driven and delivers optimum cleaning in one cycle. Product changes at a personal care products manufacturing facility was resulting in a cleaning process that wasn’t meeting sanitation requirements and causing production line lags. The plant tanks had to be filled with alcohol and agitated for hours, as the original cleaning process using spray balls was not meeting the required sanitation standards. The production process did not operate at full capacity, as the long cleaning process caused the production line to stop.

Schneider Electric 1300 369 233 www.schneider-electric.com.au

Spray Nozzle Engineering 03 9583 2368 www.spraynozzle.com.au

Managed Industrial Ethernet switches Weidmuller has released its new IES series of Industrial Ethernet switches to supersede its existing range. The new series meets the tasks of monitoring and controlling operational data. With three ranges to choose from, the series offers a choice of Fast Ethernet or Gigabit Ethernet managed switches with various port combinations. Users can select from entry level IES21 Fast Ethernet, IES31 Fast Ethernet with Gigabit Uplink, up to IES41 full Gigabit Ethernet switches. The switches feature Ring redundancy with floating master, latest security features, IGMP snooping and a built in virtual cable tester. Suitable for use in the factory, automotive process and oil, gas and renewable energy industries, the family meets all current Australian standards. Equipped with the new W-Ring technology, the IES family delivers more redundancy and greater reliability. W-Ring simplifies network requirements by eliminating master/slave settings in a redundant ring, while providing a network reinstatement time of less than 20ms.

The managed Ethernet switches also feature MSTP for additional redundancy. MSTP furnishes the network with spare links that automatically provide backup paths should the active links fail. The switches also have a built-in Virtual Cable Tester which tests a twisted pair connection status by using Time Domain Reflection methodology. It is capable of identifying the type of fault as well as the distance from the switch port within five seconds.

Weidmuller 02 9671 9999 www.weidmuller.com.au 28 www.pacetoday.com.au August 2012

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Advantages of maintainable software Clients are often naïve when negotiating with suppliers about the quality of the software they receive but there are business advantages in insisting on maintainable software, write Paul Owen and Glen Clarke.

M

OST manufacturing and mining businesses will have the words “continuous improvement” written into their business strategies. Some specific processes and operational equipment will never require modification.

This article is about the process control that is expected to change. It is based around PLCs, but could easily translate to any programmable control system.

The most common tool for process control system (PCS) modification is software. Larger businesses may have the ability to employ their own Process Control System maintenance personnel.

Smaller businesses will usually subcontract process control personnel on a part time or project basis. It is important that the work done by these companies is homogeneous and integrated. It should not be a compilation of clunky bits and pieces.

How will the owner or manager of the business ensure that this is the case?

“By insisting on maintainable software.

In theory all software is maintainable, however the degree to which the code is maintainable is the point of discussion here. An assessment into the degree of maintainability of a given piece of software may conclude it would be cheaper and/or less risky to rewrite the code than to change it. Such code, for all intents and purposes, could be classified non-maintainable.

Attempts at deriving a maintainability index for code have been sought — based on simple lines-of-code assessments to the more elaborate Halstead complexity measures. These techniques are quantitative. A qualitative approach is more successful when applied to PLC code.

So what are the qualities of maintainable software?

Structure. The importance of structure can never be underestimated in making software understandable by others. Process control is a series of functions that combine to make a control system. The categorisation of functions needs to be carefully planned at the start of development.

Think in terms of module function-

Anyone in the industry should be able to read the functional specification and understand the purpose of a piece of software even if they cannot read the code. ality not in terms of logical outcomes.

Hierarchical flow charts help to visual the functional layout. Software should be designed top down, with high level functions gradually being divided into smaller functions that can then be developed.

The structure should mimic the

process functions. Develop separate code for each piece of equipment. This makes it easier to narrow in, if modification is required later. It also improves the speed of fault finding.

Well Defined Functions. Functional specifications, in plain English, with explanatory diagrams to aid others in understanding the purpose of a section of software. If requested to modify it, there is less chance of mistakes if they have a good understanding of what it was originally intended to do.

Anyone in the industry should be able to read the functional specification and understand the purpose of a piece of software even if they cannot read the code. Functional specifications are the link between the process designers and

the process control software developers.

They are also an educational tool in helping operators, maintenance staff and managers understand the operating parameters of a piece of equipment. If you understand its function, you can judge if it is living up to its expectations.

Standard Naming Conventions.

Agreed naming, used as labelling for equipment and matching labelling within the software. Languages can have multiple terms for the same object.

