Automation Portals

Process Instruments (Flow, Level, Temperature & Pressure) Portal

Articles

		Market Levels Rising in the Process Level Measurement & Inventory Tank Gauging Segments - 05/11/12 Automation.com, May 2012 By J Timothy Shea, Senior Analyst Due to expected increasing demand for level measurement and inventory tank gauging technologies as tools to help companies to continue to improve operational efficiencies, increase productivity, gain greater control over inventories and enhanced accuracy, VDC is forecasting a 5.2% CAGR through 2016.

		The Proper Use of Guided-Wave Radar in Steam Loops - 05/21/12 Sensors, May 2012 By Keith Riley and Ravi Jethra, Endress+Hauser This article discusses the use of guided-wave radar (GWR), also known as time-domain reflectometry (TDR), in your steam loop, including the way that this technology functions and how it differs from more traditional forms of level indication.

		Application-specific wireless mesh: acting smart to order - 05/20/12 Industrial Ethernet Book, May 2012 By Albert Heuberger, Fraunhofer A sensor network is made up of spatially distributed sensor nodes, which interact with one another independently and, depending on the application, with the existing infrastructure by radio. This serves the purpose of acquiring, processing, forwarding and providing digitalised information from the physical environment.

		Device-Level Wireless Solutions Gain Traction in Process Manufacturing - 05/13/12 Automation World, May 2012 By Chantal Polsonetti, ARC Increased availability of products and solutions that support industrial wireless standards is spurring widespread interest in the process industries due to the tangible business benefits that can be achieved using wireless instrumentation.

		Selling Diagnostics to Management, Part 2 - 05/12/12 Control, May 2012 By John Rezabek Managing device data is a full-time job. If no one does it, the work practices revert to firefighting, and device alerts become spam.


		Bidirectional Flow Measurement - 05/12/12 Control, May 2012 By Ruchika Kalyani, Fluor Daniel India The measurement of unidirectional flow rate is possible with all types of flow technologies, but bidirectional flow measurement capability is required to measure the flow rates within the same flow loop in opposite directions.

		Smart pH loops for plug-n-play installation reduce calibration time - 05/12/12 Process & Control Engineering, May 2012 By Linda Meyers, Emerson Extensive diagnostic data with today's advanced pH sensors enables plants to lower maintenance requirements and costs and decrease the risk of downtime, while also reducing calibration and installation time.

		Where should you use Cleaning In Place? - 05/12/12 Process & Control Engineering, May 2012 By Chris Hoey, Burkert Expanded health and safety and food security compliance is set to make CIP more stringent.

		Promoting flow in storage bins - 04/26/12 Process Engineer, April 2012 By Gerry Wetton Process operators encounter problems such as 'bridging' and 'rat-holing'. And, therefore, insufficient flow rates. Here are the problems and solutions to managing flow in storage bins.

		Getting the measure in harsh operating conditions - 04/26/12 European Chemical Engineer, April 2012 By Eugene MacArthy Ease of maintenance, cost and the ability to survive harsh operating conditions are the key benefits of the latest level measurement technologies.

		Proper Employment Of Guided Wave Radar In Steam Loops - 04/25/12 Industrial Automation Asia, April 2012 By Keith Riley and Ravi Jethra, Endress+Hauser The application of guided wave radar to measure level in steam loops is addressed, including discussions of how this technology functions and differs from more traditional forms of level indication.

		Rupture Pin or rupture disk? - 04/25/12 Valve World, April 2012 By Julian Taylor, Rupture Pin Technology Which is the clear choice for pressure relief? This article discusses the juxtaposition between the two and gives an insight as to which is the clear choice for pressure relief.

		Selling Diagnostics to Management - 04/21/12 Control, April 2012 By John Rezabek Experience has demonstrated that, without a "champion," instrument asset management systems can gather dust, and the rank and file revert to their traditional, reactive, fire-fighting ways.

		Addressing Control Applications Using Wireless Devices - 04/21/12 Control, April 2012 By Terry Blevins, et al, Emerson This article examines the difference in a wired vs. a wireless installation and what changes in the PID are needed to address control applications using wireless devices.

		Setting the standard for instrument performance - 04/07/12 Instrumentation, March 2012 By Dean Miles, EMEA Tektronix A successful instrument calibration program is vital to every business in the test and measurement industry. There are five critical factors to consider for a successful calibration program.

		Ensuring safety in process design and operation - 04/03/12 InTech, April 2012 By Steve Blair, Spectris Manufacturers of instrumentation and control are increasingly integrating the safety requirements of their customers into their products and long-term support. Manufacturers and suppliers are more aware of what the effects of failure will be on their systems so they are now required to participate more closely in HAZOP studies.

		Measuring level interfaces - 04/03/12 InTech, April 2012 By Gene Henry, Endress+Hauser A common measurement in the oil & gas, chemical, and petrochemical industries is detecting the interface level between two liquids in the same tank or vessel, such as oil and water. Modern level instrumentation can solve many level interface problems.

		Take Control Of Your System With Differential Pressure Control - 03/14/12 Engineered Systems, February 2012 By Bjarne Andreasen Often, heating and cooling controllers are not being allowed to do their job. The controllers can only do their job as specified if the three key conditions for hydronic control are fulfilled.

		Flowmeter Spin - 03/12/12 Flow Control, February 2012 By Jesse Yoder, Flow Research History & Evolution of Turbine Flow Measurement

		Demystifying the Pressure Gauge Spec Sheet - 03/12/12 Flow Control, February 2012 By Tom Halaczkiewicz and Patrick Klima This article outlines how to cut through the confusion and read a specification sheet to determine the real-world accuracy of a pressure measurement device.

		Field device networking: Extending interoperability beyond devices - 03/10/12 Control Engineering, March 2012 By Larry O’Brien, Fieldbus Foundation Testing field devices may not be enough. Most interoperability problems happen when a device tries to communicate with a host system, but that can be addressed.

		Smarter marshalling - 02/17/12 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, February 2012 By Andrew Ashton The more terminations in a loop, the more the effort and cost of installation, the more potential there is for installation errors (open circuit/crossed wires) and the more the effort required for cold commissioning checks. Marshalling can help.

		Is Lick-'n-Stick Wireless the Future? - 02/17/12 Control, February 2012 By John Rezabek Enter the "lick-n-stick" sensor. These are sensors that are cheap and easy to deploy, requiring minimal effort and labor. Wireless begins to be more compelling for measurements for which we'd rarely buy a permanent instrument.

		The Lowdown on Radar Level Measurement - 02/17/12 Control, February 2012 By Walt Boyes Radar level measurement is basically divided into two groups, free-air and guided-wave. Which Do You Use When?

		Busting Myths About Foundation Fieldbus - 02/17/12 Control, February 2012 By Larry O'Brien, Fieldbus Foundation Many myths and misconceptions continue to persist surrounding Foundation fieldbus technology. The author busts some of these more persistent myths .

		Farewell to Standardization: Wireless and FDI - 02/17/12 Control, February 2012 By Dieter Schaudel, University of Freiburg With FDI and Ethernet looming, will there be one standard for wireless and one standard for field device integration?

		Advanced diagnostics embedded in a pressure transmitter can detect integrity issues - 02/17/12 Process & Control Engineering, February 2012 By Erik Mathiason, et al, Emerson Process A pressure transmitter with advanced diagnostics technology can detect issues with the integrity of this connection and proactively alert the operator of the possibility of miscommunication.

		Considering Variable-Area Flowmeters - 02/04/12 Flow Control, January 2012 When users are looking for a simple, low-cost solution, VA meters are a particularly good fit. While they can measure flowrate, they are well suited for applications where a flow/no-flow determination is desired.

		Water Run Amok - 02/04/12 Flow Control, January 2012 By Brad Clarke Every water utility has some degree of leakage or water loss within its systems, which can be greatly reduced by pressure management.

		Sizing orifice plates - 02/04/12 InTech, February 2012 By Allan G. Kern When sizing orifice plates, some new rules of thumb can be applied to significantly improve orifice plate turndown and accuracy, while gaining extended measurement range.

		Emerging Technology Benchmarking - 02/03/12 Automation.com, February 2012 By Bill Lydon, Editor These results of the Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable (PAR) Emerging Technology Benchmarking Survey addressed major automation topics including DCS vs. PLC, Fieldbus Technology, Smart Devices, VFDs, PAT, APC, Wireless, Operator Interfaces, Computing Technology, Validation and Skills gaps.

		Using HART with asset management systems - 01/29/12 Control Engineering, January 2012 By John Yingst, Honeywell Process Solutions Is HART information sufficient for a comprehensive asset management program? Is native HART-enabled I/O a necessity, or are there practical ways to use it in a legacy I/O environment? Should users expect to make substantial hardware changes?

		Measuring level in highly dynamic petroleum processes - 01/29/12 Control Engineering, January 2012 By J. Yerkovich, Questar Pipeline and W. Buhler, Emerson Getting an accurate level reading where there is fluid boiling and off-gassing makes for quite a challenge. Here are two examples plus advice on bridle configurations.

		Optimising the cost of steam generation - 01/29/12 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, January 2012 By Johan van der Westhuizen, Yokogawa Efficient and accurate metering is vital to ensure that excessive consumption can be detected, along with an accurate picture of where the steam is being used to enable cross-departmental energy charging to be applied.

		Versatility key in level measurement technology - 01/22/12 European Chemical Engineer, January 2012 By Sean Ottewell The latest level measurement technologies can cope with dust, noise, strong air currents and corrosive atmospheres - while being robust, accurate and low-maintenance.

		A Proper Assessment - 01/22/12 Process Heating, January 2012 By Blair McGrath and Sudhir Thorat, Tyco Thermal Controls The plate test helps users accurately assess the maximum sheath temperature of mineral-insulated heat tracing cables.

		Remote and condition monitoring in chemical plants - 01/19/12 Automation.com, January 2012 By Gianni Minetti, Paradox Engineering Chemical plants struggle with growing complexity and are often instrumented for process control. Wireless sensors might not always be a viable option, while wireless transmission seems to be the best choice. So how to conjugate these two elements?

		Security at the device level - 01/15/12 Plant Engineering, January 2012 By Matt Luallen Individual field devices may be the target of cyber attacks. Getting that deep is a challenge, but attackers have done it.

		Proper relief-valve sizing requires equation mastery - 12/29/11 Hydrocarbon Processing, December 2011 By J. Kim, et al, Bayer A mistake in relief-valve sizing can result in catastrophic failures because relief valves are usually the last defense to the process equipment against instrument failures, process upsets and operator errors. This article focuses on sizing pressure-relief valves for critical flow of gases or vapors.

		System Solutions for Industrial Sensors/Field Transmitters - 12/29/11 Sensors, December 2011 By Deepa Kalyanaraman, Texas Instruments Some of the latest trends and system considerations involved when designing sensors and transmitters for industrial automation applications.

		Flange Connectors - Defined - 12/28/11 PD&D, December 2011 By Kim Anderson, FasTest For industries such as pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical, as well as instrumentation manufacturers of sanitary products, devices such as pressure gauges or transmitters equipped with sanitary diaphragms must be calibrated when first commissioned and regularly throughout their working lives.

		Simplify Signal Processing - 12/28/11 Control Design, December 2011 By Dan Hebert Adding analog inputs or signal processing functionality to a machine or robot control system often can increase costs and complexity substantially. Signal conditionners can help.

		Reducing business risk through joined up control and monitoring - 12/27/11 Automation, November 2011 By Bob Lane, Siemens Energy and biomass plant owners and operators should be examining the benefits of an integrated process control, gas emissions monitoring and reporting platform to help minimise risk and increase overall operational efficiencies.

		One way wireless - 12/27/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, December 2011 By Andrew Ashton Various commentators have likened the battle of the three industrial wireless standards to that between VHS and Betamax in the dim and distant past. So should you wait to adopt wireless or should you make an informed decision now and live with that?

		Sensor networks: wireless mesh or wireless backbone? - 12/18/11 Industrial Ethernet Book, November 2011 By Soroush Amidi, Honeywell Automation plant operators should consider their needs before choosing an industrial wireless system. Some applications are well suited to a field device meshing network, while others are better served by an infrastructure meshing network.

		Bluetooth Low Energy: the best media for sensors and actuators? - 12/18/11 Industrial Ethernet Book, November 2011 By Rolf Nilsson, connectBlue The advent of Bluetooth Low Energy - which leverages low energy Bluetooth v4.0, Classic Bluetooth and high speed Bluetooth 3.0 + HS - opens up the possibility of integrating Bluetooth sensors into industrial plant and equipment.

		MEMS In the Making - 12/18/11 Flow Control, November 2011 By Matt Migliore Probably the most common and widespread use of MEMS technology from an industrial fluid handling perspective is for pressure sensing in differential-pressure flowmeters.

		The Coriolis Effect - 12/18/11 Flow Control, November 2011 By Jesse Yoder It is difficult to see the relation between the Coriolis effect and the inertial principle that Coriolis flowmeters actually operate on. However, this doesn’t cast doubt on their effectiveness or undermine their theory of operation.

		Sample Conditioning Systems Need Love Too - 12/18/11 Control, December 2011 By Robert Sherman and Jim Montague Process users and integrators must carefully design and match SCSs with application requirements and specifications, complete application data sheets and deploy climate-controlled shelters.

		Polarographic oxygen measurement - 12/18/11 What’s New in Process Technology, December 2011 By Mettler-Toledo For the measurement of oxygen in continuous process analysis, several technologies are available. Because they differ widely in terms of application coverage, field performance and ease of use, the right technology has to be carefully chosen.

		Coriolis benefits for oil and gas industry - 12/18/11 Control Engineering Europe, December 2011 By Andre Verdone, KROHNE Several measurement standards are now moving towards the use of Coriolis mass flowmeters, which can measure mass flow directly, at the same time as they measure temperature and density.

		Improving temperature sensing for new reactors - 12/17/11 Nuclear Engineering, December 2011 By Jonathan Pearce, et al Substantial improvements in high temperature measurement have been made in the last few years at national measurement institutes, which can be of benefit to the nuclear industry.

		Centralized or distributed process safety - 12/07/11 InTech, December 2011 By Dr. Angela Summers This article examines various safety system architectures and shows process plant users how to pick the best solution to fit their specific needs.

		Making Sense of MEMS - 12/07/11 InTech, December 2011 By Jesse Bonfeld Advances in MEMS technologies and techniques mean manufacturers are now able to produce capable MEMS sensors and devices, but quite a few of these sensors and devices cannot be installed directly into an end application because they cannot survive the rigors of final assembly.

		Guided Radar: Contact-Based Level Measurement - 11/24/11 Industrial Automation Asia, November 2011 By Christoph Mueller While guided radar has already been an established technology for many years in larger tanks, its use in smaller tanks has only been possible to a limited extent, due to insufficient accuracy and the large inactive areas. Designs and evaluation units optimised for small tanks have now opened up this new field.

		Reliable & Precise Level Measurement - 11/24/11 Industrial Automation Asia, November 2011 By Mark Jones, ifm electronic Measuring liquids, slurries or bulk solids have been made easier and safer with a wide range of reliable and precise level control instruments.

		Temperature Measurement Strategies - 11/18/11 Process Heating, November 2011 By Ted Lund, Fluke Understanding infrared thermometers and using them properly in industrial applications goes a long way toward improving the process and product.

		Matching sensors to the application - 11/18/11 Instrumentation, October 2011 By selecting the right sensor, the positive contribution to quality improvement, energy savings and manufacturing speed and volume will have a significant impact on a business.

		Intelligent Control Room Management For Oil And Gas Pipeline Safety - 11/14/11 Pipeline & Gas Journal, November 2011 By Paul Thoman, et al This article discusses how intelligent control room management, based on a foundation of electronic standard operating procedures (eSOPs), can address the regulations, document the necessary actions for compliance validation, and drive operational excellence.

		3-D Metrology - Lightfield camera tackles high-speed flow measurements - 11/14/11 Vision Systems Design, November 2011 By Andy Wilson Using a plenoptic camera, virtual images of images at different focal distances can be produced. Applications include making 3-D measurements of turbulent fluid flow.

		IEEE 802.15.4: The Number Sensor Solution - 11/14/11 Sensors, November 2011 By Joseph Citrano III and Ramakrishna Budampati, Honeywell When it comes to industrial wireless, many developers prefer IEEE 802.15.4—especially when they’re looking for a reliable, low-cost, and low-power-consumption wireless technology option.

		Digital Diagnostics - 11/14/11 Automation World, November 2011 By Dave Gehman Half of the respondents to a recent Automation World survey indicate that they do not use the smarts—the advanced diagnostics—available in their Hart and Foundation Fieldbus devices. The reasons: cost, complexity and training.

		EDDL Enables Wireless Device Integration - 11/14/11 Automation World, November 2011 By Renee Robbins Bassett Using EDDL to prepare a control system for installation of a new device, users need only to copy the EDDL file is into the system.

		Emerson Executive Perspectives - 11/07/11 Automation.com, November 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Discussion of the industry issues and trends with Steve Sonnenberg, Emerson Process Management's Executive Vice President, and Peter Zornio, Chief Strategic Officer. Topics include Emerson's energy initiative, the economy, PLC/DCS debate, disposable automation, and more.

		Improve material balance by using proper flowmeter corrections - 10/21/11 Hydrocarbon Processing, October 2011 By Peramanu, S. and Wah, J. C. Canadian Natural Resources A background on the importance of accurate measurements, a description of measurement errors and the role of uncertainties in mass balance and reconciliation. Flowmeter uncertainty equations are derived for differential pressure flow, volumetric flow and mass flowmeters.

		Process gas chromatography: Avoid the iceberg of hidden expenses - 10/21/11 Hydrocarbon Processing, October 2011 By M. Gaura, Emerson Process Management Process gas chromatographs (GCs) are the most common multi-component, online chemical analyzer used in modern hydrocarbon processing industry (HPI) facilities—refineries, petrochemical plants and natural gas sites. Registration required to read article.

		Wireless Sensor Network Standards: On the Road to Convergence - 10/21/11 Automation World, October 2011 By Renee Robbins Bassett Two similar wireless standards—WirelessHart and ISA 100.11a—are competing for dominance as the enabler of smart instrumentation and all its promised benefits. Some users, however, are seeking convergence rather than competition.

		Utilising advanced pressure diagnostics to enhance process insight - 10/17/11 What’s New in Process Technology, October 2011 By Erik Mathiason and John Miller, Emerson Process Management Advanced diagnostics embedded in a pressure transmitter can provide a means for early detection of abnormal conditions in a process environment. Using this technology enables the user to proactively respond to changes in the process, troubleshoot and prevent future shutdowns.

		Safety compliant temperature measuring points - 10/17/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, October 2011 By WIKA Instruments SIL-classified temperature sensors do not exist. And a temperature transmitter without a sensor has no useful function. As a consequence, the evaluation of a temperature measuring point can only be made by a combination of sensor and transmitter.

		Testing the cloud - 10/17/11 Instrumentation, October 2011 By Dan Joe Barry, Napatech Cloud computing has become a reality, with more and more enterprises realising the benefits of remote hosting of IT services. This however, requires extensive test and management capabilities.

		Calibration and maintenance as a singular concept - 10/15/11 Control Engineering Europe, September 2011 By Mike Shelton, GE Energy Calibration and maintenance is a singular concept although the two activities are often viewed separately. Calibration can be carried in isolation, as can maintenance, but for maximum effect, they should be carried together.

		Thermocouples: What one needs to know - 10/06/11 InTech, October 2011 By Thomas W. Kerlin and Mitchell P. Johnson Thermocouples are widely used and are here to stay. Problems are infrequent, but potentially serious. Users need to know how to use thermocouples properly and to troubleshoot effectively when problems arise.

