Control System World

The Program Committee of ISA Automation Week 2013: Technology and Solutions Event has issued a Call for Papers inviting authors, experts, innovators, thought leaders, and automation and control professionals to submit abstracts for presentation consideration at the conference, which will be held 5-7 November 2013 at the Nashville Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

Call for Papers abstracts will explore six educational tracks—Industrial Network Security, Creating Business Value through Automation, The Connected Enterprise, Wireless Applications, Industrial Automation and Control, and Asset Lifecycle Management and Optimization/Strategy—in relation to meeting the requirements of four essential operating factors:

• Business
• Technology
• People
• Safety

“For automation solutions to deliver optimal value and results, they must support and be aligned with organizations’ core business objectives, technology infrastructure, workforce capabilities and safety requirements,” says Paul Galeski, ISA Automation Week 2013 Program Chair, and the CEO and founder of MAVERICK Technologies, the largest independent systems integrator in North America. “Decision makers need to ask themselves: ‘Are our automated systems in sync with our key business processes and strategies? What are the impacts of automation decisions on our current and future technology, safety and organizational culture? Do our employees have the necessary skills and training?’”

The deadline to submit abstracts for presentation consideration is 2 April 2013. Complete details about the Call for Papers can be found at ISA. An author’s kit (including forms and documents, deadlines, author/speaker responsibilities, what to submit, presentation formats, and more) will be made available soon.

Rockwell Automation introduces the Allen-Bradley SMC-50 smart motor controller, the company’s latest generation of solid-state motor controllers. This release includes a newly designed three-phase, fully solid-state, silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) power structure. The new SMC-50 controller addresses the motor control needs of OEMs and end users seeking a more economical alternative to drives and more advanced control than across-the-line starters. Designed for customer flexibility, the SMC-50 controller combines advanced monitoring and protection features, multiple start and stop options, and expandable control inputs and outputs. These features help users increase efficiency, reduce downtime and improve control.

Rated at 200V-690V AC and with software from 90 to 520 amps, the SMC-50 controller is ideal for controlling motor speed and torque in a range of normal-duty applications, including pumps, compressors and short conveyors, as well as in heavy-duty applications, such as rock crushers, wood chippers, centrifugal fans and long conveyors.

The SMC-50 smart motor controller’s design improves voltage output to maximize efficiency of motor starts and stops. For application scalability, it features nine standard starting modes, six stopping modes and several slow-speed functions. In traditional starting mode, for example, if the SMC-50 controller senses that the motor has reached full speed before completing the selected ramp time, it will automatically switch to providing full voltage to the motor. The patented linear-acceleration starting mode offers the lowest starting current profile per start, consistent acceleration time, and enhanced control over both torque and speed. Regardless of the starting mode chosen, the SMC-50 controller stores the actual motor start time and peak current value to assist in setup and process optimization.

Allen-Bradley SMC-50 smart motor controllers

ICONICS Hyper Historian is a high speed, reliable and robust industrial data historian solution designed for mission critical applications. It takes full advantage of the latest 64-bit, .NET-based computing technologies and numerous performance features. Hyper Historian is the first plant historian to be compatible with Microsoft Windows 8, Certified for Microsoft Windows Server 2012, and include tight integration with SQL Server 2012. The software also fully leverages OPC-UA communication standards, as well as a wide variety of other protocols for connecting to existing infrastructures.

"The path to increasing profitability in manufacturing is changing, as costs for energy, water, waste generation, compliance, and risk management are trending up, while the available technology for cutting costs and achieving operating excellence is becoming more powerful and cost effective," said Craig Resnick, Vice President, ARC Advisory Group. "Tools such as ICONICS Hyper Historian are an example of technologies that help manufacturers leverage data from the past to better manage the future, which results in significant savings of resources and labor while increasing productivity and adherence to sustainability goals."

Hyper Historian version 10.8 offers the following enhancements:

• New Powerful Performance Calculation Engine – Allows users to configure complex calculations that can be triggered periodically or on any data change event, using flexible new date/time, mathematical, string and historical data retrieval functions within the
• Expression Editor. Calculations can use scalar values, historical values, or string operations, along with a wide variety of functions within an enhanced version of the Expression Engine and results are calculated automatically on each trigger or can be recalculated manually on demand.
• New MergeWorX™Module – Tool for automatic or manual insertion of data into Hyper Historian, typically used for importing historical or log data from databases, other historians, intermittently connected field devices and other equipment such as PLC Datasets. Provides for high resolution data merging from devices without taxing their communications capability and provides greatly increased reliability of capturing all data, even when network outages occur.
• CSV/Excel Formats in Import/Export Utility and Incremental Changes (Add/Modify)
• Multiple Updates to the TrendWorX™64 Viewer Component

Yokogawa Electric Corporation and McAfee today recently announced the signing of a partnership agreement to offer holistic and value-added IT security solutions for the industrial automation world.

Building on Yokogawa's strong global track record in delivering control system solutions and McAfee's cyber security expertise, the partnership addresses the imperative of digital threats to industrial control systems.

In particular, the partners will collaborate to offer Yokogawa's customers seamless solutions to avoid gaps between different IT systems, across proprietary solutions and expanded communication channels (e. g. IP, wireless, and mobile) and running common operating systems and applications.

