Pace - December 2016

DECEMBER 2016 | VOL.69 NO.11 | Est. 1953

INSIDE PACE

Interview

Electric motors

Networks

Process & control sector not at the mercy of industrial changes says industry icon

Electric motors find new roles in robots, ships, cars, and microgrids

EtherCat is for everyone

WATER AND WASTEWATER

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new technologies & new ideas

EXCLUSIVE: Progressing towards an Industrial Internet of Things

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MELBOURNE WWW.ENDEAVOURAWARDS.COM.AU 2 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

CONTENTS

Managing Director: John Murphy Editor: Branko Miletic Ph: (02) 8484 0976 branko.miletic@primecreative.com.au Journalist: Stephanie Stefanovic Ph: (02) 8484 0769 stephanie.stefanovic@primecreative.com.au

IN THIS ISSUE

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camilo.molina@primecreative.com.au Production Coordinator: Aneeb Suleman Ph: (03) 9690 8766 aneeb.suleman@primecreative.com.au Art Director: Michelle Weston Designer: James Finlay, Blake Storey, Sarah Doyle SUBSCRIPTIONS: $99 pa incl GST NZ: $A109 pa & OS: $A119 pa Subscriptions: Gordon Watson Ph: (03) 9690 8766

10 News 6

Improving safety at a petroleum plant Interview 8

We talk to industry icon Dirk Kuiper about where the process and control sector will be heading in 2017

Copyright PACE is owned by Prime Creative Media and published by John Murphy. All material in PACE is copyright and no part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic or mechanical including information and retrieval systems) without written permission of the publisher. The Editor welcomes contributions but reserves the right to accept or reject any material. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information, Prime Creative Media will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequences arising from reliance on information published.

The opinions expressed in PACE are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher unless otherwise stated.

Water/Wastewater 10

Embracing renewable energy from the ocean; Using computer frequencies to improve water quality; Cooling towers; What happens if our taps run dry?; Wastewater is contributing to climate change but that might be a good thing Industry Networks 22

© Copyright Prime Creative Media, 2016

Why EtherCat really is for everyone

Articles All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher. The Editor reserves the right to adjust any article to conform with the magazine format.

Facilities management 24

Corrosion – the problem eating away at Australian industry

Head Office 11-15 Buckhurst St South Melbourne VIC 3205 P: +61 3 9690 8766 enquiries@primecreative.com.au http://www.australianmining.com.au Sydney Office Suite 303, 1-9 Chandos Street, Saint Leonards, NSW 2065, Australia

32

Data Science 26

How data science could take beacon technology to a new dimension Industry 4.0 28

Autodesk event wrap up: The Fourth Industrial Revolution is here. But are you ready?

Materials Handling 30

Electric motors find new roles in robots, ships, cars, and microgrids Internet of Things 32

Progressing towards an Industrial Internet of Things Energy Management 34

Batteries: Solid state vs Li-ion; solar storage New Products 38

All the latest products for the process and control industry

ON THE COVER

Bringing wastewater treatment into the digital age

DECEMBER 2016 | VOL.69 NO.11 | Est. 1953

INSIDE PACE

Interview

Electric motors

Networks

Process & control sector not at the mercy of industrial changes says industry icon

Electric motors find new roles in robots, ships, cars, and microgrids

EtherCat is for everyone

WATER AND WASTEWATER

Average Net Distribution Period ending Sept ’15 5,521

plants find the process to be energy, chemical and labour intensive.

However, the use of automated sensors could change this, turning a costly, inefficient process into a smooth, reliable operation.

Post Print Approved PP100008186

new technologies & new ideas

Proper treatment of wastewater is vital for both human and environmental health.

Accordingly, the treatment process is highly complex, requiring the use of many different steps and components.

Currently, this means that many treatment

EXCLUSIVE: Progressing towards an Industrial Internet of Things

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COMMENT

EDITOR’S MESSAGE

Branko Miletic Editor

Why our industry finally matters (just ask Donald Trump)

So we’ve just been through what is the most interesting and dare I say strange US election campaign in living memory.

4 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

And unless you’ve been living under some rock at the back of Timbuktu, you’ll know that real estate mogul and reality TV star Donald J. Trump will become the 45th President of the United States of America on January 20, 2017.

So what does this mean for our industry? Well, firstly, looking at the overall US campaign, it is patently obvious that industry in general and manufacturing in particular are back in vogue, or perhaps mainstream would be a better word. This is good for the process and control sector in a number of ways.

Firstly, a reinvigorated industrial sector means a greater need for control, measurement and testing that in turn means more sensors, actuators and networking connections. At the end of this chain is the need for more engineers and technicians, as data will be collected and that same data will need to be checked, cleaned, categorised and eventually evaluated.

This may seem a bit simplistic but what is pertinent here is that despite all the negative rhetoric, Donald Trump’s main thrust to US voters was one of creating an economic nirvana with the manufacturing sector as the centrepiece of this growth strategy.

