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Software-Defined Instrumentation
Design News, August 2008
By Kevin Bisking, National Instruments
Next-generation test systems must be flexible enough to support the wide variety of tests that differ among convergent products and they must be scalable enough to accommodate a larger number of tests as new measurement functionality is required. Software-defined instrumentation is the essential differentiator for meeting this test challenge.
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Effective Energy Monitoring
Control Engineering Asia, October 2008
By Dennis Stewart
As increasing costs and environmental concerns make manufacturers re-evaluate their use of energy, a well-designed monitoring system can provide a valuable picture of where it’s all going.
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Tutorial: Challenges of unlocking HART data
Control Engineering Europe, October 2008
By Peter Welander
The growing availability of devices to unlock HART data from instruments is causing new interest in putting this technology to work. That’s a good thing, but don’t be surprised if what you find is a little confusing.
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Stranded Data: Wireless is the Key
Automation World, October 2008
By Wes Iversen
New wireless devices are emerging that can gather and report back on information that was previously stuck out in the field—promising savings for manufacturers
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Energy Harvesting—The Next Evolution for Wireless Sensors
Sensors, October 2008
By Troy Tanner, AdaptivEnergy LLC
As the power requirements of electronics decrease and the power output of energy-harvesting devices increases, the convergence of these trends makes wireless sensors an ideal application for energy harvesting.
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Thermocouples often described incorrectly
Test & Measurement World, October 2008
By Martin Rowe
Perhaps the most common mistake told about measurement is the phrase “A voltage is developed across the junction of a thermocouple that’s proportional to temperature.” It’s repeated so often that even experienced engineers take it for granted. It’s also incorrect.
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Intelligent Down To The Last Meter
Industrial Automation Asia, September 2008
By Klaus Ebinger, Hans Turck
IO-Link integrates conventional and intelligent actuators and sensors into automation systems without extra effort and expense. Devices that currently have ‘intelligence on board’ are ideal for applications with IO-Link.
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Sensing against the elements
Machine Design, October 2008
By Tony Udelhoven, Turck
How to select proximity sensors that resist everything from caustic wash downs to weld slag.
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Cylinder-Position Sensors
Machine Design, October 2008
Cylinder-position sensors are used in pneumatic or hydraulic cylinders to determine the home and end stroke of the piston head within the cylinder. The difficulty lies in detecting the position of the piston within its cylindrical housing.
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Automation Insights Network
By Rick Zabel, Publisher
Automation Insights Network is a select group of controls and automation professionals who agree to help us cover news, emerging trends and technologies on various automation topics. Every two months, we will ask people in the Network to share their observations, knowledge and expertise with us. We take that information, distill it, and pass it on to our reporters and editors for use in future stories.
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Invensys...Extreme Makeover - Review from IPS User Conference
By Bill Lydon, Contibuting Editor
After attending the IPS North American Client Conference it is apparent that the company is reinventing itself with a clearly defined strategy. IPS's (Invensys Process Systems) view of the major challenge facing industry was summarized by Paulett Eberhart, president and CEO - "Industrial business is now a real-time business, and the only way to effectively perform in a real-time business is in REAL TIME."
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Encoders go barrier-less in hazardous locations
Oil & Gas Product News, August 2008
by Allen Chasey
In most drilling applications encoders are used to provide position and speed feedback for proper control of equipment like top drives, draw works, and pipe racking systems. However, encoders are electronic devices so they require special attention when used in hazardous environments such as a drilling platform.
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Vibration Accelerometers —Sheer vs Compression Designs
Maintenance Engineering, September 2008
By David Corelli and Molly Bakewell, PCB Piezotronics
For the proper implementation of sensors into a vibration monitoring program, one must first understand the differences in the two most common designs of industrial piezoelectric sensors, as well as various considerations in their selection and mounting.