Fluor Corporation recently announced today that it was awarded a contract by Williams (NYSE: WMB) to provide preliminary engineering services for a proposed propane dehydrogenation (PDH) project near Redwater, Alberta, Canada. Fluor booked the contract in the fourth quarter of 2012 for an undisclosed value.

The proposed PDH facility would primarily use the propane recovered at Williams’ existing fractionation facility in Redwater, Alberta, and convert it into polymer-grade propylene, a petrochemical feedstock used in plastics manufacturing.

“Fluor is pleased to have been selected by Williams to provide preliminary engineering services for what would be Canada’s first propane dehydrogenation facility,” said Peter Oosterveer, president of Fluor’s Energy and Chemicals Group. “We are encouraged by the opportunities that the expansion of the Canadian oil sands provides for the chemicals industry in North America.”

Fluor’s offices in Calgary, Alberta, and Greenville, South Carolina, will be responsible for the design services along with support from the company’s office in New Delhi, India.

Agilent Technologies recently announced the Agilent U8480 Series, the world's fastest USB thermocouple power sensors. Based on the same front-end design as the Agilent 8480 and N8480 Series power sensors, the new U8480 Series offers improved specifications, including a measurement speed of 400 readings per second, 10 times faster than the legacy series.

The U8480 Series provides the best accuracy in Agilent's power-meter and sensor portfolio and comes with a power linearity of less than 0.8 percent. As Agilent's first power sensor with the ability to measure down to DC, the U8480 Series covers a broader range of test applications. DC-range measurements are frequently used for source calibration, as power-measurement references, and for testing select electromagnetic compatibility.

With USB functionality, U8480 Series power sensors plug directly in to PCs or USB-enabled Agilent instruments and offer users the ability to measure power without needing an external power meter or power supply. With their built-in trigger function, Agilent's thermocouple power sensors give test engineers the ability to synchronize measurement capture without needing an external module. The internal calibration function saves time and reduces wear and tear on connectors. These power sensors also come bundled with Agilent's N1918A Power Panel software, making the U8480 Series one of the most cost-effective solutions in the company's power-meter and sensor portfolio.

"Thermocouple -based power sensors are known for providing accurate power measurements but with a trade-off of slower measurement speeds," said Ee Huei Sin, vice president, Agilent's Basic Instruments Division. "The U8480 Series overcomes this limitation and offers a significant improvement in measurement speed, making these sensors ideal for users who require high throughput and accuracy."

Yokogawa Electric Corporation recently announced that its subsidiary, Yokogawa Middle East B.S.C.(c), has received an order to supply control systems and operator training simulators for the Shoaiba Ⅱ combined cycle power plant*1, which is being built in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the Saudi Electricity Company.

Located south of Jedda on the Red Sea coast, the Shoaiba Ⅱ combined cycle power plant will have ten gas turbines and two steam turbines with a combined output of 1,200 MW (Two Block of 600 MW each) and is scheduled to start operation in June 2013. This order was received from Daelim Industrial Co., Ltd.*2

The order is for a comprehensive solution comprising a CENTUM® VP control system and a simulator which will be used to train operators under complex simulated plant operating conditions. The CENTUM VP control system at the plant will be for the integrated control of heat recovery steam generators (HRSG) and gas turbines. For the systems and products that make up these solutions, Yokogawa Middle East and its subsidiary Yokogawa Saudi Arabia will be responsible for project execution, including engineering, testing, installation and commissioning.

Yokogawa Middle East was able to secure this order due to factors such as Yokogawa's top platinum rating for Saudization under the Saudi government's Nitaqat program. This can be attributed to the establishment by 2007 of two Yokogawa companies, Yokogawa Saudi Arabia and Yokogawa Services Saudi Arabia, to provide sales, engineering, and after sales services in the Kingdom. Also taken into consideration were Yokogawa's activities to promote professional education and provide employment in the Kingdom. Additional contributing factors were the engineering capabilities acquired by Yokogawa through the above mentioned activities, the close project support afforded through the global cooperation of the Yokogawa Group and the high functionality of Yokogawa's plant simulation solution for control function testing and operator training.

Bently Nevada product line, a GE Measurement & Control business, SCOUT, is an intelligent suite of portable vibration monitoring and analysis instruments. The SCOUT series demonstrates the business’ commitment to providing the oil, gas and power generation industries with fully integrated, single-provider solutions that support all plant condition monitoring needs. The SCOUT series represents the first products resulting from GE’s acquisition of Commtest Instruments in 2011. Commtest is recognized for its leadership and innovation in portable vibration analysis and monitoring instruments.

Engineered from the ground up to offer leading-edge reliability, accuracy and usability, the SCOUT series offers the power and convenience of dual- or four-channel measurement and dual-plane balancing to support all plant condition monitoring needs—from route-based data collection to machinery analysis and balancing. SCOUT's combination of accuracy, intuitive operation and unrivaled storage capacity ensures that each analyzer delivers a premium return on investment. Additionally, the SCOUT series features field-proven Ascent® software that can be programmed with thousands of separate machine definitions covering a number of route choices.

From refineries and petrochemical plants to hydroelectric facilities and wind farms, GE’s Bently Nevada provides trusted and proven vibration monitoring equipment and a comprehensive services portfolio to help improve the efficiency, reliability and performance of production assets like turbines, compressors, motors and generators. For more information, please visit www.ge-mcs.com/scout.