Control System World

Following an accidental fire at the IOCL Jaipur Terminal, an extensive review of safety measures recommended by the MB Lal Committee has resulted in the introduction of failsafe actuators for critical tank farm applications. These valves, known as ROSOV (Remote Operated Shut-off Valves), now provide tank overfill protection at the majority of storage facilities owned by the Indian oil industry.

The application required the valves to be electrically operated, spring-return failsafe with SIL2 functional safety certification for use in hazardous areas. During the two-year specification writing period, Rotork worked closely with the three main oil companies in India, providing live product presentations, technical advice and performance reports, leading to the selection of Rotork Skilmatic SI/EH electro-hydraulic actuators operating triple-offset butterfly valves as the standard for the critical ROSOV application.

The Rotork Skilmatic self-contained electro-hydraulic valve actuator combines all-electric simplicity with the precision of hydraulic actuation and the reliability of spring-return failsafe operation. Standard Skilmatic features include non-intrusive setting, performance monitoring and configurable data logging of valve and process data for analysis, preventative maintenance and asset management.

To-date, over 1600 Skilmatic actuators have been supplied through Indian valvemakers. All actuators are certified explosionproof to Exd llB T4 with CCoE (Chief Controller of Explosives) approval and SIL2 functional safety system certification. For this application actuators are supplied with dual Modbus fieldbus communications and separate local controls mounted outside the tank bung with a local ESD (Emergency Shut Down) pushbutton.

Along with the above, Rotork was also selected to supply 4000 CP/GP spring return pneumatic actuators to various valvemakers for tank farm applications. Rotork therefore took the lead as the single vendor for failsafe actuators on triple-offset butterfly valves on all tank farm applications.

Utilizing and maintaining level and flow control instrumentation requires knowledge of a wide range of technical information. Having a quick and comprehensive reference point for this information can help keep equipment running smoothly and efficiently. With that in mind, Magnetrol® has produced a free field instrumentation technical handbook featuring a compendium of physical constants, tables and other essential information. The handbook was created by MAGNETROL to cover specific reference points that are commonly used in process applications.

This thorough technical guide features a variety of useful field instrumentation data. Standard conversion tables, such as metric notation conversion and Celsius to Fahrenheit conversion, are included. The technical handbook also includes equivalent tables for viscosity, pressure and head, electrical units, degrees API and degrees baumé. Properties tables feature density, specific gravity and dielectric constants of liquids and gases. Flange dimensions and ratings for pipes are also included.

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Matrikon recently announced the major release of its popular OPC UA Proxy application. The OPC UA Proxy enables software applications based on classic OPC client connectivity to seamlessly communicate with next generation OPC UA-based devices and applications. With a simplified user interface, improved workflow and enhanced performance – the new Matrikon OPC UA Proxy is an easy, convenient way for people to combine their existing classic OPC infrastructures with the growing number of next-generation OPC UA-based products.

“The power and security OPC UA offers, mixed with the excitement over the potential value the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is heralding, are just a couple of factors fast-tracking the adoption of OPC UA today,” said Darek Kominek, product director at Matrikon. “While Matrikon is helping device vendors embed OPC UA Proxy into the smallest of devices, Matrikon is also ensuring those device vendors and their customers have a way to utilize those UA-enabled devices in existing classic OPC-based infrastructures.”

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Article by Samson Valves: The discussions revolving around the scarcity of fossil fuels and increasing energy prices have refocused on the most effective action in the long term, i.e., reducing energy consumption. The right process automation technology can contribute to achieving considerable energy savings. Status monitoring and status conservation can be of help when optimizing the technical infrastructure by preventing additional energy consumption due to plant failures, the resulting start-up and shutdown procedures, as well as the production of non-conforming products. Three major areas can also be identified when optimizing the production process—process sizing, process monitoring, and process control. This article deals with the control valve as a final control element that can help minimize energy consumption when it is accurately tuned to its assigned task. In addition, we will look at state-of-the-art asset management concepts based on smart positioners, which facilitate energy monitoring and indicate possible savings potential thanks to optimized operating modes.

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Yokogawa Solution Service Corporation, a subsidiary of Yokogawa Electric Corporation that is responsible for the company's control business in Japan, announces that a community energy management system (CEMS) that it has built and delivered to the F-Grid Ohira, Miyagi Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)* is now fully operational. The LLP is headed by Toyota Motor Corporation. Over a two-year period, this system was developed by the LLP, built by Yokogawa, and field tested. Funding for the testing of this system, which was developed as part of a smart community project undertaken by the LLP was provided by the Japanese government.

This LLP's CEMS optimizes the use of electricity by balancing the supply of power from the LLP's own natural gas cogeneration and solar power facilities with the purchase of electricity from the local power utility, and efficiently controls the supply of electricity and heat to the members of the LLP. From each of these companies' facilities, the CEMS collects data on electricity and steam demand, and, based on electricity and gas tariffs, calculates how much power should be generated by the LLP's own power systems. In the aforementioned field testing of the CEMS (April 2013 to March 2015), the LLP members reduced their energy costs by 20%.

The LLP's CEMS has a function that can also predict the energy demand at individual plants by collecting data that is strongly correlated with energy demand. Based on these estimates, the CEMS can be used to plan the optimization of electricity and heat supply by, for example, adjusting the operation of the gas cogeneration system. The LLP members can also compare these demand estimates with actual results and use this to make adjustments that will save more energy.

The CEMS is connected with a backup power system and plug-in hybrid vehicles that can feed power to LLP members and the local community when there is a temporary interruption or shortfall in the supply of power from the grid. By encouraging plants to voluntarily participate in this electric power sharing scheme, the LLP has established a foundation for the full implementation of demand-response policies that will mandate such cooperation.