Secondly, combined with what is going on in the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 as well as with automation and the energy storage revolution, there should be high fives all around the process and control sector.

While some may not feel this way now, I would say that in a couple of years’ time, it will start to gel with many industry players that finally a corner has been turned and double-digit growth is very much a normal state of affairs for many process and control equipment and service providers.

Don’t believe me? Take a look at what the

analysts are saying over in the US: Defense companies are expected to benefit from a Trump presidency and a Republican Congress.

This party partnership could be expected to undo a sequester to free up military spending, said Citigroup analyst Jason Gursky. “We expect the Pentagon can now view Trump as the guarantor of the extra $25B in funding,” said Credit Suisse analyst Robert Spingarn.

Mark Vitner, a senior economist for Wells Fargo, said he is optimistic that Trump’s presidency will be good for the economy in the U.S. “He’s going to be focused on economic growth,” he said.

Jim Little, chairman of the Carolinas Nuclear Cluster said that he expects new nuclear power plants to grow out of the Republican campaign focus on economic growth and energy security.

Nuclear plants are under construction in South Carolina and Georgia. Duke Energy expects to receive a federal license by 2017 for a new plant.

While there will be winners from a Trump presidency, there will also be losers. One industry on the losing side will be the green energy sector.

Another will be free trade.

Free trade – and the free trade agreements which promote it – have become politically toxic in Western liberal democracies. In the US, globalisation and free trade are blamed for job losses in the manufacturing sector and wage depression more generally. As a result, Trump had huge support in Rust Belt states, where (mostly white) blue-collar workers are a key constituent and tipped the balance of votes in his favour noted a recent article in The Conversation.

So yes, Donald Trump’s presidency will surely shake up the status quo. For some industries it will be a new Dark Age. For others it may turn out to be like a gold rush.

However, regardless of what industry we are talking about, for the process and control sector the forecast is for steady growth with perhaps a bit of turbulence along the way. branko.miletic@ primecreative.com.au Like us on Facebook and join the conversation facebook.com/PACEtoday

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NEWS

Promapp fuels continuous improvement at Pacific Petroleum

P

acific Petroleum has announced that it will deploy cloud-based business process management software from Promapp to support its focus on continuous improvement in a period of rapid company expansion both within Australia and overseas.

In business for over 40 years, Queensland-based Pacific Petroleum currently serves more than 2200 businesses across Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea, and has a customer base spanning the transport, earthmoving, construction, automotive, agriculture, energy and mining industries.

Up until recently, the company had an “ad-hoc” approach to managing business processes, with critical process information held in various systems and in traditional formats such as Word documents, Visio charts and PowerPoint presentations.

Company growth, an increasingly remote workforce and the need to maintain effective compliance in a highly regulated industry with strong OH&S requirements has resulted in an increased need for robust documented processes and procedures.

At the same time, Pacific Petroleum’s management team wanted to further instill a lean approach to performance management across the business to eliminate waste, work smarter and improve efficiency among the 60-strong workforce.

“With multiple offices up and down the east coast we increasingly saw that process owners were being limited by the tools they were using and the fairly manual process maintenance they were required to follow,” said Michael Hollows, managing director of Pacific Patroleum.

“We also understood that we needed a new approach to managing critical organisational process content as the inherent riskiness of the industry means that the cost of getting a process wrong can be very high. Over

6 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

time, it was increasingly clear that the management of processes was beginning to negatively impact the business and we wanted to improve on this situation.”

Following a market review, Pacific Petroleum decided to deploy Promapp, which will support the company by helping it improve and share process knowledge from a central online repository. Hosted in the cloud, Promapp drives process improvement by simplifying process mapping, so that teams can own, update and improve their own processes. It will specifically enable Pacific Petroleum to map, review and improve processes on an ongoing basis, providing a faster, smarter way to deliver products and services

to its customers wherever they may be located.

At the same time, Promapp’s integrated risk and compliance functionality will support the company’s auditing and non-conformance requirements and improve Pacific Petroleum’s ability to meet customer requirements with the timely supply of quality products and services, provided through safe working conditions and sound commercial practices.

“Our differentiation is our people and how they go about doing things,” said Hollows.

“We need to share our knowledge base. Promapp will enable us to do this across the company by encouraging process ownership and by helping us

communicate processes in everyday language. At the same time, it will reinforce a culture here at Pacific Petroleum which emphasises quality and continuous improvement as a responsibility of all of our employees.”

Being cloud-based, Promapp enables teams to suggest improvements and update processes in real-time.

This means staff will always see the latest information. For example, if a fuel driver updates a process with a recommended improvement or the addition of video content in Mackay, the updated process will immediately be accessible and can be viewed on a smart device by another driver in Victoria, supporting the company’s operational quality assurance and drive for innovation. PACE

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For more information and to nominate visit www.paceawards.com.au

INDUSTRY TRENDS

Process & control sector not at the mercy of industrial changes says industry icon Recently, PACE spoke to industry stalwart Dirk Kuiper, General Manager of AMS Instrumentation & Calibration about where the process and control sector is heading in light of the many changes we are witnessing across the manufacturing and industrial sectors.