		Energy harvesting - 10/06/11 InTech, October 2011 By Roy Freeland, Perpetuum Energy harvesting has many different forms that have been fully demonstrated to be ideal solutions for indefinite long term powering of wireless sensors without maintenance.

		Part II: Pros & Cons of Gas Flowmeters - 09/29/11 Flow Control, September 2011 By Jesse Yoder Covers advantages and disadvantages of the main traditional technology flowmeters used to measure gas flow — differential-pressure (DP), positive-displacement (PD), and turbine flowmeters.

		Effective Fluid Heating - 09/24/11 Process Heating, September 2011 By Thomas W. Perry, QMax Industries A fluid tracing system for process piping offers advantages over traditional fluid heating methods. Its design addresses factors considered when selecting the heating system for piping.

		Optimising wastewater treatment - 09/11/11 What’s New in Process Technology, September 2011 By Jimmy Britz, Endress+Hauser Australia Optimising the wastewater treatment process using analytical sensors with automated cleaning is a cost-effective way to reduce maintenance, improve efficiency and ensure measurement accuracy.

		Process Variable Measurement - 08/18/11 Control Design, August 2011 By Dan Hebert Newer controllers and smart I/O now make analog variables such as pressure, temperature, flow and level easier to measure.

		All Quiet on the Wireless Front - 08/18/11 Control, August 2011 By Walt Boyes Survey says: When asked which wireless networks they use now, over 50% said they used 802.11x networks, 34% said they used one or more proprietary wireless networks, and WirelessHART continues to grow at 23%. ISA100 is only 4.4%.

		FDT--Your APP for Smart Device Information Integration - 08/18/11 Control, August 2011 By Garry Cusick, MACTek DTM (device type manager) is an application developed by the device manufacturer to ensure you get the best value from their products.

		EtherNet/IP Flows Into New Territory - 08/14/11 Automation.com, August 2011 By Brian Oulton, Rockwell Automation Proliferation of process instruments on EtherNet/IP may signal the start of a trend.

		Custody Battles - 08/13/11 Flow Control, July 2011 By Jesse Yoder & Belinda Burum The three types of flowmeters most commonly incorporated into these metering skids or stations and meter runs are differential-pressure, turbine, and ultrasonic flowmeters.

		Optimizing the Calibration of Sensor Interfaces with Built-in Correction Algorithms - 07/23/11 Sensors, July 2011 By David Grice, ZMD America Sensor signal conditioners with built-in correction algorithms can greatly aid sensor system designers as long as they understand which algorithm to use and when.

		Four-Tube Coriolis Meter Measures Pipeline Flow Accurately - 07/23/11 Pipeline & Gas Journal, July 2011 By Michael Nuber, Endress+Hauser By using four flow tubes, a Coriolis flowmeter can offset pipeline noise, vibration and achieve higher accuracy

		The Fundamentals Of Pipeline Gas Chromatographs - 07/23/11 Pipeline & Gas Journal, July 2011 By Shane Hale, Emerson Process Management This article discusses the major components of the GC and provides an understanding of the theory and practice of gas chromatography in the pipeline industry.

		How Today’s Gas Ultrasonic Meter Handles Compressor Pulsations - 07/23/11 Pipeline & Gas Journal, July 2011 To date, limited testing has been done to determine the effects pulsation in the gas stream may have on the ultrasonic meter’s accuracy and performance. To more clearly understand the pulsation impact, Sick Maihak, Inc. sponsored tests conducted at the TransCanada Pipe Line Didsbury Gas Dynamic Test Facility (GDTF).

		New thermowell standard will encourage innovation - 07/22/11 HazardEx, July 2011 When it comes to designing a thermowell for an oil or gas pipeline, the thermowell must be evaluated to ensure that it passes the ASME PTC 19.3 standard. The recent major overhaul of the standard may encourage buyers to now seek out alternative thermowell designs.

		Detecting Hydrogen Gas and Flames - 07/22/11 HazardEx, July 2011 By Cliff Anderson, Detector Electronics Hydrogen gas is very flammable and only a small amount of energy will ignite it. In fact, if leaking from a pipe at a high enough pressure, hydrogen gas can self ignite without an external energy source.

		Magnetic flowmeters can contribute more - 07/22/11 Control Engineering Europe, July 2010 By Klaus Brockman, Emerson Process Management How the latest generation magnetic flowmeters, with built in diagnostics and integrated meter verification, can help to better manage the production process.

		Switching to Wireless - 06/27/11 Control Engineering Asia, May 2011 By Jonas Berge Now you can detect level without incurring the cost and complexity of laying cables. Registration required to read article.

		Setting the Standard - 06/27/11 Control Engineering Asia, May 2011 By Peter Clarke How process plants can benefit through proper and careful adoption of the IEC 61511 safety standard. Registration required to read article.

		The I.S. Alternative - 06/27/11 Control, June 2011 By Ian Verhappen Intrinsic Safety (IS) makes it possible to perform live maintenance at any point in the control loop because, by its nature, it always keeps the amount of available energy on the wire pair below the ignition point for the gases/environment in which it's installed. So why don’t we use it?

		Batch operations benefit from process analytical technology - 06/12/11 Control Engineering, June 2011 By Robert Wojewodka, et al The online implementation of analytic technology comprises fault detection and end of batch quality prediction. The approach offers significant economic benefits; however, implementations face many challenges and so far few have documented online applications.

		Magmeter Basics - 06/12/11 Flow Control, May 2011 By Ron DiGiacomo Electromagnetic flowmeters (magmeters) perform well in many processing applications, making up about 20 percent of installations worldwide. Here’s a primer on selecting & applying electromagnetic flowmeters.

		Mass Analytics Improve Process Control Performance - 05/27/11 Automation.com, May 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor The PlantTriage "true believers" gathered at the ExperTune User Conference from around the world to improve their skills and share their project successes. The conference focused on ways to improve process control performance with training, access to industry experts, and case studies.

		Smart Transmitters: Standardisation In Operation - 05/14/11 Industrial Automation Asia, April 2011 By Jonas Berge, Emerson Process Management Developments in device integration technologies combined with designs that are based on usability research, have resulted in a consistent look and feel among transmitters using different protocols. This makes it easy for technicians to commission, setup, calibrate, and troubleshoot this mix of transmitters.

		Regular Calibration Pays Off - 05/14/11 Industrial Automation Asia, April 2011 By Fluke Conducting regular calibration procedures check and measure production processes. The advantage of this is the control in the quality of products, which leads to productivity and earnings.

		Increased sensing accuracy with signal conditioning - 05/14/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, May 2011 By Brett Burger, National Instruments Signal conditioning provides a distinct advantage over data acquisition devices alone because it enhances both the performance and measurement accuracy of data acquisition systems.

		Environmental Monitoring: Making MCERTain with Accreditation - 05/14/11 Process Industry Informer, March 2011 By Jon Murthy, UKAS Many process operators choose to use the services of a third party organisation to carry out this monitoring, but may not be aware that in certain circumstances the use of an organisation with the relevant accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 for the Monitoring Certification Scheme (MCERTS) is mandatory.

		Finding Your Balance - 05/14/11 Process Heating, April 2011 By Burns Engineering This article presents an analysis of cable resistance imbalance in three-wire RTDs, with emphasis on the errors that affect the accuracy of the temperature measurement. Guidance and techniques are given for minimizing the magnitude of these errors.

		From the Field - ABB Automation and Power World 2011 - 05/11/11 Automation.com, May 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Here are a few highlights from ABB Automation & Power World 2011. The event attracted a record number of participants, totaling more than 4,200, and featured over 400 educational workshops and hands-on training sessions, over 45 customer-presented case studies, and an exhibition of ABB and partner products.

		Vortex shedding tutorial - Part 3 - 04/24/11 What’s New in Process Technology, April 2011 By Wade Mattar and James Vignos, Foxboro In Parts 1 and 2 of this article on vortex shedding flowmeters we looked in detail at how they work and how they are constructed. In Part 3 we look at what needs to be considered in the application of vortex flowmeters.

		Part II: Diagnosing an Incorrect Measurement - 04/24/11 Flow Control, March 2011 By David W. Spitzer Last month, we discussed a problem with a vortex-shedding flowmeter. The flowmeter measured correctly after its configuration was changed to reflect the physical properties of the actual liquid and the 16-inch pipe in which it was installed. Problem solved? Nope.

		From Gauges to Transmitters - 04/24/11 Flow Control, March 2011 By Jesse Yoder Many different instruments are used for pressure measurement, including pressure gauges, pressure sensors, pressure transducers, and pressure transmitters. Here’s a primer.

		Low & Ultra-Low Pressure Control - 04/24/11 Flow Control, March 2011 By Jeff Jennings Most engineers are comfortable working with pressures above 1 PSIG (69 mbar), but are often confused about the best way to control much lower pressures, typically expressed in inches of water column.

		Making the Case for New Technology - 04/24/11 Flow Control, March 2011 By Steve Milford, Endress+Hauser This article considers the significant potential for MRO that exists among the extensive installed base of older mechanical flowmeters, where the existing flowmeter technology was once the best or only solution for a particular application, but now, for several possible reasons, it no longer is.

		Ensuring an accurate result in an analytical instrumentation system — Part 1 - 04/18/11 PlantServices.com, April 2011 By Doug Nordstrom and Tony Water Process measurements are instantaneous, but analyzer responses never are. From the tap to the analyzer, there is always a delay. Unfortunately, this time delay is often underestimated or not accounted for or understood. Time delay in sample systems is the most common cause of inappropriate results from process analyzers.

		Using smart instrumentation - 04/18/11 Plant Engineering, April 2011 By Craig McIntyre, Endress+Hauser All you need to know to deploy smart instruments throughout your processes, and get the highest performance available. The capabilities are there if you put them to work.

		Controls Devices (3 of 3) - 04/18/11 Automated Buildings, April 2011 By Steven R. Calabrese, Control Engineering Rules of thumb to follow for TC installation & design. This is part three of the three-part series on control devices. This final installment discusses Safeties & Limits and End Devices.

		Hannover Messe 2011 – More than 230,000 Visitors Automation.com, April 2011 By Bill Lydon, Editor Hannover Messe 2011 was larger than any other in the last 10 years, with more than 230,000 visitors. More than 6,500 businesses from 65 countries came to Hannover to display their solutions. The attendance numbers represent a growth of 10 to 15 percent over the comparable 2009 event.

		Measuring Motors - 04/17/11 Control Engineering Asia, March 2011 By Fluke A thermal imager and an insulation multimeter are two effective tools for spot checking of motor operation and diagnosis of problems.

		Temperature Techniques - 04/17/11 Control Engineering Asia, March 2011 By Chikezie Nwaoha There are different types of industrial temperature measurement instruments used to measure the temperature profile of a fluid, gas or solid. The key ones are detailed and described here.

		Online Analytics Improves Batch Operations - 04/09/11 Chemical Processing, April 2011 By Robert Wojewodka, Lubrizol, and Dawn Marruchella, Emerson Online analytics can provide manufacturers with additional insight and benefits through greater understanding of batch processes. This should lead to an increase in the consistency of quality products as well as greater throughput through better yields. Registration required to read article.

		The Infrared Choice - 04/09/11 Vision Systems Design, April 2011 Despite being relatively expensive, infrared (IR) cameras have found a number of niche applications where traditional visible spectrum CCD and CMOS cameras will not suffice. To choose an appropriate IR camera, system developers must understand more than the specifications listed on data sheets.

		Ultrasonic Transmitters vs. Guided-Wave Radar for Level Measurement - 04/09/11 Sensors, March 2011 By Dave Grumney, Flow Line Options This article provides information on two of the most commonly used level measurement technologies—ultrasonic and guided-wave radar (GWR).

		Pressure Sensing Integration in Portable Devices - 04/09/11 Design News, March 2011 By Tim Shotter and Dan DeFalco, All Sensors Incorporating low-voltage die-based MEMS pressure sensors into device and equipment designs for measurement linearity and repeatability, with minimized power consumption and extended service life.

		Switch Types Affect Test Results - 04/09/11 Design News, March 2011 By Jon Titus Many data-acquisition and measurement tasks do not demand simultaneous sampling or analog-to-digital conversions. So, measuring instruments can connect to devices under test (DUT) one by one through switches or multiplexers (MUXs). Here’s how those switches affect their tests.

		For good measure - 04/09/11 InTech, April 2011 By John Joosten For accurate custody transfer and legal metrology-approved product level measurement, onshore storage tanks use mainly servo or radar technology. This article explains these two measuring principles and provides criteria for selecting which to use in which custody transfer circumstances.

		Flow measurement common mistakes, corrective actions - 04/09/11 InTech, April 2011 By Rajan Batra Inaccurate flow measurements lead to poor flow and related controls, bad quality products, and incorrect fiscal and allocation measurement, which lead to poor allocation of revenues among partners, Here are common flow measurement mistakes and corrective actions.

		Vortex shedding tutorial - Part 1 - 03/26/11 What’s New in Process Technology, March 2011 By Wade Mattar and James Vignos, Invensys The vortex shedding flowmeter first emerged 25 to 30 years ago and has steadily grown in acceptance, since then, to be a major flow measurement technique. Its appeal is due, in part, to the fact that it has no moving parts yet produces a frequency output that varies linearly with flowrate over a wide range of Reynolds numbers.

		How to prevent power surges - 03/26/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, March 2011 By Jasmine Lin, Moxa Industrial automation operators generally understand that power surges pose a serious threat to their systems and take steps to reduce this threat. Not only do power surges damage and destroy equipment, they cause costly interruptions.

		Diagnosing an Incorrect Measurement - 03/24/11 Flow Control, February 2011 By David W. Spitzer Why a new insertion vortex-shedding flowmeter failed to perform. The line size was wrong, and it was configured for water.

		Q&A: Considering Flowmeter Selection - 03/24/11 Flow Control, February 2011 By David Matherly How to ensure the technology meets the needs of the application.

		Legislating Leak Detection - 03/24/11 Flow Control, February 2011 By Jim Drago Monitoring requires the use of Method 21, with a toxic vapor analyzer and data logger, and varies with the type of equipment – monthly for pumps and agitators, quarterly for valves and closure devices on open-ended lines, and annually for piping and equipment connectors.

		Technology Update: Why WirelessHART? - 03/24/11 Control Engineering, March 2011 By Ira Sharp, Phoenix Contact With other industrial wireless communications options available, process industry engineers may ask, ‘What is WirelessHART, and what is it good for?’

		Declining Need for Field Calibration? - 03/24/11 Control, March 2011 By Dan Hebert Fieldbus and smart instruments reduce the need for field calibration, and this is perhaps a leading reason why many plants have been slow to adapt multifunction documenting calibrators with accompanying calibration management software.

		Oil Fields Yield Digital Data - 03/24/11 Control, March 2011 By Jim Montague Software tools that can extract and analyze all kinds of asset management data are turning offshore oil fields and facilities into more efficient, factory-like operations.

		Wireless Networking in the Process Industry - 02/28/11 Valve Magazine, February 2011 By Peter Cleaveland Wireless networking is gaining steadily in popularity in the process industries, driven to a large extent by its ease of use, low installation cost and flexibility.

		Setting a New Standard - 02/28/11 Flow Control, January 2011 By Mark Menezes Steam is commonly used in the upstream and downstream hydrocarbon industries for steam injection and process heating. Accurate flow measurements are needed to maintain process efficiency, detect leaks, and account for consumption.

		Industrial Wireless Update – where no wires have gone before - 02/23/11 Automation.com, February 2011 While the intense debates continue over industrial wireless standards many automation professionals are applying industrial wireless solutions to achieve greater efficiency and profits for their companies.

		Working Smarter: Diagnostic Tools Cut Costs And Save Time - 02/17/11 Process Industry Informer, February 2011 By Gary Provis ,Siemens Industry Automation Intelligent diagnostics for process systems - exemplified through easy-to-use diagnostics tools - can aid speedy fault finding and rectification, and play a central role in helping companies maintain a competitive edge.

		Calibration: supporting accuracy supports the bottom line - 02/17/11 Process Industry Informer, February 2011 By Trevor Dunger, ABB Getting the best levels of performance from pressure transmitter equipment is a more involved process than many manufacturers would have you believe. This article explains the growing importance of calibration in promoting good practice and profitability.

		Spectroscopy comes out of the lab - 02/17/11 What’s New in Process Technology, February 2011 By Glenn Johnson Developments in technologies for building spectroscopes and spectrometers have advanced since the first commercial infrared spectroscope was developed in the 1940s and the first FT-IR spectrometer came on the market in 1969. Today, spectrometry is moving out of the lab and into the field and the process plant.

		Crazy Like a Fox - 02/17/11 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, February 2011 By Ali Afnan, Stepchange Pharma In the small-molecule world, some groups dabble with PAT tools for manufacturing, others venture a bit farther, also applying PAT within the R&D environment, others use PAT, but keep quiet about the applications. Very few, if any, use PAT to control an entire process.

		The Right Tool for Tricky Measurement Jobs - 02/17/11 Control, February 2011 By Walt Boyes Nearly every plant, from mining to wastewater and every process vertical in between, has a level application that is both critical and difficult, if not impossible, to measure. Since the 1950s, the answer to all of these applications has been the proper application of a gamma level gauge.

		Basics of Analyzer Sample Systems - 02/17/11 Control, February 2011 By Ian Verhappen Here's how to know your process conditions by calculating dead spaces, system lag time and system pressure drop, simplifying a planned system and picking the right equipment for it.

		Eliminating batteries for wireless adoption - 02/07/11 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, February 2011 By Harry Forbes, ARC Many end users will continue to resist adopting wireless sensing for process measurements or condition monitoring as long as these sensors require battery power and eventual battery replacement. Energy harvesting is a potential game changer in both industrial and building automation applications.

		Using wireless sensors in industrial applications - 02/07/11 Process & Control Engineering, January 2011 By Motti Gill The last few years, wired industrial sensors have become smarter and smaller. At the same time another key development has taken place: A growing interest and utilisation of wireless sensor in industrial applications.

		Rockwell Automation's pursuit of process control - 01/31/11 Automation.com, February 2011 I recently interviewed the two key executives leading Rockwell Automation’s process industry initiative, Som Chakraborti and Steve Pulsifer. We discussed their focus on the process markets, PlantPAx, the sales channel, Ethernet/IP, wireless, and how they compare to traditional DCS systems.

		Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable (PAR) - Part 4 - Wireless in Manufacturing - 01/25/11 Automation.com, January 2011 This is the fourth article in a series about the annual Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable (PAR). Automation professionals from leading life sciences companies discussed the use of wireless technologies in manufacturing, citing specific successful examples.

		Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable (PAR) - 5 Part Article Series - 01/25/11 Automation.com, January 2011 This 5 part article series is based on the recent Pharmaceutical Automation Roundtable (PAR). Automation professionals from leading life sciences companies gathered together to discuss MES, visualization, software development, system life-cycle planning, executive governance, electronic testing, wireless and more.

		Do Your Level Best - 01/16/11 Chemical Processing, January 2011 By Dirk Willard Level control with dP transmitters appears simple but really isn't. In some cases, integral calculus is actually good for something!

		Muxes and Field-Sourced Power - 01/16/11 Control, January 2011 By John Rezabek Unlike traditional remote I/O solutions, Electronic Marshalling collapses knife edge disconnects and I/O conditioning to a small module that publishes the signal to an "I/O cloud" accessible by controllers.

		All That Noise - 01/16/11 Mechanical Engineering, January 2011 By Jack Thornton Noise is the unwanted data that accompanies all but the simplest measurements. And according to experts in the field of digital simulation, noise in data can be costly, in terms of time, money, and error, when it gets into computer analysis of engineering designs.