This leads to communication confusion and mix ups. A clearly defined naming convention allows operators, maintenance personnel, software developers, machine designers and management to all communicate reliably. > Commenting. Every data tag August 2012 www.pacetoday.com.au 29

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requires a functional description. Every line or rung of code requires a comment as to its purpose in the overall function. When developing, it is easy for the developer to get something clear in their head and produce a run of quick uncommented code as they concentrate on the relationship between bits, variables and pointers.

The chances are, when they revisit their own code in 12 months, they will have no better understanding of the code than someone who is seeing it for the first time. There is no problem with the quick production of code through this method, as long as at the handover, it is fully commented. Commenting should be treated as if you have a first year apprentice reading the code for the first time. Each comment should be a training explanation.

This may initially seem time consuming, but a relatively small amount of time explaining the purpose of code now, will save a large amount of time in reverse engineering and possibly equipment damage through mistakes at a later date.

Data in Standard Engineering Terms. Early programmable controllers had limited data structures and mathematical capabilities. Data was often treated in its raw value to prevent rounding errors. This may still be the case in some smaller PLCs. Modern PLCs, with maths coprocessors, offer little penalty for working in engineering values with floats or 16, 32 bit integers for larger numbers.

From a maintenance perspective, following numbers with meaningful values is much easier than following raw data. There is less chance for mistakes if the numbers are understood.

Conversions to engineering units may be achieved in the input cards or with scaling blocks as the data is read. Scaling blocks on raw data in viewable code are probably a little easier to understand.

Data is then used throughout the code in engineering units.

Standard Modules. If common pieces of equipment are used in a process or in other parts of the plant, then there is no reason not to use common code to control them. Even if there are small variations in the exact nature of similar processes, it is still viable to produce common code that has inputs that switch certain functionality on and off.

With staff turnover, standard modules offer maintenance personnel 30 www.pacetoday.com.au August 2012

The visual representation of power flowing through a series of switches to drive an output is the easiest to comprehend. a learning advantage. It also allows the software maintainer to tweak standard modules to eventually make them bullet proof under all failure conditions. As improvements are made and tested on one piece of equipment, it becomes a simple job to roll them out to others.

Ladder as Power Flow. Although it is not essential, most process control programmers will have some computer based education. They will understand the workings and operational features of microprocessor based control and associated high level languages and their compilers.

There may be a tendency to develop code that is optimised for minimum memory usage and compiler efficiency.

This is not desirable for maintainable software. Despite its opposition from computer scientists due to its inefficiencies, ladder based code is still in extensive use throughout industry.

Many other languages have been proposed and are available within the PLC suite. Ladder is still in common use, because it is the most readable by everybody from apprentice to master engineer. It is the easiest to follow

because of the concept of power flow.

The visual representation of power flowing through a series of switches to drive an output is the easiest to comprehend. Good software developers need to be mindful that this is the reason they are developing in this language.

Operator Defined Batching or Recipe Control. With this technique operational inputs, step conditions and outputs are defined in tables that are directly entered from an HMI panel interface or a SCADA system. This technique allows changes to be made without the need to alter PLC software.

It also has the advantage that the process functions are on continuous display.

Why maintain software?

Software maintenance is driven by a businesses need for continuous improvement.

IEEE standard 1219 defines software maintenance, as the modification of a software product after delivery to correct faults, to improve performance or other attributes, or to adapt the product to a modified environment.

Software maintenance can be classified as (ISO/IEC 14764): o Corrective maintenance: Reactive modification of a software product performed after delivery to correct discovered problems. o Adaptive maintenance: Modification of a software product performed after delivery to keep a software product usable in a changed or changing environment. o Perfective maintenance: Modification of a software product after delivery

to improve performance or maintainability. o Preventive maintenance: Modification of a software product after delivery to detect and correct latent faults in the software product before they become effective faults.

Below are typical software maintenance functions: Improvement in monitoring and reporting functions of the process.

The first stage in process control improvement is the measurement of all the input variables and the resultant outputs from the process. This is usually achieved via data logging and then displayed with trending packages.

It allows managers, designers and analysts the ability to view relationships between the influences on a process, the processes response and the resultant output. Improvements in measurement and an increase in the number of variables being measured can show surprising results, that offer pathways to improvement.

Improvement in control algorithms.

As more variables in the process are better understood, modification to control algorithms can â&#x20AC;&#x153;fine tuneâ&#x20AC;? performance.

Experimental testing of new ideas.

