PACE - Process & Control Engineering - April 2014

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APRIL 2014 | VOL.67 NO.3

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APRIL 2014 | VOL.67 NO.3

INSIDE PACE

EtherCAT

Motors & Drives

Nitrogen Efficiency

Martin Rostan discusses the promise and potential of EtherCAT technology

Identify issues with rotating machinery before they cause problems

Vineyards blend traditional winemaking values with precise processing technologies

Post Print Approved PP100008186

Tornado in a tank Simple mixing technology proves best option for minerals processing industry

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CONTENTS

Publisher: Martin Sinclair Email: martin.sinclair@cirrusmedia.com.au Editor: Kevin Gomez Tel: (02) 8484 0976 Fax: (02) 8484 0722 Email: kevin.gomez@cirrusmedia.com.au

IN THIS ISSUE

Group Sales Manager: Tim Richards Tel: (02) 8484 0829 Mobile: 0420 550 799 Email: tim.richards@cirrusmedia.com.au

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QLD Sales Manager: Sharon R. Amos PO Box 3136, Bracken Ridge, QLD 4017 Tel: (07) 3261 8857 Fax: (07) 3261 8347 Mobile: 0417 072 625 Email: sharon.amos@cirrusmedia.com.au Graphic Designer: Dave Ashley Email: david.ashley@cirrusmedia.com.au Production Co-ordinator: Tracy Engle Tel: (02) 8484 0707 Fax: (02) 8484 0722 Email: tracy.engle@cirrusmedia.com.au

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16 Insight 6

Managing hydrocarbon With over 100 recorded accidents so far in 2014 we all need to do more to improve safety for everyone involved in hazardous but vital industries

Conversation 10

Industrial Ethernet The Executive Director of EtherCAT Technology Group discusses the promise of EtherCAT and its position in the fieldbus space Mining 12

Safety 8

Incident prediction Organizations must become proactive cultures in which operational personnel first predict and then take appropriate steps to avoid the occurrence of incidents Engineer’s Corner 9

Wireless technology The decision to implement wireless technology in an industrial facility is a strategic choice as it will help improve safety, optimise the plant and ensure compliance

Optimisation software Mining executives wanting to maximise the return on capital must look to effectively optimise their supply chain systems Technology Update 16

Maintenance It is possible to identify items of rotating machines, control systems and instruments which commonly are seen to cause problems Case Study 20

Motors & Drives Recent major upgrades to water

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treatment plants in Victoria mean residents can now enjoy cleaner drinking water flowing from their taps Minerals Processing 23

Tornado in a tank A simple mixing technology developed using world-class science proves the best option for the mineral processing industry Application Note 25

Nitrogen generation New compressor equipment at a vineyard has cut the price per cubic metre of nitrogen per day by more than 75 percent Roundup 26

New Products Multiport valves; GWR integrity testing; Light curtain; Eddy current sensor; Linear measuring solution

ON THE COVER PA0 4 1 4 _ 0 0 3

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Power of a tornado in a tank

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APRIL 2014 | VOL.67 NO.3

INSIDE PACE

EtherCAT

Motors & Drives

Nitrogen Efficiency

Martin Rostan discusses the promise and potential of EtherCAT technology

Identify issues with rotating machinery before they cause problems

Vineyards blend traditional winemaking values with precise processing technologies

Tornado in a tank Post Print Approved PP100008186

Average Net Distribution Period ending Sep ’13 6,400

20

Simple mixing technology proves best option for minerals processing industry

A smart mixing technology called swirl flow, developed by CSIRO and Queensland Alumina, greatly simplifies the mixing of solids in suspension in mineral processing. It works by creating a novel fluid flow pattern within largescale tanks that mimics a tornado.

Suspension mixing is usually achieved using massive impellers attached to long shafts, at times 20 metres or more in length, resulting in the mixing

equipment being heavy, unwieldy and costly. The mixing is not entirely efficient using this approach and the equipment can be costly to maintain.

The capital cost of swirl flow is around 50 per cent less than traditional technologies and likewise the maintenance costs are also much lower, in part due to the lower wear rates than the impellers used in traditional systems.

(See page 23) APRIL 2014 www.pacetoday.com.au 5

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COMMENT

EDITOR’S MESSAGE

WHAT’S ON

Introduction to Process Safety 13-14 May 2014, Melbourne www.icheme.org/itps

Safety does not come out of a box

National Manufacturing Week 13-16 May 2014, Sydney www.nationalmanufacturingweek. com.au

THIS page features two safety courses alongside and a safety news item below. For plant operators, safety is a key consideration, it’s just that some are more diligent than others.

Unfortunately, safety is not something that comes out of a box or purchased with money alone. It really comes down senior management committing to an explicit safety vision which is then woven into the ethos of the company. The safety industry has made tremendous progress, taking advantage of new technologies in key areas to enhance the user situational awareness and decision making.

But organizations must evolve to become proactive cultures in which – rather

TUV Functional Safety Course 20-23 May 2014, Perth www.hima.com.au

Kevin Gomez Editor

PACE Zenith Awards Gala Dinner 12 June 2014, Melbourne www.pacetoday.com.au/awards Women in Industry Awards 25 June 2014, Sydney www.womeninindustry.com.au

Next Issue

• Safety Systems • Connectivity & Networking • National Manufacturing Week Preview • PACE Zenith Awards 2014: Finalists

For daily updates visit www.pacetoday.com.au

than reacting to incidents – operational personnel adopt a proactive stance. As ARC’s Dick Hill notes in this issue of PACE, this involves cultural, organizational, human, and technical elements.

If we look at an incident in terms of time and severity, we can see that with the reactive approaches of the past, an operator did not become aware of an abnormal situation until an alarm limit had been exceeded, at which time the operator had to make a decision and then take an action, notes Hill. While this is happening, the severity of the abnormal situation increases exponentially and the possibility to avoid an incident decreases.

In contrast, with today’s proactive solutions, the probability of an incident can often be determined, the root cause analysed, and appropriate operator action identified and communicated well before the operator is aware of the possible incident.

At the time the operator takes the recommended action, the severity is still low and long before the incident is imminent.

We are interested to hear your opinion on what this means for Australia. Email us or sound off on Facebook. kevin.gomez@cirrusmedia.com.au

Like us on Facebook and join the conversation facebook.com/PACEtoday

SAFETY

Cost of poor hydrocarbon process safety tops US$34 billion THE combined financial loss from the 2013 is estimated by Marsh at over refinery, Ensenada in Argentina.

100 largest accidents in the hydrocarbon US$34 billion.

The hydrocarbon industry is playing industry has been estimated at over The losses are dominated by the a leading role at Hazards 24 – regarded US$34 billion in a new publication by upstream (34%) and refining sectors as the world’s leading process safety insurance provider, Marsh.

(29%), with the petrochemical sector event for the chemical and process The data was published in The accounting for nearly a quarter of industries. Hazards 24 is organised by 100 Largest Losses 1974-2013 losses (23%). Gas processing (9%) and the Institution of Chemical Engineers Large property damage losses in the distribution sectors (5%) accounted for (IChemE) and is being held on 7-9 Hydrocarbon Industry 23rd Edition by over one-in-six of losses.

May 2014 at Scotland’s Edinburgh Marsh, whose energy loss database holds Marsh reported that eight new losses International Conference Centre. almost 10,000 records of losses spanning have entered the 100 largest losses list Andrew Furlong, IChemE’s director a period of more than 40 years. since 2011, including the Sendai refinery of policy and communication, said: P A 4 4 _ 2 1 1 -e 0 4 -petrochemical 0 3 7 0 0 A D0 _total P1 Aaccumulated C_ E0 M0 E0 T value AM PE RofT _the 1 2 -. p in d Japan; f 2 0 P the a 4 gGeismar 2 7 0 T / 1 0 0 3 :/ 4 1 2 :, “Marsh’s 5 + : 1 latest 1 : 0 Preport M is another stark The 100 largest losses between 1974 and facility, Louisiana, US; and La Plata reminder of the sheer scale of financial

loss resulting from process safety incidents. In reality, the financial loss is greater with 10,000 incidents recorded

by Marsh over the past forty years.

“However, it is the elimination of loss of life and serious injury that should be the priority of everyone in the chemical and process industries.”

