Safety Transmitters Achieve Safety Goals With Reduced Cost and Complexity

Series One Safety Transmitter
United Electric Controls

Process safety experts continually seek sustainable ways to improve the performance of safety critical loops, achieving risk reduction and safety goals in a cost-effective manner. Some view a reduction in complexity of safety related protocols to be a positive development. Traditional or historical approaches to deploying full blown safety systems were generally associated with great expense and high complexity, and still came up short on delivering the needed levels of risk reduction. Process control device and equipment manufacturers have responded with newer technologies and products that better address the safety needs of industrial processing.

In sensor subsystems, United Electric’s certified safety transmitter for pressure or temperature provides a less costly, simple path for process designers, instrument and control engineers, and maintenance personnel. The Series One Safety Transmitters combine several useful safety and monitoring functions into a single, easy to deploy device. Products are available for gauge pressure, differential pressure, and temperature applications. In addition to a 4-20 mA process variable output, the Series One has an embedded programmable high-capacity relay certified as a safety variable output. The Series One Safety Transmitter provides designers the option of a hard wired trip in less than 100 milliseconds, with a tenth of a percent repeatability, along with the monitoring functions of a traditional continuous analog output.

For equipment under control requiring protection, or processes where rapid excursions can initiate dangerous events, this unique pressure and temperature transmitter is addressing process safety time constraints, coupling issues with PLC and DCS units, and adding diversity to the safety instrumented function.

There is a whole lot more to learn about these "Safety right out of the box" industrial pressure and temperature safety transmitters. A product data sheet is provided below, but you can get the latest and most detailed product and application information from a specialist in industrial process measurement and control. Share your safety instrumentation challenges with them, combining your process expertise with their product application knowledge to develop effective solutions.

United Electric One Series Safety Transmitter from Miller Energy, Inc.

Yokogawa Data Acquisition Unit Product Changes

The DX1000 and DX2000 are among the potential
replacements for the discontinued CX Series

Modern industrial process control has ever increasing demands for data acquisition. The ability to rapidly gather and process measurements into control and management decisions and reports is essential to efficiency, safety, and profitability. Yokogawa has been a leading manufacturer in the data acquisition sphere for decades, and has made some changes in its product line to maintain its leadership position.

The model CX 2000 was discontinued at the end of February. It combined data acquisition, display, control, and networking in a single unit. A scaled down version, CX 1000 was previously discontinued. The company recommends possible replacements to include one or more of the following products:

• Advanced Application Temperature Controller UT75A
• Button Operated DX1000/DX2000
• General Purpose Temperature Controller UT35A/UT32A
• Mid-level Temperature Controller UT55A/UT52A
• TC10 Temperature Controller
• Touch Screen GX10/GX20
• US1000 Digital Indicating Controller
• UTAdvanced UT32A-D
• UTAdvanced UT32A-V/C/R

The DX2000 Daqstation is a mature product with a solid portfolio of field installations. It can accommodate display, recording, networking, and storage of data on up to 48 input channels. Input types include DC voltage, contact signal, RTD, and thermocouple. Ethernet connection enables remote access via a website and the unit can provide email alerts. There are numerous effective and user-friendly features included with the DX2000, which incorporates Yokogawa's decades of experience with recording and data acquisition.

Whatever your data acquisition needs and challenges, the best solutions will result from combing your process expertise with the knowledge of a product specialist. Reach out to them and get results.

Data Acquisition Equipment for Automation and Process Control from Miller Energy, Inc.

Energy Calculator Simplifies Chilled and Hot Water Usage Monitoring

Yokogawa Model 212 Heat Calculator

Early in my professional career, I was a sales rep calling upon building engineers, maintenance technicians, and lots of HVAC related people. One encounter I had, many years ago, has always stayed with me. I was prattling on to a building engineer about whatever gear I was trying to promote for his chilled water system, and I must have really missed the mark. The engineer, clearly a man of superior experience to mine, stopped me in mid sentence. "You know what flows through these pipes?", he said, referring to the chilled water system. In my defense, I was very young and inexperienced at the time, but I did answer "Chilled water". My building engineer friend bellowed out, "Wrong....money flows through those pipes". That single encounter had a lasting impact upon how I viewed HVAC systems.