Lateral thinking will often produce a whole different concept in how a process might be controlled. With careful coding, it is possible to build an alternate method that can be switched in to replace the old method with a single bit. This method allows development of new ideas during maintenance or slow periods with the ability to switch back to the old system quickly and continue normal production.

Expansion to include additional or different equipment and materials.

Equipment upgrades nearly always involve the expansion of the control system to include new measurements, additional outputs or different control sequences and algorithms for different materials.

Improved fault and failure diagnostics. Diagnostic software incorporated into the controller can improve mean time to repair, by quickly identifying problems for maintainers. As more is learnt about a process and its failure modes, more diagnostic software can be developed.

Improved reliability. Reliability or robustness in process control software, refers to its ability to detect and act appropriately to equipment or other failures. Development in this area is associated with orderly process shutdowns or

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bypasses, without the system going haywire. It may also include automatic switch over to back up systems in critical situations.

Improvements in predictive alarming. Predictive alarming has the potential to greatly reduce down time and rate losses. This normally incorporates increased monitoring by the process control system, with an associated rate change or variable value software warning system.

It may also monitor for a particular sequence of events which have the potential to cause problems.

These flags may be acted on immediately, by an operator changing settings that will avert a shutdown, or may be an indicator that programmed maintenance is required.

Improvements in safety monitoring. Human protection from injury is paramount in any business. As technology advances, safety systems are also advancing.

Process controller systems are generally not part of a safety circuit, however they are used to monitor and report on the safety systems and therefore are required to be updated.

Improvements in statistical data for business analysis. Process control systems are usually involved in the collection and collation of raw data for business analysis and other high level tools. Given the amount of raw data in a PCS, more of this data is being filtered or manipulated to better suit business requirements, rather than just the PCS requirements.

Improvements in the Human Machine Interface.

Even without process improvements, significant productivity gains can be made by better connecting equipment to operators. A well thought out interface providing operators with what “they want” to optimise their performance, will be an improvement to any business.

Temporary work-arounds and bypasses. Often small equipment failures can be tolerated by a process with only

Pa ge

a minor loss in time or rate. At the discretion of authorised personnel, temporary software modifications may be needed while repairs or replacements are completed.

Adverse effects

The largest problem with any software change is that it has the potential to adversely affect some other previously working function. This comes about because the software modifier has not completely understood the functions of the code being modified or some of its related sub-functions. This problem is exacerbated if the software is not easily maintainable.

There are obvious business advantages in insisting on maintainable software. Historically, clients have been naïve when it comes to negotiating with suppliers for the quality of the software they receive. As long as it functions as specified at handover, they are satisfied.

Some software providers are ethical and hand over equipment with the software developed to the best of their ability. Others may not, with budget pressures or sometimes epistemic arrogance forcing short cuts in quality.

In the industry, there exists a black box mentality towards the “propeller heads” that sit in a room and produce control software. This should not be the case.

The principles of good software development fall in line with any other principle for good business management.

[Paul Owen (paulo@jasdip.com.au) is with Jasdip.

Glen Clarke (glen.clark@infoscada.com) is with Infoscada.]

Jasdip Pty Ltd 0419 710 991 www.jasdip.com.au Infoscada Pty Ltd +64 21 047 3918 www.infoscada.com

ifm offers solutions to application challenges.

Position sensors and detection systems for all applications, including robotics, handling, production and logistics.

Fluid sensors suitable for food and hygienic areas, as well as environments with aggressive oils and coolants.

Networking, identification and control systems. AS-interface to easily transmit sensor signals to a controller at a low cost. Robust control system ecomatmobile is the perfect solution for mobile applications.

1300 365 088 sales.au@ifm.com www.ifm.com

efector

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NEW PRODUCTS

New connectivity between AWR Design Environment and NI LabVIEW National Instruments has announced new connectivity between NI LabVIEW system design software and the AWR Visual System Simulator (VSS) software for RF and microwave system design. As the first major joint development between NI and AWR following NI’s recent acquisition of AWR, the new connectivity helps engineers to better use measurements in the design flow by executing LabVIEW code directly from the AWR design environment.

AWR Design Environment can now incorporate LabVIEW signal processing capabilities including multirate DSP, wireless standards, modulation, fixed-point math and more. Engineers can integrate VHDL and LabVIEW FPGA Module code through NI FPGA-based hardware directly into VSS diagrams.

Safety switch provides integrated solution The Allen-Bradley 440N-Z SensaGuard Non-Contact Switch with a magnetic integrated latch combines a non-contact interlock switch and door latch into one integrated solution. It replaces separately mounting an interlock switch and door catch in lightweight guard doors. The switch features RFID technology for coding, inductive technology for sensing and output switching signal device (OSSD) safety outputs.