With over 100 recorded accidents so far in 2014 resulting in over 400 deaths and injuries, we all need to do more to improve safety for everyone involved in these hazardous but vital industries.” www.icheme.org

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OPINION

SAFETY

Incident prediction Plant shutdowns and slowdowns are, to a large extent, preventable, writes Dick Hill.

“I

NEVITABLY, what you In recent decades, companies in enabled by predictive analytics. While don’t know will ruin your the developed economies have invested the concept is not new, the appropriate day.” This often-voiced piece heavily in operations management tools are now available to enable today’s of wisdom is true across the applications. As a result, an enormous operators to predict and effectively avoid process manufacturing industries and quantity of data has been accumulated incidents. In concert with appropriate other industrial sectors, where operations and stored. So much so, in fact, that cultural, organizational, and human staffs are being asked to do more with it is impossible for a human to process elements, these can play a key role in less, new technologies are burying manually. Instead, valuable time is any critical condition management people with data, institutional process consumed searching for an answer (CCM) initiative. knowledge is flying out the door, and through a myriad of information, while Too complex for humans the financial and other costs of incidents the situation in the plant may be going Process manufacturing involves millions continue to increase. from bad to worse. Clearly, operations of complex compounds with many To improve this situation, industrial management applications alone are not millions of relationships and related organizations must evolve to become the answer. behaviors. In any given instance, plant largely proactive cultures in which Process alarms, usually put in place personnel only know a fraction of – rather than reacting to incidents – for safety reasons, represent a limited set these behaviours, positive and negative. operational personnel adopt a proactive of conclusions on very few individual Today’s plants and factories are growing stance; first predicting and then taking variables, with thresholds set to alert larger and becoming increasingly appropriate steps to avoid the occurrence operators to extreme conditions. To complicated. As a result, operators can of incidents. This involves cultural, minimise nuisance alarms, engineers easily become overloaded attempting to organizational, human, and technical usually set alarm thresholds at levels that search for and analyse the information elements. are far from normal operations. needed to determine the prevailing Since, in today’s increasingly As a result, alarms are often not state and the root causes of existing complex and fast-paced industrial useful for detecting minor deviations problems. environments, simple incidents can from optimum operation or best Even as they’re searching for rapidly escalate into major incidents, practices. Alarms also miss many minor answers, the problem may escalate, more people have to be able make the problems that become major only after negatively impacting production, safety, right decisions at the right times. This their effects propagate over time.

A M0 4 1 4 _ 0 0 0 _ T U R 1 2 0 1 4 - 0 3 - 1 3 T1 3 : 2 4 : 2 3 + 1 1 : 0 0 environment, and/or operating profits. requires a “production time” perspective, Most companies have implemented

the “best operator” concept; a benchmark that creates a standard for operator performance. But the best operator may be retiring. In the past, we have relied heavily on learned knowledge and intuition. However, due to changing de-mographics, today’s plants face the dual challenge of not only adding to the understanding of the plant and process dynamics, but also retaining the current understanding.

Incident avoidance

Plant shutdowns and slowdowns are – to a large extent – preventable. The key is to be able to advise the operator of a possible incident in advance and provide guidance as to how to avoid it or, if not avoidable, how to minimise the consequences. This is the realm of today’s emerging incident prediction and avoidance solutions.

The time appears to be right for these solutions, which ARC believes could become the industrial “killer app” of the decade.

[Dick Hill is Vice President & General Manager, ARC Advisory Group.] www.arcweb.com

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OPINION

WIRELESS

Industrial network selection There are many aspects to consider as you deploy wireless, writes Vibhor Tandon.

T

HE decision to implement wireless technology in your industrial facility is a strategic choice as it will help improve safety, optimise the plant and ensure compliance.

Many industrial facilities are already deploying wireless networks for targeted requirements. Consider the following when getting plants get ready for the future: Functionality and applications.

Consider how many different functions are more efficient with wireless technology. Questions that need to be considered include your willingness to deploy multiple wireless networks to manage and maintain or do you just want one strategic network (many users have multiple uses but want just one wireless network to deploy and manage); will you consider some simple control applications; do you want to enable your field workers with wireless handheld devices to access data and interact with various servers in the facility and will you want first responders to utilise your wireless network in case of an emergency?

Multi-speed support. You should consider if there are requirements for information to reach the control room quickly for some applications and less quickly for others; can you afford to have your alarms transmitted back at the same rate as monitoring information; will you do low-speed monitoring as well as high-speed monitoring for certain process measurements?

Reliability. Can your operations survive without the information conveyed wirelessly? Most can today, but as you look forward and really embrace wireless, your future applications will require a more reliable network. Also, most wireless solutions are using the unlicensed instrument, scientific and medical (ISM) frequency bands, which provide limited bandwidth for your plant. Have you developed a plan for how you are going to use the ISM bands in your industrial facility?

This consideration will help a plant ensure solid wireless operations.

Sub-optimised ISM bands will lead to reduced scalability and reliability, limiting your wireless usage, much like a wiring conduit that is already full.

Security. This is essential to protect against malicious intent and to protect your intellectual property, your bottom line and your people. So what kind of security do you need? How much is enough? Do you need just one security system or many?

These are important considerations as you strategically deploy an industrial wireless network. You most likely will want to have just one wireless security approach. This gives you just one system to manage and provides you the opportunity to pick the best available solution to match your wireless uses today and into the future.

Self-contained and predictable power management. When most users consider wireless deployments, they understand the upside of no wiring and the cost advantage, but they also envision the downside of having to change many batteries in industrial

devices throughout the facility.

Device power management is a very important consideration when selecting a wireless network. In this case, you should consider how long do you want your wireless devices to be self-powered?

Do your wireless devices require add-on products to maintain and install in order to meet your reporting rate needs? And what level of a predictable maintenance schedule do you require? This is a complex question because the answer must consider the power source, the device needs and how often the device communicates. Most users will require a device that is self-powered for at least three years and at best, for the lifetime of the device. This is a reasonable demand when selecting a wireless network.

Scalability. Planning for future growth and considering what happens when your wireless demands are for several thousand devices must be a consideration in selecting your network.

The questions to be asked here include how many devices can your network handle; will that be enough for the

lifetime of your wireless network; what happens when you go beyond the limit of your network capacity; and can your network expand? Many users begin with very limited wireless needs but as they begin to see the benefits of wireless technology, their needs grow exponentially.

Investment protection and application integration. Many plants reap benefits from having previously deployed multiple application interfaces and wireless products throughout the facility. These interfaces can include Modbus, OPC, HART, FOUNDATION Fieldbus, PROFIBUS, Ethernet and many others.

How many of these have you deployed in your facility? Usually, plants contain multiple application interfaces driven by different departments. Many users also want information coming from their wireless devices to utilise these existing legacy applications and protocols.

When selecting a strategic wireless network you must have the ability to easily interface with all your legacy applications that will require wireless data. This is very important because this network will service your whole operation, not just one department. The important considerations here include whether your wireless network serve many application interfaces; and will your next choice support your existing wireless devices?

Choices. As you select your strategic wireless network, you will need product choices. This opportunity for choice provides ideal pricing alternatives and best-in-class products. When a standard is developed or open solutions are offered, many suppliers adhere to those technology specifications and offer choices for customers in the devices they deploy in the network, as well as the applications that can run in the network.

Deploying this enabling technology is a strategic decision.

[Vibhor Tandon is Global Product Marketing Manager, Honeywell Process Solutions.] www.honeywellprocess.com APRIL 2014 www.pacetoday.com.au 9

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OPINION

FIELDBUS

Growth of realtime Ethernet Martin Rostan flies the flag for EtherCAT. By Kevin Gomez Martin Rostan, Executive Director, EtherCAT Technology Group was in Sydney recently and spoke with PACE about the promise of EtherCAT and its position in the fieldbus space. He chairs the CANopen groups inside CAN in Automation and represents Beckhoff in ODVA and in several conference program committees. He is also the technical expert on ISO and IEC standardization committees for industrial communication.

need the IT technologies, we don’t need the IT know how to set up the network.

We don’t need to handle MAC addresses or IP addresses. It’s even easier to use than the fieldbus network.

What are the challenges when migration to EtherCAT from other classical fieldbus technologies?