		Sensor and Actuator Circuits: Safety & Reliablility - 01/09/11 Industrial Automation Asia, January 2011 By Erich Fischer, E-T-A Germany The failure of the I/O field voltage not only has a devastating impact on process value acquisition, process visualisation and mandatory plant reporting, but may even bring entire field sections to a standstill.

		Happy With Your Temperature Sensors? - 01/09/11 Control Engineering, December 2010 By Peter Welander Users are divided on their favorite temperature sensing technology, but most seem satisfied with what they have and how they perform.

		Analyzing Moisture in Paper and Pressboard of Power Transformers-A New Approach - 12/20/10 Utility Products, November 2010 Power transformers are critical, capital-intensive assets for the utility industry. To an asset manager reviewing the life expectancy of a transformer or a substation operator responsible for determining the loading capabilities of transformers, the transformer's water content should be a concern.

		Wireless Temperature Sensing Solution for Switchgear - 12/20/10 Utility Products, November 2010 Conventional methods of monitoring switchgear temperature are expensive and not entirely effective. Surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology can provide a passive (no battery or energy harvesting), wirelessly-interrogated temperature measurement solution that is ideally suited for switchgear.

		Fiber Optic Sensing - 12/20/10 Utility Products, November 2010 Fiber optic technology is the most accurate method for determining, in real time, when the transformer winding hot spot is approaching a critical value. By contrast, traditional temperature indicator technology, which senses top oil temperature, can significantly lag or even misrepresent actual winding temperatures.

		Electronic marshalling - 12/12/10 Control Engineering Europe, December 2010 By Rune Reppenhagen, Emerson Process Management This new field wiring technique drastically reduces engineering time in process automation installations.

		Custody Transfer: Flowmeter as Cash Register - 12/12/10 Control Engineering, November 2010 By Emerie Dupuis and Gerard Hwang When bulk liquid or gas products change hands, everyone has to agree on the quantity and the product quality. This puts very special demands on instrumentation.

		Millions Sold in Europe! - 12/12/10 Control, December 2010 By John Rezabek 80% of end users surveyed are upgrading their control systems only, leaving field devices "as is." One reason to replace old systems is their inability to natively interact with smart devices speaking open protocols such as HART, Foundation fieldbus or Profibus PA.

		Top 50 Automation Vendors - 12/12/10 Control, December 2010 By Walt Boyes and Larry O'Brien The entire industry was hurt in 2009, and badly. From a total revenue of $87.6 billion in our last report, revenues plunged in 2009 to $77.8 billion—an incredible devaluation of more than 11% in a single year. Here’s the Top 50 autmation vendors.

		Invensys OpsManage 2010: Enterprise Control System - the journey continues... Automation.com, November 2010 At Invensys OpsManage 2010, IOM expanded on their Enterprise Control System (ECS). Steve Blair defined enterprise control as understanding and manipulating the real business drivers to optimize operations from plant floor through enterprise.

		Emerson Exchange 2010 - Conquering Complexity - 11/23/10 Automation.com, November 2010 The 2010 Emerson Global Users Exchange in San Antonio, Texas was a successful event, hosting more than 2300 attendees, representing 47 different countries. Bill Lydon reviews a few of the event highlights including keynote addresses, Human Centered Design, Asset management enhancements, DeltaV product roadmap, and control over wireless.

		We Get It - Wireless Works - 11/21/10 Control, November 2010 By John Rezabek Can anyone remember an instrument technology that was marketed with such persistence and zeal? WirelessHART products have been available since at least 2007, and today one can obtain compatible products from ABB, Endress+Hauser, Siemens, Pepperl+Fuchs, Emerson and others.

		Are Coriolis flowmeters a universal technology? - 11/15/10 Control Engineering, October 2010 By Jerry Stevens, Endress+Hauser Coriolis meters are not only used to measure mass flow of liquid and gas, but also to measure density, temperature, and viscosity. Using these multi-variable measurements, Coriolis meters are effective in a wide range of applications including custody transfer, API Gravity measurements, and cut analysis.

		Emerson Executive Point of View - 11/09/10 Automation.com, November 2010 Bill Lydon talks with Steve Sonnenberg and Peter Zornio about a number of topics including business challenges, what their customers should be planning for, wireless, cloud computing, and what technologies will have the greatest impact on automation.

		Holding industrial wireless vendors to account - 11/07/10 What’s New in Process Technology, October 2010 By Brett Biondi, Elpro Technologies While wireless technology has moved well beyond simple point-to-point connectivity, the fundamental tenets of the technology remain the same. However, one shouldn’t be put off, and we don’t all need to be certified RF engineers to start making informed choices.

		Historian's demise greatly exaggerated - 11/07/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, November 2010 By Elliott Middleton, Invensys To enable the analysis of a process, it is necessary to record information regarding operating parameters and states at the time of production. This is where the plant historian becomes a useful application tool.

		Safe even under pressure - 11/07/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, November 2010 By Jennifer Breunig, et al, Wika South Africa Pressure measuring instruments used in sterile processes must be exceptionally tough, with special designs and materials required to combat the exposure to high temperatures and aggressive cleaning agents.

		Intelligent toxic gas detection - 11/07/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, November 2010 By Allen Avery, ARC Advisory Group In the wake of several high profile industrial accidents, owner/operators in South Africa’s refining, petro-chemicals, and other process industries should consider upgrading and modernising the toxic and combustible gas detection equipment installed in their mines and their plants.

		Improve SCADA operations using wireless instrumentation - 11/07/10 Process & Control Engineering, November 2010 By Hany Fouda Australia's extensive mining operations, water projects, water and waste water treatment plants and pipelines all lend themselves to using wireless to connect remote monitoring systems with centralised SCADA systems and control rooms. But not everyone is convinced.

		Standard for thermowells undergoes revision - 11/07/10 HazardEx, October 2010 Companies that source thermowells for oil, gas and petrochemicals applications will now need to consult the new, revised ASME PTC 19.3 (2010) standard, which has just undergone its first major revision in more than 35 years.

		FDT Adds .Net Support - 10/26/10 Automation World, October 2010 By Gary Mintchell This article takes a look at Field Device Type/Device Type Manager (FDT/DTM). The most striking difference between the two is that EDDL is text-based, while FDT is built upon Microsoft Windows.

		Automating Particulate Inspection: More Than Meets the Eye - 10/21/10 Pharmaceuitcal Manufacturing, October 2010 By Josh Capogna, McRae Integration Since operators are fallible and “low-throughput,” manufacturers must automate inspection of visible particulates. This article covers automated techniques for detecting visible particles and helps readers better understand the degree of complexity associated with various forms of particulate inspection.

		Buying high quality used process equipment - 10/21/10 European Process Engineer, October 2010 By Dylan Dyer Purchasing used process equipment and plants can save a great deal in comparison to buying new equipment which means companies can free up capital for other projects.

		The Next Generation of Heat Exchanger Inspection: Using Acoustic Pulse Reflectometry - 10/21/10 Sensors, October 2010 By Dr. Noam Amir, AcousticEye Acoustic pulse reflectometry enables rapid, comprehensive inspections of heat exchanger tubes, identifying fouling, leaks, corrosion, and other critical faults.

		Continuous monitoring of particles after high-temperature filtration - 10/20/10 What’s New in Process Technology, October 2010 By William Averdieck, PCME Electrodynamic instruments are used to continuously monitor particle concentrations after ceramic filters used in coal gasification, co-generation and high-temperature metals and chemical processes.

		Plant safety engineers take aim at a wireless future - 10/19/10 HazardEx, September 2010 By Dr.Patrick Hogan, Honeywell Analytics We are on the cusp of a new era in plant operations characterized by sensors obtaining and transmitting information on temperature, pressure, transportation, tank levels, vibration, corrosion, gas concentration levels — over a wireless grid.

		Ensuring an accurate result in an analytical instrumentation system - PART 2 - 10/13/10 Control Engineering Europe, September 2010 By Doug Nordstrom and Tony Waters In many analytical instrumentation systems, the analyzer does not provide an absolute measurement. Rather, it provides a relative response based on settings established during calibration, which is a critical process subject to significant error.

		Simplifying Connections - 10/13/10 Control Engineering Asia, September 2010 By Nathan Pettus Electronic Marshalling of I/O focuses on the areas of commissioning a process automation system that are the most complex, involve many hours of labor, or that can disrupt a project the most.

		Understanding Your Choices In Flowmeter Calibration - 09/29/10 By Mubeen Almoustafa, Flow Dynamics Inc In order to be confident that a meter is accurately measuring the flow volume or mass, it must be recalibrated on a periodic basis.

		Optimize. Innovate. Sustain. - 09/26/10 Automation.com, September 2010 Honeywell Process Solutions India organized its annual User Meet on 30th & 31st Aug 2010 at Madh Island, Mumbai on the theme of ‘Optimize. Innovate. Sustain.’ The event saw an overwhelming participation from companies across all industry segments and focused on providing solutions to increase business performance & protect automation investments.

		The Counterfeit Conundrum: Protecting Company And Customer - 09/24/10 Manufacturing.net, September 2010 By Duane Sword, vice president, Thermo Scientific Manufacturers need to be prepared to protect their brand, product and customers. Technology is needed to differentiate between legitimate products and counterfeits so that fakes can be kept out of the supply chain and out of customers’ hands.

		Take Advantage of Fieldbus - 09/16/10 Chemical Processing, September 2010 By Craig McIntyre, Endress+Hauser Fieldbus systems can provide tremendous benefits in terms of lower costs, increased uptime and better overall plant performance. But take care when selecting and deploying the fieldbus solution; it's often best to start small.

		Influence of the use of fieldbus - 09/12/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, September 2010 By Paul Sikhakhane, Tongaat Hulett The 4-20mA era is coming to an end and fieldbus is at the takeover stage. Soon those who are not seeking to understand the benefits and adapting will have the change forced upon them.

		Convergence-or Not. That's the Question - 09/10/10 Control, September 2010 By Walt Boyes We have a serious problem with the adoption of wireless field devices in the process industries. Now that the Chinese WIA standard has been approved by IEC, we are very close to having four standards. The drive of the ISA100.11a team to produce a new version of ISA100.11a-2010 could actually produce a fifth standard.

		More Than 90 Percent of Damaging Lightning Storms Occur From April Through September - 08/30/10 Utility Products, August 2010 Lightning season, from April through September, is when more than 90 percent of damaging thunderstorms occur, So now is the time for companies with mission-critical equipment in rural sites to prepare for Mother Nature's onslaught.

		Reduce Time Delay in Your Analytical System - 08/30/10 Chemical Processing, August 2010 By Doug Nordstrom and Mike Adkins, Swagelok Process measurements are instantaneous but analyzer responses never are. There's always a time delay from tap to analyzer. Unfortunately, this delay, which represents the time a sample takes to reach the analyzer, often is underestimated or misunderstood.

		Don't Underestimate Overfilling's Risks - 08/30/10 Chemical Processing, August 2010 By Angela Summers, SIS-TECH Solutions Loss of level control has contributed to significant industrial incidents. High levels can pose serious hazards but seven simple steps can prevent them.

		Testing IR Cameras - 08/30/10 Machine Vision Design, August 2010 By Randy Bockrath and Kevin Norwood Unlike cameras developed to image the visible spectrum, IR cameras present a challenge for software-based image quality analysis because it is difficult to predict what materials will produce contrast at various IR wavelengths. New IR test charts and analysis software modernize infrared camera testing

		WirelessHART Networking Trends - 08/26/10 Design News, July 2010 By Al Presher Wireless networking is making the factory floor more data centric than control centric.

		Continuous emission monitoring - 08/23/10 What’s New in Process Technology, July 2010 By Group Instrumentation The requirement for continuous emission monitors has changed significantly over the last 10 years. This has been brought about by the increase in use of flue gas treatment systems, reducing the levels of pollutant to be monitored, and environmental agencies worldwide requiring smaller processes to be monitored

		Oxygen measurement for combustion optimisation - 08/23/10 What’s New in Process Technology, August 2010 By Group Instrumentation Combustion optimisation for boilers and other combustion processes has long been an important issue with increasing fuel prices. Combustion involves the burning of fuel to generate heat. To optimise the amount of heat generated, the level of available oxygen must be controlled.

		Portable ultrasonic flowmeters - 08/23/10 InTech, August 2010 By Kevin Lavelle A portable ultrasonic flowmeter contains the same fundamental hardware as a fixed ultrasonic meter. But a portable ultrasonic flowmeter has unique capabilities that differentiate it from a standard fixed instrument.

		Beyond Wireless: The Other New Features of HART 7.0 - 08/13/10 Control Engineering Europe, July 2010 By Michael Babb With wireless technology its most prominent advance, a great deal of interest has been generated in the user community for the latest version of HART. There are, however, other new features that give increased functionality for wired application process automation.

		Wireless? - 08/13/10 Control, August 2010 By Walt Boyes Wireless field devices are shipping, but adoption questions remain.

		Why Does Your Process Sampling System Need a PC? - 08/13/10 Control, August 2010 By Rob Dubois The Sensor Actuator Manager (SAM), as proposed by NeSSI, is a small, hockey puck-sized, programmable, low-cost, PAC rated for hazardous area operation. It's a mini-PC equivalent for process analytical systems.

		Wired or Wireless - Just DO It - 08/13/10 Control, August 2010 By John Rezabek If you have smart instrumentation in your facility, the time is at hand to get some value from it. You may be quite amazed by what you find, from valves that haven't gone to their requested positions in years to transmitters that are freezing or overheated.

		Industry Perspectives from Honeywell User Group 2010 - 07/20/10 Automation.com, July 2010 By Bill Lydon Review the industry perspectives, technology and solutions from HUG Americas 2010. Highlights include an overview of five megatrends identified by Norm Gilsdorf, Honeywell's commitment to legacy products, training and service, and introduction of a new RTU, safety remote IO, in-controller batch manager, and turbo machine controller. Plus, see an example of control system virtualization.

		Effects Of Abnormal Conditions On Orifice Measurement Accuracy - 07/18/10 Pipeline & Gas Journal, July 2010 By Dean Graves, Devon Energy This article addresses the overall subject of measurement abnormalities and presents some investigative tools to assist attempts to answer the question.

		Using a Small Solar Cell and a Supercapacitor in a Wireless Sensor - 07/18/10 Manufacturers’ Monthly, June 2010 By Emily Mobbs Energy management has become a top priority for business managers and systems integrators responsible for controlling a manufacturing plant’s bottom line.

		Four Ways to Enhance ESD Protection After Your Design Flunks Its ESD Test - 07/18/10 Machine Design, July 2010 By Chad Marak and Jim Colby, Silicon Protection Arrays You thought your electrostatic-discharge protection was bulletproof, yet the IC still fried in test. Now what?

		Intelligent Sensors Simplify Installation and Maintenance - 07/18/10 Machine Design, July 2010 By Robert Repas The next step in the evolution of smart sensors is the new international standard called IO-Link. An IO-Link system consists of an IO-Link master, a standard three-wire sensor/actuator cable, and an IO-Link enabled sensor or actuator.

		The Path to Purity - 07/18/10 Control Engineering Asia, June 2010 By Mogan Swamy Increasing demands for clean, safe drinking water coupled with higher environmental awareness are helping to drive control and instrumentation investments in the water and wastewater industry.

		Going With the Flow - 07/18/10 Control Engineering Asia, June 2010 By Nwaoha Chikezie Covers the different types of instruments available for measuring flow, and provides some troubleshooting tips for typical problems that can arise.

		Can You Specify "Or Equal" with Fieldbus? - 07/18/10 Control, July 2010 By John Rezabek Does freedom-to-choose/power-to-integrate mean that you're more comfortable specifying "or equal" when procuring fieldbus devices?

		Accuracy, resolution and repeatability: the common pitfalls - 07/14/10 Automation.com, July 2010 By Mark Howard, Zettlex The accuracy, resolution and repeatability of a position transducer are critical selection factors, but often cause confusion amongst engineers.

		Driving Technology and Innovation Together Automation.com, July 2010 By Bill Lydon Review the technology and innovations presented by Siemens at their recent 2010 Automation Summit, held in Charlotte, NC. Highlights include Siemens’ focus on energy, advancements in their process control offering, their industrial communications strategy and new distributed panel devices.

		Pressure measurement in industrial applications - 07/13/10 InTech, June 2010 By John Van Nostrand, Endress+Hauser Today’s high tech pressure measurement techniques are far more advanced than they were in the old days of manometers, bourdon tubes, and bellows. But one thing remains the same, and that is the physics behind the measurement.

		The physics of pressure - 07/13/10 InTech, July 2010 By Donald R. Gillum Pressure is a fundamental variable in process control systems that impacts safety, quality, and productivity.

		Temperature instrumentation problems and solutions in industrial processes - 07/13/10 InTech, July 2010 By H.M. Hashemian This article examines some problems involving temperature sensors and offers practical ways to identify, assess, and resolve them.

		Upgrading (or updating) instrument calibration programs - 07/13/10 InTech, July 2010 By Mike Cable Significantly improve your calibration program efficiency and compliance with a CCMS upgrade.

		An inferentials update - 07/13/10 InTech, July 2010 By Allan Kern The simplest inferentials, also known as soft sensors, is a pressure-compensated temperature, which control technique dates back to the pneumatic age. With the digital age, inferentials “went on steroids,” generally with excellent results.

		Protecting the environment with organic carbon analysis - 07/10/10 What’s New in Process Technology, June 2010 By Jimmy Britz, Endress+Hauser Australia Total organic carbon (TOC) is the amount of carbon present in an organic compound and measuring it provides a fast and convenient way to determine water quality. This article looks at the different methods now available for analysing TOC.

		Tuneable diode laser spectroscopy - 07/10/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, July 2010 By Paula Hollywood, ARC Advisory Group New analysis techniques, such as tuneable diode laser spectroscopy (TDLS), can improve efficiency, maximise throughput, reduce emissions and improve safety in combustion analysis applications.

		Pressure measuring instruments - 07/10/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, July 2010 By Eugen Gaβmann and Anna Gries, WIKA Common instrument types are pressure transmitters, level probes, pressure switches and process transmitters. Basically, these electronic pressure measuring instruments consist of a pressure connection, a pressure sensor, electronics, an electrical connection and the case.

		Sensors for extreme temperatures - 06/23/10 Plant Services, June 2010 By Sheila Kennedy New combinations of materials and designs allow today’s sensors to operate reliably in temperatures not previously possible. From extreme heat to cryogenically cold, new and emerging sensor technologies are up to the challenge.

		Lipstick on a Pig - 06/23/10 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, June 2010 By Emil W. Ciurczak No matter how we dress it up, PAT, "Product Assurance" Technology is still about control.

		Wireless Sensor Use Is Expanding in Industrial Applications - 06/23/10 Sensors, June 2010 By Rajender Thusu, Frost & Sullivan While the technological evolution of sensors is reflected in sensors getting smarter, smaller, lighter, and cheaper, another key development taking place in the sensors industry is the growth of wireless sensor use in industrial applications.

		Flexible Sensor Signal Conditioning and Safe Transmission - 06/23/10 Sensors, June 2010 By Joachim Quasdorf and Marko Hepp, iC-Haus Article describes the structure of a universal, integrated, programmable signal conditioner—designed for use with linear and rotary encoders, AMR sensors, and opto sensors with on-sensor preconditioned signals.

		Expand Your Plant Not Your Problems - 06/16/10 Chemical Processing, June 2010 By Dirk Willard Did you know that 18% of instruments fail on delivery and another 18% fail during testing? Careful project planning and good communications with vendors can avoid hassles.

		Intelligent metering solutions are key to energy and resource management - 06/16/10 Industrial Embedded Systems, June 2010 By Keith Odland Meters are no longer spinning mechanical contraptions; they’re embedded devices with MCUs inside. Here’s an overview of metering functions and considerations for designers.