National Instruments 1800 300 800 www.ni.com/awr

EMC-protected field cabling With the Multiport distribution concept, Phoenix Contact facilitates interference-free data cabling using Profinet or Ethernet in industrial environments. With the combination of both units, users can implement a simple and EMC-compliant connection based on the Profinet cabling directive. To do this, the Multiport distributor combines the data and power interfaces to form one system. The seamless shielding concept prevents interference when transferring data, especially in welding robots and conveyor systems. The system features high-quality aluminium housings and CAT6A components.

Rockwell Automation 03 9757 1111 ab.rockwellautomation.com

Intelligent combi switchbox The GEMÜ 4242 combi switchbox is compact and light, and suitable for pneumatically operated linear actuators. With its integrated 3/2-way pilot valve made of anodised aluminium or stainless steel, the 4242 is designed for smaller and medium nominal sizes. It is suited for secure, fast applications with a stroke of 2 to 30 mm. The compact design saves material making the device much smaller. This has a favourable effect on the price of the product while making it environmentally friendly. The pneumatic and electrical connections save space and enable easy access as they are positioned in one direction. Mounting and commissioning is made simpler by a speed-AP function. The combi switchbox has a microprocessorcontrolled, intelligent position sensor and an analogue, integrated travel sensor system.

Phoenix Contact 1300 786 411 www.phoenixcontact.com.au

info@gemue.de www.gemu-group.com

Network management software Siemens has developed network management software that continuously monitors and visualises the topology, availability and performance of Industrial Ethernet networks. The ‘plug & play’ Sinema Server (Simatic Network Manager) software automatically recognises changes in the network and helps to identify and clear malfunctions.

Downtime and maintenance costs can be reduced and availability of the production process can be increased.

Sinema Server has been designed for the continuous monitoring of Industrial Ethernet and Profinet networks by plant operators and by the maintenance and service personnel. The use of Sinema Server enables any network problems affecting production, as well as standstills or malfunctions within a plant, to be cleared promptly.

Siemens 137 222 www.siemens.com/sinema 32 www.pacetoday.com.au August 2012

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Effective leak testing Think about the elasticity of every capital expenditure and its real economic life if and when product designs change, writes Dave Foran.

T

HE oft debated political pros and cons of globalisation tend to grab the spotlight away from the fact of more engineers and technically trained minds on the planet now driving innovation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; even though entire continents are still by and large left out.

Many aspects of process and control engineering are undergoing unprecedented rates of innovation based on scientific advances in areas like computational fluid dynamics, nanotechnology, bio-engineering.

There are also new challenges that engineering teams are being called upon to tackle globally â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from needs for better fuel efficiencies to creating new potable water systems to maintaining waterproof power supplies, equipment and product functionally in the context of greater variations in climate conditions worldwide.

Innovation, always a staple of engineering, proceeds at a faster pace.

Consider too that processing power continues to explode for lower and lower costs driving modelling of product improvements as a new normal.

Faster innovation on a global scale is reflected in your companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s microcosm or very well should be.

One aspect that is begging for new consideration is how capital equipment expenditures anticipate improvements

in products and shorter time-to-market.

Manufacturing facilities equipped with instrumentation for needed quality controls and other plant designs either anticipate new products not even on the drawing board yet or they do not. Obviously, companies that are forward thinking in capital equipment expenditures along these lines are building in long-term advantages to grab market share through innovation.

From an engineering standpoint, it means that engineering teams (design, process, manufacturing, quality) need to be thinking about the elasticity of every capital expenditure and its real economic life if and when product designs change.

Product iterations

Using leak test technology as an example because of the wide array of applications where it comes to bear on process and control engineering outcomes, one can see leak testers being sold in the global marketplace today that range from models that are truly obsolete (even if not recognised as such), to leak detectors that are fine for testing the products at hand today, to the newer generations of leak testers that feature versatility for product iterations not yet imagined.