We fully understand that hardly anybody can switch to a new fieldbus technology within one day. Everybody

migration path because people can move components over to EtherCAT step by step. They don’t have to do it just in one big quantum leap.

Have you seen companies implement a mix of fieldbus technologies?

In most cases the mix of network is just an intermediate solution along the migration path. But having said that we have even seen companies who decided to standardise on EtherCAT for their

What are the advantages of EtherCAT? Well EtherCAT has a unique combination of unique advantages and We have found that in many applications we can we are by far the fastest, not only among the industrial Ethernet, but also among reduce the cost compared to classical fieldbus in the the fieldbus varieties, so EtherCAT is order of 10 per cent known for extremely high performance.

At the same time EtherCAT provides maximum topology flexibility because we’re not stuck or limited to let’s say the has a legacy. Everybody has an installed IO but because their customers demand limitations of switch-based industrial base, has experience with certain certain PLCs from certain vendors Ethernet technologies. We can have all fieldbus technologies and also has to which may not all of them support the topology combinations that we like. integrate devices which may not have EtherCAT, they use the native networks Also EtherCAT is very inexpensive. an EtherCAT interface or communicate that come with their PLCs which are It’s considered a low-cost network. We with neighbouring units downstream, given by their customers’ requirements are more the Ethernet field bus also upstream devices which come with other and then use a gateway from those from the cost perspective. We are not fieldbus technologies. networks towards EtherCAT so at least needing extra infrastructure components, We see that the integration of they don’t have to change their IO layer we just use local slave controller chips fieldbus gateways is a major advantage of all the time. They can stick to the fastest and we do not need any dedicated our technology where we can seamlessly and most economic IO level regardless interface hardware in the master which integrate other fieldbus components of the PLC they may be using. makes P Aus 1 inexpensive.

2 1 3 _ 0 0 0 _ S Y M M E T R and Y not - only 1 speak 2 0 1to3neighbouring - 1 1 - 2 1 T1 8 : 5 1 : 5 5 + 1 1 : 0 0 And it’s easy to use; because we don’t systems but also provide a very smooth You say EtherCAT is the fastest –

what’s the basis of this claim?

There are two important components to real time. One is the sheer cycle time; how long does it take and how often can I update data in my network? Are we talking about 100 microseconds or 10 milliseconds. EtherCAT is more in the 100 microseconds than in the 10 millisecond range.

But that’s not the only component of real time. There are two further components – one is the accuracy in which I can do this and here our distributor clock mechanism helps us tremendously, not only being fast but being very precise in our update.

And finally, most people neglect the time it takes to get the data from the chips to the application. The stack processing time is neglected by most comparisons but here EtherCAT is also at an advantage because for simple IO we don’t need stacks at all. If there is a stack involved it’s much leaner than other protocol stacks, so also the processing or delay time throughout the stack is reduced substantially.

What benefits does EtherCAT bring to the manufacturing industry?

Well manufacturing industry has a number of challenges. One is of course robustness and up time. With EtherCAT we have a peer-to-peer communication throughout which

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OPINION

means any noise issue will not travel throughout the network. If there is any noise it is either detected and localised at the next node or it’s gone forever. That’s a big distinguishing factor from the classical fieldbus world.

Another challenge that the manufacturing industry is facing is throughput and what most people don’t – never thought about is that an ultra-fast network increased the throughput of the machine because many manufacturing machines have what we call transitions. A transition is any situation when the application program says as soon as, as soon as the part arrives, treat it. As soon as the cylinder has reached the end position, open this valve. ‘As soon as’. This introduces small waiting times in our manufacturing processes which we can reduce substantially by using a fast network such as EtherCAT. We have found that introducing EtherCAT instead of classical fieldbus systems – without changing anything

compared to the legacy fieldbus technologies he had been using before.

What’s the current status of EtherCAT technology Group?

We are in the very privileged situation that we are promoting the technology which we truly believe is the best out there.

In the beginning, it was a bit of a challenge because we were the new kid on the block. We didn’t have an existing fieldbus organisation with a large existing membership. This is now history – we are the world’s largest fieldbus organisation. It’s not an uphill battle any more.

In many industries EtherCAT is a given, for example motion control. There is no larger variety of drives supporting any other fieldbus technology. So EtherCAT is the standard for motion control and in many other industries such as robotics, the semiconductor industry, packaging and materials handling.

EtherCAT has such an enormous

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So basically if you have worked with a fieldbus you can handle EtherCAT immediately without any additional training else – has increased the efficiency of such machines by three to seven per cent immediately.

What are the training requirements for a company to implement EtherCAT? There is hardly any training required because you don’t need all the IT elements in EtherCAT, such as MAC addresses. If you have worked with a fieldbus you can handle EtherCAT immediately without any additional training and because our requirements regarding topology restrictions are so much lower, it’s much less likely to make mistakes than with classical fieldbus systems.

We’ve got reports from machine builders who told us they use EtherCAT simply because of the commissioning time reduction. That’s the only reason.

We’ve got a robot manufacturer in the US who reported he saves one hour of wiring and commissioning time per access with EtherCAT. A large steel mill builder in Italy says he saves days in commissioning time by using EtherCAT

adoption rate that it’s really a rewarding task to promote this technology.

What about the adoption of EtherCAT in Australia?

We came here for the first time 18 months ago with a seminar series like the one we’re currently running.

Eighteen month ago, EtherCAT was pretty new to most machine builders, but there were some who gave us very positive feedback.

Meanwhile, many well known suppliers of automation equipment now have EtherCAT products in their portfolio and are very confident promoting not only the products but the technology as well. We find that in Australia, the knowledge about EtherCAT has increased substantially in the last 18 months and many machine builders have been introduced to the technology by their suppliers. So it has made our life easy and we see very good adoption among machines builders and system integrators in Australia as well.

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OPINION

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Manage supply chain systems to maximise margin, writes James Balzary.

W

ITH the continuing fluctuations in the commodities markets and the downturn of the Australian resources sector, 2014 is likely to be a challenging year for the mining industry.

For mining executives wanting to maximise the return on capital invested in recent construction and expansion, it is now more critical than ever that they look to effectively optimise their supply chain systems to reduce costs, improve productivity and maximise margin.

In our experience, the benefits of optimising a demand driven supply network are becoming well understood across the mining sector, but a volatile mining market means that mining executives must now transform these benefits into genuine competitive advantage.

Success can be achieved when companies abandon the traditional approach to supply chain planning and consider a demand driven ‘value chain’ perspective – an optimised, highly sophisticated and completely integrated approach to their supply system from the in-situ resource to customer.

Unlike traditional supply and demand chain systems which abstract important details away and simplify the software representation of the business, a completely integrated system matches the configured supply chain model as closely as possible to the “real word”. For example, one solution can manage mine planning to decide how to extract resources from the ground, the best timing for extraction, the interaction with processing operations and outbound logistics matched to fluctuating demand, price moves in the spot market and reduced rates for shipping.

This functionality not only increases the mining executive’s visibility of the wider impact of any decision made in the supply chain, but allows for more assumptions to be tested, and therefore greater strategic decisions to be made with confidence.

Integrated systems also allow mining executives to look at both upstream (procurement, inbound logistics) and downstream (outbound logistics, marketing and sales) processes in the supply and demand chain, which is vital if something changes and action needs to be taken quickly.

Roy Hill

In late 2013 Roy Hill Iron Ore (RHIO) had a clear goal to mitigate risk and maximise revenue through developing an optimized resource-to-market demand chain system.

At full capacity RHIO will mine almost 350 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of total material requiring 14 mining fleets to produce 55 MTPA of lump and fines iron ore product.

However the high throughput projection and linear nature of the RHIO demand chain (a single mine, process plant, rail track, car dumper and shiploader) operating out of a tidal and capacity constrained port means that reaching the capacity goal will be a constant challenge.

Using Schneider Electric’s StruxureWare Supply Chain Operation Advanced Planning & Scheduling (APS), RHIO developed a completely integrated, resource-to-market demand chain simulation system, and as a result the RHIO Demand Chain team are now able to clearly determine optimal ore extraction

Success can be achieved when companies consider a demand driven value chain perspective sequences that ensure product quality and tonnage targets are met in the most efficient manner while managing risk and uncertainty around asset capacity, maintenance strategies and unforeseen events such as weather.

