Control System World

Temperature Controller fro OMRON

Create up to 32 programs with up to 256 segments total.

0.01°C High resolution for Pt input.

High-speed sampling at 50 ms.

Settings easily made from a computer using the CX-Thermo.

RoHS compliance for world-wide application.

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Case Study by Advantech: While the world's shipping industry puts emphasis on shipping safety, reliability, and economy, the requirement of ship equipment control is also getting higher. Ship control technology is developing toward the trend of integrated automation, which is achieved by a multi-functional integrated system including the cabin automation, navigation automation, machinery automation, and loading automation. Sub-control systems are based on ship type and degree of automation, including remote control host, cabin monitoring and alarm, power management, valve control, water-level telemetry, ballast control, and automatic navigation.

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Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that its subsidiary, Yokogawa India Ltd., has won an order from NTPC Ltd. to supply control systems for the first two 800 MW power generating units of the Lara supercritical coal-fired thermal power plant. The Lara plant is being constructed in two phases in Chhattisgarh, India. The two 800 MW units that are being built in the first phase are scheduled to start operation in 2016.

For each of these two units, Yokogawa will supply a CENTUM® VP integrated production control system to control boilers and auxiliary facilities, DPharp EJA series differential pressure/pressure transmitters, oxygen and liquid analyzers, a closed circuit television system, a battery-powered UPS system, and a paging system. All of these products will be delivered by September 2015. Yokogawa India will be responsible for executing the project, including engineering, installation, and commissioning.

To satisfy the growing demand for electricity, the construction of many large coal-fired power plants and refurbishment of aging power plants is planned in India. NTPC is currently erecting several power plants to expand its power generation capacity. Yokogawa received an order from NTPC last year to supply control systems for the Kudgi supercritical thermal power plant; with this order for the Lara plant, Yokogawa has now won two consecutive orders for large NTPC power plant projects. Including orders from other power companies, this is our fifth control system order for a supercritical coal-fired thermal power plant in India, bringing to 12 the total number of systems provided for such facilities in the country.

In line with the Evolution 2015 mid-term business plan, which targets the power industry, Yokogawa is strengthening its power plant control business. Leveraging its project experience, Yokogawa will expand its power plant control business in India and other emerging markets where the demand for electricity is growing.

Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces that it has enhanced its YS1000 series single loop controllers, and will be releasing them on June 13 in all markets except Japan. The controllers feature a new thin film transistor (TFT) LCD with improved display characteristics and a design that facilitates easy maintenance.

Single loop controllers are used in a wide variety of industrial facilities such as power plants, oil refineries, petrochemical plants, chemical plants, and iron and steel plants. These controllers receive temperature, flow rate, pressure, and other types of measurement readings from sensors and send corresponding instructions to control elements such as valves in order to maintain these values within a desired range. Each control loop* has its own controller. Single loop controllers are widely used in industry today to control small plant facilities and serve as back-ups to distributed control systems.

Yokogawa released its first analog controllers in the 1960s, and went digital in the 1980s with the release of the microprocessor-equipped YS80 series digital single loop controllers. The company continued to improve its products and followed up by releasing the YS100 series in 1991 and the YS1000 series in 2007. Today, for such reasons as the decline in the number of skilled engineers in the workforce, many of our customers have a need for controllers that are easy to use and maintain. To meet such needs, Yokogawa has improved its YS1000 series controllers.

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NI has announced VirtualBench, an all-in-one instrument that integrates a mixed-signal oscilloscope, function generator, digital multimeter, programmable DC power supply and digital I/O. Users interact with VirtualBench through software applications that run on PCs or iPads. The device provides the most common functionality affordably and opens up new possibilities for how engineers can use benchtop instruments.

“Before, I didn’t have the room or budget to buy a full setup for each bench,” said Russell Stanphil, electronics advisor at TechShop. “I can now park one laptop and a VirtualBench on each seat, replacing four to five boxes.”

Because VirtualBench uses today’s consumer computing platforms, engineers and scientists can take advantage of the latest technologies like multitouch displays, multicore processors, wireless connectivity and intuitive interfaces. The simplification and increased capability through software leads to more efficient circuit debugging and validation.