Figure 1 illustrates how leak testers of these afore- > August 2012 www.pacetoday.com.au 33

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Leak Tester Options Today

Out-of-Date

Match for Today’s Product Only

Designed for Multi-Generation Products Testing

support

At purchase or limited warranty

Lifetime but limited to today’s application

Lifetime, including reconfiguring for new products

Possible test Combinations

Limited

Limited

Unlimited

test Pressures

Mismatched pressure range for application

Vacuum to 16.9 bar (500 psi)

Vacuum to 102 bar (3,000 psi)

test Part Volumes

Limited range

Wider range

Widest range

Pneumatics Configurability

No

Application Specific

Fully customisable

test Program storage

Very limited

99

199+

test Data storage

Memory Cards, PCMCIA, PROM

USB

128G Flash Drive to 30G Hard Drive

Number of test sensors

<3

3-4

1 - 20

synchronous test Capable

No

Some

Yes

Independent test Capable

No

No

Yes

I/O Flexibility

No

8/37

32/122

graphical Operator Controls

No

Yes

Yes

Networkable

No

Some

Extensive

Email Alerts

No

Some

Yes

Complex test Capability

Low

Medium

High

Part grading

Pass/fail only

Pass/fail plus

Pass/Fail plus

FIGURE 1: This table illustrates how leak testers of various types stack up feature-wise. mentioned categories – out-of-date vs. match for today’s products only vs. designed for multi-generation products testing – stack up feature-wise.

What defines out-of-date leak testers in their core is likely mirrored in out-ofdate technology for other manufacturing automation and instrumentation. These are largely leak testers that were designed with electronic componentry, processors and data handling methods from an earlier era.

These are inflexible leak testers that have limited ranges and are usually not optimised for the application at hand.

There are companies that are “pennywise but pound-foolish” that have done nil capital equipment investments for quite some time not realising how their operation is saddled with longer test cycle times or other hidden costs of outof-date technology.

As Figure 1 suggests, current technology has far more sophisticated programming capabilities that can handle more complexity in testing and data storage. Modern leak testers were born in the age of globalisation and 34 www.pacetoday.com.au August 2012

The real economic life of any leak detector you choose is now determined by how flexible it will be to handle leak test requirements that are not yet on your docket. feature more intuitive graphical displays that allow more lightly skilled workers to operate the test technology. Today’s testers can handle a wider range of test specifications – parts volumes and pressures for example.

However, if you are sourcing a new leak test instrument, an important lens to view the technology through is how adaptable it will be for new product innovations. The newest models of leak testers – like other instruments or aspects of automated systems – are notable first and foremost for their flexibility.

In terms of leak testers, they have multiple sensors or multiple test channels or both – such that there are possibilities to speed production with either synchronous or independent testing of multiple parts of components of parts.

These leak testers are also distinguished by their fully customisable pneumatics and flexibility for I/O programming. Like other future-focused capital equipment, they handle a good deal of complexity automatically so that they are simple to operate.

Totally configurable

In the case of future-focused versatile leak testers, they are distinguished by their ability to handle virtually any combination of leak, flow, burst, occlusion and other NDT tests of that nature. They include sensors that can be re-tuned to new product specifications in the future. Their pneumatics are totally configurable and reconfigurable. They handle orders of magnitude greater test data results and/or test steps complexity.

There are some inherent markers that will help you discern more future-

focused capital equipment investments from those that are more fixed to the strict specifications of today. First word to the wise is to make sure that the product is supported cradle to grave, including support for reconfiguring the instrument or other equipment for future applications.

With leak testers, there are actually many manufacturers that provide absolutely no support once a leak tester is sold. Others will assist with an initial installation but then leave it at that.

If you are future-focused on capital equipment uses, the value of long-term support should be clear.

Another lens to view potential capital equipment through is its versatility and the relative ease or difficulty of reconfiguring the equipment or instrument in the future. Pneumatics are an essential element of leak test systems and for optimum efficiency they need to be tuned to your specific application specifications – for example, parts volume, test pressures.

But if you take it as a given that your continuing innovation will inevitably

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change these physical parameters, you need to ask how easily your leak tester’s pneumatics can be reconfigured. For any instrument or capital equipment expenditure there are comparable aspects that are essential to function and are either designed for reconfiguration or are fixed.

This is not to say that there are not leak testers that are not flexible for the future that are nonetheless very highend instrumentation and equipment for today’s applications. There are companies that sell many of these best-in-class leak testers tuned to specific application requirements. In some cases this is still preferred and the data handling, programming capabilities are more than adequate for the NDT tests required.

Sometimes however, we find that even within the constraints and specification of the current test application, leak testers with greater upfront costs are not given their fair due. For example, a leak tester that can do eight simultaneous leak tests can have much lower overall testing costs than a leak tester with a more limited number of sensors and/or channels.

It’s rarely complicated to do the math to make the determination on returns-on-investments for today’s application. Moreover, with a long range view in mind that anticipates new test methods being required you know that the lifetime return-on-investment is greater still, although admittedly not lending itself to simple “do the math” type calculations.