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Machines talk and it pays to listen
Maintenance Engineering, September 2008
By David Green, AV Technology
Modern acoustic emission technology is a very versatile, non-invasive way to gather information about a material or structure. Applications can be as diverse as providing early warning systems for misalignments in bucket elevator drive mechanisms to predicting failure modes of bearings in rotary filling machines, anode formers or offshore cranes.
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The One Network
Control, October 2008
By John Rezabek
It appears that our supplier community is gearing up for a diverse spectrum of interconnection options, instead of the global standard once envisioned for IEC 61158.
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Don't Rip Out Your Legacy Network
Control Engineering, October 2008
By Trevor L. Lang, HMS Industrial Networks
As long as existing networks are performing as desired, it may be difficult to justify converting all sensors, controls, actuators, and related I/O modules so they can be connected to Ethernet.
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Non-Contact Displacement Sensor Technologies: A Comparison
Control Engineering Europe, October 2008
By Chris Jones, Micro-Epsilon
The technical pros and cons of four types of non-contact displacement measurement technologies: Eddy current, capacitive, laser triangulation and Confocal.
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Tech Update: Plant Instrumentation
Food Engineering, September 2008
By Kevin T. Higgins
You know an equipment category has arrived when it starts getting its own industry-specific center. For the food production sensors that do the heavy lifting in instrumentation technology, that day could arrive earlier rather than later.
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The versatile thermocouple
- 10/16/08
Intech, October 2008
By H.M. Hashemian, Analysis and Measurement Services
Thermocouples are small, convenient, flexible, cover wide ranges, reasonably stable, reproducible, accurate and fast.
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Bridging the gap
Intech, October 2008
By Darren L. Goodlin and Robert Rice
Oftentimes the operation of the process does not include how sudden pressure or temperature changes will impact inline analyzers. Here’s how these instruments and analyzers feel the impact when a team comes up with a process control strategy that does not include them.
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Desalination Water chemistry
South Africa Instrumentation & Control, October 2008
The correct use of analytical instrumentation in thermal and membrane desalination processes maximises plant efficiency and ensures water production costs remain low.
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Wireless Condition Monitoring Arrives (and Just in Time)
Power Engineering, September 2008
By Harry Forbes, ARC Advisory Group
While wireless field transmitters for process measurement have been on the market for several years now, equipment condition monitoring systems have used wireless sensing only sparingly. New technology has been recently introduced with implications are for the power generation industry.
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Digital Visual Sidewall Scanning Streamlines Pipe Inspection
- 10/16/08
Power Engineering, September 2008
By Richard Lindner, Envirosight LLC
Digital visual sidewall scanning (DVSS) technology provides a reliable method for gathering visual data from within a pipe using a crawler platform. But unlike traditional video inspection, DVSS uses digital image processing to deliver information in a format that is easy to analyze.
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Advances in pH Measurement in High-Temperature Biotech Processes
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, September 2008
By CD Feng, Rosemount Analytical Liquid
The secret to long life for pH glass electrodes may be found through technologies which add robustness to the gel layer and reference junction. This article presents recent research on the aging mechanism of the pH-sensing glass after high temperature exposure by using the non-destructive complex impedance spectrum method.
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ISA - Change the name to represent the industry
By Rick Zabel, Automation.com
The proposed name change of ISA (to "International Society of Automation") is up for a vote again during ISA Expo in Houston, October 14-16, 2008. Last year, the change was voted down, but I have yet to hear a compelling argument against the change. And there are many reasons for the change. If ISA is truly the global society of automation professionals, then its name should reflect its cause. It's time for a change!
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PROFIBUS hits new highs, PROFINET to follow?
By Bill Lydon, Contributing Editor
This year's PTO General Assembly Meeting again was attended by an enthusiastic group of users, suppliers, and distributors that apply PROFIBUS and PROFINET technology. Michael Bryant, Executive Director, was master of ceremonies and forecasted PROFINET will be the leading Ethernet Technology for automation applications.
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Automating Pipeline Integrity Monitoring
Sensors, August 2008
By Colin Lippincott, FreeWave Technologies Inc.
