Rotork’s innovative CVA electric control valve actuator technology has successfully delivered an improvement in performance with reduced operating costs for the vital gas blending process on a European natural gas distribution network.

Fluxys is the independent operator of the natural gas storage and transmission system in Belgium, supplying domestic and industrial consumers throughout the country. Because the natural gas can come from different sources and the composition of each source varies, the quality of the gas is closely monitored for calorific value and density at blending stations. The gas blending process is therefore a critical part of the transmission and storage structure, impacting on product quality, environmental regulations and profitability.

Wishing to improve the blending process, Fluxys identified valve actuation as a key area. Improving process valve response times whilst reducing dead-time and overshoot would increase control efficiency and eliminate potential cycling and variability problems. If an electrical solution could also be found, it would reduce operating costs and improve environmental performance by eliminating the requirement to waste gas through venting to air as determined by existing equipment.

Prodim, Rotork’s agent in Belgium, proposed the use of the CVL-5000 electric control valve actuator as an alternative to the existing actuator on a blending flow control valve in a trial at the Fluxys booster station at Le Roeuix. As well as simplified, all-electric operation with low power consumption, the CVL-5000 delivers a high thrust linear output performance that suits the heavy duty demands of the large control valves used in the application, combined with a programmable integral failsafe capability.

Engineers from Fluxys, Rotork and Mokveld removed the existing actuator, fitted an ATEX certified explosionproof CVL-5000, re-connected the control signal and carried out a series of tests that demonstrated improved response times, accurate valve positioning, low running costs and fail-to-position operation on loss of mains supply. As a result, Fluxys has decided to adopt the CVL-5000 as the standard actuator for its gas blending plants; over time, existing valves will be retrofitted whilst new valves will have the actuators factory fitted. It is estimated that the improved performance achieved by each valve installation can be accompanied by an annual saving of up to 5000 euros in operating costs per unit.

Rapidly changing consumer demands require machine and equipment builders to reduce development and installation time while increasing machine flexibility. The Allen-Bradley Kinetix 5500 servo drive with integrated safety can help machine builders satisfy those requirements by taking advantage of a single EtherNet/IP network, as well as a common design environment with Rockwell Software Studio 5000 Logix Designer software.

The Kinetix 5500 servo drive with integrated safety builds on the foundation of the recently released Kinetix 5500 servo drive. With the same high-speed coordination to meet demanding motion requirements, the drive uses the EtherNet/IP network for streamlined machine safety functions. End users gain the benefit of improved personnel safety and increased machine uptime in the manufacturing facility.

“Production requirements are constantly changing for end users in the packaging, converting and material-handling industries, meaning their safety requirements may change as well,” said Mike Schweiner, product manager, Rockwell Automation. “Putting safety on the network eases the configuration of and updates to safety functions. This allows machine builders to be very flexible with their design and differentiate themselves in these industries, providing customers the means to more easily react to market changes.”

The EtherNet/IP network allows safety signals to travel via the same wires and IP addresses used for control and motion. This eliminates the need for a hardwired safety system. Reducing overall system wiring saves time and money in installation and removes potential points of failure, resulting in less troubleshooting and downtime.

Machine and equipment builders can more quickly install the drive and provide customers with greater ease of use via the Logix Designer development environment and Allen‑Bradley GuardLogix safety controllers. In addition to motion and control parameters, end users now can configure the safety system within the Logix Designer software. They can unlatch the safe torque off function, program an unlimited number of set points, change safety zoning, and re-use code to maintain system validation – all within a single software application.

Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces the development of the SMARTDAC+® GX20W wireless paperless recorder. This new product supports the ISA100 Wireless™ industrial automation wireless communication standard and is expected to become an essential component of the SMARTDAC+ data acquisition and control system. The GX20W will be released to the market on November 12.

The GX20W comes with an ISA100 Wireless gateway function that enables it to wirelessly collect and record information from ISA100 Wireless devices. It facilitates the acquisition of data from locations that are inaccessible to recorders or where it is difficult to accommodate conventional wired devices.

Plants use all kinds of field devices to measure items such as temperature, pressure, liquid level, gas concentration, and vibration. With a field wireless system, communication between field devices and host monitoring systems is done wirelessly. Demand for field wireless systems is growing because the field wireless devices can be placed in locations that cannot be accessed with conventional wired devices and cost less to install.

Plant facility monitoring systems often include recorders that collect and record measurement data from field devices. The GX20W is ideal for use in such systems.

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Yokogawa Electric Corporation announces the development of the SMARTDAC+® GM data acquisition system, and will be releasing it to the market on November 17.  The SMARTDAC+ GM data acquisition system improves operational efficiency due to its modular design, which facilitates the mounting and removal of modules. In addition, the SMARTDAC+ GM system supports Bluetooth wireless communications for use with handheld mobile devices.

Data acquisition systems are widely used in many industrial and test & measurement applications in a large variety of industries to acquire and record process data such as temperature, voltage, current, flow rate, and pressure. In 1951 Yokogawa became the first company in Japan to bring an electronic self-balancing recorder to market, and in 1986 introduced a multipoint data acquisition and recording system. Yokogawa currently offers a wide variety of data acquisition systems.

Depending on the application, most data acquisition systems utilize a variety of modules to acquire a wide range of data. Historically, many of these systems were equipped with a base plate for the mounting of modules. Base plates are now less common, as users prefer designs that allow the easy mounting and removal of modules. The data acquisition systems in use today can be classified into two types: those that are equipped with a monitor, and those that are not. In the latter case, the systems must be hooked up to a PC and operated using its screen and keyboard. To better accommodate the needs of its customers, Yokogawa developed the SMARTDAC+ GM modular data acquisition system. With modular I/O users can scale their data acquisition system based on their process requirement, with the ability to upgrade as their needs evolve. Additionally, wireless Bluetooth connection allows wireless communication with mobile devices.

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