PACE: With the slow shrinking of our manufacturing sector, how do you feel this will impact on the instrumentation and control industries?

Dirk Kuiper: Although the manufacturing industry is shrinking it is not in all industries. The automotive industry has disappeared from Australia, which seems to be the one that everybody is talking about, but it must open up other opportunities.

There are still large other manufacturing industries that will need to be nurtured, albeit with some government assistance. For example, stricter controls on the quality of imported products, particularly from developing countries. Financial support assists to a certain extent, but must be limited as it possibly makes companies and people reliant on it, which in the long run is detrimental.

So in my view there are still great opportunities in the manufacturing industry, with other industries sprouting up with the entrepreneurial sprits of people, such as 3D printing 8 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

for example. There is also a shift towards other industries, such as pharmaceutical, food and beverage for example.

Even in the current climate I do not think it will impact process control and control industries to a great extent, but more the automation industry, such as robotics and motion control.

Processes still need to be controlled and measured. Industry is always looking at improving productivity, so there will always be a requirement for instrumentation and control.

PACE: Do you see the expansion of the Industrial Internet of Things as the saviour of the process, control and instrumentation sectors?

Dirk Kuiper: The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is described as a machine learning and big data technology, harnessing the sensor data, machine-tomachine (M2M) communication and automation technologies that have existed in industrial settings for years. The driving philosophy

behind the IIoT is that smart machines are better than humans at accurately, consistently capturing and communicating data. This statement may be expressing what IIoT is, but will it be the savior?

- Yes and No. It will spur on new development and research and plants will become more and more automated, so there will be increased productivity and more opportunities for the process, control and instrumentation industry.

One of the concerns is the interoperability between devices and machines that use different protocols and these will take time to be sorted out. In the past many instrumentation, control and automation companies developed their own protocols, which now need to be developed in common architectures. Security and non-investment in new technologies like IIoT are also a major concern.

Companies will need to make large investments in upgrading the infrastructure and processes to enable IIoT.

PACE: What about new technologies - is there anything new coming that will be a game changer for your industry?

Dirk Kuiper: New technologies are being developed all the time, such as 3D printing as mentioned above, and sometimes it is difficult to see what is coming in the future. At this stage the newer technologies are IIoT, as described earlier, and wireless. It appears that many instrumentation and control companies are developing wireless equipment. As we are all aware it is part of our normal daily life now, such as mobile phones, wireless internet, etc. We cannot exist without it anymore and it will develop more and more in other areas, including industrial processes.

In new installations it will save a great deal in reducing the costs of cabling, connecting devices, etc., but in existing installation the benefits may not be that great or could increase the installation costs.

The ISA100 Wireless is an international standard, IEC 62734

INDUSTRY TRENDS

and an open universal wireless network protocol that makes it the only industrial network protocol compatible with the Internet of Things (IoT). ISA100 has a strict protocol for security to ensure it is safe in the industrial environment, but security experts have warned that there is a possibility that the systems are open to hacking for either political, blackmail or terrorism ideals. Recently, this proved to be true where hundreds of thousands IoT devices were hacked, although these were mainly household appliances, but nothing is holding it back from occurring in the industrial sphere. Encryption of data is a most important part of wireless and encryption needs to be enforced at various levels within a plant.

PACE: Is there a bigger need for calibration services these days or has this part of instrumentation become less important?

Dirk Kuiper: It is a fact that all measurement devices drift over time.

Modern instruments typically drift less than older models and manufacturers generally select the best available components and perform testing for the aging of instrumentation, but they still drift over time. Environmental conditions may also play a part in the aging process. Instrumentation that is used more often or in critical processes wear out more quickly than those that are used less frequently.

It could be that process instrumentation are more stable presently, which could reduce the regularity of calibration, but at the same time regulatory requirements have increased the requirement for regular calibration in various industries, such as the pharmaceutical industry, food and beverage industry, power plants (emission controls and safety), chemical and petro-chemical industry (emission controls and safety) and in the oil and gas industry.

Heavily regulated industries, such as pharmaceutical and food & beverage industry usually carry out the calibration and documentation with their own calibration resources, due to strict Standard Operation Procedures and government requirements, while calibration is more outsourced within other industries through contracting companies.

PACE: What about locally-made products - how do they compare in terms of imported products?

Dirk Kuiper: In the instrumentation manufacturing industry, Australia is lagging well behind in designing and producing high accuracy equipment and most equipment is imported either by overseas instrument companies or distributors. That said, there are still companies that

manufacture instrumentation, such as Trimec Flow Products, GPI Australia and MacNaught. These however mainly supply mechanical, i.e. positive displacement flowmeters. As the owner of Trimec Flow products I can only speak for this company, but our products in this category compare very well with any imported products and offer advantages of quicker deliveries and price.