Cathodic protection devices have been used for decades to monitor steel pipes for corrosion. A new family of radios is designed to automate this process, connecting directly to the corrosion monitoring system.
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Color Contrast And Luminescence Sensors
By Bill Letterle, EMX Industries
Photoelectric sensors are powerful tools that, when properly applied, can produce highly reliable solutions to some tough automation challenges. While each application is different from one another, applying the guidelines discussed in this paper will help to make the sensor selection process a bit easier.
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Torque Telemetry Goes Digital
Machine Design, August 2008
By Brian Duffy and Chris Novak, Honeywell Sensing and Control
If you haven’t taken a good look lately at torque-measurement technology, it may surprise you. Digital RF technology leads the way to more accurate noncontact measurement of torque.
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Dealing With the ATEX Directive
By Gus Elias, Moore Industries
Safety compliance issues and legislation are becoming increasingly complex and detail-oriented, hence more of a burden to manufacturers. This article cannot describe all the minor differences between ATEX and other requirements, but it reviews some of the fundamental differences between North American and European requirements.
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A more intelligent approach to rotating equipment monitoring
Power Engineering International, July 2008
By Peter W. Hills, Mechanalysis
The majority of condition monitoring regimes for power plants’ rotating equipment is focused the detection of mechanical faults, with little attention paid to electrical faults in equipment. This could be about to change with the introduction of an on-line monitoring system that ‘learns’ to detect both types of fault.
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Wireless Level Monitoring
Control Engineering, August 2008
Better inventory measurements, higher efficiency and safety, and environmental compliance are among results from three wireless level monitoring implementations.
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How Encoders Make Automated Motion Safe
Control Engineering, August 2008
By C.G. Masi
An encoder makes it possible for the control system to know where it is and how fast it’s moving. With that knowledge, the system can not only avoid trouble, but act appropriately when circumstances bring trouble to its door.
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Properly Monitor Your Scrubber Chemistry
Power Engineering, July 2008
By Brad Buecker
Within the last several years the flue gas desulfurization (FGD) market has mushroomed and many utilities have purchased wet FGD systems. Critical to proper operation of these systems will be accurate liquids and solids monitoring of the process streams. This article examines many of the most important analyses for which new scrubber personnel must prepare and equip laboratories.
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Think Things Are Small Now?
Control, August 2008
By Jeffrey R. Harrow, The Harrow Group
What might it mean to automation if virtually every sub-component in a machine or system could participate in a mesh network, within every device, to report its condition and allow it to tune its function based on the other sub-components around it?
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Pressure-Based Level Measurements Keep Getting Better and Better
Control, August 2008
By Paul Miller
While radar and ultrasonics are getting most of the attention, automation vendors are quietly improving their pressure-based level measurement instrumentation.
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A Better Mousetrap
Control, August 2008
By Bob Sperber
The New Sampling/Sensor Initiative (NeSSI) seeks to standardize sample transport, digital networking and breakthroughs in analyzer miniaturization. Along with its smaller footprint, NeSSI systems greatly reduce piping. Less piping, a shorter flow path, lower dead volume, less liquid circulating in the lines all add up to high reliability and faith in sampling.
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Hall Effect Finds Niche in Current Sensing
Design News, July 2008
By Charles J. Murray
The venerable Hall Effect sensor is gaining popularity these days in electrical current sensing applications, where it is sometimes replacing transformers and shunt resistors. There, it's helping engineers reduce power consumption, save money and eliminate bulk.
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Wireless HART Signals a Change in Plants
Process Industry Informer, July/Aug 2008
By Gareth Johnston and Alan Munns, ABB
HART 7 gives plants a real incentive to consider wireless. Article examines the advantages and typical applications of a wireless instrument network, whether now is the right time to consider a wireless project, and how a WirelessHART instrument network works.