The greenfields usage of an integrated solution forms the foundation for the same technology to be utilised through production ramp to steady state. The systems evolves as the asset evolves throughout its lifecycle.

RHIO is a world leading example of the application of an integrated operating systems philosophy, and demonstrates how a large operation can abandon the traditional segregated value chain ownership and processes and benefit from a completely integrated approach.

While mining companies across the globe will continue to face a challenging 2014, those that embrace a highly sophisticated and integrated approach to their demand driven supply network and consider sophisticated optimisation have the potential to increase the value, productivity and overall competitiveness of their mining operations, even in a volatile market.

[James Balzary is Global Sales Director, Supply and Demand Optimization Activity, Schneider Electric.] www.schneider-electric.com

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MASTERCLASS

An accurate flow meter helps a sugar mill measure steam consumption The no moving parts V-Cone flow meter measures abrasive fluids over a range of Reynolds numbers without wear or clogging concerns resulting in a standard 25-year operating life, writes Nick Voss.

W

ITH demand for sugar products growing worldwide, production is rising at many mills including one that relies on steam heat as part of its process that converts raw sugar cane into molasses, sugar and related products.

The mill’s production team was tasked recently with transferring excess steam from its production system to a nearby bio-ethanol plant operated by the same parent company.

A typical sugar mill first extracts raw sugar from the cane, and then processes it further for a variety of consumer and commercial uses. The mill cleans, cuts, chops and shreds the cane and then adds water before heavy rollers crush out the sucrose juice.

The liquid is then mixed with other substances prior to further refinement in several complex steps that eventually create granulated sugar or other products.

The left-over pulverised sugar cane material is burned to fuel the mill’s process steam boilers, which send steam to large turbines that create co-generation electric power.

The co-gen electric power is then used in the plant and/or exported to the power grid for use by others. Surplus plant material also can be incorporated in feed for livestock and paper product production as well.

The challenge

The process engineers at the sugar mill in Latin America needed a new flow meter for steam custody transfer purposes. They were required to measure the steam transferred via a 40.6 cm (16-inch) line from the sugar mill to its sister company bio-ethanol plant for cost accounting purposes.

The mill’s process engineers were looking for a reliable and accurate steam flow measurement solution without 14 www.pacetoday.com.au APRIL 2014

serious safety hazard if a piece should break off during operation and pass through the line into other equipment.

Variable line pressures occur when the steam flow is irregular due to seasonal high/low climate temperatures or changes in steam production relating to a drop or increase in feedstock.

The result can be depressurisation or a pressure spike that causes stress to the mechanical parts. These types of conditions eventually require costly maintenance and recalibration with some flow sensing technologies.

FIGURE 1: The V-Cone flow meter’s centrally located cone. routine maintenance requirements for operation in a high-heat, high-humidity dirty plant environment.

Choosing a new flow meter can be a complex and time-consuming process. There are numerous flow meter measurement technologies, and not all of them are equally suitable for measuring all fluids: steam, gas or liquids.

A review of the plant’s process requirements, however, will generally narrow the field of candidates if the following criteria are reviewed: o Fluid to be measured: steam at the sugar mill o Accuracy requirement: custody transfer for plant-to-plant co-generation o Reliability or repeatability: potentially hazardous environment o Environment: high pressure, high temperature, high humidity o Installation Ease: straightrun requirements for accurate measurement o Maintenance: no cleaning or recalibration o Long Life: 25+ years o Price: low life-cycle cost

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AMS has been in existence for more than 38 years supplying calibration equipment and industrial instrumentation to all industries.

The company has offices in Vic, NSW, WA, Qld and SA and supplies several of its product ranges into New Zealand and the Pacific region.

AMS Instrumentation & Calibration 1800 804 516 03 9017 8225 sales@ams-ic.com.au www.ams-ic.com.au

In this particular application, the sugar mill’s high pressure operating environment was a cause for concern with some flow sensing technologies.

Those technologies that rely on moving turbines or plates can be problematic in high pressure (steam) applications. They can even pose a

The solution

After the process engineers at the sugar mill reviewed a number of flow sensor technologies, they contacted the flow measurement applications team at McCrometer. The company has been supplying flow meters that rely on differential pressure, electromagnetic and propeller technologies for over 55 years in the process and other industries.

The team at McCrometer quickly recognised the harsh operating environment and low maintenance requirements, which led them to suggest the V-Cone Flow Meter for this application.

The V-Cone Flow Meter developed

by McCrometer not only provides precision flow measurement in steam, liquid, or gas, but requires virtually no maintenance in demanding processes where high pressure conditions exist.

It is ideal for use in a wide range of industries from food/beverage, pharmaceutical, pulp/paper, oil/gas, water and wastewater treatment.

McCrometer’s V-Cone Flow Meter is based on advanced differential pressure technology requiring no moving parts that may fail due to high pressure and has no spaces that may clog during use.

Built-in flow conditioning allows the V-Cone to achieve accuracy of

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PRESENTED BY

FIGURE 2: The V-Cone redirecting fluid around the cone. ±0.5% and repeatability of ±0.1% (high reliability) with straight pipe runs of only 0-3 pipe diameters upstream and 0-1 pipe diameters downstream.

The V-Cone flow meter utilises a centrally located intrusion that redirects the flow to the outside of the pipe and conditions the flow by reshaping the velocity profile, all but eliminating the need for straight pipe runs. The V-Cone flow meter requires straight pipe runs of only 0 to 3 pipe diameters upstream and 0 to 1 pipe diameters downstream.

The V-Cone flow meter’s smaller footprint requires up to 70 percent less straight pipe without being affected by flow disturbing equipment up or down stream.

Its self-conditioning design allows the sugar mill process team to place the flow meter exactly where it’s needed without the costly addition of extra pipe, external flow conditioners or complicated space-consuming layouts.

The V-Cone flow meter measures fluid flow by utilising the conservation of energy theory, which basically states that in a closed system, energy can be neither gained nor lost.

According to the PV=nRT equation, pressure multiplied by volume equals temperature while “n” and “R” are constants. Imposing a volume change within the pipe line, therefore, results in a differential pressure drop that can be measured directly.

McCrometer’s V-Cone flow meter places a “V-shaped” conical intrusion centrally in the line, redirecting the fluid to the outside of the pipe and around the cone.

One pressure sensing tap located upstream from the Cone measures static pressure while another pressure sensing tap measures the low pressure created by the cone on the downstream face of the cone itself.

This pressure difference is incorporated into a derivation of the Bernoulli equation to determine fluid flow. As the fluid moves past the cone, very short vortices are formed that result in a low-amplitude, highfrequency signal optimal for excellent signal stability. The V-Cone flow meter maintains ±0.5 percent accuracy and ±0.1 percent repeatability over a 10 to 1 turndown, and the cone conditions the fluid such that there is relatively low permanent head loss.

The low permanent head-loss achieved by the V-Cone flow meter results from the shape of the cone itself.

The shape of the cone minimises energy losses commonly caused by areas of low flow, cavitation and erratic flows.

Each V-Cone flow meter is sized to meet desired application requirements and may be specifically designed to have high or low head loss. Regardless, the overall energy consumed by the V-Cone flow meter is minimised because of its inherent characteristics.

The rugged, no moving parts V-Cone flow meter measures clean, abrasive, dirty, and particle-laden fluids over a wide range of Reynolds numbers without wear or clogging concerns, resulting in an unprecedented standard 25-year operating life with generally no need for maintenance. Reynolds numbers are a measure of whether flow is laminar or turbulent.

The turbulent vortices produced by the V-Cone flow meter condition the fluid flow to be homogeneously distributed and extremely stable. It is this turbulent flow that actually protects the cone as well as the surrounding pipe.

The turbulent flow forms a boundary layer against the pipe wall and cone protecting it from particle impingement, which can cause deterioration or buildup on the surfaces.

Normal surface deterioration in flow

meters, piping and other equipment occurs as a result of fluid sheer stress.

Shear stress creates a problem where there is a solid boundary layer in direct contact with the walls of the pipe. Shear stress occurs in laminar and unstable turbulent flows.

The V-Cone flow meter’s very stable turbulent flow all but eliminates this shear stress and consequently results in no surface deterioration.

Additionally, due to the shape of the cone, there is little chance of cavitation on the backside of the cone to erode the surface.