PACE: Back to technology, flowmeters these days are highly accurate - have they reached the peak of accuracy or can we go further?

Dirk Kuiper: As with all markets companies are always striving to offer better products and this is certainly true in our industry as well. New technologies in various flowmeter sections, such as ultrasonics, radar, and microwave are coming more and more to the fore. For example, in ultrasonics previously there was a two-path measurement, which has now developed in multi-pass measurements to provide more accuracy. In the domestic water industry there is a movement to replace the basic flowmeters with ultrasonic flowmeters. In radar level measurement, the instruments now operate at a higher frequency than before - 80GHz instead of the widely used 26GHz. In microwave measurements, new ways to provide measurement include guided microwave measurement (GWR), which provides highly accurate and reliable measurements.

So in conclusion, industry will always strive to provide better instrumentation with higher accuracies or other advancements.

PACE: Will Australia ever be in a position to export instruments to say, Asia, and if so when do you think this will happen?

Dirk Kuiper: As mentioned before, the manufacturing industry of instrumentation is small and is mainly positive displacement flowmeters and electronics. From what I can gather, most of these companies export to Asia and some are quite successful. I believe it is due to the high quality of the products, reasonably fast deliveries and a willingness to accommodate their needs. In Trimec Flow Products’ case, we sell and market our products worldwide and the Asian market amounts to about 15 per cent of total sales. There are still developing markets in Asia and there is certainly an opportunity to increase sales in those areas. PACE Dirk Kuiper, General Manager of AMS Instrumentation & Calibration and Trimec Flow Products has been in the instrumentation industry for some 45 years and has worked in various capacities in several countries for a variety of instrument companies. The interview was conducted by Branko Miletic.

DECEMBER 2016 www.pacetoday.com.au 9

WATER/WASTEWATER

It’s time for Australia to embrace ocean renewable energy

W

ind and solar may be currently leading the way in Australia’s renewable energy race, but there’s another contender lurking in

the nation’s oceans.

Australia arguably possesses the world’s largest wave energy resource, around 1800 terawatt hours. Most of this is concentrated in the southern half

of the continent, between Geraldton and Brisbane. To put this in context, Australia used 248 terawatt hours of electricity in 2013-14.

Waves aren’t the only renewable power source in our oceans. The daily movements of the tides shift vast amounts of water around the Australian coast, and technology for conversion of tidal energy to electricity is more mature than any wave converters.

Ocean renewable energy also spans ocean thermal energy conversion, and energy captured from our large ocean currents (such as the East Australian Current). These represent less mature technologies with less opportunity in Australia.

Australia has abundant energy resources – both renewables and fossil fuels. So what will it take to get ocean energy out of the water, and into our homes?

The task at hand

The Paris Agreement, to which Australia is a signatory, aims to limit global warming to well below 2°C. This will require almost complete decarbonisation of global electricity systems by 2050.

Of the 248 terawatt hours of electricity used in Australia, around 17 terawatt hours of this came from large scale renewable energy technology, equivalent to about half of Australia’s Renewable Energy Target of 33 terawatt hours by 2020.

To keep us on track to meet our international commitments, members of Australia’s Climate Change Authority recently proposed a target of 65 per cent by 2030. This would require a rapid, large scale transition to alternative emission-free energy systems.

Wind and solar are currently leading the way, but we’ll need other technologies. This is not only to boost low emissions energy supply, but also to overcome the problem of intermittency due to the natural variability of the energy sources (when 10 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

the sun doesn’t shine, or when the wind doesn’t blow).

Out to sea

Ocean renewable energy technologies (including wave and tidal) are emerging as a future contributor to Australia’s energy mix, and have a number of advantages over other sources.

Both wave and tidal energy devices are deployed offshore (not taking up limited land space) and are typically out of sight (deployed under the surface, or sufficiently offshore and low profile to not be obvious to the casual observer).

Although ocean energy resources also vary day-to-day like wind and solar, wave power has only a third of the variability of wind power. It can also be forecast three times further ahead than wind. Tidal energy is predictable over very long timeframes.

These attributes provide an advantage in a portfolio of clean energy technologies and have led to notable government and other investments in ocean renewable energy technologies in Australia.

Ocean energy in Australia

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has contributed more than A$44.3 million to at least nine ocean renewable energy projects to date (two closed before completion owing to technical and financial challenges).

With other funds, more than A$122 million has been invested in ocean energy in Australia.

These funds have supported demonstration projects, including notable international successes (Carnegie Wave Energy, and BioPower Systems), and other research. Several other demonstration projects have also been undertaken in recent years by start-up companies with self-funded support, and unique technologies.

The expected installed capacity from approved ocean projects in Australia is around 3.5 megawatts. So far total

WATER/WASTEWATER

global installed capacity of wave energy projects is less than five megawatts.