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The use of vibration monitoring as part of a predictive maintenance regime
- 08/11/08
Process Industry Informer, July/Aug 2008
By Andy Hammond, Emerson Process Management
Plant equipment rarely fails without giving some form of signal, well in advance. Watching and listening for the warning signs can often help predict these breakdowns. There are many tools and techniques available to help look for these signs, including vibration monitoring.
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Motor Condition Monitoring Efficiency does Matter
Process Industry Informer, July/Aug 2008
By Timothy M Thomas, Whitelegg Machines
Monitoring motor performance using modern equipment allows plant and facility
managers to dictate their own down time, improve plant operation and quickly identify poorly performing equipment.
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State of Manufacturing & Automation in the U.S. Looks Good
Could it be that high fuel prices, the weak dollar and crises in the U.S. manufacturing industry are creating opportunities? Andy Chatha of ARC Advisory Group thinks so. He says the U.S. industry has suddenly become competitive on the world market, and companies are no longer moving operations overseas. Instead, many are expanding their facilities, and he predicts a boom in automation right here in the U.S.
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Take Some Basic Steps with pH Measurements
Chemical Processing, July 2008
By Bhupen R. Patel, and Fred Kohlmann, Endress+Hauser, Inc.
Many processing operations depend upon pH measurement. Yet, too often plants find it challenging to get accurate readings. So, we’ll discuss the variety of factors — ranging from the nature of the pH sensor to process conditions — that come into play.
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Protecting Critical Machinery
Maintenance Technology, July 2008
By Deane Horn, Emerson Process Management
For the most critical rotating equipment in the plant environment, three scenarios must be accounted for: the unpredictable, the predictable and the controllable. The complete solution covers all three scenarios by providing protection monitoring, prediction monitoring and performance monitoring all integrated with the process control system.
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Fix me
Plant Services, July 2008
By Bob Sperber
While developers of computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) or enterprise asset management (EAM) packages are steadily adding capabilities for handling condition-monitoring tasks and opening their technology platforms for greater connectivity, CMMS and condition-monitoring systems still aren’t capable of being plugged directly into each other.
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Coriolis Meters Tackle Oil and Gas Issues
Automation World, July 2008
By C. Kenna Amos
Two application areas in which Coriolis flowmeters now arouse increasing attention are upstream oil-and-gas (O&G) processing and multi-phase flow.
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Sense a Presence
Control Design, July 2008
By Philip Burgert
Presence sensors assist in many processes and offer a multitude of options how they should be applied and what benefits they will provide.
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Passive Infrared-Motion Sensors
Machine Design, July 2008
Passive infrared (PIR) sensors detect infrared energy radiating from objects within their field of vision. The most common object a PIR sensor detects is the human body, so these sensors find use in automatic light switches, alarm systems, and door openers.
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Smart-but-Simple Wireless Sensor Networking
IEN, July 2008
The term smart-but-simple refers to a new generation of wireless sensor networking (WSN) products. Today, WSNs are gaining acceptance in a wide variety of industrial applications ranging from tank level to motor vibration to relief valve monitoring.
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PAT System Reliability
Control, July 2008
By Gary D. Nichols
Part 2 of this series covers how to maintain a mixture of chromatographic, photometric, environmental and special process analyzer systems housed in an assortment of analyzer shelters and three-sided enclosures, and field-mounted.
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Powering instrumentation: Batteries
Control Engineering, July 2008
By Peter Welander
The variety of applications that demand self-contained power supplies is growing with the wider deployment of remote and wireless devices. While many alternative sources of energy are emerging, batteries still represent a reliable and inexpensive method.
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Boiler water for powerful plant
InTech, July 2008
By Dan Livermore, James Yarbrough, and John Connelly
The reliability of the pH measurement in low ionic composition streams, such as pure water, depends largely upon the technician understanding the measurement and the factors that affect the process of obtaining an accurate measurement.