Energy costs for heating or cooling a building can be the single largest line item on the cash outflow summary for an operation. Much effort and expense is put into efforts to maximize energy efficiency and conservation. Monitoring of usage patterns related to the chilled or hot water system can provide useful information for developing new conservation strategies and verifying the impact of any steps taken to reduce consumption.

The Yokogawa Model 212 is an affordable and easy to install and use device that will provide a stream of usage data. A key feature of the Model 212 is its ability to interface with a broad range of flowmeter devices, including vortex and magnetic flowmeters with pulse outputs, positive displacement and inferential water meters, turbine and paddlewheel flowmeters. This flexibility allows the user to select a companion flowmeter that will suit their accuracy, budget, and operational requirements.

The Heat Calculator has four modes of operation to totalize the usage patterns in a manner that best suits the needs of the user. Additionally, the unit can interface with a building management system and includes internal data logging capabilities. Other features are described in the product data sheet I have included below.

Even small chilled and hot water systems can benefit from usage data derived from a monitoring system such as the Yokogawa Model 212. Share your system challenges with a product specialist. Combining your process and system knowledge with their product application expertise will produce effective solutions.

Heat Calculator for Chilled and Hot Water Systems from Miller Energy, Inc.

Bimetallic Thermometers With Adjustable Angle and Rotating Head Make Installation Simple

Bimetallic Thermometer
Courtesy US Gauge

A bimetallic thermometer relies on the deformation of a bimetal spring or strip in response to a given temperature. The mechanical deformation is transformed into rotational movement of the indicating needle on the instrument face, where the corresponding temperature can be read by a technician or operator. This design principle has been in use throughout laboratories, kitchens, and industry for many years and has proven to be predictably accurate, stable, and rugged.

The major advantages of the bimetallic thermometer are its relative cost, ease of use, and ability to function without any power source. While this class of instruments provides operability up to +1000°F, the operating principle does not tend to provide similar accuracy at very low temperatures.

When applying dial faced thermometers, the main considerations beyond selecting the appropriate temperature range are the diameter of the dial and the mounting arrangement. US Gauge, an Ametek brand, provides a line of bimetallic thermometers for industrial process applications with a large degree of built-in flexibility to make selection and installation very simple. Three and five inch dial faces are offered, along with a selection of temperature ranges and stem lengths. The stem can be adjusted to almost any angle to provide good view of the face, and the head can be rotated over 180°.

Provided just below is a data sheet and description of the ADJ Series from US Gauge. Share your instrumentation challenges with the product application experts at Miller Energy. Combine your process knowledge with their product expertise and develop the the best solutions.

Industrial Bimetallic Thermometers: 3 and 5 Inch Adjustable Angle from Miller Energy, Inc.

Specialty Enclosures Complete Instrument and Equipment Installations

Analyzer Cabinet
Courtesy Intertec

Industrial environments present a wide range of challenges to the process designer or operator looking to install sensitive instrumentation or controls. Not all devices come with integrated enclosures suitable for all environments. The responsibility for properly housing equipment, controllers, and other instruments can fall on the process designer or operator.

There are numerous considerations in the design and selection of an enclosure, especially when the application drifts beyond the range of commonly available sizes, configurations, and materials of construction. Here are some thinking points for you.

Instrumentation safely housed
while clearly visible to operator
Courtesy Intertec