The EU has also been a major investor in wave energy projects, with approximately 185 million (around A$275 million) invested to date, for a total expected installed capacity of 26 megawatts by 2018.

Although tidal energy converters are the most ready of ocean renewables, a high-quality assessment of Australia’s national tidal energy resource is yet to be done.

Nevertheless, several prospective sites in northern Australia and near Tasmania are attracting national and international attention for potential development owing to their attractive resource. Significant projects are in development, particularly in Europe, where tidal installed capacity is set to increase to about 57 megawatts by 2018.

Falling costs

At the moment, the lifetime costs of ocean energy technologies are high.

Until there are more than 10 megawatts

of wave energy installed globally, costs will remain around A$500-900 per megawatt hour.

By comparison, in 1981, when there were less than 10 megawatts of installed wind energy capacity, wind turbines cost around A$720 per megawatt hour. In 1990 there were two gigawatts, and costs fell to around A$190 per megawatt hour. Now there are around 500 gigawatts of installed wind energy, and the cost of onshore wind is around A$110 per megawatt hour, similar to coal.

This experience suggests that costs for wave energy will decrease to A$170-340 per megawatt hour when installed capacity reaches two gigawatts. But costs should not be the only performance indicator for ocean renewables.

Options are being explored to combine and integrate design of other infrastructure (such as wave energy capture as a coastal protection mechanism, powering offshore aquaculture, or recreational amenities) which will reduce relative costs.

Support for an emerging industry

To put ocean energy generators in our seas, planners, operators and financiers will increasingly require more knowledge of how much energy is available and where.

These decision-makers also need to understand barriers or constraints to ocean energy (in particular areas such as access to transmission infrastructure, or other uses of the sea such as fishing, aquaculture, tourism, shipping, ports, marine-protected areas).

To help answer these questions, ARENA and CSIRO have developed the Australian Wave Energy Atlas. The atlas provides wave energy resource information together with details of available electricity infrastructure and spatial constraints for deployment. This allows users to identify the most viable sites for future wave energy projects, and ultimately ease the process of attracting capital and negotiating the consenting process.

While ocean renewable energy has many attractive features, there are still

many challenges. The advantages of consistency and predictability of ocean energy become diminished if costs don’t fall below those of wind or solar supplemented with storage, which will offer the same advantages.

Other challenges include the technological advances needed to make generation devices ready and reduce costs; policy and regulatory barriers to project development; lack of awareness of ocean renewables and the potential they provide; limited body of knowledge on the environmental effects of large scale deployments; and the finance mechanisms to support the growing industry.

To overcome these challenges we’ll need to bring decision-makers, researchers, manufacturers, and businesses together to unlock the potential of our oceans. PACE Written by Mark Hemer, Irene Penesis, Kathleen McInnes, Richard Manasseh and Tracey Pitman. This article was published with permission from The Conversation.

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DECEMBER 2016 www.pacetoday.com.au 11

WATER/WASTEWATER

Using computer frequencies to improve water quality Computer-generated frequencies are being used to alter the composition of water to improve quality and eliminate scaling, writes Caleb Radford.

H

ydrosmart has developed a device in Adelaide, South Australia that sits on the outside of pipes, treating water as it passes without the use of chemicals or filters. The microprocesser unit consists of an antenna wound in a metal coil, which emits a series of computer-generated frequencies to break down scaling in pipes, taps and containers.

The frequencies and pulses pass through the coil to charge the water externally. This charge disrupts the bonds of minerals in the water, dissolving calcium, iron and gypsum scale off pipes. It also helps to reduce the size of the build-up when water passes through taps or showerheads.

Previously this had resulted in damaged hair and irritated skin.

Hydrosmart Managing Director Paul Pearce said all water infrastructure had minerals such as calcium or iron pass through, which could bond together and block pipes.

“We’re a water conditioning business that doesn’t use filters,

12 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

chemicals or purifiers,” said Pearce.

“We are leading the way for non-chemical water treatment by charging the water externally to change the behaviour of the water, making it better and helping to make the infrastructure more sustainable in the long-term.”

Hydrosmart has taken its water treatment technology to the Pacific island nation of Tonga where it is fitting a unit at the International Dateline Hotel.

“For many places, like Tonga, there are often limestone aquifers where the water is high in calcium and things like filters don’t dissolve salts – this affects soils, plants, pipes, plumbing and washing machines,” said Pearce.

For the Dateline Hotel, the addition of the unit means the laundry, kitchen and bathroom infrastructure is less likely to block up or produce hard water.

Pearce said the microprocessor unit was highly efficient and would only use about AU$10 per year worth of electricity in most cases, which is less

than a standard light bulb.

“We can make salty water soft and useful for irrigation instead of it causing plant problems and scale. It’s a holistic shift using electronics and a computerised approach to water,” he said.