		What you really need to know about sample rate - 06/16/10 What’s New in Process Technology, June 2010 By Total Turnkey Solutions Everyone knows that you only need to sample at twice the frequency of your signal of interest to get good results, right? If you answered “right!” to that last statement, perhaps you should read on.

		Don’t pay the price for skimping on safety - 06/12/10 HazardEx, June 2010 By Trevor Dunger and Stuart Nunns, ABB Quite apart from any moral considerations, skimping on safety within the oil and gas industries can be an expensive mistake. The right safety instrumentation can deliver long-term security and a lower life-time cost.

		Hydrogen gas detection in oil refineries - 06/12/10 HazardEx, June 2010 Hydrogen gas is colourless, odourless, and not detectable by human senses. It is lighter than air and hence difficult to detect where accumulations cannot occur. Nor is it detectable by infrared gas sensing technology. Here’s how to detect it.

		The power of integration exemplified at ABB A&PW 2010 By Bill Lydon, Automation.com The "Connect, Learn, Succeed" theme of this event was about users forming stronger working relationships with ABB. The event brought the opportunity to connect across disciplines and apply products and knowledge - focusing on the power of integration, particularly between automation and power systems. The event attracted more than 4,000 people and offered more than 400 educational and hands-on sessions and a 100,000 sf. exhibit area.

		Wireless Sensors In Real-Time - 05/25/10 IMPO, May 2010 By Aaron LaJoie, Electrochem Solutions Latency is an inherent trait of all wireless. Unlike a conventional analog signal, there are delays associated with the analog-to-digital conversion process, as well as radio frequency transmissions.

		The Instrumentation Cloud Brings Web-Centric Operation to Sensors - 05/25/10 Sensors, May 2010 By Marius Ghercioiu, Cores Electronic Combining RFID, analog signal conditioning, and sensors enables you to shift data analysis, monitoring, and control into the cloud.

		Pneumatics Integrates With Electronics - 05/23/10 Automation World, May 2010 By C. Kenna Amos Current trends for industrial pneumatics show expansion into more electronics as well as integration with them.

		Selecting the right position sensor - 05/16/10 Automation.com, May 2010 By Mark Howard, Zettlex A key step in selecting a suitable position sensor for an application is to be absolutely clear about what is needed, particularly with respect to sensor resolution, repeatability and linearity.

		Nucleonic measurement - 05/15/10 What’s New in Process Technology, May 2010 By Roland Bonath, VEGA Nucleonic gauges are no longer used only for level detection and continuous level measurement under extremely difficult measuring conditions, but also for interface, density and concentration measurement in connection with toxic or abrasive liquids.

		How to use a regulator to reduce time delay in an analytical system - 05/15/10 What’s New in Process Technology, May 2010 By Swagelok Time delay is the amount of time it takes for a new sample to reach the analyser. One way to control time delay is with a regulator. Regulators control pressure, and pressure in an analytical system, closely related to time.

		Applying Coriolis technology to high-pressure applications - 05/15/10 What’s New in Process Technology, May 2010 By AMS Instrumentation & Calibration Over time, various Coriolis meter designs have improved and are now nearly all suitable for the ‘run-of-the-mill’ applications found in everyday processing. However, where meters are exposed to extreme applications and conditions, the differences and limitations of various designs can become noticeable.

		Level measurement with radar - 05/15/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, May 2010 By Vega Instruments The main advantage of radar is the non-contact measuring procedure. Since the electromagnetic pulses do not need a propagation medium, process conditions in the vessel like pressure, temperature, vapour, dust and noise have less influence on the measurement. The method is suited for liquids and bulk solids.

		The science of applied accuracy - 05/15/10 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, May 2010 By Reinhold H. Bietzker, Endress+Hauser When determining accuracy, calibration is but one link in a chain of quality control measures governed by internationally recognised standards. Equally important are measurement uncertainty, accreditation, traceability and verification.

		Wireless Sensor Networks - 05/12/10 Automation.com, May 2010 By Dr Peter Harrop, IDTechEx Wireless Sensor Networks are machine to machine M2M mesh networks operating like the internet in that they are self organising and self healing.

		FDT for Open Access - 05/11/10 Control Engineering Asia, April 2010 By Glenn Schulz Supported by all major DCS, PLC, and instrument/device manufacturers, the FDT standard delivers on the promise of open access to device intelligence.

		Wireless Control in the Field - 05/11/10 Control, May 2010 By John Rezabek Users will have to exert their influence with suppliers to get control in the field implemented in WirelessHART.

		Multipath Ultrasonic Meters For Natural Gas Custody Transfer - 04/23/10 Pipeline & Gas Journal, April 2010 By James W. Bowen, Honeywell Over the past 15 years, natural gas ultrasonic meters have transitioned from the engineering lab to wide commercial use as the primary device of choice to measure gas volume for fiscal accounting.

		New standard in competency for Ex protection - 04/23/10 Oil&Gas Engineer, April 2010 The development of the IECEx Scheme for Certification of Personnel Competency has created a new standard by which all plant owners can judge if they have competent staff looking after Ex equipment.

		Installation of Wireless Systems, Integration With Existing Controls Can Be Cost Effective - 04/16/10 Building Operating Management, April 2010 Because wireless, batteryless devices do not require new cabling, the peel-and-stick devices usually require little more than integration with existing controls.

		Self-Powered Wireless Sensors Eliminate the Need for Batteries - 04/16/10 Building Operating Management, April 2010 By EnOcean The flexibility of wireless products has been limited by the need to provide power. Batteries eventually need to be replaced. Instead of batteries or wired power, EnOcean devices use a variety of methods to generate or store electricity: inductive switches, solar cells and thermo-energy harvesters.

		Cutting Costs and Carbon With Wireless Controls - 04/16/10 Automated Buildings, April 2010 By Alan Braybrook, Sontay Tthe latest wireless sensor and control technology has proven to drastically reduce whole life costs, most notably through a much lower total install cost at the outset.

		FDD Going Mainstream? Whose Fault Is It? - 04/16/10 Automated Buildings, April 2010 By Jim Sinopoli, Smart Buildings Software tools based on fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) have taken information and system intelligence to a new level. But FDD needs data from the BAS systems. If there are not enough sensors, if the sensors are inaccurate, or if the building has a legacy control system, there can be issues with obtaining the data required.

		Let the Seller Beware - 04/16/10 Sensors, April 2010 By Kenneth F. Stern, Synxronos Selling your sensor company? Over the years, larger companies have broadened their product portfolio by acquiring smaller sensor companies. As a prospective seller of a sensor company, it is important to understand the true value of your company to such prospective acquirers.

		Machine and Instrument Calibration Advances - 04/14/10 Automation World, April 2010 By C. Kenna Amos Wasting time and money represent end-users’ biggest calibration problems. That’s because the users haven’t figured out the boundaries of how long the instruments can go between calibrations.

		Ensuring an accurate result in an analytical instrumentation system - 04/08/10 PACE, April 2010 By Doug Nordstrom and Tony Waters In many analytical instrumentation systems, the analyser does not provide an absolute measurement. Rather, it provides a relative response based on settings established during calibration, which is a critical process subject to significant error.

		A new approach to wireless sensors: The Instrumentation Cloud - 04/08/10 Control Engineering Europe, April 2010 By Marius Ghercioiu, Cores Electronic In a new concept known as the Instrumentation Cloud, the only physical connection is between the sensor or actuator and the A/D or D/A front end located on a ‘sensor tag,’ which sends or receives data and commands to or from a commercially available wireless access point (AP) or router.

		Using weighing systems to optimize batch accuracy - 03/26/10 Plant Engineering, March 2010 By Mark Hudzinski, Avery Weigh-Tronix Electronic weight sensors paired with a multifaceted indicator can improve batch accuracy through weight-based process control, as well as track ingredient use, maintain consistent product recipes, and generate invoices with legal-for-trade accuracy.

		Flowmeter selection for improved gas flow measurements - 03/13/10 What’s New in Process Technology, March 2010 By FCI A proven method for measuring a liquid does not necessarily translate into a good solution for measuring a gas. Here’s a comparison of DP and thermal dispersion technologies.

		Selecting the Right Temperature Sensor - 03/13/10 HazardEx, March 2010 By Chris Jones, Micro-Epsilon Using an online infrared sensor is beneficial in applications where the temperature of an object, material, surface or liquid is critical to the production process. When selecting the most suitable device, engineers need to carefully consider their measurement requirements.

		Look to Valves for More Uptime - 03/13/10 Control, March 2010 By Dan Hebert Proven hardware and software are readily available to constantly monitor the health of your valves and instruments. Refocusing reliability efforts on these field assets will yield higher relative returns than dollars spent on improving the reliability of control room components.

		Field Calibrators Make Everything Better - 03/13/10 Control, March 2010 By Jim Montague Users are opening their eyes to how much clearer their data is - and how much better their processes can run - with field calibrators.

		Extracting Intelligence from Sensor Data - 02/28/10 Sensors, February 2010 By Nigel Elkan, Knowledge Vector International The challenge isn't whether it is feasible to correlate sensor data from any one sensor source with any other set of current or future sensors. The challenge is to ensure that correlated events can be anticipated.

		Outsourcing Your Engineering - 02/28/10 Manufacturing.net, February 2010 By Amanda Earing Outsourcing your engineering can free up your in-house engineering department to focus on other projects, and saves time and money.

		Re-Shoring: Bringing Manufacturing Back To American Suppliers - 02/28/10 Manufacturing.net, February 2010 By Michael Collins, MPC Management Many manufacturers have begun to pull their supply chains back. They have learned that problems beyond their control like flu viruses, energy prices, earthquakes, and geopolitical disturbances are threats to their supply chains. They also now know the additional costs of unanticipated problems.

		Low-Cost Wireless Sensors Can Improve Monitoring in Fossil-Fueled Power Plants - 02/26/10 Power, February 2010 By Cyrus W. Taft, et al Wireless sensors have the potential in the next few years to dramatically change not only the wireless sensor landscape but also the process-monitoring landscape. Consequently, exploring the potential of wireless sensors for monitoring power plants has become important.

		Thermal Imaging For Cost Savings, Energy Conservation, and Innovation - 02/25/10 IMPO, February 2010 By Sandra J. Blum, FLIR Systems Thermography is used for monitoring and troubleshooting the condition of machinery, structures, and systems — not just inspecting electrical equipment. IR cameras are effective for improving manufacturing efficiencies, managing energy, improving product quality, and enhancing worker safety.

		Field Failure Data: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly - 02/25/10 Industrial Automation Asia, December 2009 By Dr William M Goble and Joseph F Siebert, Exida Consulting Instrumentation field failure data must be provided along with a full explanation of the failure event definitions, methods for data collection and methods for data analysis including all assumptions. Without this, the results can be dangerous.

		Wireless Control in the Process Industries: Blasphemy or Common Sense? - 02/22/10 Automation World, February 2010 By Wes Iversen It may be controversial, but wireless technology is already being used in process control applications. How far and how fast will this trend go? Will we ever see an "all-wireless" plant?

		Multi-Core Virtualization Changes Process Controllers - 02/22/10 Automation World, February 2010 By Marty Weil Current design practice calls for three controllers: one for the sensor, one for the actuator and one to handle the HMI and network traffic. With a multi core processor, three controllers are no longer necessary.

		Instrumentation as a Foundation for Profit - 02/19/10 Control, February 2010 By Julie Fraser, Cambashi Control engineers know the value of instrumenting production processes. It's about time the executives understood that, too.

		Is Field-Based Control Really All That? - 02/19/10 Control, February 2010 By John Rezabek Recent studies show that the fieldbus-for-I/O-only approach is likely a source of compromised performance and unknown latencies.

		Adaptive Level Control - 02/19/10 Control, February 2010 By Greg McMillan, et al Article provides a fundamental understanding of how the speed and type of level responses varies with volume geometry, fluid density, level measurement span and flow measurement span for the general case of a vessel and the more specific case of a conical tank, and then apply adaptive control.

		NeSSI Keeps Chipping Away - 02/19/10 Control, February 2010 By Jim Montague The plucky sampling sensor initiative and its advocates keep on encouraging users to gain the many benefits that its standardized hardware, communications and microanalytic specifications can bring to process analytical systems.

		The safest way to calibrate fieldbus instruments - 02/19/10 What’s New in Process Technology, February 2010 By AMS Instrumentation & Calibration Fieldbus is becoming more and more common in today’s instrumentation. Fieldbus transmitters must also be calibrated just like conventional instruments, and there are also industrial environments where the calibration of fieldbus instruments should not only be made accurately and efficiently, but also safely.

		Prevent 24 VDC overloads from stopping production - 02/19/10 What’s New in Process Technology, February 2010 By Siemens Along with the laws of physics, engineers have to be aware of the law of unintended consequences. Take, for example, something as simple as the 24 VDC power supplies that feed the control circuits in automation systems as a case in point.

		Intelligence at the Device - 02/16/10 Control Engineering Europe, January 2010 By Jeanine Katzel As components get smarter and more powerful, manufacturers are finding themselves managing high-performance automation and control systems whose parts are capable of monitoring themselves, diagnosing their own problems, and maybe even making a decision or two, economically and easily.

		Measuring liquid depth using pressure instruments - 02/16/10 Control Engineering Europe, February 2010 By Peter Welander One of the simplest and most reliable ways of measuring liquid depth is via pressure. This article and its accompanying video demonstration offers some practical suggestions.

		Leveraging predictive maintenance to achieve greener field operations - 02/16/10 InTech, February 2010 By Jim Fererro The ability to proactively address field problems, avoid shutdowns, and reduce miles driven each day saves hours of time and expense. It also makes a positive impact environmentally and has a significant effect on safety statistics.

		Clamp-on ultrasonic flowmeter improvements - 02/16/10 InTech, February 2010 By John Erskine, et al Ultrasonic flow measurement technology offers a low-cost method to measure flow. The advantage of clamp-on ultrasonic flow sensors is installation without stopping a process to put a hole in a pipe to insert a conventional sensor.

		Advances in flow and level measurements enhance process knowledge, control - 02/16/10 InTech, February 2010 By Gregory K. McMillan New sensor technologies with integrated intelligent compensation, diagnostics, and communication have made a dramatic improvement in the accuracy and maintainability of flow and level measurements.

		Back to Basics: Magnetic flowmeter technology - 02/16/10 InTech, February 2010 By David W. Spitzer and Walt Boyes Magnetic flowmeters utilize Faraday’s Law of Electromagnetic Induction to determine the velocity of a liquid flowing in a pipe. Faraday’s Law forms the basis for electrical generation systems where wires travel through a magnetic field and produce a voltage.

		Applying Coriolis technology to high pressure applications - 02/16/10 InTech, February 2010 By John Daly The omega tube torsion Coriolis mass flowmeter is equipped with torsion rods and crossbars as part of its mechanism. This design has proved to be useful in extreme applications with high flow rates, pressures and/or temperatures.

		Come Up With a Solid Estimate - 01/27/10 Chemical Processing, January 2010 By Andrew Sloley Here’s how to use geometry to figure out the amount of material in storage or equipment.

		Do You Really Need SIL 3? - 01/27/10 Chemical Processing, January 2010 By Alan G. King, ABB Engineering Services If the review indicates that a SIL-3 SIF is necessary, then there's a need to look very carefully at hardware configuration and human interactions with the safety function. Achieving SIL-3 performance and maintaining it for the lifetime of the function isn't by any means a straightforward task.

		The importance of DP cell calibration - 01/24/10 Process and Control Engineering, January 2010 By Brian Coan With present day oil and gas prices, the uncertainty of flowmeters is becoming more critically important - be they for fiscal or custody transfer duty or not.

		FDI Cooperation a huge move fowards, say Australian suppliers - 01/24/10 Process and Control Engineering, January 2010 By Sarah Falson According to Australian suppliers, the FDI Cooperation will be a huge move forwards for vendors, standards committees and end-users, and will save us all money in the long-run.

		Playing Well with Others - 01/09/10 Control, December 2009 By Walt Boyes Recently, a companion specification to OPC-UA called OPC Analyzer Devices Integration (ADI) was released by the OPC Foundation to provide users with a common method of data exchange for analyzer data models and laboratory, online and at-line analyzers.

		Accurate gas analysis drives process efficiency - 12/24/09 European Process Engineer, December 2009 Being able to accurately measure the presence of gases is crucial to the success of any process. The latest monitoring technologies are particularly focused on hydrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide.

		Executive Interview - Sudipta Bhattacharya, President & CEO Invensys Operations Management (IOM) By Bill Lydon, Automation.com Bhattacharya and I discuss the new organizational structure and his management philosophies. Bhattacharya is an engaging and personable man that clearly expresses the organization's mission while acknowledging that he continues to seek better answers. Bhattacharya has an interesting combination of experience and knowledge that encompasses process controls, enterprise systems, and supply chain.

		The Potential and Challenges of Wireless Sensor Nodes for Diverse Application Fields - 12/18/09 Sensors, December 2009 By Julien Penders, et al Autonomous wireless sensor networks—WSNs powered by energy harvesting—have tremendous potential. By examining their possible use in healthcare, condition monitoring, and smart packaging we assess this enabling technology and discuss the challenges to further adoption.

		Wireless Sensors Offer Single- and Multi-Channel Options - 12/15/09 Control Design, December 2009 By Dan Hebert Wireless sensors depend on power and node needs: big bucks can be saved in the right applications.

		Fuel production enhanced with NMR - 12/15/09 Intech, December 2009 By By Paul Giammatteo, et al Online NMR offers a viable means for accurate process analysis and control on a variety of upstream and downstream refinery applications from crude feed to finished gasoline property measurements. NMR delivers real-time accuracy with proven control and economic benefits.

		Online moisture analysis in materials handling - 12/06/09 What’s New in Process Technology, November 2009 By Graeme McGown, Intalysis Moisture analysis during materials handling and processing presents a number of challenges that can be solved with appropriate use of online techniques.

		Predictive maintenance using infrared thermography - 12/06/09 Process & Control Engineering, November 2009 By Steve Hood Growing a successful infrared program involves planning and action. This article shows a variety of steps showing how to develop a thermography program that becomes an essential part of a processing plant’s operations.

		Avoiding costly plant downtime - 12/06/09 Process & Control Engineering, November 2009 By Hartley Henderson Thermal imaging technology is a flexible way to pin-point process problems through heat detection, and offers an affordable means of maintenance in hard economic times.

		Analyser placement in ammonia plants - 12/06/09 Control Engineering Europe, November 2009 By Michael Gaura, Emerson Rosemount Effective selection and placement of online gas analysers can improve product quality and production efficiency at ammonia plants.

		Platinum resistance thermometers - 12/06/09 Control Engineering Europe, November 2009 By Bill Earlie, Cropico Temperature affects all processes but it’s always difficult to measure. Here is one way of achieving greater accuracy, using platinum resistance thermometers.

		Checking thermocouple drift - 12/06/09 Control Engineering Europe, November 2009 The accuracy of temperature sensors deteriorates at varying rates, depending on the process, so they must be calibrated regularly. A thermocouple always drifts downwards by several degrees a year.

		Enterprise Control System Defined - OpsManage 2009 Sudipta Bhattacharya, President & CEO Invensys Operations Management (IOM), opened OpsManage09 with his keynote presentation. Bhattacharya displayed energy, vision, conviction, and a plan that he openly shared, including the rationale for the company's new organization and business approach.

		Siemens Industry's New Automation Organization By Bill Lydon Interview with Raj Batra President, Industry Automation Division Batra was formerly vice president, Automation & Motion, for Siemens Energy & Automation. The Industry Automation division, based in Alpharetta, Ga., encompasses automation products including programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and controls for discrete and process automation.

		Plants Take Measurement to a Higher Level - 11/21/09 Chemical Processing, November 2009 By Seán Ottewell More capable level measurement devices promise immediate and longer term benefits.

