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Contents A4 Research team developing Tesla coil designs Researchers at The Geek Group National Science Institute have set out on an ambitious program of research and experimentation seeking to discover new uses for Tesla coils.

A4 A9 Implementing wireless process sensing

A9

Installing a wireless sensing system may seem complicated, but following four basic steps—identify areas for improvement, acquire data, analyze data, and take corrective action—can simplify the required effort.

C OMMENT Pursuing wireless power, implementing wireless sensing

I

Jack Smith Editor

n his pursuit to wirelessly transmit power, inventor Nikola Tesla designed the Tesla coil, an electrical resonant transformer circuit, in 1891. It produces high-voltage, low-current, high-frequency ac electricity. He experimented with different configurations consisting of two, or sometimes three, coupled resonant electrical circuits. Tesla patented the Tesla coil circuit April 25, 1891. Although he patented many similar circuits during this period, this was the first that contained all the elements of the Tesla coil: a high voltage primary transformer, a capacitor, a spark gap, and an air core oscillation transformer.

This issue’s cover story describes how researchers at The Geek Group National Science Institute, a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) collective in Grand Rapids, Mich., are revisiting Tesla’s vision and seeking to discover new uses. According to the author, “They have set out on an ambitious

program of research and experimentation that would have been impossible in Tesla’s day.”

The second story in this issue explains a fourstep process for implementing wireless process sensing in large plants: identify, acquire, analyze, and execute. “Oil and gas, chemical, refining, food and beverage, power, and other process industries are under pressure to increase production, make processes more efficient, reduce energy usage, cut maintenance costs, improve safety, and meet dozens, if not hundreds, of federal, state, and local regulations,” writes the author. “To accomplish these goals, plants must monitor all aspects of a process, acquire data from new instrumentation, analyze the data to turn it into actionable information, and take steps to remedy problems.”

Focusing primarily on WirelessHART sensors, the author provides several industry-specific examples of successful wireless implementations.

ON THE COVER The Geek Group CEO Chris Boden kneels beside a finished Tesla coil. Courtesy: Thomson Industries Inc.

Applied Automation August 2017

•

A3

C o v e r s t o ry

Research team developing Tesla coil designs researchers at the Geek Group National science Institute have set out on an ambitious program of research and experimentation seeking to discover new uses for tesla coils (tCs).

Jeff Johnson Thomson Industries Inc.

M

ention a Tesla coil (TC) to many people, and they might guess it has something to do with the pioneering electric car named after Nikola Tesla, a contemporary and rival of Thomas Edison. They would be correct, in part. Tesla’s development of ac generation and transmission technology has become the global standard for electrical power transmission, without which there would likely be no electric cars. But the cars themselves do not use TCs, nor does much of anything else, other than some high school labs and science museums. The coils were Tesla’s short-lived effort to create an open, wireless technology that would transmit power around the globe without cables.

Now, a century after the implementation of ac, researchers at The Geek Group National Science

Figure 1: Diagram of a Tesla coil with a logarithmic tapered winding on a winding machine. All images courtesy: Thomson Industries Inc.

A4 • August 2017

Applied Automation

Institute, a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) collective in Grand Rapids, Mich., are revisiting Tesla’s vision and seeking to discover new uses. With the help of linear motion technology, they have set out on an ambitious program of research and experimentation that would have been impossible in Tesla’s day. Thomson Industries is donating a high-precision ball screw assembly that will help The Geek Group’s high-energy engineering team wind the thousands of coils they will need for their experiments.

TC basics The premise of a TC is basic physics. Current through a wire generates a magnetic field, a changing magnetic field around a wire creates current, capacitors and inductors store energy to form a resonant circuit—an electrical pendulum.

In a TC, a power supply charges a capacitor bank to a modest voltage until a switch connects it to a low turn count primary coil at the base. This causes a large ac “ringing” or oscillation to flow through this coil, which causes a large magnetic field to envelop a much larger, high turn count secondary coil.