• Ignition Hazard Level: Areas or locations with hazardous classifications will require special enclosure designs and features for compliance.
• Climate: If outdoors, consider the range of local weather conditions and their potential impact on the longevity and performance of the enclosure, its ability to protect whatever is housed within.
• Access: Do operators need quick access to contained equipment? If so, appropriate latches or other closures that allow interior access without a need for tools may be in order. Security concerns may warrant locking capability. A clear panel installed in a door can provide visual access to instruments safely contained within the enclosure.
• Corrosion: Wet environments or locations near seawater or other corrosive elements can call for upgraded coatings or materials of construction that will prolong the useful life of the enclosure.
• Enclosure Cooling or Heating: Depending upon the surrounding temperature or the characteristics of equipment housed in the enclosure, heat removal or supplementing accessories may be integrated into the enclosure design.
• Size: Consideration given to possible additions to the original array of instruments or devices to be contained can save substantial time and money if a future expansion is in order. The size of the enclosure should provide for any clearance  recommended by device  manufacturers for their installed components. Provide adequate servicing space for field technicians to perform any necessary tasks related to housed equipment.
• Penetrations: Conduit or other penetrations required for proper operation and installation can be accomplished more precisely, and often at a lower cost, in the factory than in the field. Carefully laying out and coordinating the installation of connections to the enclosure can save time and trouble in the field.

Certainly, there are numerous other elements of enclosure design that may be taken into account for differing installation requirements. Share your project requirements with application specialists and reach the best solutions by combining your process knowledge with their product expertise.

Simplifying Plant Safety Instrumentation

Series One Safety Transmitter and Switch
Courtesy United Electric

Safety implementation typically is accomplished by a group that includes plant instrument engineers and technicians. They are charged with developing simple and reliable solutions that increase safety and reduce risk. Safety related events can involve the question of when to shut a process down. These decisions can hinge on the level of key process variables such as flow, level, temperature and pressure. All must be within their specified range at various locations throughout the process, whether within chemical and petrochemical plants, refineries and power plants, or other processing operations. Critical points of measurement can include anything from process vessels to eye wash stations.

For such point safety applications, a properly designed and implemented digital switch with self-diagnostics can be an important part of the answer. As an element of a multiple technology solution, a digital switch-based approach can help eliminate common-mode failures, significantly improve response time, achieve needed safety integrity levels (SILs), and simplify plant safety instrumentation.

United Electric Controls has authored a white paper entitled "Simplifying Plant Safety Instrumentation" that provides some insight into deployment of safety controls. The entire white paper is included below and will prove to be useful reading. More detailed product and application information is available from product specialists. Combining their product expertise with your process knowledge will produce the best solutions.

Simplifying Plant Safety Instrumentation from Miller Energy, Inc.

"Bubbler Method" Liquid Level Measurement

An accurate pressure transmitter
is an integral part of  a liquid level
measurement system using the
"Bubbler Method"
Courtesy Brooks Instrument

Measuring liquid level in a tank or vessel can be accomplished in a number of ways, all of which require some arrangement of instrumentation to either infer the liquid level from the measurement of a related physical property, or directly deliver the liquid level visually using a scaled gauge arrangement. One indirect method of level measurement is often referred to as the bubbler method, so named because it employs a purging gas that continually vents from the bottom of a tube extending into a tank of liquid. Through a simple apparatus, the level of a liquid can be inferred by the amount a back pressure exerted upon the gas flowing through the tube.

Probably the greatest advantage of this method of liquid level measurement is that the liquid does not contact the sensing instrumentation. The only portion of the apparatus in contact with the liquid is a tube immersed into the tank. Basically, a purge gas flows through the immersion tube and may bubble out the immersed end of the tube, which is open to allow the contained liquid to exert a hydrostatic pressure on the purge gas. The back pressure on the gas that is exerted by the liquid contained within the tank will vary directly with the depth of the liquid. The back pressure can be correlated to a liquid level. Further calculations, which would include the tank shape, dimensions, and the liquid density can provide an indication of the volume and mass of the liquid. Here is an illustration of the setup, provided courtesy of Brooks Instrument, globally recognized leader in flow and pressure measurement and control. The illustration is from Brooks' January blog article.

Bubbler Method Tank Level Measurement Apparatus, showing application of some Brooks Instrument devices.

Below are data sheets detailing the components used in the system to control and measure the gas flow, and measure the back pressure on the immersion tube. There are other components needed for a complete system, but they are fairly generic in nature and easily obtainable. Contact a flow and level measurement specialist with your application challenges and work with them to produce effective solutions.

Bubbler Method Liquid Tank Level Measurement Instruments from Miller Energy, Inc.