		Accurate gas analysis drives process efficiency - 11/21/09 European Process Engineer, November 2009 Being able to accurately measure the presence of gases is crucial to the success of any process. The latest monitoring technologies are particularly focused on hydrogen, oxygen, carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide.

		Of Costs & Cable Cutting - 11/17/09 Industrial Automation Asia, November 2009 By Peter Zornio, Emerson Process Management Combining wireless with wired automation systems can save you money without sacrificing control capability or reliability.

		Sensor Fusion — It's Hot! - 11/17/09 Design News, November 2009 By Kevin Craig Sensors complement each other, giving rise to the name complementary filtering or sensor fusion. The basic concept is: If a time-varying signal is applied to both a high-pass filter and a low-pass filter, and if the two filter output signals are summed, the summed output signal is exactly equal to the input signal.

		Unlock Your Plant’s Potential: WirelessHart Is The Key - 11/17/09 Process Industry Informer, November 2009 By Phil Burns, Endress+Hauser Of the 30 million or so installed HART devices across the globe, only 15% are configured to deliver additional device and process information. In the majority of cases, only the process variable is transmitted. WirelessHART technology enables the end user to access this additional data, unlocking the previously untapped potential of ‘smart’ devices.

		Installing remote seals - 11/17/09 Process Industry Informer, November 2009 By Trevor Dunger, ABB Remote seals provide extra protection for pressure instrumentation in arduous conditions but they also introduce an added layer of complexity to the system. It’s therefore vital to choose and install remote seals correctly.

		Temperature measurement with single, dual and multiwavelength technologies - 11/11/09 What’s New in Process Technology, October 2009 By Tom Larrick, Williamson An infrared thermometer calculates temperature by using a model, or algorithm, that correlates measured infrared energy to temperature. The appropriate model for any given application depends on several factors, including the measured material and its size and emissivity properties, and the presence of any stray background infrared energy.

		Predictive maintenance using infrared thermography - 11/11/09 PACE, October 2009 By Sarah Falson Growing a successful infrared program involves planning and action. This article shows a variety of steps showing how to develop a thermography program that becomes an essential part of a processing plant’s operations.

		Are your temperature sensors safe? - 11/11/09 Control Engineering Europe, November 2009 By Chris Chant, Okazaki Manufacturing Companies that use temperature measurement products such as thermocouples and RTDs installed in potentially explosive atmospheres need to ensure that the sensor assembly (sensor, enclosure and terminal glands) actually meets the overall area classification requirements for each specific installation.

		Sensor diagnostic information: how useful is it? - 11/11/09 Control Engineering Europe, November 2009 By Tony Grassby, Endress and Hauser Promises of advanced diagnostics and predictive maintenance information being used to avoid costly plant downtime and claims of operational expenditure savings have not always been realised.

		Flow Transfer Standards: Versatile, Cost-effective Solutions for In-house Flowmeter Calibrations - 11/11/09 Control Engineering Europe, November 2009 For many end-users, flowmeter calibration means shutting down the process, removing the meter from the line, and sending it to an outside calibration lab. The concept of portable ‘flow transfer standards’ offers a cost-effective solution for in-house flowmeter calibrations.

		Using 'semi-wireless’ instrumentation - 11/11/09 Control Engineering, November 2009 By Peter Welander Many devices are not suited to battery powering, so is removing just the data cable enough? What are your options for semi-wireless devices?

		Changes at ISA - A Current Volunteer Leader's Perspective - 11/06/09 by Don Frey, ISA Volunteer Leader Faced with unprecedented declines in demand for training, advertising, and exhibit space, the ISA has had to make drastic cuts in its budget for 2010. Some significant areas where cuts have been made are in the areas of professional staff, frequency of publication of InTech magazine, ISA E-News production and distribution, and future ISA EXPO offerings.

		An intro to infrared thermography for mechanical applications - 10/22/09 Reliable Plant, October 2009 By Harold Van De Ven and John Snell, The Snell Group While infrared imaging systems are relatively simple to use, interpreting images taken with this equipment can be far more complex and challenging. With training and experience, however, remarkable information can be extracted from an infrared camera.

		Certification – how to achieve results using Infrared Thermography - 10/22/09 Maintenance World, October 2009 By Austin Dunne It is easy to buy equipment, but quite another matter to find an effective person able to provide quality data that will enhance a maintenance programme. As with many condition monitoring techniques, infrared thermography is a skilled art form that requires technician and engineeers to be educated and certified.

		New Generation IR Cameras - 10/22/09 Maintenance World, October 2009 By Alan Thomson Three years ago the markets were hit by the first low cost, high resolution cameras that have revolutionised the use of thermography and vastly enhanced the appreciation of the benefits of the technology.

		Getting The Best Results From Thermal Cameras - 10/22/09 Maintenance On-Line, October 2009 Thermal cameras can be used within virtually every industry to help businesses make significant cost savings through predictive maintenance.

		Wireless Technology Offers Cost-$aving Convenience - 10/22/09 Maintenance Technology, October 2009 By Dave Holloway, Cooper Crouse-Hinds Recent advancements in wireless technologies can address many of the difficult challenges inherent in traditional plant maintenance. One area that has seen real benefits from improved wireless technology is the monitoring of critical components throughout an industrial plant.

		Changing the Game: Open Data Integration for PAT - 10/22/09 Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, October 2009 By Dennis McKinley, ABB Now that OPC’s Analyzer Device Integration model is reality, what can we expect?

		Enhanced Gas Leak Visualization Tools Accelerate Better Decision Making - 10/22/09 Pipeline & Gas Journal, October 2009 For operators of underground transmission pipelines and/or aboveground natural gas processing facilities, finding and fixing “fugitive emission” leaks continues to be a business-critical task. Answer: Fly over sensors.

		Use Thermal Imagery For Process Problems - 10/22/09 Chemical Processing, October 2009 By John Pratten, Fluke Thermography Advances over the last several years have transformed thermal imaging from a tool for the specialist to one that plant personnel can use for regular maintenance and troubleshooting process equipment.

		Where Is Process Automation Headed? - 10/22/09 Chemical Processing, October 2009 By Norm Gilsdorf, Honeywell Process Solutions Six key technology trends will greatly influence how plants cope with the challenges of today and how they’ll operate by the end of the next decade: sensors, wireless, knowledge applications, convergence of IT and process control, and more.

		RF Energy Harvesting Enables Wireless Sensor Networks - 10/22/09 Sensors, October 2009 By Harry Ostaffe, Powercast Corp. A brief introduction to RF energy harvesting: what it is, what it does, and how it enables wireless sensor networking applications.

		Time for Calibration? - 10/22/09 Control Engineering Asia, October 2009 By Jonas Berge Is it really time for your Coriolis flowmeter to be calibrated? Advanced diagnostics technology can help determine if the instrument needs to be removed from the process or if it can wait.

		2009 Emerson Global Users Exchange - Engaging Minds. Amazing Results. Steve Sonnenberg, Executive Vice President of Emerson Process Management, opened the conference by emphasizing the biggest challenge of attendees will be to "translate this knowledge (gained) into amazing results when you bring these ideas back home."

		Thin-Film Sputtering Deposition Strain Sensors - 10/19/09 Machine Design, October 2009 In the area of strain sensors, the sputtering-deposition technique lets manufacturers form sensors directly on the stressed substrate. The sensor becomes an integral part of the assembly, instead of being bonded to the stressed surface as are foil, resistive, and silicon strain gages.

		Measuring Coal Pipe Flow - 10/10/09 Power, October 2009 By Richard F. Storm, Storm Technologies Once pulverized coal flows have been measured, they can be balanced and optimized. Until then, tuning is simply guesswork. The right way to balance furnace fuel flows is to establish solid baseline performance by proper measurement of fuel flow, fineness, and velocity.

		Techniques for Determining Limestone Composition and Reactivity - 10/10/09 Power, October 2009 By Shannon R. Brown, et al, Babcock & Wilcox Reactivity is a direct measure of how readily a limestone will provide alkalinity to neutralize the acid resulting from SO2 dissolution in water. This article reviews limestone analytic measurement options and discusses their relative accuracy and limitations.

		Return on assets: To the max! - 10/10/09 InTech, October 2009 By Greg Hood and Wil Chin To enhance asset management, companies are selecting condition-monitoring solutions that are on an open database platform and have features such as standard vibration data types, the power to perform calculations, and the ability to integrate seamlessly with the plant-floor control and process systems.

		Proximity Sensors: How to Choose, Use Them - 10/10/09 Control Engineering, October 2009 By Mark T. Hoske Latest trends in inductive, photoelectric, and laser sensors can help your implementation. Do lower costs, less aggravation, easier setup, and longer life make sense to you?

		2009 IPS North American Client Conference: Chaos, Crisis, Clarity By Bill Lydon, Contributing Editor Steve Blair, President, North America Region, Invensys Operations Management opened the conference with the theme, "Achieving Sustainable Performance" and two other speakers gave real world examples of how training and preparation brought clarity out of chaos and crisis.

		Wireless temperature sensing by acoustic wave sensors - 09/22/09 Process Industry Informer, September 2009 By Kerem Durdag, SenGenuity Wireless acoustic wave temperature sensors have unique features that allow customers to address specification needs and requirements that otherwise may not have been possible due to design constraints and sensor suppliers are well poised to provide solutions for these multiple applications.

		Machine Data Acquisition Capabilities Grow - 09/20/09 Control Design, September 2009 By Phil Burgert Better data acquisition technologies for factory settings are raising interest among machine builders and their customers. Maintenance and service top the list of benefits that can be leveraged, but increasing capabilities for enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems also are coming along.

		Advances in High Speed Automated Optical Inspection Systems - 09/16/09 Machine Vision On Line, September 2009 By Patrick Beauchemin, VISIONx Recent advances in machine vision technologies and motion control present tremendous opportunities for Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) systems. Thanks to recent developments in these fundamental building block technologies, today’s AOI systems can carry out inspections with a higher resolution and accuracy and with a much faster throughput than before.

		Sensor sense: Safety-Light Curtains - 09/16/09 Machine Design, September 2009 By Robert Repas Today’s safety-control architectures use 24-Vdc power and safety-rated redundant solid-state outputs, along with significant advances in electrooptic and integrated-circuit technology, that deliver heightened safety and performance in a package less than 1-in. square.

		Pressure-Sensing Line Problems and Solutions - 09/13/09 Power, September 2009 By M. Hashemian and Dr. Jin Jiang Improper pressure-sensing line design or installation is often found to be the cause of poor sensing system accuracy and response time. Here’s how to identify and solve those pesky pressure sensor problems in short order.

		The trick to using portable hygrometers - 09/13/09 Process & Control Engineering, September 2009 By Frank Dutton To get the best performance from portable hygrometers, there are a number of precautions to be taken in order to get a meaningful reading.

		Ensuring an accurate analytical instrumentation system - 09/13/09 Process & Control Engineering, September 2009 By Doug Nordstrom and Tony Waters To effectively calibrate an analyser, the operator, technician or engineer should understand, theoretically, what calibration is, what it can correct and what it cannot.

		LVDT pressure sensors offer reliability and long life in harsh environments - 09/13/09 HazardEx, September 2009 By Sam Drury, Impress Sensors & Systems Pressure sensors vary considerably in their design technology used, performance and application. Article considers the advantages of using LVDT technology for pressure sensors used in harsh environments, including the nuclear industry.

		Improving power plant performance through calibration - 09/13/09 Control Engineering Europe, September 2009 By Mike Babb Calibration helps a power plant to maintain and improve safety, as well as to meet national and international standards. However, calibration is also a matter of profitability. By using high-accuracy calibration equipment, the accuracy of vital measurements can be maintained at required levels and plants can increase their annual power production capability.

		The smart art of handheld calibration - 09/13/09 Control Engineering Europe, September 2009 By Mike Babb Calibration is an important aspect of an instrument’s life cycle. However, it can be difficult to choose the correct calibration method to suit your requirements and specification. This article discusses the benefits of employing electronic verification and calibration methods using handheld equipment.

		Flowmeter Challenge: Right Size, Right Design - 09/13/09 Control Engineering, September 2009 By Peter Welander How many process plants suffer with poorly sized and poorly selected flowmeters? Why does this seemingly simple selection task get so complicated?

		Another kind of integration - 09/13/09 Control Engineering, September 2009 By Mark Voigtmann What is contract integration? It is, quite simply, knowing the boundaries of the "deal." It is amazing how many companies neglect this most basic of legal principles—to the point where the process may be integrated but the legal requirements are not.

		Heat Seeker - 08/27/09 Machinery and Equipment MRO, June 2009 By Colin Plastow Thermal imaging using infrared technology can capture thousands of points at once, for all of the critical components -for example, the motor, shaft coupling, motor and shaft bearings, and the gearbox -to create a comprehensive temperature profile in a short space of time

		If you fail to plan — plan to fail - 08/27/09 Plant Services, August 2009 By Harley Denio Your thermal scan accuracy can benefit from a structured approach. This is Part 2 of a two-part series on the use of infrared thermographic surveys as part of preventive maintenance programs.

		Heat-Seeking Diagnosis - 08/27/09 Control Engineering Asia, August 2009 By Fluke To locate trouble already hit or used as part of a routine preventive maintenance program, thermal imaging can be effective in identifying electrical problems.

		Locating the Level - 08/27/09 Control Engineering Asia, August 2009 By Nwaoha Chikezie Level measurement can be either continuous or point type. Continuous level sensors measure level within a specified range and also determine the exact amount of substance in the container, while point level sensors indicate whether the measured substance is above or below the required sensing point or value.

		OPC UA Redefines Automation Architectures By Bill Lydon, Automation.com The new OPC UA technology provides an efficient and secure infrastructure for communications - from sensor to business enterprise computing for all automation systems in manufacturing and process control. OPC UA leverages web services to provide a single programming paradigm in a scalable architecture that can be implemented is a range of devices - from embedded to enterprise.

		Why Calibration Matters - 08/24/09 Maintenance On Line, August 2009 Calibration can be as confusing as it is important. In simple terms, calibration involves the comparison of a test instrument against a known standard in order to determine whether the instrument under test is reading to its correct accuracy specification.

		New Generation IR Cameras - 08/24/09 Maintenance On Line, August 2009 Three years ago the markets were hit by the first low cost, high resolution cameras that have revolutionised the use of thermography and vastly enhanced the appreciation of the benefits of the technology

		Focus On Thermography - 08/24/09 Maintenance On Line, August 2009 Thermal Imaging or Thermography is a very versatile maintenance tool. In the hands of a skilled operator it instantly shows anomalies in mechanical, civil and electrical engineering components.

		Stand and deliver: the role of front-line fire monitors - 08/24/09 Oil & Gas Engineer, August 2009 While fire monitors spend the vast majority of their lives motionless and inert, when the call to action comes, their effectiveness can easily be all that stands between recovery and disaster. Far from being ancillary equipment, they are a 'front line' firefighting resource in volatile high-hazard environments.

		How Does Your Control System Measure Up? - 08/24/09 Chemical Processing, August 2009 By George Buckbee, ExperTune Most sites have spent millions of dollars on control systems — an individual loop may cost upwards of $10,000 to implement when you consider expenses for engineering, sensor, wiring, controller, valve, configuration and programming. Yet, is this sizable investment paying off as well as it should?

		Choosing an Ultrasonic Sensor for Proximity or Distance Measurement - 08/24/09 Sensors, August 2009 By Donald P. Massa, Massa Products Part 1: Acoustic considerations. The first step toward identifying the right proximity sensor for your application is to understand the fundamental ultrasonic properties of the transmission medium and the way they influence the measurement and system operation.

		Designing a Second-Order Anti-aliasing Filter for a Sensor Signal Path - 08/24/09 Sensors, August 2009 By Beb Hennink, National Semiconductor Aliasing in sensor signal paths can be avoided by using an anti-aliasing filter between the sensor and the ADC. This article describes how to design a simple, second-order anti-aliasing filter

		High Definition Flow - 08/20/09 Mechanical Engineering, August 2009 By John Wright and Michael Moldover From pharmaceutical production to the natural gas market, exact flow measurements are critical. Here’s how NIST helps keep us all on the same page.

		Variable Measurements Evolve - 08/20/09 Control Design, August 2009 By Jim Montague Pressure and other air signals aren't new, but what's evolving is higher resolution for converting 0-10 V analog signals into 10-bit or 16-bit digital.

		New EDDL is guiding radar: interface level made easy - 08/16/09 What’s New in Process Technology, July 2009 By Jonas Berge Guided wave radar (GWR) level transmitters are ideal for challenging level and interface measurements on liquids, slurries and solids. Electronic device description language (EDDL) integrates GWR level transmitters with intelligent device management software in a way not previously possible.

		Colourblind no more — contrast and colour sensors for packaging and converting applications - 08/16/09 What’s New in Process Technology, August 2009 By Jeff Allison, Pepperl+Fuchs Contrast and colour sensors bridge the gap between photoelectric sensors and vision systems. Contrast sensors detect differences between colours. Colour sensors detect a specific colour.

		Minerals processing comes of age - 08/16/09 Process & Control Engineering, July 2009 By Sarah Falson The need for automatic control of mineral processing plants requires continuous accurate measurement of process streams and can result in increased productivity, improved metal recovery, improved concentrate grades, reduced operating costs and lower product variability.

		High Wireless - 08/16/09 Control, August 2009 By Jim Montague Most folks now believe wireless can work in their process applications. here’s how veteran users do wireless, and how you can do it too

		Lumps, Clumps and Ratholes, Oh My! - 08/16/09 Control, August 2009 By Walt Boyes Most level applications are for liquids and interfaces between two liquids. Yet there are many applications where it's useful to know the level of a powder or other bulk solid. But there are some special issues with powders and bulk solids that have to be understood to make those measurements.

		Benefit from using documenting calibrators - 08/14/09 HazardEx, July 2009 For process manufacturers, regular calibration of instruments across a manufacturing plant is common practice. In plant areas where instrument accuracy is critical to product quality or safety, calibration every six months – or even more frequently – is not unusual.

		LVDT pressure sensors offer reliability and long life in harsh environments - 08/14/09 HazardEx, August 2009 By Sam Drury, Impress Sensors & Systems Covers the advantages of using LVDT technology for pressure sensors used in harsh environments, including the nuclear industry.

		Safe Position Measuring - 08/14/09 Control Engineering, August 2009 By Thilo Schlicksbier, Heidenhain Stringent safety requirements, particularly as defined in the new EN ISO 13849 standard, call for position encoders with entirely new solutions for safety-related applications.

		Technology & Engineers Celebrated at NIWeek 2009 Dr. James Truchard opened the conference by describing National Instruments' technical directions and thanking attendees for taking on new challenges by innovating and solving problems. NIWeek 2009 attendance was up over last year and that alone is a significant statement compared with other conferences this year. It was billed as the Worldwide Graphical System Design conference providing three days of over 200 interactive technical sessions, exhibitions, and hands-on workshops on the technologies for control, design, measurement, automation, manufacturing, and test.

		Digital Pipeline Radiography Speeds Detection Of Corrosion And Other Anomalies - 07/21/09 Pipeline & Gas Journal, June 2009 By Joseph M. Galbraith, et al Recent developments in solid-state radiographic pipeline inspection equipment, primarily durable, mobile computers and solid-state image capturing devices, are raising the technique’s profile as a useful, capable way to find and assess corrosion.

		Custody Transfer: The Value Of Good Measurement And The Search For The Truth - 07/21/09 Pipeline & Gas Journal, July 2009 By Daniel J. Rudroff, C, Welker Flow Measurement Systems Custody transfer measurement in the oil and gas business has been described many ways. It has been called an accuracy in measurement that both the buyer and seller can agree upon and it has been called the best that can be achieved to meet the contract conditions.