“Normally salts restrict the water intake but research has shown that by changing the charge it (salt) moves away from the roots of the plant and deeper through the soil profile, so plants can keep drinking even during hot days.

“The technology is ahead of the curve because people look at consumable technologies like reverse osmosis for squeezing salt out or water softeners for pulling the calcium out but you need a lot of power to achieve those outcomes.”

South Australia is the driest state in the driest continent in the world and has become a world leader in water treatment and reuse technologies.

Pearce said his device would work year-round as long as it remained plugged in and activated.

Water company Brita claims that 75 per cent of all catering equipment breakdowns are because of mineral scaling, according to U-Select Sales Manager Jon Steward.

Catering equipment distributor U-Select also claims about 60 per cent of the United Kingdom is exposed to more than 200 parts per million (ppm) of calcium or magnesium carbonates in its water supply.

According to the Australian Water Association, the level of scaling in the country’s capital cities ranges from 10ppm to 148ppm.

Hydrosmart has also taken its technology to other countries such as Bangladesh and aims to continue its global expansion. PACE This article has been published with permission from The Lead.

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WATER/WASTEWATER

Cooling towers responsible for Sydney Legionnaires’ outbreaks As reported in PACE earlier this year, in March and May 2016, 15 people who had visited the Sydney CBD during their incubation period were diagnosed with Legionnaires’ disease (Legionella pneumophila serogroup 1). This was among some 35 other cases that were diagnosed during the first half of the year. Sydney saw two deaths due to the disease, with one being linked to the CBD outbreak. Stephanie Stefanovic writes.

N

SW Health has released its investigation into the outbreaks, which details the results of all tests conducted on cooling towers and other possible sources of Legionnaires’ disease.

According to the report, of the 15 Legionnaires’ cases examined, two were excluded from the outbreak following genetic sequencing of available clinical and environmental isolates. This left 13 cases linked to the outbreak.

L. pneumophila SG1 was isolated from several cooling towers, including two cooling towers with excessively high colony counts of greater than 1000cfu/mL. The use of whole genome sequencing provided strong evidence that at least five of the 13 cases were linked to one common source, or separate sources contaminated by the same microorganism. Two cooling towers were found to be contaminated with L. pneumophila SG1 that was genetically identical to the five patient samples, which suggests that either or both of the towers could have been responsible for the infection.

Epidemiological investigations suggested that the remaining eight cases were also linked to the outbreak.

“While we cannot pinpoint the ultimate source of the outbreak, we were able to confine the origin of the bacteria to buildings in downtown Sydney west of Hyde Park between Park and Margaret Streets,” NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant told Fairfax Media.

“Further regulatory action is being considered in respect of the regulated system at the Clarence Street site 2 premises, [and] the York Street site 14 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

4 tower was followed up by the City of Sydney with a warning letter as this count was less than 100cfu/mL,” according to the report.

The report notes that an unknown source contaminated with the same miroorganism could have been the culprit of the infections and the contamination of the two towers, but was either not sampled or cleaned prior to sampling.

It also notes the possibility that considering the six-week period

between March and May without any reported cases, contaminated towers may have been cleaned and disinfected due to the initial March outbreak, but the contamination was not completely removed, therefore enabling the microorganism to grow back to unsafe levels.

The report continues on to list a range of limitations in detecting the source of the outbreaks. Some of these include uncertainties around Sydney CBD wind tunnel effects and

wind pattern variability, uncertainty about patient movements, infected towers not being tested and failure of the microorganism to grow on the sampling culture.

NSW Health has assured that “while the actual source of the human cases cannot be proven”, NSW Health, City of Sydney and building owners have controlled the risk by identifying and cleaning any (known) contaminated water cooling systems. PACE

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WATER/WASTEWATER

What happens if our taps run dry?

I

n the developed world, expectation is nothing less than a right. We open the tap, and we expect clean drinking water to flow. We switch on the lights, and bulbs must illuminate. We swim in waterways that must be safe and free from bacteria.

Many resources that are critical for life are taken for granted with little regard as to how the water came to be in the tap or how the power got to the bulb. They are regarded as an entitlement. But beneath the surface, hidden and unseen, lie literally hundreds of thousands of kilometres of pipes and wires, connected by a myriad of pumps and valves all pulsing away in real time in the most intricate interconnected web that make our cities habitable. Decades of planning, engineering, sweat and hard labour have been invested to provide these precious commodities and the tide of demand is rising ever higher.

It’s often said that we don’t realise what we have until it’s gone. This is perhaps how some of the 1.7 million residents of South Australia felt the evening of 29 September 2016, when severe storms toppled power transmission towers and left their state in darkness. The infrastructure that ensured the steady provision and flow of electricity went largely unnoticed and unappreciated, until it was no longer doing its job.

The resource supply systems undergirding our cities are currently pressed from numerous sides.