The extent to which a leak tester (or any instrument or piece of equipment used in a production line) is programmable is also a rough marker of how well suited it will be to handle future product iterations. When there are greater I/O capabilities built in, it suggests an inherent ability to handle testing complexity.

In the case of leak testers it may mean that the firmware in the leak test instrument has more programmable steps, possibly hard-wired to jump to another test step or an entirely different program for greater flexibility.

More I/O flexibility in future-matched leak testers (i.e. 32/122 as shown in Figure 1) means that your operations will be able to change sequences in tests based on the results of a prior step. This greater ability to program I/O is an ideal match for future scenarios that are currently unknown in their specificity.

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What we see anecdotally is that the companies that are most proactive in R&D for new product developments are employing the more flexible leak test technology for product development today.

Being able to try different test scenarios helps ensure that the optimum settings and configuration of the leak detector are defined when the product rolls out. This is especially important to the many companies that are not only eager to make time-to-market as quick as possible but who plan to then produce products in globally distributed manufacturing facilities.

Materials innovations

In summary, today’s valves, waterproof power supplies, heat exchangers, equipment operating in pressurized conditions and all other products with strict leak rate specifications are very likely to change in significant ways within the decade.

New materials innovations such as composites, nanotechnology, ongoing market feedback on better feature design or additional features to enhance usability are just some product innovation drivers we can count on.

The shorter your company’s timeto-market for product innovations the greater your ability to garner market share. Similarly, the ease with which you can establish consistent quality with globally distributed manufacturing will impact your company’s ability to gain footholds in new terrain.

There is a wide array of leak detection systems available today. The real economic life of any leak detector you choose is now determined by how flexible it will be to handle leak test requirements that are not yet on your docket.

Leak testers are no different from other capital expenditures for manufacturing.

The fork in the road is whether to choose application specific testers for today’s needs or those that offer future flexibility built in.

Don’t just think about today’s solution – think about tomorrow too and insist that your suppliers demonstrate technology with future requirements in mind and a support model that will be by your side when the inevitable changes in your production line designs and processes need to be made.

[Dave Foran (dave.foran@uson.com) is President of USON.] USON www.uson.com

ADVANCED: A D _ P A CModern E A B Sleak J Utesters L _ 1feature 2 . p more d f intuitive P a g egraphical 1 2 displays 8 / 0 6 that / 1 2 , allow more lightly skilled workers to operate the test technology.

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SPOTLIGHT

7best of the

PACE showcase of the best engineering technology releases of the month.

Compact spiral hose Parker Hannifin’s Compact Spiral hose offers benefits of weight reduction, space savings, flexibility, a tighter bend radius, wider fluid compatibility and longer life.

The company claims this is the most significant new development in the market since spiral hydraulic hose was introduced. The Compact Spiral hydraulic hose series is designed to meet the constant pressure classifications of ISO 18752, including the stringent Grade D, Type DC classification. The Compact Spiral hose provides OEM customers with the performance of a spiral hose, but with the characteristics of a braided hose – lighter weight, high degree of flexibility and tighter bend radius. The “TC” designation in the hose part number signifies that it is a Parker “Tough Cover” hose that is abrasion-resistant to deliver long service life in rigorous and/or remote installations. Key to the design success of the new hose is a patent-pending Nitrilebased inner tube compound that is both stronger and thinner than what has been traditionally used in standard spiral hose.

Parker Hannifin Australia 02 9842 5150 www.parker.com.au

HMI colour touchscreens Cermate HMIs are suitable for the industrial market and feature colour touch screens from 3.5” to 15”. They are durable, IP65 rated and feature resistive touch-screens with up to 65,536 colours including free development software with full PC-based simulation. The units have a 32-bit CPU and feature multiple Serial/Ethernet

communication options and all the major communications drivers including Allen Bradley, Siemens, Omron and Mitsubishi. A free software trial and demo units are available and prices start from $167.

PLC Hardware sales@plchardware.com.au www.plchardware.com.au

Rotary single axis CANopen inclinometer TURCK has introduced a rotary single axis inclinometer, expanding its dual axis CANopen inclinometer offering for angular tilt detection. With a monitoring range of 360 degrees, the single axis inclinometer provides extended application flexibility, allowing operators to monitor mechanical arms, such as tensioners or moving components. Its CANopen communications also makes it suited for mobile equipment, such as monitoring and reporting position of outriggers, booms or other vertically rotating parts.