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Honeywell 2008 Users Group - Heroes Gather in Phoenix
By Bill Lydon, Contributing Editor
The 33rd annual Honeywell Users Group Conference was held June 15 - 19, 2008 at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel in Phoenix, AZ with over 700 customers in attendance. According to Honeywell Vice President/General Manager, "The conferences super hero theme, Power to Perform, highlights the heroic efforts of process industry professionals to perform well despite rising costs and resource constraints."
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Choosing The Right Temperature Sensor For Your Application
Process Industry Informer, June 2008
By JR Madden, Moore Industries
A very efficient way to measure temperature is with either a thermocouple (T/C) or a resistance temperature detector (RTD). This article explains how to select the best one for your application.
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Will This Machine Work?
Control Design, June 2008
By Dan Hebert
There are many different ways to test and verify that your machine and its automation system will perform as intended prior to final fabrication, installation and commissioning. Includes examples of PC, PLC and PAC-based controls.
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ABCs of Refrigeration Pressure Sensing
Machine Design, June 2008
By Chris Dixon, Kavlico
Supermarket refrigeration systems, rooftop chillers, walk-in fast-food-restaurant freezers, and refrigerated rail cars vary greatly in size and appearance. Yet they all share the same basic principles of refrigeration. In each system, pressure sensors are vital in controlling the refrigeration cycle and keeping the system efficient.
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Measure and Gather New Process Data
Control, June 2008
Today, wireless is giving users low-cost access to additional measurements and process variables that were previously economically infeasible. Estimates range up to 90% savings in installation cost per measurement using wireless.
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Is PAT a Silver Bullet?
Control, June 2008
By Jim Montague
Process Analytical Technologies (PAT) are beginning to inject quality-by-design (QBD), model-predictive control, risk management and other well-known process control methods into long-resistant pharmaceutical applications
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IEC 61508 Product Approvals – Veering Off Course
Control, June 2008
By Angela Summers, SIS-TECH
Upon close examination it appears that the product approval process of IEC 61508 (1) has veered seriously off course, possibly rendering many safety instrumented system (SIS) applications less reliable than expected or required.
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Don't judge a supplier by its name
By Frank Hurtte, Contributing Author.
For those of us who live and breathe the rarified vapors of technology based automation, it's pretty hard to fathom how life existed without electronic automation. Yet, it has been a short 30 years since the venerable PLC became anything more than a novelty outside of the Big 3 in Detroit. Sometime in the late 1970s, microprocessors changed our lives forever. Since those early days, the power of these tiny chips forever changed the way we think about manufacturing.
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Magnetostrictive position sensors: a revolution in linear position measurement
South Africa Instrumentation & Control, May 2008
By ATI Systems
Recent developments in magnetostrictive technologies can attain accurate absolute linear position feedback in virtually every application. Further, the position information is available at fast repetition rates, even in high vibration and high pressure applications.
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HART monitors extract data from smart instruments
Plant Engineering, May 2008
By Greg Feliks, Moore Industries
A simple and cost effective solution for gathering HART information is to use a HART interface device. Fortunately, HART interface devices, available from several manufacturers, make acquiring HART data a fairly simple proposition. This HART data is then made available to the control system via analog signals, discrete outputs or serial communications.
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Infrared Insights
Machinery and Equipment MRO, April 2008
By Colin Plastow
How to create a successful infrared thermography maintenance program.
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Regional Manufacturing Expos Prove Most Valuable
By Thomas R. Cutler
Deciding which conferences, webinars, and expos are worthwhile for manufacturing engineers and buyers to attend often feels like a dangerous yellow brick road, never knowing quite what to expect.
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Hydrogen-Specific Sensing for Industrial Process Control and Safety
Sensors, May 2008
By Prabhu Soundarrajan, H2Scan
Monitoring hydrogen in the process industries is important for both process optimization and for safety. Inline, solid-state palladium-nickel based sensors are highly selective to hydrogen, do not require oxygen to operate, and can detect hydrogen in concentrations from a few ppm to 100%.