Each meter is calibrated during the manufacturing process and because the design is so robust, there is never a need for regular maintenance or recalibration after installation.

Conclusion

The first V-Cone was installed in a sixteen-inch line and has been operating successfully since 2005.

The owners of the sugar mill plant are expanding the distillery plant where they will have the same application for a larger thirty-inch (762 mm) line.

Since the plant found the original V-Cone flow meter reliable, repeatable, and accurate with no need for recalibration or adjustments for maximum uptime, purchasing a new thirty-inch V-Cone was an easy choice.

[Nick Voss is V-Cone Product Manager, McCrometer.]

MCCROMETER

FOCUS ON FLOW McCrometer is a leading global flow instrumentation specialist.

The company specialises in the design, manufacture, installation and testing of flow metering solutions.

McCrometer has a single focus: flow instrumentation.

They provide some of the industry’s most trusted flow monitoring and flow sensing solutions in the world. McCrometer’s flow meters are used in many liquid, gas and steam fluid processes in challenging industries: chemical, electric power, facilities, food, HVAC, irrigation, oil/ gas, municipal water and municipal waste water.

The company was founded by engineers committed to developing real-world flow metering solutions.

Unable to find the right flow meter for their irrigation system, the original engineers designed their own, and formed McCrometer, based in California. Over 55 years later, this solutions-oriented approach still guides the company.

Each flowmeter is individually wet calibrated in one of their two NIST traceable calibration facilities and delivered with a Certificate of Calibration. www.mccrometer.com

FIGURE 3: The V-Cone flow meter.

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IN FOCUS

Troubleshoot instruments and control systems It is important to reduce maintenance costs which are a significant contributory factor in the life-cycle cost of any plant, writes Amin Almasi.

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AINTENANCE costs are a significant contributory factor in the life-cycle cost of any plant.

However, for modern, large plants, costs associated with unscheduled shutdowns are more important.

It has been possible to identify items of rotating machines, control systems and instruments which commonly are seen to cause problems.

Seals are the most significant component in rotating machines with respect to operational problems and troubles. Instances of bearing failures and lubrication oil system issues have followed seal failures in ranking. An important fact is the role of instrumentations and control systems in the lubrication systems or gas seal systems The major concern with seals, bearings and associated auxiliary systems (such as lubrication oil systems) could be related instrumentation and control issues.

Many plant engineers agreed that the accessibility is one of their major problems with machinery skids, instruments and control systems.

Usually machine casings, sub-systems, panels, instruments, control systems and equipment are placed too close together.

It is often difficult for plant staff to maneuver in the space provided and defective components cannot be replaced without first removing some other items. Accessibility is a major problem for many machinery skids, control systems and instruments which requires attention in design, manufacturing, installation and operation stages.

Temperature instrument at lubrication oil header

A poor temperature control and specifically uncontrolled temperature variations at a lubrication oil header were reported for a critical compressor train in a plant. Based on these reports, operators asked for the redesign of the lubrication oil skid.

16 www.pacetoday.com.au APRIL 2014

An example of an integrally-geared centrifugal compressor. (Source: Siemens) However, investigations showed the root-cause for this malfunction.

Because of a long distance between the lubrication oil skid and the compressor train, ambient conditions could affect the actual oil temperature at the lubrication oil header of the compressor (near oil supply points to the bearings).

In other words, the lubrication oil skid could manage the oil temperature at the lubrication oil skid battery-limit. There were temperature changes due to a long piping distance between the lubrication oil skid and the compressor.

To better explain, there were some temperature changes outside the control

scope of the skid temperature control loop. The problem was known as a poor temperature control at the lubrication oil header. In an ordinary spring day, the temperature difference between the oil skid and the compressor was 5째C. In cold nights, the temperature drop was 15째C (or even more). The variations in the lubrication oil temperature at the header (and associated bearing problems) were mainly reported at the middle of cold nights.

To solve this issue, there were three options: 1. Moving the temperature sensing element (of the skid control loop)

to the down-stream, somewhere at the lubrication oil header on the compressor train. In this way the header oil temperature (in a short distance to bearings) will be used by the TCV (temperature control valve) temperature loop to adjust the oil temperature.

2. The insulation of the oil piping from the oil skid (preferably after the TCV sensing instrument) to the compressor train.

3. The manual adjustment of the lubrication oil temperature set-point at the lubrication oil skid. In this way, an operator will adjust the oil

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IN FOCUS

temperature set-point (on the oil skid) based on the estimated oil temperature difference between the oil skid and the compressor (which depends on ambient temperature/conditions).

Obviously the last option (the manual adjustment) is not acceptable for this critical machine. The selected solution was the first option. The temperature sensing element (of the skid control loop) moved to the lubrication oil header on the compressor train. This solved the problem.

Temperate control of lubrication oil in an integrally-geared compressor

This case study is for a high-speed integrally-geared compressor in a cold climate. The compressor should operate intermittently. The lubrication oil TCV (temperature control valve) set-point was 42°C. The maximum oil temperature was 56°C (alarm) and 63°C (trip).

The compressor required a minimum of 33°C for the re-start. In a cold winter, for some periods of stop, the oil temperatures fallen below 33°C which caused problems for the re-start.

Operator team asked to study reducing the minimum oil limit to 24°C to solve any re-start issue. The viscosity profile of the lubrication oil was crucial for lubrication oil flow, lubrication film and oil performance.

Based on studies, gear systems were not the main concern. The main concern was the high-speed bearings (for the last stage the speed was more than 40,000 rpm) – specifically inadequate oil films on high-speed shaft bearings. Detailed studies showed that 28°C lubrication oil temperature for the re-start of this machine could be acceptable because the viscosity of the lubrication oil at 28°C was around 20% more compared to one at 33°C. The viscosity of the lubrication oil at 28°C was acceptable based on the bearing specification (bearing manufacturer’s requirements) and simulations. However, the “viscosity-temperature” relation was nonlinear. For 24°C the viscosity of the lubrication oil was around 50% more compared to one at 33°C. There were serious concerns about the re-start at 24°C or 25°C lubrication oil temperature.

Re-starts when the lubrication oil was below 28°C could result in bearing damages on this machine.

Based on studies, the re-start temperature below 28°C was not 18 www.pacetoday.com.au APRIL 2014

recommended. The solution was setting the 28°C lubrication oil temperature for the re-start, at the same time, the lubrication oil heaters operated on all the time when machine stopped. This solution could also be assisting with avoiding condensation issues under any conditions.

For integrally-geared centrifugal compressors, the recommended lubrication oil is usually ISO VG 32 or ISO VG 46 oil dependent on machine dynamics, operating details and ambient conditions. Typically, values

the oil normal operating pressure is around 2.1 Barg.

In those machines, the alarm set-point and the trip set-point are often around 1.6 and 1.1 Barg, respectively. In many large API centrifugal compressor trains, the oil normal operating pressure is around 2.5 Barg. In those machines, the alarm set-point and the trip set-point are often approximately 1.8 and 1.3 Barg, respectively.

For this medium-size centrifugal compressor, the oil normal operating pressure was around 2.2 Barg. There was a recommendation by operation team to increase the alarm point to 1.9 kPa. It was not done because of very narrow operating range. In this machine, the alarm set-point

An example of a lubrication oil skid. for permissive start on the lubrication oil temperature might be 26°C or more.

For some specific high-speed machines, this limit could be above 30°C.

and the trip set-point were set around 1.65 and 1.15 Barg, respectively.

Set points in lubrication system

Radial bearings in a critical compressor showed spikes in bearing pad temperatures every 1-3 hours. The temperatures went from 100°C (baseline) to 115-119°C (spike). The recommendation by operation team was to reduce the oil temperature to limit the spikes below high temperature limits.

Recommendations regarding the maximum temperature at bearing pads are varying. Some experts advised 110°C as the limit. Some other allowed maximum 115°C for bearing pad temperature under certain conditions if there is no issue for the long-term operation and reliability of the bearing.

Few engineers recommended 120°C (or sometimes more). In this case, the bearing pad temperature was more

For a medium size centrifugal compressor in a critical process service there were questions on alarm and shutdown set-points.