In the future, Japan's energy policy will require communities and plants to make adjustments in energy supply and demand. By leveraging the expertise gained from its participation in the development of this CEMS, Yokogawa will be able to contribute at the regional level in building a distributed energy infrastructure.

OSIsoft, a global leader in operational intelligence, announced a major enhancement to its flagship product, the PI Server, that will allow predictive data to be stored natively and exposed throughout the PI System. The PI System is now able to capture, analyze and share predicted data from 3rd party advanced analytics and machine learning tools throughout the entire organization. This capability enables people to see predictions in real-time, take action to prevent events before they happen and improve operations performance based on insights into the future.

The PI System is an open data infrastructure that enables global enterprises to gather streaming real-time sensor data from over 450 different data sources, efficiently store, contextualize, process, share, visualize and analyze data. It eliminates silos of information and becomes a unifying source of truth for data-driven decisions across industrial operations. With the release of PI Server 2015, these capabilities have been extended to include data with future time-stamps, allowing for a common view of past, present and future data.

The enhanced insights allow for improved operational intelligence through predictive intelligence. The new capabilities allow customers to easily and natively view forecasts of market and operational demands, set and track production targets, and plan for contingencies and emergencies. In addition, comparing predictions to actuals over time enables a better understanding of process behavior prior to making process modifications.

According to Janice Abel, Principal Consultant at ARC Advisory Group, “Solutions such as OSIsoft’s PI System that can help industrial companies integrate analytics and machine learning to predict future behavior can provide considerable business value. Predicting the future can result in benefits that include increases in availability, productivity, and profits.”

“Today the PI System is deployed at over 15,000 sites in 125 countries, delivering nearly 1 billion streams of historical and real-time data to industrial operations,” said Martin Otterson, Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Industry at OSIsoft. “This new ability to combine real-time and future data adds a whole new dimension to operational intelligence. Now users can bring tomorrow’s data into today’s decisions.”

Manufacturers taking advantage of advanced technology to build a more Connected Enterprise increasingly require proven solutions and industry partners. These companies recently gained nine additional trusted resources in the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork program to help optimize production and maximize automation and technology investments.

The PartnerNetwork program provides an integrated team of system integrators, machine and equipment builders, and best-in-class suppliers who work collaboratively to solve manufacturing and automation challenges. The program helps deliver innovations in project design, simplify the supply chain, and improve ROI on automation investments.

Solution Partner, OEM Partner and Encompass Partner members are available in more than 80 countries to help customers efficiently move toward an information-enabled Connected Enterprise.

The Solution Partner program has expanded to include Maverick Technologies, the largest independent systems integrator in North America, and a global leader in industrial automation, enterprise integration and strategic manufacturing solutions. Maverick works with customers across a wide range of manufacturing and process industries – from oil and gas to food and beverage. Solution Partner members are trusted, proven and established companies that offer demonstrated experience and knowledge in design, implementation, project management and maintenance of industrial control systems.

Five companies in the North American and EMEA regions have joined the OEM Partner program. OEM Partner members help manufacturers optimize productivity, achieve sustainability objectives and increase business agility by delivering flexible and efficient equipment. New OEM Partner members include the following:

Aetna Group S.P.A. (Italy) produces and sells stretch-film wrapping machinery, bundlers, shrink film wrappers, cartoning and taping machines.

AMF Automation Technologies Inc. (North America) designs, builds, programs and installs machines for the bakery industry based on customer-provided specifications.

Energy Control Technologies (North America) delivers control solutions for turbocompressors, steam turbines, gas turbines, turboexpanders, screw compressors, reciprocating compressors and centrifuges. These solutions increase energy efficiency and production while improving machine protection.

FR Drake Company (North America) is the technological leader in the automatic loading of frankfurters, sausages, cheese sticks and other products. Drake loaders sort, convey and load cylindrical food products at speeds up to 1,800 pieces per minute.

United Converting SRL (Italy) offers complete equipment service for the tissue converting industry – from machine design and development to the upgrade and optimization of existing lines. Machines include unwinders, rewinders, nested laminators, tail sealers, accumulators, log saws and tunnel shrinks.

Emerson Process Management’s Micro Motion Coriolis and Rosemount 8800 Vortex Flowmeters have been certified to the ASME B31.1 Power Piping design standards, in addition to the existing B31.3 Process Piping design standard.

“We are committed to serving the power industry and are excited to announce compliance to B31.1 Power Piping design standards,” said Andy Dudiak, president of Micro Motion at Emerson Process Management. “Micro Motion Coriolis and Rosemount vortex meters bring accurate, reliable measurement to a wide range of applications, helping electricity generators gain better insight into their processes for improved operations.”

B31.1 Power Piping design standard certification applies to all areas of the Power Plant except for Boiler External Piping (BEP), and is a basic design requirement for products sold into the Power Industry. B31.1 Code Stamp certification applies to the BEP area of the plant.

Compliance with B31.1 Power Piping design standard is offered on several of the Micro Motion Coriolis Meters – including ELITE®, F-series and R-series meters.  Rosemount 8800 vortex products that meet B31.1 design standards and Code Stamp certification include all carbon steel flanged, reducer and dual vortex meters with flange ratings up to and including ASME Class 1500 (PN 160) on 1-inch (DN25) through 8-inch (DN200) meter body sizes and ASME Class 600 (PN100) on 10-inch (DN250) and 12-inch (DN300) meter body sizes.