The single axis inclinometer measures angular tilt in reference to gravity. At the heart of the TURCK inclinometer are MEMS devices that incorporate micro-electromechanical capacitive elements into the sensor that utilise two parallel plate electrodes, 36 www.pacetoday.com.au August 2012

one stationary and one attached to a spring-mass system. Movement causes acceleration that produces deflection in the non-stationary electrodes. This results in a measurable change in the capacitance between the two plates that is proportional to the angle of deflection. All measured values and parameters are accessible via the object directory. The micro board design in the MEMS technology allows for a compact, precise inclinometer in a robust package. TURCK single axis inclinometers offer IP68-rated housing and reliable operation in temperatures ranging from -40°C to +70°C. TURCK Australia 1300 132 566 www.turck.com.au

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Email your product news to editor@pacetoday.com.au

Fast registration mark sensor delivers accuracy Torque control switchboxes

The SmartEye X-Mark registration mark sensor targets the printing, packaging and converting markets. It uses a 2.2mm light spot that can detect a mark, edge, or product as it approaches the sensor in any direction. The X-Mark sensor’s 5μs repeatability provides accuracy at the highest speeds in any direction. The sensor was designed as a drop-in replacement to existing market leaders. The bracket system provides a holefor-hole configuration that aligns the focal point in the exact position of similar sensors in the market.

Valvefit Plus has launched a series of torque control switchboxes with aluminium enclosures and hydrocarbon resistant polycarbonate high impact resistant visible indicators for rotary operation of ball, butterfly and plug valves. All switches are CE Certified and are suitable for mounting on any Namur footprint actuator or can be adapted to fit directly to the valve. Standard mounting is included for 80x30x30 or 130x30x30, with stem heights of 20 or 30mm. Additional mounting is possible up to 50mm stem height. They come standard with black/yellow visible indicators.

Adaptors are also available for some other proprietary brands of actuators. The enclosure comes with certification confirming tested to IP68 to a depth of 4m.

Switchboxes come standard with two M20 cable entries and standard 8-terminal cable strip with spare terminals to allow connection to a solenoid inside the switchbox.

A feature of the switchbox is that the Composite visible indicator enclosure is secured by two spring loaded captive bayonet cap screws that secure the indicator with 90° rotation. The sealing system does not require downward force to seal correctly, common with most other switchboxes. The sensors are colour coded and the fast set cams to allow adjustment between 5 and 355 degrees of travel, for use with the linear option.

NORD Drivesystems’ new model from its SK 500E line of control cabinet inverters is targeted at functionally complex and dynamic drive applications. The intelligent SK 540E inverter supports the free programming of drive-related functions according to IEC 61131. It has the features of the series but supports a wider range of drives than its sister models. In particular, it can control synchronous motors.

It integrates a new universal encoder interface for energy recovery. SK 540E performs sophisticated tasks without an external PLC, thus saving costs. Pump drives, for instance, can be upgraded with monitoring functions and characteristic curve functions, enabling them to directly react to fluctuating flow rates. Due to its high-performance microprocessor, this inverter model is also suitable for high-speed cutting processes in turning and milling. SK 540E provides the safety function Safe Torque Off as well as sensorless current vector control and an integrated brake chopper for regenerative operation and it identifies the parameters of the connected motor automatically.

Valvefit Plus 08 83772744 sales@torquecontrol.com.au

NORD Drivesystems 03 9394 0500 www.nord.com.au

Pryde Measurement info@pryde.com.au www.pryde.com.au

Manage drive-related tasks without external controller

Insertion mag flow meter optimised for low flow applications Bürkert has re-engineered its insertion electromagnetic flow meter Type 8045 to deliver more features for modern processing environments. Type 8045 now offers a cut-off feature, designed to optimise use in low flow applications. This function allows the operator to set a lower limit, under which the measurement value is set as zero. This parameter feeds through to display, totalisers, outputs and downstream process conditions. A digital input added to the 8045 electromagnetic flow meter, menuconfigured, has been also included. This allows control system initiated reset of totalising functions, HOLD mode go-to, zero-point calibration, and other functions. This feature has been added to facilitate remote control capabilities, via site control systems. The extension of remote monitoring and control functionality in the 8045 magnetic flow meter reflects wider Bürkert trends to utilise expanding mobile technologies for simple and cost effective process monitoring. The Type 8045 mag flow meter is used in the water treatment industry and water applications, as well as CIP systems.