This causes current to start flowing in the secondary coil, charging a capacitor formed between the terminal on top, called a “top load,” and earth ground. This resonant circuit continues oscillating and transferring power between the coils until either the switch is opened or the ringing completely decays. For a sufficient time after the pulse, a properly-timed additional pulse can cause the oscillation to increase in amplitude until major energy losses start occurring in the form of sparks, arc, and corona discharges.

In a normal, well-understood power distribution transformer, the wires are quite close and strongly coupled such that huge currents can flow between them under the wrong conditions. In a TC, this close coupling is actually problematic because it forces a strong reliance on the turn ratio between the primary and secondary coils. This strong coupling also allows power stored in the secondary coil to potentially leak back to the primary coil. By greatly reduc-

ing the ability of these two coils to interact, a TC can cause the oscillation to overshoot the voltage levels that a traditional transformer calculation would indicate.

In a TC, the ratio may be in the order of 1:20 to 1:100, and traditional calculations would suggest output voltages in the order of hundreds of kilovolts to a million volts. But because of the loose coupling, the voltages are allowed to overshoot, realizing outputs from tens to hundreds of megavolts.

A similar effect can be observed on a swing set. A parent’s short, welltimed, 24-inch push is able to start and increase the swinging until a gleeful child is hurtling through an arc that is Figure 2: Gear drive and mounting system dozens of feet in length. Such movefor the lead screw. ment would not be possible if the parent’s grasp was retained on the swing.

Many of Tesla’s original goals for his Part of the winding process involves eponymous coils have been supercoating the wire with epoxy or polyureFigure 3: The coil winding machine uses seded by cheaper, smaller, and more thane, which seals and insulates the an 8-foot FSI series metric precision efficient inventions. Today, TCs have wrapping. Even a tiny amount of moisball screw from Thomson Industries. been relegated largely to curiosity and ture can interfere with the experiment. science experiments. The Geek Group Coating is most effective when done researchers, however, believe that TCs have tremendous during the winding. Because it must dry and cure in real potential that can be achieved by appropriately tuning the time, the pipe must keep turning constantly for up to a wire-wrapping strategy. Chris Boden, CEO of The Geek week. During that time, the windings must be positioned Group, believes that by adjusting the wrapping, he can straight, with no gaps, except as defined by the experitune the coil to achieve higher states of resonance. ment’s protocol. Depending on what is being tested, an “We might experiment with a logarithmic-tapered windexperiment could require up to 20 exact duplicates. Such ing, working out the physics and the math to determine consistency is relatively easy to attain when the windings the algorithms that would achieve the ideal resonance,” are close to each other, as in most TCs today. However, said Boden. “We might experiment with the spacing of in experiments that involve varying the spacing, as The the windings of the secondary coil, maybe winding the Geek Group wants to do, precision is critical. To achieve turns next to each other at the start and spacing them this, The Geek Group researchers are building a winding to 0.005 in. after the first inch, and increasing them machine, which is where advanced linear motion comes gradually until you get to the end of the coil where they in (see Figure 1). may end up 8 to 10 in. apart, because the flux density Automating the winding process [electromagnetic force] is so low. Or maybe we do it all in reverse because the low flux density might actually The Geek Group’s winding machine can provide the warrant closer windings at the top, and so on. We won’t slow and steady motion needed to keep the coil turning know until we start working with it.” steadily for days at a time. Key to the precision will be an 8-foot precision ball screw that converts the rotary motion The secret is in the windings of a servomotor into the linear motion necessary to guide a wire feed apparatus across the coil (see Figure 2).

Most TCs in use today are created by manually wrapFinding the technology that matched up to the high stanping copper wire around a PVC pipe that provides the dards held by The Geek Group was a challenge taken on air gap. Manual winding is possible and encouraged for by the Institute’s Internet Relay Chat (IRC) team. the smallest classroom applications, which can involve “We set our IRC team on the task of finding the best a secondary coil that is 1 or 2 ft. by 4 in. But in winding linear motion technology in the industry,” said Boden. “The thousands of secondary coils, some at lengths of up to 8 IRC is a 24/7 nonstop think tank, composed of a couple ft., manual winding not only would be prohibitively painshundred experts from many science and technology distaking, it also would fail to provide the precision that would ciplines. They analyzed about a dozen different products be necessary for perfect resonance.

