WirelessHART Saves Bearings, Downtime at Heavy Plate Mill
Ilsenburger Grobblech GmbH has used WirelessHART to optimize plant availability for extremely capital-intensive bearings. The application required monitoring and predicting instances of downtime-inducing heat, which can damage the bearings if heat rises to an unsafe level. In one exceptionally demanding monitoring application, an Endress+Hauser wireless solution connects resistance thermometers to a WirelessHART adaptor and gateway to send signals via Modbus RTU to a system to record, display and trigger alarms if temperatures rise excessively. The capability of WirelessHART to assign communication paths and data packet transfer times proved ideal for easy retrofitting of new measuring points. See www.FieldCommGroup.org/posts/ilsenburger.
Mining Operation Protects Assets, ‘Rocks’ with Cost Savings
Lundin Mining Corp.’s Eagle Mine needed to monitor performance of critical assets including freeze protection for fire systems, sump pumps and crushing equipment at distances up to ¾ mile. WirelessHART was chosen over wiring and conduit due to a tight commissioning schedule and costs. The solution included 40 wireless temperature transmitters; an Emerson Asset Management System (AMS) for remote calibration and configuration; four gateways connecting a Rockwell Logix PLC, wireless instruments and a business network; and Emerson Thum adapters to simplify network expansion and addition of third-party devices. Savings over hardwiring included $83,000 on installations at the mine and $3,000 to $10,000 in cost avoidance per freeze incident at remote sites. See www.FieldCommGroup.org/posts/eagle-mine.
FOUNDATION Fieldbus Gives New Life to Aging Shell North Sea Platform
Shell UK Exploration and Production (Shell Expro) have upgraded Brent Alpha, its first-generation, North Sea, oil and gas production platform operating since 1978, using foundation Fieldbus. Control and safety shutdown systems were replaced with Yokogawa CENTUM CS 3000 and Prosafe-SLS. This converted the platform from onsite to remote management—its control room is unmanned and operated by Shell’s nearby Brent Bravo platform, which controls Alpha’s wells and transfer of hydrocarbon fluids. Shell chose foundation Fieldbus for its ability to provide ongoing cost reductions and flexibility to accommodate future technology advances for still further savings. See www.FieldCommGroup.org/posts/brent-alpha.
WirelessHART positioners to deliver diagnostics for Danube Refinery
MOL’s Danube Refinery was named HART Plant of the Year in 2010 and again this year (page S-27). Since 2009, when its first WirelessHART implementation used four temperature transmitters and one gateway to receive signals from a crude distillation unit, the system has expanded to six gateways receiving signals from 32 devices. It has been approved for diagnostic and measurement purposes, and was included in MOL standards specifying technical requirements for different applications that currently include measuring temperature and corrosion rates. Plans though 2017 include a major Field Instrument Maintenance System upgrade at the refinery level, adding 100 WirelessHART control valve positioners for online diagnostics and preventive maintenance of critical control valves. See www.FieldCommGroup.org/posts/mol-wirelesshart.
