Ultrasonic Contact Level Switches Provide Reliable Overfill Protection

Echotel® Ultrasonic Level Switches

Magnetrol

Requirements for safety regulation compliance continue to grow. Business operators want increased levels of risk aversion and contingency management. In industrial settings where fluids are processed or stored, meeting these goals calls for new layers of protection and redundancy for existing layers.

Tank overfill is a serious concern of any fluid processor. Providing multiple methods of measuring tank or vessel fluid level provides substantially greater assurance against overfill. One scheme involves using a continuous level measurement instrument, such as guided wave radar, to provide the real time tank level signal and an ultrasonic level switch as a tank overfill indicator.

The operating principal of an ultrasonic level switch is quite simple. A transducer sends an ultrasonic pulse across a gap. When liquid media is present in the gap, the sound wave is transmitted with little attenuation across the gap and detected. When liquid media does not fill the gap, the sound wave is strongly attenuated and fails to transmit across the gap.

Tuning fork level switches are commonly applied as the overfill detection device, but Magnetrol, a recognized global innovator in level measurement, feels they have a better solution with their Echotel® ultrasonic level switches. The video below provides an illustration of how the ultrasonic level switches can be applied, as well as a comparison between ultrasonic and tuning fork methods.

Share your level measurement requirements and challenges with a product application specialist. The combination of your process expertise and their product application skill will produce an effective solution.

Use Manifold Valves With Pressure Transmitters

Manifold Valves for Pressure Gauges and Transmitters
Pentair - Anderson Greenwood

Pressure transmitters are generally fixed in place, but require regular access for calibration and operational testing. Unlike instruments used to measure some other process conditions, a pressure transmitter is directly connected to the process, making it's removal problematical. Manifold valves provide a compact and effective means of access and isolation needed to perform regular maintenance and calibration operations while maintaining the pressure transmitter in place.

A single pressure transmitter or gauge can be served by a simple 2-valve manifold. One valve provides isolation of the instrument from the process. The second valve opens to atmosphere on the instrument side of the isolation valve. This allows the pressure transmitter or gauge to be isolated from the process and connected to a calibration source. Here is a schematic example.

Certainly, any qualified technician can cobble together this arrangement from a pile of valves and fittings. The advantages of using a manifold valve are several.

• High pressure rating
• Reduced leakage potential
• Compact size
• Comparatively rapid installation

There are numerous manifold valve configurations to accommodate any valve and gauge requirement. Manifold valves can also be used in other applications for making effective and convenient connection arrangements between instruments and processes. Share your connectivity challenges and requirements with process instrumentation specialists, combining your process knowledge with their product application expertise to develop the best solutions.

Thermal Dispersion Flow Meter For Compressed Air and Nitrogen Measurement

Thermal Dispersion Flow Meter
Magnetrol

Monitoring compressed air usage in a factory or other operation where it is consumed is essential for proper system maintenance and attainment of energy efficiency goals. The ability to track down leaks and monitor compressed air usage enables stakeholders to work toward maximizing the return on an asset with substantial initial and operating costs.

Easy installation and simplicity of operation are advantages for any instrument applied in this manner, making compressed air flow measurement a good application for a thermal dispersion flow meter. With no moving parts and a simple operating principal, a thermal dispersion flow meter can be quickly installed and put into operation. A digital display of the flow measurement provides local information, and a networking connection or other signal output can provide for remote or centralized monitoring and data collection.

A cut sheet is included below that provides detail on technological, operational, and installation aspects of this simple and effective instrument. Share your flow measurement challenges with application experts, combining your own process knowledge with their product application expertise to develop cost effective solutions.

Thermal Dispersion Mass Flow Measurement from Miller Energy, Inc.

Setting Up the United Electric Controls Series One Safety Transmitter

Here is a two part tutorial showing how to setup your United Electric Series One Safety Transmitter. If you need any additional help or product information, reach out to a product specialist.

Part One Video

Part Two Video

Safety Transmitters For Temperature and Pressure

Series One Safety Transmitter
United Electric Controls

Industrial history is replete with examples of catastrophic accidents. New safety technologies exist today that can prevent or mitigate mishap and disaster in fluid processing and other operations. Modern philosophy of plant safety brings a focus on a proactive approach. Process operators have a new sense of urgency to bring increased levels of safety to their operations.

The United Electric Controls (UE) Series One is a SIL-certified (Safety Integrity Level) transmitter designed solely for safety, alarm, and shutdown. With reliability, speed, and reduced nuisance trips an integral part of its design, the Series One is suitable for application in new installations, or easily integrated into existing operations.

A typical safety loop consists of sensors (such as a pressure or temperature transmitter), controllers, and final control elements. Most SIL-rated pressure transmitters require 300ms to communicate with the controller, then up to 500ms for the controller to send a signal to the final control element (such as a valve). This combined response time may insufficient for some applications. Incorporating the One Series Safety Transmitter, directly connected to the final control element, the total signal time is reduced to 100ms - a large and significant time savings when safe operating conditions have been breached. When used with blowers, pumps and compressors, the One Series makes up a complete safety system with a self-contained sensor, controller, and final control element (the switch) capable of SIL2 without additional safety instrumented function (SIF) components.

The below document provides detailed information about the Series One. Share your process safety challenges with the instrumentation specialists and combine your process knowledge with their product application expertise to produce effective solutions.

Safety Transmitters for Temperature and Pressure from Miller Energy, Inc.

Opportunity For Improving Power Plant Heat Rate

Opportunities for improving efficiency at power plants

The large scale of most power plants provides a environment in which financial justification, or payback, of attempts to improve energy consumption can be justified. Even small improvements in efficiency can yield very substantial returns. The challenge to engineering and management is to select the projects which have the best overall probability of success and can be integrated into the process with the least amount of disturbance.

One area of the steam cycle that may be a candidate for improvement is the feedwater heater. This device is essentially a shell and tube heat exchanger used to recover waste heat from the process and use it to preheat boiler feedwater. Maintaining the correct liquid level in the feedwater heater is a key element of extracting maximum performance. Magnetrol, a globally recognized leader in the development of level measurement equipment, has produced a video showing how their technology can be used in an advantageous manner to others in regulating feedwater heater liquid level and achieving maximum efficiency.

Handbook on pH and ORP Measurement

Dual input pH analyzer and transmitter
Courtesy Yokogawa

Measurement of pH/ORP is a common operation throughout a number of industries. Obtaining true measurements and making correct interpretation of the results can prove challenging without solid working knowledge of the methodology and procedure involved. Certain effects have the ability to cause problems if not taken into consideration.

The book provided below, authored and provided by Yokogawa Electric Corporation, provides a comprehensive understanding of pH/ORP measurement and how to achieve reliable results. Basic information on the principles of measuring pH/ORP, construction of the sensing elements, and their basic use in process applications is provided.

A part of achieving accurate and reliable pH/ORP measurements includes the provision of sufficient electrode strorage conditions and proper maintenance. Prevention of common errors during maintenance and storage, as well as consistent detection of loop failures is important. This book describes how to avoid pitfalls and detect failures.

The book is accompanied with a frequently asked question and answer section as well as an appendix that includes helpful information like a Chemical Compatibility Table and a Liquid-Application-Data-Sheet, which can be used to describe the user’s application.

pH and ORP Measurement Handbook from Miller Energy, Inc.