Applied Automation August 2017 • A5

C O V E R S T O RY

Figure 4: The machine has a system of pulleys and pneumatic controls on the winding head control system. Inset: A closer look of the winding head control system.

and concluded that the Thomson precision ball screw could do exactly what we needed and exactly how we wanted to do it.”

A customer support engineer guided The Geek Group team in selecting the exact configuration that would meet its needs. The product was a quick-install ball screw assembly, so named because most of the assembly and configuration is done before shipping, which avoids precision problems that might result from assembling components on-site. The final configuration consisted of an 8-foot ball screw just under 1 in. in diameter (see Figure 3).

Flanged bearing mounts support the screw on both ends of the support rack, and the drive nut translates as a servomotor turns the drive, which is flange-mounted to the bottom of a steel plate connected to the wire feed assembly. While one servomotor keeps the pipe turning at a constant rate from 1 to 200 rpm, a second servo keeps the nut moving across the threaded drive, and with it, the feed apparatus gliding slowly over the coil at a speed of less than 1 in. per minute.

Ball screw drives convert rotary motion into linear motion, or vice versa, and consist of a ball screw and a ball nut. These are packaged as an assembly with recirculating ball bearings. The interface between the ball screw and the nut is made by ball bearings that roll in matching forms. With rolling elements, the ball-screw

A6 • August 2017

Applied Automation

Figure 5: The Geek Group CEO Chris Boden kneels beside a finished Tesla coil.

drive has a lowfriction coefficient and typically is greater than 90% efficient. The forces transmitted are distributed over a large number of ball bearings, giving a low relative load per ball.

The winding machine will enable experimentation to test the impact of numerous winding strategies on a magnetic field across the secondary coil (see Figure 4).

Stay tuned Coil production began in May 2017, and The Geek Group has plans for larger coils and experiments in the future (see Figure 5). Will they end up realizing Tesla’s vision? Will they discover new capabilities of the TC? If nothing else, we can be sure that The Geek Group’s high-energy team, the 75,000 Geek Group online subscribers, the more than 15 million viewers of its online videos, and possibly the entire scientific engineering community will wind up knowing a lot more about a powerful, yet all but abandoned, technology.

Jeff Johnson is the global product line manager at Thomson Industries Inc. in Wood Dale, Ill. He is responsible for lead screws, ball screws, and screw jacks.

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Wireless process sensing

Implementing wireless process sensing installing a wireless sensing system may seem complicated, but following these four basic steps can simplify the required effort.

By Brian Joe Emerson Automation Solutions

O

il and gas, chemical, refining, food and beverage, power, and other process industries are under pressure to increase production, make processes more efficient, reduce energy usage, cut maintenance costs, improve safety, and meet dozens, if not hundreds, of federal, state, and local regulations. To accomplish these goals, plants must monitor all aspects of a process, acquire data from new instrumentation, analyze the data to turn it into actionable information, and take steps to remedy problems.

Many process plants are huge, with many opportunities to improve operations. Where do plant personnel start?

What follows is a four-step process for employing strategies to monitor anything, anywhere.

Step 1: Identify areas for improvement

Figure 1: A combined cycle power plant in California implemented a wireless architecture to monitor cooling towers, turbines, and other equipment. All images courtesy: Emerson Automation Solutions

The first step in identifying investment opportunities is determining the economic value associated with improved operational visibility. For example, what’s it worth to know an asset is about to fail or is operating inefficiently? After economic value is estimated, the measurements and variables needed to make an informed decision can be determined.

A way to accomplish this is to do a walk-through and/ or piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID) review of the plant with the help of a wireless system supplier.