The oil pressure alarm set-point is usually selected around 70-78% of the normal operating oil pressure. The oil pressure shutdown limit is defined based on the bearing requirements but often it is around 50-55% of the normal operating oil pressure. The alarm and trip set-points should be selected carefully.

The normal operating variations should always be respected. On the other hand, limits should not be too low to result in a risk or damage. For many medium-size centrifugal compressors,

Spikes in bearing RTD temperature

than recommended limits by experts. In addition, the temperature spikes were an indication of an abnormal behavior which should be investigated.

The recommendation by operation team was to reduce the oil temperature from 50°C to 45°C. It was implemented. However, the oil temperature reduction caused a higher temperature at the bearing pads. This might be because of more viscosity of lubrication oil and more friction. A 5°C reduction in the lubrication oil supply temperature caused around 4°C increase in bearing RTD temperatures.

The oil temperature supply reduction could not reduce the RTD temperature spikes. The root-cause of this issue should be identified and eliminated.

After extensive studies, the root-cause of temperature spikes was identified as the varnish in the lubrication oil. Every-time varnish settles on a bearing pad RTD, a spike in the temperature was generated.

One of the indications that helped to correctly identify the root-cause of this problem was a simple test of switching the lubrication oil filter to see if the spike patterns change. The switch of the lubrication oil filter reduced temporarily varnishes in the lubrication oil to the bearings which reduced spikes in the RTD bearing temperature.

This could be because of better filtering the varnishes. It was decided to change the oil type of this compressor because investigations showed one of the additives in the vendor selected lubrication oil interacted with the process gas and produced some kind of varnish. It was also decided to top-up new lubrication oil gradually.

This might offer some advantages and some disadvantages. One of the advantages was the machine behaviour could be controlled and established through gradual oil change. Another was the cost benefit. The compressor oil was expensive and any client wants to keep and use the oil as far as practically possible (machine operating reliably and safely). One of the disadvantages was that the two oils might not be fully compatible and when mixed could result in some complex operational issues.

[Amin Almasi (amin.almasi@ymail. com) is a rotating machine consultant in Australia. He specialises in rotating machines including centrifugal, screw and reciprocating compressors, gas turbines, steam turbines, engines, pumps, condition monitoring and reliability.]

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Geared motors deliver cleaner water Recent major upgrades to water treatment plants in North East Victoria mean residents can now enjoy cleaner, better tasting drinking water flowing from their taps.

T

HE recent opening of the new $5.2 million Corryong water treatment plant provides a major improvement to the quality of water for Corryong and Cudgewa residents, while the opening of Whitfield’s $2.2 million Water Treatment Plant in October 2012 marked a new beginning for a town which previously endured regular water restrictions, water carting and boil water notices.

Jack Timmins, process engineer with Laurie Curran Water who designed and built both water treatment plants, said the projects have been highly successful with SEW-EURODRIVE equipment used to drive the critical flocculators in the system.

“With considerable experience using SEW-EURODRIVE products, the client had no hesitation in specifying SEW equipment on both these projects,” Timmins said.

He explained that Laurie Curran Water is a leading process engineering firm specialising in design and construction of water and wastewater treatment facilities, and is well known throughout Australia for its expertise in the Dissolved Air Flotation and Filtration (DAFF) process.

“For the Corryong water treatment plant project we were contracted by the local water authority, North East Water, to design and construct a 3.2ML/d (Mega Litres per day) DAFF water treatment plant for potable water for the towns of Corryong and Cudgewa.

“We used SEW-EURODRIVE geared motors on our vertical inline flocculators. The system required two sets of heavy-duty filters, with four flocculators, with each one driven by an SEW geared motor.

“We also used an SEW-EURODRIVE geared motor on a thickening mechanism for the washwater treatment,” Timmins said. He explained that they used SEW’s geared motors with MOVIMOT integrated frequency inverters on all five projects.

“We like to use a decentralised motor control system as opposed to having it 20 www.pacetoday.com.au APRIL 2014

By using a decentralised system it is possible to physically see the rotation of the flocculators. in the central computer. This allows us to walk up and adjust the speed of the flocculators while looking down into the system.

“By using a decentralised system, we can physically see the rotation of the flocculators instead of walking down, looking at the computer, then walking up again, adjusting the flocculator, and back to the computer until we got it right.”

Timmins explained that each filter is about 5m high, and would normally need two people to set the flocculators up; one telling the other what is going on. “And it was the same for the sludge thickening system, with its 3.3m high thickener vessel.

“By using a decentralised system, we are able to fine-tune the system so that the speed of the flocculators and thickeners match the speed that we use in our jar testing.

“Normally once it’s done its set, but with different water quality and different jar testing you might need to put different energies in. It’s really based on jar testing and water quality at the time.

“As well as accuracy of the settings, using a decentralised system eliminates the need for a control house mounting of the VSD (Variable Speed Drive) and the associated wiring and set-up,” he said.

Timmins explained that the Corryong water treatment plant was the first project he had been involved with using SEW-EURODRIVE products, but has been using the company’s equipment since then.

“We have been very pleased with the products, the service and the advice we get from SEW; making sure the most applicable equipment/model is used.

“We worked closely with them regarding torque levels and to ensure

the geared motors were not over or under sized, and that we had the right configuration; the right output shaft to suit our standard paddle design.

“We use a PLC computer-based Citect system to basically start and stop the systems, but the speed control is done integrally using the MOVIMOT drives.

“This allows us to optimise the system through our process, to allow for the ever-changing quality of the water.

The MOVIMOT drives give us the flexibility to adjust the system.”

He said the Corryong plant, near the upper reaches of the Murray River in the Australian Alps, had been running for over a year now, with no issues at all.

“Plus we have been able to achieve a turbidity of under 0.1NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Units), which is very low by industry standards, and other parameters.”

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BEHIND THE SCENES

Mechanical float-off

Timmins said the Corryong water treatment plant project also included a dual water treatment module for the treatment of raw water drawn from the Hamilton Hill reservoir, chemical dosing systems for aluminium, caustic soda, polyelectrolyte and gaseous chlorine, a 300kL washwater tank to accept filtered washwater and DAF float, and a 2.5kL sludge storage tank.

However, he said the Whitfield water treatment plant, in Victoria’s King Valley wine region, was a little different.

“As well as being smaller at just 150kL/d with two flocculators, this plant used a mechanical float-off removal mechanism instead of a sludge thickener.

“This was an interesting project, with the client making changes to the design during the tender process.

“We put in a DAFF option in the tender with a pressure filter option; but the client changed the tender to make it more cost effective, with a mechanical float-off removal mechanism instead of a thickener.

“We only needed three MOVIMOT drives on the Whitfield water treatment plant. But while it’s a much smaller site, we went through the same design issues with SEW, especially on the mechanical float-off removal mechanism.

“There was a lot of work required on the housing and mounting details, and the speed configuration that suits our process,” Timmins said.

Major components of the Whitfield water treatment plant included a 300kL raw water tank, which accepts water from the King River pump station, chemical dosing systems for caustic soda, aluminium chlorohydrate and sodium hypochlorite, a 235kL clear water tank, and 25kL washwater tank and a 15kL sludge storage tank.

Timmins explained that flocculation is widely employed in the purification of drinking water as well as sewage treatment, storm-water treatment and treatment of other industrial wastewater streams.

“During flocculation, gentle mixing accelerates the rate of particle collision, and the destabilised particles are further aggregated and enmeshed into larger precipitates.”

He said flocculation is affected by several parameters, including mixing speeds, mixing intensity, and mixing time.

“The product of the mixing intensity

The decentralised system eliminates the need for a control house mounting of the VSD and the associated wiring and set-up and mixing time is used to describe flocculation process,” Timmins said.

He went on to say that both water treatment plant projects had been very successful, and the residents in the areas are now enjoying cleaner, better tasting drinking water flowing from their taps.

“The client, North East Water, is also very happy with the treatment plants, and we have had no issues at all working with SEW-EURODRIVE or with their products.

“Their service was excellent, delivery was always on time, even though we only gave them a couple of weeks’ notice,” Timmins said.

Geared motors

Michael Sposato, sales engineer with SEW-EURODRIVE based in Melbourne, said the MOVIMOT is a tried-and-tested combination of a geared motor locally integrated with a digital frequency inverter in the 0.37 to 4.0kW power range.