“We are building on what NI does best, which is our software-based approach to test and measurement,” said Chad Chesney, director of data acquisition marketing at NI. “VirtualBench’s software user experience is more intuitive, creating efficiencies that go above and beyond simply having these five devices in a single device.”

Key Benefits:

• Takes up minimal space on a desktop or benchtop
• Simplifies instrument configuration through consistent, user-friendly interfaces
• Offers new capability and convenience with a consolidated view of multiple instruments, visualization on larger displays and quick functionality to save data and screenshots
• Integrates seamlessly with LabVIEW system design software

Honeywell Process Solutions recently announced that it was selected by Suncor Energy to provide automation systems for a new multi-billion dollar Fort Hills Oil Sands project in Alberta, Canada. Honeywell will supply technology to integrate the site’s control and safety systems, manage alarms, and provide advanced simulation software that enables critical operations planning and operator training.

As the Main Automation Contractor (MAC), Honeywell will play a key role in helping the facility achieve its future productivity and operational efficiency goals. The facility is expected to be operational in late 2017.

“Choosing an automation provider is a critical decision, one that you will live with for years to come,” said Frank Whitsura, vice president, Honeywell Process Solutions. “Honeywell has a proven track record of reducing risk on projects of this magnitude, delivering on-time and on-budget, and contributing to the ongoing safety, reliability and efficiency of the operation and lowering overall lifecycle costs.”

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers forecasts production from the Canadian oil sands to exceed five million barrels a day by 2030, up from 1.8 million barrels a day in 2012.

“As energy demand continues to grow, the Canadian oil sands have become an important resource,” said Whitsura. “Honeywell has the expertise to fully integrate this project’s assets, from monitors and sensors in the field, to system controls, to planning and logistics. Suncor will also be able to use our innovative technology to run a wide range of simulations that will help maximize the efficiency of the operations.”

Case Study by Honeywell: Ultrasonic gas leak detection (UGLD) is capable of offering an  enhanced mechanism for detecting pressurised gas leaks in applications where more traditional technologies fail to perform effectively due to high natural ventilation rates or excessive vibration. Detection methods such as point and open path IR absorption, catalytic beads and EC cells are dependent on large localised gas clouds forming in order to detect a gas leak. Such gas clouds form well in enclosed areas however, in exposed or elevated areas subject to strong winds leaking gas dilutes quickly with the leak potentially going undetected for long periods of time.

Ultrasonic noise can be generated in a number of ways that may lead to inappropriate positioning or alarm condition such as; mechanical noise, process generated ultrasound, electrical equipment. The main reason for undertaking a survey is to measure the ultrasound in the operational plant, quite simply because we cannot hear what the detector hears. Where new build installations are considering the use of UGLD’s, assumptions of background sound levels are made based on a wealth of experience from live plant studies.

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HIMA Paul Hildebrandt GmbH + Co KG closed fiscal year 2013 with record sales of 105 million euros. This 16% increase in sales over the previous year was significantly higher than the industry average growth rate. Orders received thus far in 2014 indicate that double-digit sales growth will also be achieved this year.

The company increased its business outside of Europe by 40%. The Middle-East, Asian-Pacific and North American regions, in particular, contributed to this success with high sales growth rates. However, incoming orders also increased in Europe relative to the previous year; favorable sales growth was posted in Germany, Benelux and Italy, in particular.  In the past year, half of sales were generated outside of Europe, while the other half was generated in Europe.

More than 35,000 HIMA safety systems (SIL 3 and SIL 4) have been installed in over 80 countries, where they protect the facilities of the world‘s largest enterprises in the oil, gas, chemical, pharmaceutical and energy-producing industries. The above-average growth rates in 2013 in the logistics, machine safety and railway sectors show that safety-related solutions from HIMA are becoming more established in these areas, as well.

“Our broad sector approach and the international distribution of sales are the ideal prerequisites for continued, healthy growth,” says HIMA Managing Partner Steffen Philipp, who leads the fourth-generation, family-run enterprise. “Together with CEO Sankar Ramakrishnan, whom I appointed last year, and Reinhard Seibold, who has been supporting us as CFO since May, I am focused on maintaining our economic and entrepreneurial independence."