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Fiber Optics For Environmental Sensing
Sensors, May 2008
By John Selker, Oregon State University
Distributed temperature sensing (DTS)—capable of measuring temperature along a length of fiber-optic cable—is finding utility in environmental monitoring, helping researchers to tease out the hydrology of streams, air flow in valleys, and health of glaciers.
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Know Your Flowmeter
Chem.Info, May 2008
Interview with Roger Saba of Turck on the major issues involving flowmeter technology today.
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What’s needed in process automation?
Chemical Processing, May 2008
By Mark Rosenzweig
A recent survey of end users by Jacobs Engineering Group provides an extensive wish list for field instrumentation, including disposable instrumentation for disposable process components; Class 1 Division 1-rated I/O modules; power-over-Ethernet instruments; and built-in control module logic, including alarming. Wish lists also cover controllers, HMI, control systems, batch, and more.
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BioProcess Control: What the Next 15 Years Will Bring
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, May 2008
By Michael Boudreau, Emerson, and Trish Benton, Broadley-James Corp.
Sensors are being developed that will advance process control in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. This article takes a look at the anticipated changes in bioprocess control in the upcoming years.
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NIR-Based Chemical Imaging as an Anticounterfeiting Tool
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, May 2008
By Jean-Claude Wolff, GlaxoSmithKline, et al
Near infrared (NIR) chemical imaging-as distinct from NIR spectroscopy-is a powerful analytical technique that is being used increasingly in the fight against counterfeit drugs. Capable of simultaneously analyzing a number of tablets or capsules, NIR imaging can be automated to provide rapid “genuine/ fake” detection.
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Monitoring Bioprocesses
Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, May 2008
By Ravindra Gudi, Honeywell Technology Solutions
The fermentation process is already fraught with risk. Monitoring offers an early warning system that can ensure batch-to-batch consistency and minimize waste. An early detection of “events” such as faults or sub-optimal behavior, can lead to corrective action, when possible, to alleviate the fault or to shut down the batch to prevent depletion of expensive feed material.
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Wireless Sensor Networks for Building Automation
Industrial Embedded Systems, May 2008
By Rainer Wischinski, Spinwave Systems
The new wave of wireless sensor networks will change the building automation industry by reducing costs and increasing flexibility, making the use of sensors to establish and maintain highly energy-efficient building operation affordable in an increasing number of existing and new applications. (Registration required to read text).
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ABB is powered up and running at high efficiency!
By Bill Lydon
The products and services shown at ABB Automation World in Houston, Texas along with the enthusiasm of the ABB employees and users would seem to explain why the company’s 1st quarter 2008 earnings beat investment analysts’ consensus by over 40%. The three-day trade show and conference ran from April 29 through May 1 in Houston, Texas. There was a great deal of energy and enthusiasm at the event which showcased ABB products, ABB services, partner products, and over 300 workshops/training sessions.
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It's the law, now what?
Intech, May 2008
By Dr. Nenad Sarunac
By January 1, 2009, continuous monitoring of mercury emissions will be necessary for all stationary sources where annual Hg emissions exceed 29 pounds of Hg. Collecting a representative flue-gas sample for Hg analysis from coal-combustion flue gas produces many challenges.
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Safety Sensors Rise to New Heights
Control Engineering, May 2008
By Mark T. Hoske
An integrated safety system, like any control system, contains sensors, logic, and actuation, with I/O connections, networks, and software to tie it altogether. As connected sensors advance in functionality and fall in cost, redundancy and fail-safe designs reduce risk.
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The Advantages of Small Form Factor HMI
By Hector Lin, Advantech
A modern small form factor HMI can be purchased for about the same cost as a dozen push buttons and indicator lights, providing better control, easier operator interaction, easier maintenance and support, and much greater operational utility for the same cost.