He explained that despite the frequency inverter being fully integrated, the MOVIMOT geared motor only requires slightly more installation space than standard geared motors.

“Plus the MOVIMOT geared motors can be supplied in all standard versions and mounting positions, with and without a brake, for 3 phase supply voltages of 380 to 500V” Sposato said.

“When Timmins first contacted me regarding the Whitfield water treatment plant, it was clear SEW-EURODRIVE had the perfect solution for the project.

“He provided me with some specifications for the style of geared motor he required along with an indication of how he would like to control the units.

“We made a couple of selections for him and offered our geared motor, along with our integrated on-board MOVIMOT controller as the solution.

“This allowed the integrator to reduce the amount of wiring, with less mounting space required in the central control location as a decentralised system eliminates the need of a control house to wire and store standalone VSD controllers.

“After some minor changes to the specifications, we ended up going with our first order for one of the jobs, and since then we have been involved with three further projects.”

Sposato said reliability is a key factor in these types of critical applications and SEW-EURODRIVE products are renowned for their longevity and durability.

Timmins was after a high-quality geared motor control system at a very competitive price, and that’s why he chose SEW-EURODRIVE. “I understand he did approach other geared motor suppliers, but our quality and short delivery times are hard to beat.

“For theN . p L M projects 0 6 1 3like _ 0this, 0 0where _ CO customer has asked for options such as

epoxy paint for outdoor areas, we have a one to two week turnaround.

“The reason why we are able to offer such a short delivery is because of the huge amount of stock we carry, plus the engineering back up we have in Melbourne,” Sposato said.

“Our geared motors are also heavyduty and are designed for the tough environments the units were put into,” he said.

He explained that the MOVIMOT geared motors have an IP55 enclosure as standard, but they are also available with in IP65 and IP66 enclosures on request.

“We also offer an optional SafetyDrive package to fit plants in compliance with safety category 3 of EN 954-1,” he said.

“As a world leader in drive technology and a pioneer in drive-based automation, SEW-EURODRIVE has established a reputation for quickly solving the most difficult power transmission and motion control d fchallenges,” P a g eSposato 1 1said.

5 / 0 5 / 1 3 ,

www.sew-eurodrive.com.au

®

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The 2014 Women in Industry Awards recognises and rewards the achievements of women working within the mining, engineering, manufacturing and process control industries, and aims to raise the profile of women within industry, as well as promote and encourage excellence. Australian Mining, PACE and Manufacturers’ Monthly are partnering to acknowledge the exceptional women who have achieved success through their invaluable leadership, innovation and commitment to their sector.

This is your opportunity to have Australia’s leading publications recognise the women who are driving change in your industry and – in doing so – breaking down barriers and creating new possibilities for the next generation.

The accomplishments of these women will be recognised at an exclusive evening event to be held in Sydney on Wednesday 25th of June.

CATEGORIES · BDM of the year · Employer of the Year ring · Excellence in Enginee turing · Excellence in Manufac · Excellence in Mining

· Industry Advocate ations · Marketing/Communic · Rising Star · Mentor of the Year · Social Leader

KEY DATES th ENTRIES OPEN 27th February and CLOSE 24 April 2014

Awards dinner 25th June 2014, The Ivy Ballroom

www.womeninindustry.com.au www.miningaustralia.com.au

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BEHIND THE SCENES

Power of a tornado in a tank A simple mixing technology developed using world-class science proves the best option for the mineral processing industry. Adam Courtenay investigates how the technology is saving the industry time and money.

I

T DOES not always follow that the more complicated the technology and the more advanced the system, the better the outcome.

A smart mixing technology called swirl flow, developed by CSIRO and Queensland Alumina, greatly simplifies the mixing of solids in suspension in mineral processing.

It works by creating a novel fluid flow pattern within large-scale tanks that mimics a tornado.

Suspension mixing is usually achieved using massive impellers attached to long shafts, at times 20 metres or more in length, resulting in the mixing equipment being heavy,

unwieldy and costly. The mixing is not entirely efficient using this approach and the equipment can be costly to maintain.

Dr John Farrow, CSIRO’s commercial manager of swirl flow says its unique mixing offers many advantages over traditional mixing systems.

“Swirl flow uses a radial agitator located just below the liquid’s surface to create a tornado-like flow pattern. The tornado effect extends all the way from the bottom of the tank, sometimes 30 metres or more, to lift any settling solids to the top of the tank. The fluid and solids then swirl downwards and repeat the process,” Dr Farrow says.

Swirl P flow A 0 2uses 1 4a _radial 0 0 agitator 0 _ I Nlocated V - just 1 below 2 0 the 1 4 liquid’s - 0 2 -surface 0 3 T to 1 create 0 : 4 a1 : 3 6 + 1 1 : 0 0 tornado-like flow pattern.

Protect Engineer

Evo Foxboro

Maintain

Operate Manage

Swirl flow can be applied throughout the minerals industry for a wide variety of mixing.

APRIL 2014 www.pacetoday.com.au 23

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BEHIND THE SCENES

A particularly important feature of swirl flow is the ease at which remixing of the suspension can commence after a power failure “The capital cost of swirl flow is such as a significant reduction in the around 50 per cent less than tank scaling rate. traditional technologies and likewise This allows the tank to stay in the maintenance costs are also much operation for much longer periods, lower, in part due to the lower wear increasing production and reducing rates than the impellers used in the costs. traditional systems.

“A particularly important feature of “Maintenance can also be done swirl flow is the ease at which remixing without entering the tank, creating of the suspension can commence after a significant health and safety advantage.” power failure, since the agitator is close Swirl flow has been successfully used to the liquid’s surface and away from for more than 15 years by Queensland the settled solids, unlike traditional Alumina at their Gladstone refinery. systems in which the settled solids may Currently 21 large tanks are operating cause the impeller to get stuck,” Dr with the technology, and the company Farrow says. have plans to convert more tanks to Swirl flow can be applied throughout Conversion to swirl flow provides long-term operating advantages such as a swirl flow. the minerals industry for a wide variety significant reduction in the tank scaling rate.

Conversion to swirl flow is not only of mixing. a major doing A D capital _ P A cost C E saving, P L A but M Aalso R _ 1 2 . p d “We’re f Pa g e work 1 for1 both 5 / the 0 2gold / 1 2 , 1 1 : 2 9 : 5 2 AM AEDT provides long-term operating advantages and zinc industries,” Dr Farrow says.

“Gold production also has a particle attrition (for example when crystallisation issue and like the resins are used to absorb valuable aluminium mixing, the process needs metals), to provide effective oxygen the best form of agitation to make sure transfer or to minimise scale particles are kept in suspension with formation.” no scale.

[Dr John Farrow (john.farrow@ “For all applications the prime need csiro.au 08 9334 8020) is Commercial is to ensure no solids settle to the Manager, CSIRO.] bottom of the tank, but swirl flow [This story first appeared in can also address the need to avoid resourceful: www.csiro.au/resourceful]

The tornado effect extends all the way from the bottom of the tank, sometimes 30 metres or more.

24 www.pacetoday.com.au APRIL 2014

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BEHIND THE SCENES

Onsite nitrogen generation New equipment at Robert Oatley Vineyards has cut the price per cubic metre of nitrogen per day by more than 75 per cent

W

INEMAKING has changed little over the centuries: it’s a simple matter of fermenting grape juice with the addition of some yeast. To satisfy escalating demand winemakers are faced with the challenge of maximising output while producing wines that are true to traditional methods.

With oak barrels increasingly replaced by stainless steel processing vats, and precision-controlled crushing technologies substituted for pounding human feet, winemakers are taking their craft into the modern era of automation.

Robert Oatley Vineyards is blending traditional winemaking values with precise management of processing technologies, from vine to bottle.

This gives the Australian winery the ability to increase production to meet modern demands, save overhead costs and minimise their impact on the environment. All while consistently producing the complex flavours and colours that consumers are looking for.

Robert Oatley is a fifth-generation Australian who established the Rosemount Estate in the 1960s, producing his first commercial vintages in the early 1970s. For more than 30 years his wine has been locally produced and globally marketed. After a brief period away from winemaking, Oatley bought a Mudgee property and established Robert Oatley Vineyards.