Wireless experts and key plant personnel walk the site and/or review P&ID drawings; examine equipment and processes; note available instrumentation, wiring, and input/output (I/O) infrastructure; and evaluate areas for improvement. The experts identify areas where improvements will result in a quick return on investment (ROI), such as monitoring steam traps or pressure relief valves.

In some cases, plant experts already know what’s needed. For example, a utility in California wanted to implement a wireless architecture throughout its combined cycle plant to access data previously unattainable through traditional wired solutions (see Figure 1). “We

needed to monitor the performance of our cooling towers,” said the plant engineer. “Cooling tower riser temperatures are critical to an efficiency calculation used for cooling tower performance.”

The plant also wanted better monitoring of its turbines.

This included temperature monitoring to prevent overheating, and air filter monitoring to reduce the impact of clogged filters on turbine efficiency. “We wanted to monitor turbine compartment temperatures for leak detection of forced air cooling the turbine exhaust,” the plant engineer said. “We had switches that would close if they got hot, but we didn’t know the temperature inside the compartment. When the switches closed, we knew something was happening, but we did not have any other information.” Mechanics were sent to do inspections much more frequently than necessary, because experience had proven that leaks in this turbine exhaust cooling application were a problem and needed to be found quickly.

The power plant analyzed its needs, determined what processes would yield the best ROI, and installed wireless transmitters to acquire the information it needed.

Applied Automation August 2017 • A9

Wireless process sensing

Figure 2: A modern wireless installation will have many of WirelessHART sensors in its pervasive sensing system. Data from these sensors can be analyzed quickly using Emerson’s Plantweb software applications.

Step 2: Acquire data The key to a successful wireless implementation is executing a strategy where wireless sensors are used to acquire data from all parts of the plant at a reasonable cost. Many older, existing plants could benefit from adding many more measurement points, given the proven financial benefits. One reason they don’t is that, in the past, these inputs would have to be wired from the sensing point, such as a pressure instrument installed at a pump, to a control and monitoring system.

Adding this wiring to an existing facility usually is a very expensive undertaking because wired sensors require power, wiring to I/O systems, and additional I/O points at the control and monitoring system. Such modifications often require significant downtime, which isn’t an option as many plants operate at or near full capacity.

WirelessHART sensors, on the other hand, have built-in power modules, so they don’t require power wiring. And, being wireless, they don’t require additional I/O capacity from the plant’s control and monitoring systems. These sensors are connected through a plant-wide wireless mesh network to control and monitoring systems via a gateway.

WirelessHART sensors allow points of measurement to be added at a fraction of the cost and time required for their wired equivalents, and sensors not requiring process penetrations can be installed without any downtime.

After a WirelessHART infrastructure is in place, adding more sensors is quick and inexpensive. In this case, the aforementioned California power plant discovered it could add a wireless temperature transmitter on fire pumps to protect against pump damage, and added wireless sensors to the remote rainwater pond feeding the cooling towers. Both tied into the new WirelessHART infrastructure.

“We have a level transmitter warning us before the pond overflows to the river,” the plant engineer said. “This gives us time to go to the pond, take measurements, and prove compliance.” Another wireless measurement point continuously monitors pH to ensure there is no issue with the water feeding the cooling towers.

A10 • August 2017

Applied Automation

Figure 3: Emerson’s Plantweb Insight analytics software can be accessed via a browser running on PCs, smartphones, or tablets.

Step 3: Analyze data When a plant adds pervasive sensing technology, the wireless ecosystem generates a large amount of raw data, and it may be difficult for plant operators and engineers to decide what’s relevant and actionable (see Figure 2).

Expensive enterprise level software management systems often require six-figure investments, extensive training, and months to deploy. Such systems usually require expensive outside consultants for startup, and significant IT resources in terms of server hardware, dedicated computers, etc.

Recent developments in analytical software—now available as an app that can be accessed from Web browsers on a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or mobile device— make analysis simpler and less expensive (see Figure 3).