Many cities are facing the real possibility of a perfect storm that will push their infrastructure close to breaking point unless a radical shift in thinking is embraced. The confluence of our insatiable appetite for urbanisation coupled with an unpredictable climate, all superimposed on infrastructure that is decades old, is demanding new thinking.

Ongoing demands for upkeep and expansion have an eye watering price tag. Water infrastructure is a multibillion dollar asset that, if we were currently to overhaul and redo, would likely drain an entire city budget.

16 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

Sydney alone will spend $2.2 billion on water infrastructure in the next four years.

As the tidal wave of urbanisation increases in the coming 20 years, how can governments and water authorities manage the compounding pressures on limited resources, coupled with the adverse effects of climate change?

The public purse and taxpayer pool will have to somehow satisfy the living standards and expectations to which communities have become accustomed.

About 40 per cent of the world’s population currently lives in waterstressed areas. With three billion more people added to the planet by 2050, water scarcity will soon become a matter of life or death. We face lower and lower tidemarks on our water supplies.

The world of water in a decade’s time will see people expect exactly the same level of service (if not better), yet the problem will have grown in complexity. More pipelines are only part of the solution. It’s a paradigm

shift that’s called for: the utility authorities will need to change people’s behaviour through better digital interaction with water.

If we fail to address the social mindsets driving city planning up until now, our problems will only get worse.

But if we can use the digital world to sidestep this static analogue problem, we can turn crisis into opportunity.

Digital technology allows us to step back and ‘smart up’ around the current cycle of water consumption and wastage. We can begin to see the grim reality of limited supply as the ‘dark room’ of innovation, whereby bold new ideas can be born to secure societal welfare in future uncertain times.

Moving from point A to point B

Up until now, we have lived in an analogue-based society. Our infrastructure is essentially ‘dumb’, marked by physical variables that function independently of one another.

But as digitalisation and mobile technology continue to evolve at pace, the systems and spaces we inhabit will begin to catch up.

Autonomous vehicles represent 1 per cent of the automotive market worldwide today, but autonomous vehicles will secure a 35 per cent advantage by 2040, and that will continue to rise.

Equally, the flow of water through a city’s network of steel and copper waterways will someday be analysed and controlled by smart grids. Our analogue world will become digitised; we will cross over. But where does this leave our clients today, when we stand on the precipice of change and don’t see a bridge in sight?

Our job is to build that bridge through digital transformation. Our current ‘unintelligent’ analogue systems must be progressively transformed if we are going to change user behaviours through their enhanced interaction with the precious resource they are consuming.

WATER/WASTEWATER

Real-time predictive analytics can draw the best out of our limited water supply by offering simple, intuitive, and meaningful insight into unique infrastructure. This, in turn, can be transferred into optimal and costeffective management strategies that keep the water cycles healthy.

Getting one step ahead

Installing predictive maintenance applications can feel at times like a Herculean task. But statistics alone present a convincing argument that motivates a speedy change of gears into digital integration.

While the demand for freshwater is increasing by 64 billion cubic metres

annually, the U.S. alone loses 2.1 trillion gallons of treated water every year due to pipe breaks, leakages and mismanagement. This economic loss amounts to trillions, with a downward chain reaction on food prices, health and sanitation.

Connecting these assets into a realtime monitoring network will reduce the time it takes to discover and solve problems that historically appear only when they literally surface. That same data can be applied as red alerts to motivate preventative maintenance and mitigated risk into the future.

Smart meters, high-tech leak detection devices and water data software are starting to offer

sophisticated and granular information on how to maximise profit, impact and environmental sustainability within water management and distribution systems. The municipalities who are taking heed are gaining traction in the future-ready race.

Contextualising the issue

The ‘magnifying glass’ or micro approach to problem solving is no longer viable within the context of our interconnected digital world. If we don’t contextualise the water crisis under the bigger themes of climate change and urbanisation, we could solve a water problem, while creating an economic one.

Our water problems will not ultimately be solved by throwing water solutions at them. Water cannot be seen as an isolated utility, but an integrated variable in the quest to solve society’s major problems. If we are to ensure this precious commodity’s sufficient supply into the future, we have to adopt new ways of thinking around our capability and responsibility to steward the resource. Smart cities are the only solutions with shoulders broad enough to buffer the oncoming high tide of overpopulation. PACE This article was written by Mike Axton and Brian Horton from Aurecon Group.

New desalination device improves efficiency by suppressing heat loss According to phys.org, a team of researchers at Nanjing University in China has developed a new solar desalinating device that does not require a traditional solar concentrator or thermal insulation. Instead, as the group explains in their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, they introduced a 2-D channel for water circulation that works through capillary action, thereby greatly reducing heat dissipation.

A

s the demand for water continues to increase around the globe, even as supplies diminish, scientists have been hard at work trying to improve water desalination devices—if a cheaper, more efficient means could be found to turn seawater into drinking water, the problem would be solved.