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Considerations for Specifying, Installing and Interfacing Rotary Incremental Optical Encoders
By Scott Hewitt, SICK STEGMANN
The vast majority of encoder users have a solid understanding of the type of encoder they need to accomplish their objective. What they don’t always know, at least without painful experience, are the major factors that need to be considered when specifying, installing, and interfacing with the encoders they select for their machine.
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Wireless: Bluetooth vs. Bluetooth
Control Engineering Europe, May 2008
Most industrial applications require more than a standard Bluetooth wireless solution. Looking at traditional Bluetooth technology versus industrial Bluetooth technology can illustrate necessities for tough industrial applications.
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Finding the Right Pressure Switch
Sensors, April 2008
By:Michael F. Horn, Whitman Controls
Pressure and vacuum switches have been around for at least 100 years and are considered well-established, end-sensor technology. It is, therefore, surprising how many potential users don't know the fundamental considerations of specifying one of these devices.
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Ultrasonic level measurement: still the best option
Process Industry Informer, April 2008
By Keith Flint, Pulsar Process Measurement
Although there are undoubtedly other noncontacting measurement techniques available, reliable ultrasonic level measurement remains the most cost-effective and versatile method. Very few applications now lie outside the scope of this established and very successful technology.
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How often should instruments be calibrated?
Process Industry Informer, April 2008
Plants can improve their efficiencies and reduce costs by using calibration history trend analysis. With this function, the plant can analyze whether it should increase or decrease the calibration frequency for all its instruments.
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Sensor-Driven Error Proofing
Control Engineering, April 2008
By Henry Menke, Balluff
Sensor-driven error proofing, often in concert with RFID, provides a simple and effective means of ensuring that a part is present and in the correct orientation or position. For sensors to work correctly, Parts need to be well fixtured; There needs to be a manageable number of inspection points per part; and the location of the detail on the part in question needs to be relatively constant.
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Finding the Right Pressure Switch
Sensors, April 2008
By:Michael F. Horn, Whitman Controls
Selecting a pressure switch that is well suited for a particular application is a multi-faceted process. The trick is to know what questions to ask to optimize your application.
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Radar Set on the Gulf Coast
Processing, March 2008
Radar technology helps a petrochemical company reliably measure level of plastic pellets and powders.
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Measuring Displacement Using Accelerometers
Maintenance Technology, March 2008
By Richard Klubnik
While it’s the easiest vibration parameter to understand, it’s also been the most rarely measured one. That’s all about to change, with loop-powered displacement sensors now offering a simple, continuous way to get the job done.
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Airborne Leak Detection
Maintenance World, March 2008
When valves or steam traps leak or fail, it can be extremely costly in terms of product quality, safety and energy loss. Valve operation effects the way fluids will flow through a system. Ultrasonic sensors can find the leaks.
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Automating Energy Consumption
Automation World, March 2008
By Rob Spiegel
With rising energy costs and the growing interest in reducing carbon emissions, plants are becoming more interested in making their facilities more energy efficient. One of the critical requirements to reduce energy consumption is the ability to track and monitor energy consumption.
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Wireless Networking moves from Instruments to Infrastructure
Control Engineering Europe
February 2008
Three major wireless providers, Honeywell, Emerson, and Invensys are pursuing widely different approaches—with specific benefits and weaknesses—but have clearly articulated long-term strategies and resources to achieve their goals.
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Getting quality down PAT
Intech, March 2008
By Baha Korkmaz, Arnold Martin, and Cenk Undey
Using the concepts behind process analytical technology (PAT) is one effective tool to achieve better quality, especially when incorporating batch standards, such as ISA88.
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Piezoelectric Force Sensors
Machine Design, February 2008
Unlike strain gages that can measure static forces, piezoelectric force sensors are mostly used for dynamic-force measurements such as oscillation, impact, or highspeed compression or tension.
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Three’s a Crowd for Instrumentation Amplifiers
Sensors, February 2008
By Prashanth Holenarsipur, Maxim Integrated Products
This article explains the architectural limitations of conventional three op amp IAs, and introduces an indirect current-feedback circuit topology that provides specific advantages for single-supply operation.