Bürkert Australia 1300 888 868 www.Bürkert.com.au August 2012 www.pacetoday.com.au 37

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COMMUNITY

TOP TWEETS

WHAT’S ON

Introduction to Graphical Programming with LabVIEW and PC-Based Data Acquisition 8 August 2012, sydney australia.ni.com/events Industrial Wireless Systems 9 August 2012, sydney events@iica.org.au FOUNDATION Fieldbus Course 21-22 August 2012, Perth training@seacove.biz Overview of Grounding & Noise Reduction for Control Equipment 5 september 2012, Adelaide events@iica.org.au Practical OPC Training Workshop Level 1 & 2 10-11 september 2012, sydney jane.zhang@matrikonopc.com

For daily updates visit www.pacetoday.com.au

Here’s what you may have missed this July if you weren’t following @pacetoday on Twitter: o RMIT awarded Mt Isa contract worth $900,000 http://dlvr.it/1nC0fc

o Distribution automation becomes top priority for smart grid utilities http://dlvr.it/1rYKBg

o Norfolk Group awarded $14 million contract from CTEC for Diamantina Power Station http://dlvr.it/1ns9vX

o New regulation drives energy efficiency improvements http://dlvr.it/1sCdyb

o IPER system reduces energy demands of desalination pumping http://dlvr.it/1pMgDd

o Ai Group highlights mounting pressure on businesses from rising energy prices http://dlvr.it/1sF42p

o Is Australia ready for direct-digital manufacturing? http://dlvr.it/1pqFC8

o Adelaide Desalination Plant fatality: charges laid http://dlvr.it/1sgXKX

o Beckhoff sets up subsidiary in New Zealand http://dlvr.it/1qnRxb

o First step to a national licensing system for electrical workers http://dlvr.it/1sVFpn

o Renewable power for WA desalination plant http://dlvr.it/1r10wJ

o Scholarships to boost number of women entering resources industry http://dlvr.it/1spCtl

o Madison Technologies acquires test and measurement company http://dlvr.it/1r3Wfw

o Inaco and Panduit partner in Australia http://dlvr.it/1sVtCH

Follow @pacetoday on Twitter for the latest news, analysis, new product information and commentary. And never miss out again.

IICA CORNER

Role of Technology Expos Expos allow end-users to experience the latest products and services, writes Brett Simpson.

THEY are variously called Trade Fairs, Exhibitions, Technology Expos, ExposMini or Maxi, Table Tops and so on. I want to take a closer look at them and try to answer such questions as ‘who goes to them and what role – if any – do those expos play in advising, informing or maybe even changing our views and opinions about products and services.’

It would be fair to say that curiosity plays a significant part in getting attendees to expos. This curiosity stems from our essential human desire to experience something new, novel, or even entertaining. This would particularly be the case for attracting multitudes to home and garden expos for example.

Then there are the numerous do it yourself aficionados for whom exhibitions are an opportunity to gain ideas 38 www.pacetoday.com.au August 2012

that can be adapted, copied or ordered from the relevant expo stands for their own use. Yet another group comes from those who work in manufacturing and/or business and corporate activities.

These people see such events as an integral part of their business activities and will often factor in resources into their annual budgets for them.

They are of necessity, attuned to what their competitors are doing, are monitoring what their existing clients want from them and on the look out for potential new clients. Attendance at exhibitions is therefore quite a significant means of keeping up to date with what’s new in technology in their spheres of professional interests.

Here we see a clear symbiotic relationship between attendees and

exhibitors – or more accurately, buyers and suppliers. The exhibition is often the ‘meeting place’ where both groups meet and hopefully complete mutually successful business transactions.

In other cases the supplier provides a potential buyer with the opportunity to switch from an unsatisfactory existing supplier to a new and more suitable one.

Likewise, canny suppliers will maximise their ongoing relationship building with existing clients by arranging all kinds of value-add face-to–face meetings with them at expo sites.

The IICA has been conducting Technology Expos for well over 10 years now. These are specifically tailored events catering to the needs of the IC&A industry sectors. There are approximately 14 such events on

average each year that are held all over regional and suburban centres across all Australian states. The number of exhibitors has ranged over the years from 25 to more than 50 and includes large national suppliers as well as medium and small local ones.

The large number of these Technology Expos across the country provides a convenient means for local and regional end-users to update themselves on the latest innovative products and services without spending money or time travelling to major cities.

Check out the remaining six months of IICA Technology Expo locations and dates on our website or contact Caroline Kuiper (events@iica.org.au).

[Brett Simpson is President IICA.] www.iica.org.au

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