		Ultrasonic Flow Meters In The Energy Measurement Spotlight - 07/21/09 Pipeline & Gas Journal, July 2009 By Jesse Yoder Ultrasonic flow meters are among the most popular of the flow meter types. They are used for a wide range of applications, including natural gas and petroleum liquids custody transfer, check metering and flare gas measurement.

		Return on Imagination - Honeywell User Group (HUG) 2009 Honeywell Process Solutions continues to grow in a number of dimensions including: additional products, wireless, energy, PLCs, independent system integrator initiatives, and Integrated Master Automation Contractor (IMAC) focus. This year’s attendance was lower than previous years, but David Wade, Honeywell Users Group Americas Chairman, officially opened the HUG 2009 conference commenting that there were more than 50% new attendees.

		Infrared lights the path to proactive maintenance - 07/19/09 Plant Services, July 2009 By Ken Leonard and Robert P. Madding Part 1: Infrared surveys are particularly important for electrical equipment because it’s usually critical to an enterprise’s mission. Moreover, certain kinds of electrical failures pose life-threatening risks to workers.

		Empower the people - 07/19/09 Plant Services, July 2009 By Paul Studebaker Where it’s appropriate, wireless data transmission empowers condition monitoring by reducing costs. This increases paybacks and allows facilities to apply more effective condition monitoring to more equipment

		Three- And Four-Channel Vibration Data Collection - 07/19/09 Maintenance Technology, July 2009 By Robert Collyer, SKF Working with a three/four channel data collector with a tri-axial accelerometer can greatly speed up the data-collection process, provide enhanced analytical data, and display more data to assist in making effective machine diagnostic decisions. The resulting benefits can include more efficient use of plant personnel, reduced maintenance costs, and increased plant uptime and overall profitability.

		Optimizing Motion Control—Getting the Most from Resolvers - 07/15/09 Sensors, June 2009 By Thomas Tokar, Rockwell Automation Many new sensing devices simply cannot function reliably under rugged conditions. In this situation, the engineer's best option is a tried-and-true feedback sensor that has been available since the 1940s—the resolver.

		MEMS Accelerometers as Acoustic Pickups in Musical Instruments - 07/15/09 Sensors, June 2009 MEMS sensors are in our cars, phones, PCs, cameras, and a variety of other applications but until now, they've never been attached to a guitar. The authors seek to answer the question: Can you use a MEMS accelerometer as an acoustic transducer?

		Infrared Cameras Improve In-Line Quality Control - 07/15/09 Machine Design, July 2009 By Jason Styron, FLIR Like modern visible-light cameras, thermographic cameras can recognize the size, shape, and relative location of target objects using pattern matching. Operators use this data to adjust processes and reject bad parts.

		Wireless Sensor Connections - 07/15/09 Machine Design, July 2009 Replace slip rings with a wireless inductive system that transfers power and data signals from the primary system side across an air gap to a movable secondary side to eliminate wires between fixed and moving pieces.

		Laser Sensors and Presence Sensors Have Different Advantages - 07/15/09 Control Design, July 2009 By Philip Burgert Sensing and measuring based on laser technology that offers tightly focused measuring-spot ranges and flexible mounting-distance options are finding their places in a wide range of applications that need very accurate alternatives to 3D vision

		Breathe easy - 07/10/09 What’s New in Process Technology, July 2009 Process plants need to accurately monitor and control plant emissions and in turn are seeking robust and reliable means to do so. Of the three main methods used for gas sampling and analysis, the dilution extractive method seems to offer a very attractive means to meet this need for many of the hot, dirty environments found at many plants.

		Battery-operated pressure measurement - 07/10/09 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, July 2009 By Jaco Hoogenboezem, Supervisory & Control Expertise Why would anybody want to measure pressure in a remote location where typically no power is available? What would such a measurement be used for? What would be the requirements of a pressure sensor to be used in such an application?

		As Clear As Mud! - 07/10/09 Process Industry Informer, July 2009 By Nigel Allen, Hycontrol Covers the complex process control and automation problems associated with sludge blanket level and interface monitoring within waste water treatment and allied industries.

		Using Particle Size Analysis For Optimal Processing Performance - 07/10/09 Process Industry Informer, July 2009 By Paul Kippax and Jim Scotland For many aspects of solids processing one key parameter is particle size. This article examines how particle size analysis using the well-established technique of laser diffraction can contribute to the development of optimal solids processing solutions.

		Trends and technology developments in level instrumentation - 07/09/09 Control Engineering Europe, June 2009 By Emerson The need for accurate measurement and reliable level alarms—while meeting ever more stringent health and safety regulations—continues to push equipment manufacturers to provide better performing instrumentation.

		Making Measurement Count - 07/09/09 Control Engineering Europe, June 2009 By Honeywell Sensor advances are leading to new applications in almost every area of life, and new technology promises to see them play an even greater role in the processing plant.

		A World of Interconnected Sensors The Sensors Expo was well attended this year - a pleasant surprise for exhibitors and hopefully provides some indication of an improving economy. The scope of the Sensor Expo and Conference has been expanding from sensors and sensor-integrated systems to include wireless communications and energy harvesting to support smart sensors.

		Condition monitoring matures - 06/24/09 Plant Services, June 2009 By Sheila Kennedy Recent innovations in condition-monitoring technologies address the key barriers to implementation by minimizing the upfront investment, simplifying installation and use, improving speed and accuracy, supporting diverse technologies, and streaming complex analytics.

		Non-destructive examination basics - 06/20/09 Energy Tech, June 2009 By Patrick J. Smith Non-destructive examination (NDE) is used to detect cracks and other flaws in a part without rendering the part unusable by performing destructive testing. These inspections can increase the reliability of the part by providing early detection of flaws that could lead to a failure.

		Remote performance monitoring - 06/20/09 Energy Tech, June 2009 This is the second of three articles. Web-based and wireless technologies, advanced software applications and tools, automation, smart sensors and instruments with diagnostic capabilities, are all making it possible for power plant owners to do more with less.

		Plant of the Future: Whither Wireless? - 06/20/09 Chemical Processing, June 2009 By Jeff Becker, Honeywell Process Solutions Predictions made only a few years ago about the “wireless plant of the future” already are outdated. The rapid evolution and adoption of wireless technology by the process industries mean it’s very realistic to expect such plants to emerge within the next five years.

		Capacitive Sensor Operation Part II: System Optimization - 06/20/09 Sensors, June 2009 By Mark Kretschmar, Lion Precision Sensors Part 2 of this two-part article focuses on how to optimize the performance of your capacitive sensor, and to understand how target material, shape, and size will affect the sensor's response.

		Ultra-low-power wireless sensor networks - 06/20/09 Industrial Embedded Systems, May 2009 Energy harvesting devices enable autonomous, battery-free sensor networks by tapping into the power available in the environment

		Predictive Emissions Monitoring for Regulatory Compliance - 06/16/09 Control Engineering, June 2008 By Rich Hovan, Pavilion Technologies Software-based continuous emission monitoring proves to be a more viable- and cost effective- tool for controlling emissions than traditional hardware-based systems.

		Choosing the correct infrared thermometer - 06/16/09 South Africa Instrumentation & Control, June 2009 By R&C Instrumentation Advances to detectors and optics of infrared thermometers are helping manufacturers and their customers expand the types of applications where IR can be used effectively, gain speed and accuracy, and get a better return on their investments. Two-colour or ratio measurement and units with built-in visual cameras are some of the recent advances.

		Signaling enhancements herald a new era in flow meter stability - 06/16/09 Process Industry Informer, May 2009 By Dr. Ray Keech, ABB While features such as more robust packaging and improved usability are an ‘easy sell’, signal processing can enable users to tap into a wealth of previously inaccessible additional information that can be derived or inferred from the measured data.

		Infrared Thermography In Process Applications - 06/16/09 Process Industry Informer, May 2009 By Austin Dunne, Institute of Infrared Thermography Infrared thermography can be on mechanical assets to produce a signature reading of all machines located at a facility. In conjunction with other techniques, for example oil analysis and vibration analysis, it can be become a powerful tool.

		High-integrity overflow protection - 06/16/09 InTech, June 2009 By Chris O’Brien Vessel overflow protection systems seem so simple, so straightforward—that is until one of them fails to work properly and your plant is the six o’clock news

		Capitalize on Crisis! - Review of Yokogawa 2009 User Group Conference The Yokogawa User Group Conference had an enthusiastic group of automation professionals in attendance. In his opening remarks, Con Lau, GM Marketing of Yokogawa of America, discussed the Asian representation of crisis that is made up of two letters - danger and opportunity. “Where there is danger, there is opportunity.” People attending were looking for opportunities to improve operations and efficiency.

		Getting a feel for robotics capabilities Plant Engineering, May 2009 By Jack Smith Recent innovations allow robots to experience touch and control applied force. Known as tactile feedback or force sensing, these technologies allow robots to advance beyond routine applications.

		Keep process analyzers on-stream Plant Services, April 2009 By Terry McMahon, Steve Walton and Jim Tatera If online instrumentation, sample-handling systems and data-analysis software are to realize optimum performance, they will require continual attention from the analyzer support staff.

		Early bearing failure detection Maintenance World, April 2009 Bearing failure is one of the foremost causes of breakdowns in rotating machinery and such failure can be catastrophic, resulting in costly downtime. One of the key issues in bearing prognostics is to detect the defect at its incipient stage and alert the operator before it develops into a catastrophic failure.

		Rethink Sample System Automation Chemical Processing, May 2009 By Robert N. Dubois Automating a sample system always has been a struggle. We still rely on spring and diaphragm regulators, on/off thermostats, manually adjustable needle valves and visual indicators for monitoring and control. Why does process analytical remain an anachronism in a sea of automation?

		Scale Back on Heat Tracing - 06/02/09 Chemical Processing, May 2009 By Andrew Sloley To prevent freeze expansion damage, plants in chilly areas generally use electricity or steam to heat trace water lines. While this addresses an obvious hazard, it also can pose pitfalls for pumps, as one plant discovered.

		A Microflow-Based Differential Pressure Sensor Sensors, May 2009 By Oleg Grudin, et al, Microbridge Technologies Canada This article describes prototypes of a novel thermoanemometer-type nano-airflow sensor, integrated onchip with analog CMOS signal conditioning circuitry and with analog adjustability that allows accurate sensing of low differential pressures.

		Capacitive Sensor Operation Part I: The Basics Sensors, May 2009 By Mark Kretschmar, Lion Precision Part 1 of this two-part article reviews the concepts and theory of capacitive sensing to help to optimize capacitive sensor performance. Part 2 of this article will discuss how to put these concepts to work.

		Product Briefs from Hannover Messe By Bill Lydon Over 6,000 companies showed products at Hannover Messe and there are important trends that are worth noting. Here are highlights of some products that caught my interest - some due to functional sophistication and others because of their elegant simplicity.

		Here Come Low-Power Encoders Machine Design, May 2009 By Leland Teschler Alternatives to traditional optical encoders are getting attention. One device in this category is the capacitive position encoder. Capacitive encoders now on the market operate down to 3.6 V — an advantage when operating from batteries — and draw only about 7 mA. In addition, they can be advantageous where the presence of dirt, mist, or other contamination render optical encoders unreliable.

		Wireless technology: a game-changing technology Power Engineering International, May 2009 By Mike Ferris, Emerson Process Management Wireless technology opens up many new measurement points that were previously impossible, or economically feasible. Applying this technology across the whole plant brings enormous gains, but as one may expect, some companies hesitate to try wireless without proof of performance and positive results.

		Machines Talk And It Pays To Listen Process Industry Informer, April 2009 By Neil Parkinson, AV Technology Modern acoustic emission technology is a very versatile, non-invasive way to gather information about a material or structure. Examples include detecting and locating faults in pressure vessels, damage assessment in fibre-reinforced polymer-matrix composites, monitoring welding applications and corrosion processes, and various process monitoring applications.

		Ultrasonic Level Measurement for Solids Applications Process Industry Informer, April 2009 By Keith Flint, Pulsar Process Measurement Ultrasonic level measurement remains the most versatile method for non-contact continuous measurement of solids level measurement. The latest ultrasonic systems have benefited from modern software and computing power to sort the real echo from competing signals.

		Emphasis on Omni16C South Africa Instrumentation and Control, May 2009 With the increasing reliance on SMART instruments in safety systems, the problem of substantiating the software in these instruments has been a concern for years. This has led to reluctance from the nuclear industry to use software-based or SMART instruments in safety instrumented systems.

		The Practice of Safe Sensing Control Engineering Europe, April 2009 By Hank Hogan Today, sensors can be certified by third parties to meet safety integrity levels, or SIL, designations found in IEC 61508. One positive result of this is the potential to use fewer sensors without compromising safety, leading to a decrease in wiring and installation costs. Another positive effect is the potential for improved process control, largely due to increasingly intelligent sensors.

		Digital data boosts accuracy InTech, May 2009 By Matt Rose and Brandon Jones, Aerospace Testing Allianc, Arnold AFB A vibration measurement system uses accelerometers, charge amplifiers, and data acquisition hardware to process and display vibration data from turbine engine tests. The authors developed a digital integrator to process analog data.

		Wireless networking in plant InTech, May 2009 By Dick Caro The advantages of a mesh network are redundancy, increased total distance, and removal of the line-of-sight restriction.

		Spot-on NOx InTech, May 2009 By Bruce Herman, ABB, and Robb Vanskike, Applied Controls Several methods of measuring NOx have proven effective over the years, but a more effective way to measure stack emissions is to use a single photometric analyzer for simultaneous measurements of NO and NO2.

		The Hidden Costs of Compressed Air/Gas Leaks Sensors, April 2009 By Alan Bandes, UE Systems, and Bruce Gorelick, Enercheck Systems Leaks are bad news. Not only do they lessen your process efficiency, but they can also present a danger to the environment and your personnel. Here's why you should perform regular leak audits and how to approach the auditing process.

		Streamline Your Sampling System Chemical Processing, April 2009 By John Wawrowski, et al, Swagelok Sample analysis has moved from the laboratory to the field, enhancing efficiencies. To minimize system costs, many facilities use a single automated process analyzer to evaluate multiple sample streams in succession. These systems often rely on an assembly that selectively directs the sample streams to a shared passage line that leads to the analyzer.

		Energy Harvesters Come of Age Control, April 2009 By Dan Hebert Wireless sensors are much more practical when energy harvesters are used to eliminate the need for power wiring. Energy harvesters convert vibration, heat or light into electrical energy, which is used to power a rechargeable battery or a capacitor.

		Save Money. Calibrate Less? Control, April 2009 By John Rezabek Faced with diminished manpower, budgets and pressure to minimize or eliminate overtime, end users can find ways to exploit the excellent accuracy and stability of digitally integrated field devices to reduce or eliminate unnecessary calibrations rooted in decades-old instrument technology.

		Data Acquisition and Logging Gets on Track Control, April 2009 By Rich Merritt Modern data acquisition equipment is useful, friendly and inexpensive. You can use it anywhere--even in a race car. As it turns out, someone did just that, and set a world drag racing record using industrial I/O, DAQ and HMI equipment to tune the car. You can use the same techniques for automation and control.

		Back to the Basics: Magnetic Flowmeters Control, April 2009 By Walt Boyes Of the more broadly based flow technologies, the one that works in the most applications, across most industries and with higher accuracy than even differential pressure is the electromagnetic flowmeter, or magmeter. Here’s how they work.

		Get your feet wet InTech, April 2009 By Scott W. Sommer, Jacobs Engineering Industrial users can get started with wireless implementation by following a few guidelines: Determine plant viability for wireless; determine scope, and do a site survey; do not forget about security measures.

		Radiometric measurement at home in extreme process conditions PACE, April 2009 By Simon Rigling Radiometric measurement, also known as nuclear or gamma based measurement, is an extremely reliable and safe, non invasive solution that is ideally suited for; level limit detection, continuous level, density and interface layer measurement.

		Making the Most of Thermal Imaging Data Power, April 2009 By Gary Updegraff One of the tools available to identify areas of possible failure is the thermal imaging camera, which can capture an image and rapidly display areas of varying temperatures in different colors without contact. This article discusses planning, operation, and documentation procedures designed to effectively use a thermal imaging camera as a critical element in an effective reliability program.

		Weighing, workflow and traceability South African Instrumentation & Control, April 2009 By Andrew Ashton In the food, feeds and pharmaceutical industries, regulatory compliance means that traceability and weighing are inseparable. One of the problems that end users face is that their batching systems are not well integrated with their overall data management.

		The Transparency of Wireless Control Engineering, April 2009 By Peter Welander Wireless networking and device manufacturers have gone to great lengths to create products that are secure, easy to work with, and operationally indistinguishable from wired equivalents.

		Wireless instrumentation on a very small budget? Control Engineering Europe, April 2009 One inventor uses obsolete cell phones as low cost wireless instrumentation transmitters. Cheap, yes, but is it for you? In these days when extra cash is scarce, one inventor says he has found a way to use electronic 'trash' as industrial hardware.

		Solid-state micro-energy cells uniquely enable energy harvesting Industrial Embedded Systems, March 2009 By Tim Bradow, Infinite Power Solutions Energy harvesting is great, but it's better if there is somewhere to store the energy. Advanced energy storage technology is creating new design opportunities for small sensors, transmitters, and MCUs, but batteries aren’t good enough.

		Compact embedded sensors fit the bill for critical applications Industrial Embedded Systems, March 2009 By Karmjit Sidhu, American Sensor Technologies Sensor technology continues to evolve, with both the physical sensing mechanism and processing electronics making strides. This overview highlights some of the latest technology for small embedded sensors in critical applications.

		Capacitive Slide Sensors Machine Design, April 2009 By Robert Repas Capacitive touch sliders can control various levels, such as volume and light, or act as a rotary selector switch for channels on a TV or songs in an MP3 player.

		Tomorrow has not been canceled! Report from ABB Automation & Power World 2009 Mark Taft, Group Vice President, Process Automation, Global control System Business opened with, "...it is important for us to remember that tomorrow has not been canceled." Mark's point was the conference was designed to provide a great deal of useful and actionable information that will help attendees survive and thrive in the current economy, and be prepared to take advantage of the future. Mark further noted that having a combined event encompassing automation and power is timely.

		Simple Steps to Selecting the Right Accelerometer Sensors, March 2009 By Bruce Lent, Endevco Choosing the right accelerometer for your application can be a daunting task. This article offers guidelines to aid you in the selection process.

		Heavy-Duty Encoders for Harsh Environments Sensors, February 2009 By Greg Bova and Nick Toleos, Baumer This article concentrates on heavy-duty encoders: the engineering principals behind their operation and how the technology used ensures their long-term survival under extremely challenging conditions. Real-world examples will illustrate their use and benefits.

		Take Control Down a Level Chemical Processing, March 2009 By Andrew Sloley Sometimes you can design out the need for instrumentation. For example, many processes require control of liquid level. However, that doesn’t mean you must install instrumentation. Sometimes piping layout and system design alone can do the job.

		Digging up savings: Go with the flow Maintenance World, March 2009 By Mark A. Morton and Sheldon V. Shepherd It's important to find out if material flows are present or not throughout a bulk-processing facility; material cost savings and increased plant efficiency can offset an investment in monitoring. Most bulk solids processors can do this using low-cost acoustic emission-monitoring technology.

		Catching the Drift Control, March 2009 By Bob Sperber Calibration management software provides one environment for managing instrument data, test protocols, work processes and documentation. The software downloads documenting calibrators to eliminate manual typing before the test, and makes automated data entry more thorough and accurate than manual operations allow.

		Future trends for instrumentation in hazardous areas Control Engineering Europe, March 2009 By L.C. Towle, MTL Instruments There has been continuous change in the detail of the methods of explosion protection applied to instrumentation over the last fifty years and the probability is that the techniques will continue to evolve. The change will be gradual and much slower than is usually predicted because of the conservative approach to safety related matters.