Each app takes data from the wireless gateway or other data and monitoring systems. And each app addresses specific equipment, such as steam traps, pumps, heat exchangers, or pressure relief devices, with simple, inexpensive, plug-in solutions that can run independent of a plant’s control system. These apps use pre-built analytic models and strategic interpretation to turn the raw data into information that plant personnel can use to make decisions and take action.

Because each of these solutions is purpose-built for a specific asset, they are quick, easy, and inexpensive to implement. And with a wireless infrastructure in place, additional applications can be added quickly.

Step 4: take corrective action The fourth and final step is for the plant to take the appropriate corrective action.

Because of their locations, steam traps often are not monitored in most plants. Instead, many plants rely on manual rounds, where maintenance technicians test traps once or twice a year and look for signs of leaking. Manual

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Wireless process sensing

Figure 5: Installing wireless temperature sensors on these cooling towers and analyzing the data improved operations, saved energy, and increased the lives of fan motors.

Figure 4: A Rosemount 708 WirelessHART acoustic transmitter can monitor steam traps, detecting if they fail open or closed, or if they are leaking.

rounds are often ineffective, and many problems go undetected. Estimates indicate 18% of the steam traps in petrochemical plants fail every year, with each trap failure causing about $16,000 in fuel and steam costs.

By installing WirelessHART acoustic sensors, plants quickly can identify steam traps failing open or closed, leaking, or working improperly (see Figure 4). The annual savings from monitoring 112 steam traps in one ethylene plant amounted to $342,578.

Installing WirelessHART acoustic sensors downstream of pressure relief devices (PRDs) enables maintenance personnel to identify leaking or sticking valves, repair them, and avoid U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fines due to fugitive emissions of up to $350,000 per incident. In one petrochemical plant with 200 PRDs, the annual energy savings obtained by identifying and repairing leaking PRDs was $1,487,040.

A power plant in California had no riser temperature measurements before wireless temperature sensors were installed on the cooling towers (see Figure 5). These measurements are now used in the efficiency calculation to confirm whether fans are running at correct speeds. “With confirmation that the fans are at the right speed, we do not have to over-compensate, which gives us better thermal efficiency. As a result, we have increased the throughput of the cooling towers,” a plant engineer said. “The information provided by the wireless measurements has enabled the plant to lower the amount of current used by the fan motors, lengthening their lifetimes.”

Wireless temperature transmitters were installed to provide online turbine compartment temperatures to detect

A14 • August 2017

Applied Automation

leakage of hot air, an inexpensive early detection strategy.

“We track temperature over time to help with preventive maintenance scheduling and troubleshooting. This has allowed us to cut our preventive maintenance on the turbines in half,” said the plant engineer.

For air filter monitoring, two wireless differential pressure (DP) transmitters were installed to monitor inlet air filter efficiency on two units. “The wireless DP transmitters allow us to see if the filters are getting clogged with dust,” said the engineer. “With better DP information across the filters, we can clean them at the proper time. This significantly improves turbine efficiency and reduced megawatt usage.

We saved $15,000 to 20,000 for each DP transmitter compared to a wired solution because of the long distances from the measurement point to the control room.”

“One of the great benefits of wireless devices is that we can install them ourselves in a fraction of the time it takes to wire an instrument,” the power company plant engineer said. “We typically need to hire contractors for wired instrument installation because we do not have a big staff. Being able to do it ourselves in a fraction of the time was a big savings to the company. It takes about an hour to install a wireless device, compared to two weeks to run wire and completely install a wired transmitter.”

Overcoming challenges Installing wireless transmitters and analytics software in a plant improves efficiencies, finds problems, cuts maintenance costs, and extends the life of valuable equipment.

While such a solution may appear challenging, with the help of a wireless supplier and following this basic fourstep procedure, a wireless solution can be installed at a reasonable price with a quick ROI. Brian Joe is a wireless product manager for Emerson Automation Solutions in Shakopee, Minn.

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