Vine to bottle

Robert Oatley Vineyards combines time-honoured viticultural methods with current-day automated mechanical processes. Once harvested, the grapes are crushed, chilled, fermented and bottled, transforming grapes into award-winning wines.

With a production capability of thousands of bottles per day, the Robert Oatley Wines bottling facility represents a production application of the highest order. Required for nearly every stage of the bottling process, compressed nitrogen is a vital

Robert Oatley Vineyards’ primary bottling line. component of the winery’s operations.

Compressed Air and Power Solutions (CAPS) Australia supplied the compressors that power a significant proportion of the equipment used in the winery and bottling facility. However, during a support visit to the winery, Matthew Broadbent, the Senior Sales Engineer in NSW for CAPS, noticed that the winery was using bottled nitrogen for some of the company’s processes.

“I quickly realised that the winery was spending more than necessary on its nitrogen requirements,” Broadbent said, “So I put together a proposal that I was sure could save them money.” The nitrogen generating equipment proposed was the Inmatec IMT-PN 1650 providing an output of 37m3 per hour.

The previous bottled nitrogen restricted the winery to 150m3 per day.

After the winery decided to go ahead with the full nitrogen package as specified by CAPS, Broadbent explained the resulting cost savings exceeded expectations. “The new equipment at Robert Oatley Vineyards has cut the price per cubic metre of nitrogen per day by more than 75 per cent,” he said.

According to Philip Griffin, Production Manager at the winery,

nitrogen can now be used throughout the winery, not just the bottling line. “We have been able to refine our processes to enhance production,” he said.

On the bottling line, nitrogen is used to purge the lines after sterile water has been pumped through them. In order to minimise oxidation, nitrogen is also used while transferring wine to bottles. “To achieve this, the filler bowl has a head of nitrogen and gas is forced into the liquid and the sealing capsule,” Griffin added.

Crushing grapes is at the heart of the winemaking process. Robert Oatley Vineyards has several pneumatic winepresses of various load capacities that squeeze the juice from the berries. The amount of crushing required depends on the type of wine.

According Griffin, compressed air provides an ideal means of accurately controlling the pressure of the press.

“Depending on the wine variety being produced, the grapes will undergo various stages of pressing,” he said.

“Accurate control of the presses is crucial to the quality of the finished product.

The reliability of the CAPS compressor unit provides us with high levels of product controllability.”

Refrigerated dryers and filtration

equipment are included in the compressed air system to ensure the food-grade quality of the compressed air.

“If one of the bag presses gets punctured, we can be sure that our product has not been contaminated,” said Griffin.

Environmental blend

A vineyard’s success is dependent on the health of the earth, so it stands to reason that the company believes in protecting and nurturing its environment.

The compressors and nitrogen generators use environmentally-friendly compressor lubricant and noise pollution is kept to a minimum.

“The compressors are installed in areas where a number of our staff are permanently located,” said Griffin.

“The compressors supplied by CAPS are relatively quiet, which protects our workers and maintains a tranquil atmosphere.”

CAPS’ relationship with the winemaker is ongoing. A regular service schedule is carried out by the compressor company’s qualified technicians to ensure the reliable and long-lasting operation of all the compressed gas systems. www.capsaust.com.au APRIL 2014 www.pacetoday.com.au 25

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NEW PRODUCTS

Robolux multiport valves

First online GWR integrity testing

Robolux multiport valves ensure compact processes, are designed for clean and washdown areas, and increase overall process reliability. Now they can be combined with Bürkert’s ELEMENT control heads to provide a comprehensive base for the decentralised automation of hygienic processes. Based on diaphragm valve technology, Robolux uses a patented design to combine independent dual switching functions in a single body, with single diaphragm and actuator. The compact design occupies ~50% less space than traditional valve manifolds, and is more easily sterilised. Low internal volume and elimination of dead-leg supports faster cleaning and a higher product yield, with the compact construction also streamlining installation and maintenance. Bürkert R&D redesigned the Robolux actuator, and the Robolux now assembles directly with ELEMENT control heads.

The Verification Reflector function, now available with the Rosemount 5300 Series GWR transmitters, is designed for applications requiring periodical transmitter integrity tests to ensure that the level measurement device functions correctly and overfilling will not occur.

The 5300 with Verification Reflector enables automated transmitter integrity tests without stopping the process or manually raising the product level in the vessel. This helps to reduce the risk of accidental spills and enables either device verification or proof-testing to be completed much faster. There is no need to climb the tank to remove the test measurement device or open the tank to monitor levels. This helps to reduce costs and increase plant uptime.

Bürkert Australia 1300 888 868 sales.au@Burkert.com

Emerson Process Management 03 9721 0200 www.emersonprocess.com

Light curtain safeguards danger zones

Self tuning eddy current sensor

Pilz has expanded its offer of light barriers for safe access to danger zones with a Safety Light Curtain model featuring advanced configuration, multifunctional capability and no dead zones. The PSENopt Advanced can be manually or software configured for standard, blanking or direct muting capability, with the bonus of cascadability, meaning that one light curtain can be used for many functions. The PSENopt offers greater programming flexibility in advanced configuration mode using an Ethernet interface adaptor and the free to download PSENopt Configurator software. In this mode up to five fixed blanking zones can be set, and the number of floating blanking beams is selectable. Muting options can also be set including cross beam, parallel beam, muting period and override. The Ethernet interface module also provides for Cloning, and Remote Monitoring/Logging so repeat configurations can be faster and fault-finding easier for maximum up-time.

Pilz Australia 1300 723 334 safety@pilz.com.au

Kaman’s newest addition to their line of high precision, high resolution non-contact position/displacement sensors is the digiVIT. The digiVIT’s digital circuit design provides what other sensors with digital circuits do, pushbutton calibration and active temperature compensation. What makes it unique in the industry is the self tuning bridge. The digiVIT will perform with nearly any inductive coil sensor on the market today.

With analog eddy current position/ displacement sensors, a matching of the sensor parameters is required to balance the bridge circuit. These parameters are influenced by sensor size, target material, and sensor cable length. As the initial step of the

Linear measuring solution TURCK has released the high speed Q25 inductive linear sensor for the automation market. The internal measuring frequency is user selectable and can be as high as 5 kHz resulting in accurate measuring speeds of 5m/s. This high measuring frequency allows the Q25 to provide real time monitoring and measuring, resulting in more precise control than previously available in other linear measurement systems. The Q25 inductive linear position sensors do not require a magnetic position device and are unaffected by metal debris commonly found in many industrial applications. The sensors provide high resolution and can be used to accurately measure lengths 26 www.pacetoday.com.au APRIL 2014

up to 1m. TURCK’s linear inductive sensor operation is based on the RLC resistance inductance capacitance principle. Unlike potentiometric or magnetostrictive technologies, the sensors incorporate precisely manufactured printed emitter and receiver coil systems. The emitter coils are activated with a high frequency AC field and produce an inductive RLC circuit with the positioning element. The element is inductively coupled with the receiver coils, which are arranged so different voltages are induced in the coils, depending on the position of the actuator.

TURCK 1300 132 566 www.turck.com.au

linearization calibration routines, the parameters of the bridge are varied and analysed by the software resulting in the optimum tuning of the bridge for the given sensor, target, cable configuration.

TRE Measurements 0427 275 327

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TICKETS NOW ON SALE! Celebrating its 11th year, the 2014 PACE Zenith Awards ceremony will take place on Thursday 12th June in Melbourne and will bring together some of the biggest names in the industry to celebrate, recognise and award companies and professionals within the Process and Control Engineering industry.

DATE:

12 June 2014

TIME:

6.30pm pre dinner drinks, 7pm dinner

VENUE:

Zinc, Federation Square Melbourne

TICKETS: $155 per person or $1,430 for a table of 10 (inc. GST).

Tickets include a three course dinner and beverages

Categories • Manufacturing • Food & Beverage • Machine Builder • Mining & Minerals Processing • Oil & Gas • Power & Energy Management • Lifetime Achievement Award • Transport, Power & Infrastructure • Water & Wastewater • Young Achiever • Best Fieldbus Implementation • Project of the Year

To book your tickets to the PACE Zenith Awards dinner please contact alice.wearne@cirrusmedia.com.au or phone 02 8484 0822.

For more information visit www.pacetoday.com.au/awards Proudly sponsored by

PA0414_000_BES

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