		Making safe waves in hazardous areas HazardEX, March 2009 By John Hartley, Extronics As wireless devices become more reliable and cost effective, there is growing interest amongst the process industry as to the benefits to be found from enabling such devices to be used in hazardous areas. However, unlike most industries this is not a simple task. Installing wireless networks in hazardous areas requires careful, expert planning and execution.

		If you build it in... - 03/22/09 InTech, March 2009 By Ellen Fussell Policastro Process analytical technologies and quality by design are some of the key words pharmaceutical and biotech mavens use today as part of their daily vocabulary. But while companies such as Merck and Pfizer are seeing the benefits of PAT, it hasn’t reached popularity in pharmaceuticals as much as in specialty chemicals, food, beverage and petrochemical.

		Intrinsically safe design boosts reliability, safety, productivity InTech, March 2009 By Parag Shah In offshore drilling, IS technology is at the cutting edge of the design effort to address the continuous improvements in products and services that require increased-data bandwidth for real-time information and enhanced accuracy.

		Integration of Ultrasound Tools Promotes Power Plant Health Power Engineering, March 2009 By Ed Sullivan Ultrasonic sensor instruments can quickly pinpoint leaks, mechanical defects, arcing and discharges. Ultrasound-based systems can combine data management and analysis with data collection software and ultrasound sensors for condition-based monitoring of critical mechanical equipment.

		Winning Strategies and Best Practices for Sustainable Manufacturing By Bill Lydon, Contributing Editor The initial focus of the ARC Forum in Orlando was sustainable manufacturing strategies as they relate to environmental performance and resource management. Based on the recent economic downturn, the conference was expanded to address strategies for bottom line business sustainability of process and discrete manufacturing companies.

		The Role of Networked Sensors Automated Buildings, February 2009 By Roland Acra, Arch Rock Networked sensors in the form of networked thermostats or ambient light sensors are critical to the benchmarking of business processes, highlighting deviations from expected optimal operation or industry-best standards, pinpointing faults that require maintenance actions, etc.

		Turning up the Heat Control Engineering Asia, January 2009 By Jonas Berge, Emerson Process Management It’s not often you hear about new advances in temperature measurement, but several underlying capabilities become possible with the application of hot technologies like fieldbus and EDDL. Diagnostic technologies now allow plants to leverage thermocouple condition monitoring and failure prediction features that were previously unavailable in transmitters.

		Capacitive Touch Sensors Machine Design, February 2009 By Robert Repas Many people mistake the growth in capacitive touch sensors as the adoption of new technology. But the commercial application of capacitive touch sensors can be traced back to 1919 when Leonard Theremin built the first electronic musical instrument.

		Ultrasonic Level Measurement for Solids Applications Process Industry Informer, February 2009 By Keith Flint, Pulsar Process Measurement Ultrasonic level measurement remains the most versatile method for non-contact continuous measurement of solids level measurement. Other techniques, notably “through the air” radar, have their applications, but most remain limited in application and in the range over which measurement can be made.

		What lies behind pH problems? Process Industry Informer, February 2009 By Hugh Lloyd, ABB pH probes are mysterious creatures. Most users are happy whilst everything is running smoothly but if something ‘goes wrong’ with a pH reading, the subtleties of electrochemistry means that many engineers are not confident about diagnosing possible problems. General guidelines help users diagnose some of the most common faults, and it’s sometimes possible to fix them without resorting to new equipment/sensor purchase.

		Applying The Heat - An Overview Of Industrial Heat Tracing Process Industry Informer, February 2009 By Neil Malone, Heat Trace Winter is almost over, so save this for next year: An introduction to heat tracing, including the various systems available and an overview of the use of heat tracing across all process industries.

		Maintaining pH electrodes What’s New in Process Technology, February 2009 By John Immelm, Endress+Hauser Australia Process instrumentation technicians who implement good pH electrode maintenance regimes get more than just greater accuracy in pH measurement. They also benefit from a longer interval between cleaning cycles and extended productivity during a longer life cycle, significantly reducing running costs.

		Five-axis Accuracy - 02/24/09 American Machinist, February 2009 By James Benes The usual methods to determine 5-axis deviations require a considerable measurement effort. However, a measurement system has been developed that accurately determines the location of a rotary axis: The “R-test,” which uses a measuring head in combination with a precision ball.

		How lagging impacts on temperature measurement Oil & Gas Engineer, February 2009 By Ali Niazi and Sarah Kimpton Large custody transfer/fiscal metering systems in the UK are regularly audited to ensure compliance with best industry practice and British and international standards. One recurrent finding from these audits has concerned the lack of thermal lagging on both the upstream and downstream lengths.

		Detecting pipeline wall thickness with ultrasound Oil & Gas Engineer, February 2009 By Michael Beller In-line inspection of pipelines is a routine procedure today. Specialised automated tools are introduced and pumped through the oil, product or gas line to be inspected.

		Everything needs calibration Control Engineering, February 2009 By C.G. Masi Encoder calibration does not restrict itself to slow changes due to aging. Anything that can affect accuracy of the final tool position is in the calibration department’s purview. So, it’s important to look for danger points in the structure of a typical robot where measurement errors can arise.

		It floats boats InTech, February 2009 By Thomas Kirner and Nicholas Sheble Buoyancy technology to measure level has a long record of accomplishment in industry and its influence on variables is clear and concise.

		Maintaining pH electrodes improves plant efficiency PACE, January 2009 By John Immelman, Endress+Hauser Australia Process instrumentation technicians who implement good pH electrode maintenance regimes get more than just more accurate pH measurement – they also benefit from a longer interval between cleaning cycles and more.

		Tutorial: Understanding the tricky thermocouple Control Engineering Europe, January 2009 By Peter Welander Thermocouples work because heat creates a thermoelectric voltage in a wire. This is the Seebeck effect. Anywhere there is a temperature gradient, there will be a voltage because electrons want to flow from hot to cold. The voltage value per degree temperature difference is the Seebeck coefficient and depends on the characteristics of the specific wire alloy. But if the circuit is not complete and the voltage has nowhere to go, you can’t use it.

		Tech Update: Wireless Networks Provide Critical Measures Food Engineering, February 2009 By Wayne Labs Some of the issues affecting wireless sensor networks and “backhaul” networks, which help relay signals collected from sensor networks to the wireless access points of control or asset monitoring systems. Cell phones, PDAs and RFID systems are already well employed in food and beverage plants for the obvious communications, email and Web-based warnings and product tracking.

		Visual Robots - Peek into the Future of Material Handling By Bill Lydon, Contributing Editor At ProMat 2009, Seegrid Corporation provided a peek into the future capabilities that advanced technology will deliver to material handling with its GP8 robotic pallet truck. Seegrid robots use no lasers, tape or wires and Seegrid terms the learning process, WalkThroughThenWork™, set up is one walk through your facility and the machines are ready to work in minutes.

		What You Should Know Before you Buy – A Guide to Buying an Infrared Camera Maintenance World, January 2009 By Paula Bowie This article aims to help the camera buyer understand what basic camera specifications mean, and also help them determine what type of camera and options are suitable for their application.

		Solving Electrical Problems with Thermal Imaging Maintenance World, January 2009 By Mike Shekhtman, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Today's thermal imagers, which produce live images of the heat emitted from equipment, are rugged, easy to use and much more affordable than just a few years ago. This makes them highly practical and cost-effective solutions for everyday electrical maintenance.

		Finally—A Really Green Sensor! Sensors, January 2009 By Ed Ramsden, Questex Prtions of the sensors industry have begun to catch the 'green bug,’ with a recent flurry of activity in new energy harvesting research and product introductions.

		Look Beyond Orifice Plates Chemical Processing, January 2009 By Greg Livelli and Steve Pagano, ABB Instrumentation DP flow meters account for a large plurality of installations. Disadvantages revolve around rangeability, installation costs, density and flow profiles. Venturi tubes, flow nozzles, wedges and flow tubes have found a solid place in process applications.

		Safety and Diagnostics Emerge as Temperature Sensor Issues Automation World, January 2009 By C. Kenna Amos As process manufacturers become increasingly safety- and best-practice conscious, they are requiring certification for transmitters connected to their Safety Instrumented Systems. End-users also expect temperature transmitters to possess more meaningful and relevant diagnostics.

		Understanding Optical Character Recognition By Microscan Optical Character Recognition, commonly known as OCR, is distinct from linear and 2D symbologies in that it is simultaneously machine-readable and human-readable. OCR is most effective when used to complement linear and 2D symbols.

		Making Analyzers that Work in the Real World - 01/24/09 Control, January 2009 By Dan Hebert Why can’t someone make an analyzer that works as well and as reliably as a pressure, a temperature or a flow transmitter?

		Seeing is believing InTech, January 2009 By Ellen Fussell Policastro As an alternative for measuring weld quality, Edison Welding Institute (EWI) redesigned a probe to use ultrasonic waves. Vision software allows them to measure the spot weld nugget sizes without destroying the part.

		Sensor maker Fraba takes flexible design route Germany-based Fraba, which established a North American subsidiary in Princeton Junction, NJ, in 2000, offers three lines of products for the industrial automation market: ‘Posital’ brand absolute rotary encoders and inclinometers; ‘Intacton’ optical velocity and position sensors; and ‘Vitector’ contact sensing ‘safety edges’, used to reduce the danger of collisions between automation equipment and other objects.

		Motor Condition Monitoring: Efficiency does Matter Control Engineering Europe, December 2008 By Timothy M. Thomas, Baker Instruments The concept of Predictive Maintenance has now become accepted practice, worldwide. Locating, defining, and acting on potential problems before they become catastrophic is the main objective of a predictive maintenance programme.

		Zigbee explained Control Engineering Europe, December 2008 By Kevin Buckley, Intelligent Distributed Controls The 802.15.4-based Zigbee is designed for remote control and sensors, which are many in number but require only small packets of data, and in the main, extremely low power consumption for long life. Today, Zigbee has evolved seamlessly into the automotive, power generation, materials handling, safety and general industrial sectors.

		Flow Meter Calibration – means to an end or positive thinking? Control Engineering Europe, December 2008 By Andy Mayber, Stream Measurement Flowmeters used for batching raw materials such as alcohol, purified water or detergent, need formal records. In some cases this is for Customs and Excise, but more importantly it ensures quality of output. However, this can only be assured through regular competent calibration, as this is the proof of compliance.

		Sensor Sense: Ultrasonic sensors Machine Design, December 2008 By Robert Repas Because the sensor uses sound waves rather than light, ultrasonic sensors provide an effective alternative to optical sensors in wet or dirty environments, as well as in applications where the target object is translucent or reflective.

		Thoughts on Commissioning a New Sensor Sensors, December 2008 By G. Raymond Peacock To commission a sensor, you're simply ensuring the sensing device is functioning and will continue to do so for an appropriate length of time. Here are some ideas on how you can make the process go as well as possible.

		Making Smarter Tools Sensors, December 2008 By Chris A. Suprock, Suprock Technologies Significantly improved condition monitoring of metal-cutting machinery is now possible with the help of wireless sensors. The payoffs include optimized manufacturing and reduced operating costs.

		Improving your Vibration Predictive Maintenance Program Energy Tech, December 2008 By Anthony Dematteo Many industries have a predictive vibration analysis program. What does it take to keep the program alive and healthy?

		Gearboxes stay cool! Maintenance & Engineering, December 2008 By Bain Nicholson, Deritend RMB There are substantial benefits to be gained, in terms of improved reliability and longer operating life, for users who monitor and actively control the operating temperatures of their gearboxes.

		An Overview of Bearing Vibration Analysis Maintenance & Engineering, December 2008 By Dr. S. J. Lacey, Schaeffler UK Vibration produced by rolling bearings can result from geometrical imperfections during the manufacturing process, defects on the rolling surfaces or geometrical errors in associated components. In this article the different sources of bearing vibration are considered along with some of the characteristic defect frequencies that may be present.

		Steam trap surveys reveal £28,000 in potential energy savings per site Maintenance & Engineering, December 2008 By Rick Plummer, Spirax Sarco A steam trap survey will help to keep a system running smoothly and will almost certainly reveal impressive savings through reduced fuel consumption, fuel emissions, water and effluent charges.

		The Wireless Hype in Process Automation Control, December 2008 By Dieter Schaudel Is wireless technoloogy all marketing hype, disseminated by compliant journalists and consultants scenting big business?

		Wireless Wisdom: What’s Your Strategy? Where’s Your Committee? Control, December 2008 By Paul Thomas A forum of wireless experts at ISA Expo 2008 turns into a cautionary consensus about the dangers of falling in love with technologies and applications that may run counter to your long-term wireless strategy and corporate goals.

		IO Link: Sensor to Automation System Communication Control Engineering, December 2008 By Michael Babb To bring intelligent sensors into the automation system, the Profibus organization initiated a new technology called IO Link.

		Challenges of Temperature Sensing Control Engineering, December 2008 By Peter Welander Measuring each of the “big four” process variables has its specific peculiarities, but temperature seems particularly controversial. In fact, this apparently simple task often gets complicated. This tutorial explains why.

		Why use software for calibration management? PACE, December 2008 By Dirk Kuiper, AMS Instrumentation & Calibration Every plant has some sort of system in place for managing calibration operations and data, but the different methods for doing it varies greatly in terms of cost, quality, efficiency and accuracy of data.

		Rockwell Automation Fair 2008 Review By Bill Lydon, Contributing Editor As usual, the Rockwell Automation Fair was an impressive event with over 11,000 attendees and over 90 Encompass partners. This is a very successful show that creates enormous goodwill and is the most successful control show in North America. Training is becoming a big part of the event and allows users to justify the time and money to attend. Distributor travel packages also make it much easier for users to attend the event.

		Wireless & Networking Dominate ISA EXPO 2008, Product Highlights The emphasis on networked communications whether wired or wireless was visible at the event. We review the ISA Wireless Industrial Automation Standard (SP100) Committee meeting in Houston, which drew a standing-room-only crowd. Other product highlights include: PLC/Programming Learning Package, EtherNet/IP Controller, Single Board Industrial Controller, Remote Eyeballs for Wireless Reading Gauges, Quad Process Safety System, Universal Gas Transmitter and HMI Enhancements.

		Doing more than flow Control Engineering Europe, December 2008 To compensate for fluctuations in pressure, temperature, viscosity, and density, flowmeters are taking extra sensors on board.

		Fifty years old: the proximity switch Control Engineering Europe, November 2008 Fifty years old: the proximity switch In 1958, the proximity switch was invented in a Mannheim laboratory owned by Pepperl+Fuchs. What was originally conceived as a customer-specific solution for an intrinsically safe current circuit in the chemical industry, has since become the universally recognised industry standard for non-contact switching.

		Connecting temperature sensors to fieldbus Control Engineering Europe, November 2008 Temperature measurement may be the oldest and most widely measured process variable, and today it is solidly embracing a new type of transmitter: one that communicates using HART, Profibus, or Fieldbus Foundation protocols.

		Tutorial: Instrumentation / DCS integration languages, EDDL Control Engineering Europe, November 2008 One of the tools that can help you get more from your instrumentation and other process control devices are integration languages, such as EDDL and FDT. While the two have many similar characteristics and capabilities, there are subtle differences. This article considers EDDL.

		Challenges of ultra-low-power wireless sensor networks in manufacturing environments Control Engineering Europe, November 2008 By Cees Links, GreenPeak Technologies Industrial applications can benefit from ultra-low-power wireless sensor networks. An ultra-low power application is able to live off just a coin cell battery, energy harvested from the environment through a solar cell, vibration energy harvester, or any other environmental-energy converter.

		Color, Contrast, and Luminescence Sensors: Which One Should You Choose? Sensors, November 2008 By Bill Letterle, EMX Industries When faced with so many photoelectric sensor choices, how do you choose the right one for your application? Here are some general guidelines for selecting among color, contrast, color mark, or luminescence sensors.

		What is it worth to keep your key plant running? Power Engineering International, November 2008 By Ian Taylor, Corus Northern Engineering and Dr Steve Lacey, Schaeffler Energy and power generation companies can reduce the risks and costs associated with unforeseen breakdowns in production plant and machinery by deploying the latest condition monitoring systems and services.

		Wind turbine monitoring: Spotting the difference Power Engineering International, November 2008 By Donald S Doan, SmartSignal Corporation Similarity-based modelling software can detect departures from normal wind turbine operation that would otherwise be missed, allowing operators to anticipate problems and take preventive action before the performance and reliability of their turbines are compromised.

		Instrumentation Moves from the Lab to the Factory Floor Design News, November 2008 By Randy Frank Portable. Battery-powered. Wireless. While these terms usually describe the latest consumer products, they are the enablers for taking laboratory-grade instrumentation into the factory.

		Efficiency Vs Safety: Tank Farm Dilemma Industrial Automation Asia, October 2008 By Warren Galbraith, DP flow, and Michael Krause, Endress+Hauser Separating tank gauging and tank shut down allows the most optimum operation and safe management of a tank farm.

		The next generation: Self-powered wireless sensor networks Industrial Embedded Systems, November 2008 By Cees Links, Greenpeak Wireless sensor network technology is moving forward by using less power, precluding the need to replace batteries, and enabling the use of energy harvesting.

		Intelligent Down To The Last Meter Industrial Automation Asia, October 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.

		Wireless Starts to Mesh Chemical Processing, November 2008 By C. Kenna Amos Wireless use in the process industries has gone from wireless instrumentation to include enterprise-wide wireless solutions such as mobile operator, asset tracking, maintenance management, video and VoIP [voice over Internet protocol] telephony.

		Condition Monitoring Pays Healthy Dividends Chemical Processing, November 2008 By Johan De Wever, BASF BASF’s Antwerp complex decided to implement predictive maintenance based on monitoring the condition of key assets. We periodically take vibration measurements on some 3,000 machines throughout the facility. Moving from time-based maintenance to this approach has resulted in significant cost savings because fewer unexpected equipment breakdowns occur.

		Using photoelectric sensors on the production line Plant Engineering, November 2008 By Greg Knutson, Banner Engineering Photoelectrics now deliver big performance in smaller packages, thanks to electronic miniaturization. Not only are today’s compact photoelectric sensors simpler to mount and implement in a wider range of applications, they are often available at a lower cost.

		Asset management leverages smart wireless devices Plant Engineering, November 2008 By Laura Briggs and Joseph Citrano III, Emerson Process Management Wireless field instruments produce device and advanced diagnostics, both of which offer operational and financial benefits to the end user. However, a means is needed to manage the intelligence they impart about their own health, and that of the equipment they are monitoring.

		Wireless Sensor Networks Move Onto The Internet Automated Buildings, October 2008 By Brian Bohlig, Arch Rock Because rewiring an existing building is costly and often impractical, wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are growing in popularity. The latest IETF 6LoWPAN (RFC 4944) standard allows IP communication over low-power radio.

		Analyzing Critical Flow Measurements Control Engineering, November 2008 By Jim Ralston and Scott Monton, ProSoft Technology Part 1: Custody transfer of fuel products demands sophisticated flow analysis beyond volume readings. Product characteristics can be dynamic, requiring monitoring at the same time.

		The Art of Instrumentation Control Engineering, November 2008 By Peter Welander Can your process and equipment ever have enough instrumentation? What’s better—more, or smarter, devices? New technologies promise wider-than-ever deployment of devices, but deciding when and where to put sensors is still more art than science

		Practice Safe Sensing Control Engineering, November 2008 By Hank Hogan Sensor systems have greater intelligence and therefore more diagnostic capabilities. Today, sensors can be certified by third parties to meet safety integrity levels, or SIL, designations found in IEC 61508. One positive result of this is the potential to use fewer sensors without compromising safety, leading to a decrease in wiring and installation costs.