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Quality Control and the Art of Error Proofing
Sensors, February 2008
By:Brian Schriver
Because sensors are a fundamental part of a quality-control process, you need to know their strengths and weaknesses so that you can match the right sensing technology with your application.
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Isolate the noise, not the signal
Plant Engineering, February 2008
By Greg Feliks, Moore Industries
Some engineers think that the need for isolators and signal converters is eroding with the advent of smart instruments, isolated electronics and digital fieldbuses. However, isolators and signal converters can also be used to solve difficult or complex problems.
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Safety Instrumented System design is all about the process
Plant Engineering, February 2008
By Charles M. Fialkowski, Siemens Energy & Automation
Designing a single component may be viewed as a relatively simple matter – one that a single person can handle. Designing a large SIS, however, is typically beyond the ability of any single individual. Large systems require a multi-discipline team.
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Sensing With Sound
Assembly, February 2008
By Alex Gasser
Ultrasonic sensors are valuable components in automated production environments. Similar to photoelectric sensors, which rely upon light, ultrasonic sensors use sound waves to detect the presence or absence of objects.
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Machine Vision Takes a Global Look
Control Design, February 2008
By Loren Shaum
Machine vision systems are getting more compact, faster, with better resolutions, and can be adapted quicker to production changes without much knowledge.
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Absolute Noise Corrupts Absolutely
Control Design, February 2008
By Mike Bacidore
Since most wiring is fixed in place, varying currents are the usual cause of magnetic coupling. A good design rejects as much noise as possible.
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Suppress Those Surges
Design News, February 2008
By Jon Titus
In addition to protecting exterior sensor and communication lines from transient pulses caused by nearby lightning strikes, you should protect inside equipment from transients or surges that can travel through power lines.
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Designing for Robotics
Design News, February 2008
By Kamran Shah, National Instruments
Robot engineers have to interface with the right sensors and actuators. These could include analog input and output, digital lines, GPS sensors, LIDARs, cameras, motors and CAN interfaces for vehicles. This makes software a key component of any robotic system.
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Keeping on the Level
Control, February 2008
By David W. Spitzer
Measuring the level of solids such as plastic pellets, coal, coke or flour is not necessarily easy, and the difficulty starts before the measurement system is even designed. Simply put, why are you making this level measurement? Do you want to measure the level in the bin or hopper or the amount of material?
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Pressure Sensor Technologies
Control Engineering, February 2008
By Peter Welander
For most garden-variety applications, any approach will likely do an adequate job. However if you want truly optimal performance, or when more extreme conditions enter into the discussion, some do not perform as well as others.
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Custody transfer in tank gauging dilemma
SA Instrumentation & Control, February 2008
By Johan van Jaarveldt, Endress+Hauser
Custody transfer in South Africa requires apparatus to be in accordance with a South African standard. However, there is no standard that covers custody transfer by tank gauging, needed because flowmeters are not large enough for metering the discharge from ocean-going supertankers.
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Nuclear Myth Busters
Chem.Info, January 2008
By H. M. Schwartz and Dr. Dirk Moermann
High temperatures, pressures, and other difficult industrial processes usually pose no problem for a nuclear measurement gauge. Despite thousands of satisfied users of this technology worldwide, nuclear measurement gauges are sometimes a pariah to companies and their employees.
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Tank Gauging Systems
Control Engineering Asia, January 2008
By Richard Siereveld, Honeywell Enraf
Automatic tank gauges are mandatory for the accurate determination of the liquid level inside bulk storage tanks. On shore, servo or radar technology is mainly used to determine the approved product level measurement in storage tanks for accurate custody transfer and legal metrology.
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Performance Improvement for Cooling Water Systems
Availability of cooling water system is critical to operation of a plant. This white paper provides an update on real-time process control technology based on corrosion measurement that provides a comprehensive understanding of unit operating condition and fouling/scaling activity in cooling water and process water systems.
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