		Industrial Machining Embraces Nano Positioning Control Engineering, November 2008 By C.G. Masi Today, advances in automated machining allow tolerances to reach below one micron (1 mm). that’s 0.00004 in! Conventional measurement techniques become physically impossible. Actuators relying on fine-pitch precision ballscrews simply can’t do the job. These are real concerns for growing numbers of engineers, as some applications already require holding positions to a tenth of a nanometer.

		Flexible and lightweight flaw detection remains top priority Process Engineer, November 2008 By Sean Ottewell Whatever the process industry, flaw detection remains a top priority in terms of maintenance and safety. The latest flaw detection equipment is designed to be flexible, lightweight, and easy to use.

		Improving the life cycle of Pumps, Fans & Blowers Process Industry Informer, October 2008 By Ian Taylor, Corus Northern Engineering Services By monitoring the vibrations from critical components inside a hydraulic pump, fan, blower or compressor, companies can improve their plant efficiencies, eliminate production downtime and increase the operating life and reliability of plant equipment.

		Clamp-on flowmeters South Africa Instrumentation and Control, November 2008 By Mahendra Rajcoomar, Krohne South Africa Clamp-on ¬ultrasonic flowmeters offer a convenient method for measuring flow without the need to interrupt processes.

		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.

		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.

		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

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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."

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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!

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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?

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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."

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		Infrared Insights Machinery and Equipment MRO, April 2008 By Colin Plastow How to create a successful infrared thermography maintenance program.

		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.

		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%.

		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.

		Know Your Flowmeter Chem.Info, May 2008 Interview with Roger Saba of Turck on the major issues involving flowmeter technology today.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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).

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		CEM gets the laser treatment Power Engineering International, April 2008 By Iain F Howieson, Cascade Technologies, UK The measurement of gases associated with industrial processing/emissions monitoring has become increasingly important as the need to improve efficiencies in process control and the introduction of legislation governing emissions have come into force. The development of the Quantum Cascade Laser (QCL) has recently been harnessed to create a range of novel mid-infrared gas sensors.

		The Missing Link in Inspection Technology Assembly, May 2008 By Mark Sippel Years ago, manufacturers relied on PLCs to handle many quality-related tasks. Today, assemblers depend on sensors and vision systems to ensure their products are in spec. The next step forward in quality management may well be the merger of sensor and vision technologies.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		Radar Set on the Gulf Coast Processing, March 2008 Radar technology helps a petrochemical company reliably measure level of plastic pellets and powders.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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?

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		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.

		Sensor Sense: Detecting reflective targets Machine Design, January 2008 By Robert Repas Targets with highly reflective surfaces can bounce enough light back to the sensor to effectively pass unseen in front of it.

		Hot tips on thermocouples Machine Design, January 2008 By Mike Nager , Phoenix Contact What may be the most common method of measuring industrial temperatures is mostly misunderstood by engineers and technicians

		Infrared temperature measurement Motion System Design, January 2008 By Frank Schneider, Raytek Noncontact infrared temperature measurement provides a telling metric to improve the reliability of demanding operations, saving end users thousands of dollars and hundreds of man-hours.

		Tiny, wireless and self-energized Plant Services, January 2008 By Sheila Kennedy, contributing editor A new generation of sensors is poised to revolutionize predictive maintenance. New software and emerging technologies are simplifying condition monitoring and streamlining the process of predictive maintenance.

		Striking at the heart of condition assessment Power Engineering International, December 2007 By: Dave Randl, QinetiQ, UK Remote visual inspections of machinery and pipework have always had limitations because of the inherent inflexibility of fibrescopes and videoscopes. The unique articulation of a guide now opens up the possibility of navigation through areas not previously possible, allowing a more comprehensive plant condition assessment.

		3D-Based Machine Vision in Automotive Production Lines Machine Vision On-Line, December 2007 By Nello Zuech, To gain insight into some current machine vision activity in the automotive industry, we asked a number of companies to We asked for input from those companies specifically engaged in online 3D-based machine vision applications.

		Temperature Sensor Tips and Tricks Sensors On-Line, January 2008 By:Emmy Denton, National Semiconductor Corp. When you're adding temperature sensors to a PCB, correct placement can make all the difference. Here are some tips and tricks to place your sensors effectively.

		Flexible Temperature Sensors Solve Maintenance Problems Sensors On-Line, November 2008 By:Robert Poole, Process Measurements & Monitors Flexible temperature sensors offer a solution to maintenance dilemmas. A flexible sensor fits nearly everywhere, can be cut to the correct length, and reduces the number of spare parts a plant has to keep on hand.

		Remote monitoring closes the gap between meters and breakers Plant Engineering, January 2008 By Jack Smith Remote monitoring helps plant managers make informed decisions about operational efficiency, system reliability, employee safety and energy costs.

		Precision, patience required for pH sensor calibration Plant Engineering, November 2007 By Christopher P. Roderick, ABB Instrumentation Calibrating pH sensors is usually viewed as challenging. In order to remove the “magic” behind a successful calibration it is helpful to understand the two main parts of a pH sensor.

		Isolator and signal converter basics, Part 1 Plant Engineering, December 2007 By Greg Feliks, Moore Industries Isolators are useful devices to solve instrumentation problems in process control applications. However, be sure to check the specs carefully. Not all isolators are created equal. Isolators can be used for many applications in process control beyond just eliminating ground loops and conditioning signals

		Advanced applications for isolators and signal converters, Part 2 Plant Engineering, December 2007 By Greg Feliks, Moore Industries a selection of advanced applications for isolators and signal converters, including HART, digital converters, signal conversion, VFD noise, AC current/voltage conversion and isolation and Hazardous area isolation.

		Build reliability in during design Chemical Processing, December 2007 By Dirk Willard Instrumentation that promises to improve reliability may not always be what they seem. You have to consider whether a site can properly maintain sophisticated instruments.

		Take equipment diagnostics to a new level Chemical Processing, December 2007 By Todd Anderson Many of the effects of machine degradation are avoidable, so being able to identify struggling equipment at an early stage is essential to renewing its productivity. Advances in performance monitoring can provide critical insights.

		FE Update: Use surface contact for more accurate simulations Machine Design, December 2007 By Dennis Sieminski, Noran Engineering Structural behavior in the real world is often quite complex. Continual enhancements in FEA codes allow constructing models with higher levels of real-world fidelity and accuracy.

		FE Update: Use surface contact for more accurate simulations Machine Design, December 2007 By Dennis Sieminski, Noran Engineering Structural behavior in the real world is often quite complex. Continual enhancements in FEA codes allow constructing models with higher levels of real-world fidelity and accuracy.

		Use Sensors to Error Proof the Factory Floor Design World, December 2007 By Dave Bird Effective error-proofing programs integrate sensors in the manufacturing process to eliminate errors through 100% inspection. Post-production checking stations and human based “eyeball checks” in post production can’t possibly verify that all components going into a product are perfect nor in the right location with proper orientation.

		Sensors Plug&Play – The New Standard for Automated Sensor Measurements By National Instruments Article explains the IEEE 1451.4 standard, Mixed-Mode Interface for Smart Transducers. Developed jointly by sensor manufacturers, instrumentation and software suppliers, and users, IEEE 1451.4 defines the concept of a mixed-mode transducer that supplies both an analog and digital interface

		Networking 101: Down at the Bit Level Control Engineering, August 2007 By Peter Welander Many large machines use lots of small sensors. Specialized networks designed for these devices can save wire and time.

		Level Measurement: The Very Last Resort Control, August 2007 By Walt Boyes The level product that “dares not speak its name.” It is the level measurement product of last resort—the one you take to your boss after every other one has failed. It’s…nuclear.

		The state of MEMS in automation InTech, August 2007 By Avinash K. Bhaskar and Menaka S MEMS-based sensor technology tends to be limited to process monitoring applications, industrial safety, machinery monitoring, and to some extent in assembly line manufacturing applications.

		Optimizing Motion Control—Getting the Most from Resolvers Sensors, July 2007 By Thomas Tokar, Rockwell Automation To take full advantage of the resolver's potential, you have to compensate for error sources. Simulating resolver and cable functions go a long way toward helping you achieve this goal.

		Proximity Sensors Control Engineering, July 2007 By Dick Johnson Wide ranging capabilities have become the hallmark of these familiar devices. 'Network ready’ and limit switch replacement are among trends.

		Where to Use Flow-through Conductivity Sensors Automation World, July 2007 By C. Kenna Amos Use flow-through conductivity sensors in any application where the measurement of liquid conductivity or the percent concentration of a liquid is required.

		Choosing Level Sensors Control Engineering, June 2007 By Peter Welander Selecting a level sensing technology, like any process instrumentation, begins with an analysis of the application to determine the best approach.

		Using Flowmeters Control Engineering, June 2007 By Dick Johnson Accuracy, repeatability, economy top list of 'most wanted’ features for flowmeter technologies and applications. Users share views and opinions.

		Hazardous Area Sensors Control Engineering Asia, June 2007 By Jeanine Katzel UL, CSA, FM, ATEX – just some of the certification standards for sensors used in hazardous parts of the plant. There are increasing demands for harmonization to meet the needs of global manufacturers.

		Choosing the Right Pressure Transmitter: Which Technology Is Right for Your Application? Sensors, June 2007 By Lorens Todsen and Max Robinson, Danfoss Industrial Controls Choosing the right pressure transmitter for your application involves more that specifying the pressure range. Don't forget to consider the technologies available, the environmental stresses and strains that will be involved, and the lifetime cost.

		Color-Blind No More By Jeff Allison, Product Manager Pepperl+Fuchs Contrast and Color Sensors Open Eyes to Packaging/Converting Applications. Bridging the gap between photoelectric sensors and vision systems, they are equipped to detect even the slightest variations of the same color.

		Material Handling: Sensing Challenges & Solutions By Thomas Corbett, Product Manager, Gary Frigyes, Product Marketing Manager Pepperl+Fuchs In today’s material handling market, OEMs are faced with a number of concerns when choosing a sensor manufacturer and specifying sensors.

		Background Suppression with Photoelectric Sensors By Gary Frigyes, Product Manager, Ed Myers, Product Manager, Jeff Allison, Product Manager Pepperl+Fuchs When using photoelectric sensors in simple diffused mode (a.k.a. proximity mode), the sensor uses the target to reflect light back to itself, eliminating the need for a secondary device such as a reflector.

		Networking I/O Increases Reliability of Metal Forming Applications By Helge Hornis, PhD, Intelligent Systems Manager Pepperl+Fuchs Metal forming applications are among the toughest and most demanding on sensors and sensor wiring. High shock and vibration not only destroy sensors but also severely limit the reliability and expected service life of the cabling needed to bring them back to the PLC.

		Fundamentals of Photoelectric Sensors By Gary Frigyes, Product Marketing Manager Ed Myers, Product Manager Jeff Allison, Product Manager Pepperl+Fuchs This article is focused on photoelectric sensors and defines what they are, their advantages and some basic modes of operation.

		Lining Technology for Magnetic Flowmeters Process Industry Informer, May/June 2007 By Yasuo Oonishi, Yokogawa The accuracy and reliability of magnetic flowmeters have become increasingly higher thanks to advances in lining materials and manufacturing methods.

		Changes in temperature can cause subtle errors in LVDT readings Machine Design, May 2007 By Harold Schaevitz, Macro Sensors Changes in temperature can cause subtle errors in LVDT readings.

		The ABCs of using ultrasound to monitor bearings Plant Services, May 2007 By Roger Earley Using ultrasound to identify bearing wear in its earliest stages is a valuable tool that avoids costly downtime.

		Eye on Hazardous Area Sensors Control Engineering, May 2007 By Jeanine Katzel, Control Engineering Increasing use and advancing technologies in an ever-shrinking global environment are changing the focus of these critical process control devices.

		Are wireless sensors ready for me? Control Design, May 2007 A reader wants to know what his best options are for reliable, and easily connectable wireless sensors for vibration monitoring, temperature and presence sensing. Various experts answer.

		Accurate pressure measurement Intech, May 2007 By Blair Chalpin, Charles A. Matthews, and Nicholas Sheble This safety purge system isolates and protects PC-based pressure sensors from steam pressure media while providing high accuracy, serviceability, and automation.

		Keep it clean Intech, May 2007 By Keith Briegel and Russell Kane Corrosion is a major factor accounting for petrochemical plant failures. Corrosion monitoring technology leads to real-time results for specialty materials.

		Why calibration measurement software? Control, April 2007 By Dan Hebert, Senior Technical Editor Field calibration of instruments and analyzers used to be a simple, albeit time-consuming affair. No more.

		What’s in the air for continuous emissions monitoring? Chemical Processing, April 2007 By Mike Spear, editor at large More attention to mercury and increased acceptance of predictive approaches is emerging. Such monitoring not only can keep plants on the right side of regulators but also can help provide insights for optimizing operation of equipment.

		pH Sensor Improves Product, Process, and Profits Control Engineering, April 2007 By John P. Connelly, Foxboro Measurements and Instruments When the only thing you can count on is that the pH sensor will fail, it's time to find a new solution, especially in pharmaceutical applications.

		Pressure-Resistant Proxes: New Generation Proximity Switches For Hydraulic Applications Sensors, April 2007 By: Peter Heimlicher, Contrinex Industrial Electronics, Tom Horstman, US Automation Group LLC A new generation of inductive proximity sensors are engineered to withstand the high pressures now common in fluid power applications.

		The Sensor Web: A Distributed, Wireless Monitoring System Sensors, April 2007 By: Kevin A. Delin, NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Sensor Web is a distributed sensing system in which information is globally shared and used by all networked platforms. It's already been deployed long term in different environments and is opening up new avenues for distributed sensing and control.

		Laser photoelectric sensors Machine Design, March 2007 All photoelectric sensors use a beam of light to detect the presence or absence of a target. Standard incandescent light was the source for the old electric eye. Visible red or infrared LEDs provide the light for photoelectric sensors today. Like any normal light source, the light emitted by the sensor spreads out and weakens over distance, limiting the sensor's useful range or the size of the target it can detect.

		A New Breed of Tilt Sensors Sensors, March 2007 By: James Fennelly, Semaj Design LLC High accuracy at a low cost over a wide temperature range makes thermal MEMS accelerometers the hot choice in tilt sensing.

		Using Vibration Analysis to Detect Early Failure of Bearings Process Industry Informer, March/April Issue Dr. S. J. Lacey, Engineering Manager, Schaeffler (UK) Vibration produced by rolling bearings can result from geometrical imperfections during the manufacturing process, defects on the rolling surfaces or geometrical errors in associated components. Noise and vibration is often perceived to be synonymous with quality and often used for predictive maintenance.

		Pressure-Resistant Proxes: New Generation Proximity Switches For Hydraulic Applications Sensors, April 2007 By: Peter Heimlicher, Contrinex and Tom Horstman, US Automation As the hydraulics industry continues to advance, higher pressures are being used in more applications. When end-of-stroke signals are required, a switch located in the end cap is the most reliable sensing choice. The sensor industry has evolved to produce reliable end-of-stroke sensors that can operate in today's high-pressure environments, with safety margins approaching 40%.

		Cross-talk Compensation for Force Sensors Using Matrix Methods By David Schrand, Sensor Developments Inc. Cross-talk compensation involves mathematically manipulating the load-cells output data to correct the cross-talk outputs. It is effective for any number of extraneous loads, and can be characterized as mathematical cross-talk compensation by the application of “cross coupling coefficients”, or the inverse matrix method.

		How to Optimize pH Measurement in Corrosive Fertilizer Plant Conditions Chem.info, January 2007 Given its extremely harsh production environment, the fertilizer industry presents many process measurement and field instrumentation challenges. This is particularly true when producing single superphosphate fertilizer, which involves mixing crushed phosphoric rock with a highly potent solution of 90 percent sulfuric acid. Here’s how one company is handling its pH analysis and achieving improved emissions monitoring, reducing its maintenance, and lowering its equipment costs.

		Weighing Accuracy Fundamentals for Cement Production Belt Feeders Process Industry Informer, January 2007 By Mike Slack, H & H Services Several fundamental practices maximize the accuracy performance when dynamically feeding bulk materials such as limestone or clinker. The “weighing basics” in this article allow for extremely sensitive and reliable recognition for both material load and belt speed - the two fundamental measurements that provide accurate and repeatable gravimetric feeding.

		In search of encoder accuracy Control Design, January 2007 By Loren Shaum, Comtec Encoders have been around for so long as the standard for displacement measurement that they’re sometimes taken for granted. As the technology has improved, encoders have become the dominant rotary and linear displacement measurement means. Today it dominates North America and Asia, while resolvers still hold Europe.

		Visualizing temperature Control Engineering, January 2007 C.G. Masi, Control Engineering Industrial thermography has grown beyond predictive maintenance to become a primary sensor technology. Just as thermal imaging is becoming white hot for predictive equipment maintenance, industrial engineers are becoming increasingly aware that it makes an excellent primary sensor to keep control systems on track.

		Why Use Temperature Transmitters Instead of Direct Wiring? By Gary Prentice, Moore Industries-International Today's highly functional microprocessor-based field-mount temperature transmitters are comparable in price to direct wiring strategies. When the additional advantages of using intelligent transmitters are factored in, you can save considerable time and avoid maintenance headaches. This is especially true when the measurement point is located a long distance from the readout and control system.

		Flowmeter Sleuth InTech, February 2007 By Donald Dunn and Michael Klein Surprisingly, Coriolis metering technology detects oil-water interface with extraordinary precision. Using a Coriolis meter to detect the interface by means of changes in fluid density is about 1,000 times more accurate than traditional level systems. These Coriolis meters have accuracies as precise as a few ten-thousandths of a gram per cubic centimeter.

		New Ways to Power Instrumentation Control Engineering, February 2007 By Peter Welander Increasing use of wireless networks and remote instrumentation calls for new approaches to supply current with no strings attached. While changes in power supply methods have occurred, a more fundamental shift has been happening in the instrumentation and wireless transmitters. With experiments continuing on wireless transmission of power, the trend toward self-contained and wireless instrumentation will continue, which will pressure equipment designers to improve efficiency and create new ways to collect and communicate data with minimal power use.

		First the application, then the product Control, February 2007 By Walt Boyes, Editor Many years ago, I hit on the idea of trying to define a range of applications and superimposing many types of level measurement devices and techniques on each range. I called it “The Level Measurement Continuum,” and I’ve written about it before. But I haven’t found a better method of finding your way through the thicket of applications.

		Noncontact Temperature Sensors: What You Need to Know Up Front Sensors, March 2007 By G. Raymond Peacock, Temperatures.com Inc. Are you sure a contact-type sensor can't handle your application? If it can, stay away from noncontact devices. They present special challenges. And don't be led in either direction solely by initial purchase and installation costs. You will need to factor in maintenance expenses as well, especially if your sensor is going to be working in a nasty environment, or if downtime would be a disaster

		Debunk plant myths about diagnostics Chemical Processing, February 2007 By George Buckbee, ExperTune, Inc. Your current control system can probably do more than you think. Everybody can agree that diagnostics are a good thing — they can identify problems early, and keep the plant running at peak performance. Learn how your existing control systems and analog instruments can deliver diagnostic capabilities, at a fraction of the cost of system or instrument replacements.

Automation.com Real-time Information for the Automation Professional May. 26, 2012

Cart

Automation.com

NOTICE: Your use of Automation.com constitutes your agreement to the Legal Notices, Policies, Terms, and Conditions governing its use. You should review these terms before proceeding.Copyright © 2000-2010 Automation.com - automation.com, automationtechies.com, automationtechies, automationtechie, and Member-Match are all trade and service marks of Automation Resources, Inc. All Rights Reserved.