Unfortunately, conventional desalination plants are still expensive to operate, running at approximately 80 megawatt-hours per megalitre of water produced, making them practical only in arid regions that have a lot of money to invest—such as the Middle East.

For that reason, many researchers have turned to solar power as a possible option—unfortunately to date, such systems are difficult to ramp up in a way that allows them to produce enough drinking water to be useful—mainly because of the need for optical concentrators and thermal

insulation. In this new effort, the researchers describe a new type of solar desalination device that works without either of them.

The reason most solar systems require thermal insulation is because of the need to separate water being heated from unheated water—failure to do so would lose heat to the input water supply. To get around this problem, the researchers used simple polystyrene foam to separate the heated water from the input stream and introduced a 2-D channel that relies on capillary action to circulate the water as it is heated by the absorber.

Because of its 2-D nature, heat cannot pass backwards through the channel; thus, very little is lost.

The team also created an absorber using graphene oxide, because, as they note, it has excellent solar absorbing properties and low thermal conductivity. Another benefit, they

note, is that it can be folded, making the device transportable.

The result is a relatively inexpensive, highly efficient solar powered water desalination device.

There is one problem still to

overcome, before the device can be put to use in the real world—because of the materials used it is not clear how long such a device would stand up to real world environmental conditions. PACE

DECEMBER 2016 www.pacetoday.com.au 17

WATER/WASTEWATER

Making fuel out of sewage

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t may sound like science fiction, but wastewater treatment plants across the United States may one day turn ordinary sewage into biocrude oil, thanks to new research at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

The technology, hydrothermal liquefaction, mimics the geological conditions the Earth uses to create crude oil, using high pressure and temperature to achieve in minutes something that takes Mother Nature millions of years. The resulting material is similar to petroleum pumped out of the ground, with a small amount of water and oxygen mixed in. This biocrude can then be refined using conventional petroleum refining operations.

Wastewater treatment plants

across the U.S. treat approximately 130 billion litres of sewage every day. That amount could produce the equivalent of up to approximately 30 million barrels of oil per year.

PNNL estimates that a single person could generate 7-11 litres of biocrude per year.

Sewage, or more specifically sewage sludge, has long been viewed as a poor ingredient for producing biofuel because it’s too wet. The approach being studied

by PNNL eliminates the need for drying required in a majority of current thermal technologies which historically has made wastewater to fuel conversion too energy intensive and expensive. HTL may also be used to make fuel from other types of wet organic feedstock, such as agricultural waste.

Using hydrothermal liquefaction, organic matter such as human waste can be broken down to simpler chemical compounds. The material is pressurised to 210 kilograms per square centimetre — nearly one hundred times that of a car tire.

Pressurised sludge then goes into a reactor system operating at about 350 degrees Celsius. The heat and pressure cause the cells of the waste material to break down into different fractions — biocrude and an aqueous liquid phase.

“There is plenty of carbon in municipal waste water sludge and interestingly, there are also fats,” said Corinne Drennan, who is responsible for bioenergy technologies research at PNNL. “The fats or lipids appear to facilitate the conversion of other

materials in the wastewater such as toilet paper, keep the sludge moving through the reactor, and produce a very high quality biocrude that, when refined, yields fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuels.”

In addition to producing useful fuel, HTL could give local governments significant cost savings by virtually eliminating the need for sewage residuals processing, transport and disposal.

Simple and efficient

“The best thing about this process is how simple it is,” said Drennan.

“The reactor is literally a hot, pressurised tube. We’ve really accelerated hydrothermal conversion technology over the last six years to create a continuous, and scalable process which allows the use of wet

Sludge from Metro Vancouver’s wastewater treatment plant has been dewatered prior to conversion to biocrude oil at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

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WATER/WASTEWATER

“Sewage sludge has long been viewed as a poor ingredient for producing biofuel because it’s too wet.

The approach being studied by PNNL eliminates the need for drying required in a majority of current thermal technologies which historically has made wastewater to fuel conversion too energy intensive and expensive.” wastes like sewage sludge.”

An independent assessment for the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation calls HTL a highly disruptive technology that has potential for treating wastewater solids. WE&RF investigators noted the process has high carbon conversion efficiency with nearly 60 per cent of available carbon in primary sludge becoming bio-crude.

The report calls for further demonstration, which may soon be in the works.

Demonstration facility in the works

PNNL has licensed its HTL technology to Utah-based Genifuel Corporation, which is now working with Metro Vancouver, a partnership of 23 local authorities in British Columbia, Canada, to build a demonstration plant.

“Metro Vancouver hopes to be the first wastewater treatment utility in North America to host hydrothermal liquefaction at one of its treatment plants,” said Darrell Mussatto, chair

of Metro Vancouver’s Utilities Committee.

“The pilot project will cost between $8 to $9 million (Canadian) with Metro Vancouver providing nearly one-half of the cost directly and the remaining balance subject to external funding.”

Once funding is in place, Metro Vancouver plans to move to the design phase in 2017, followed by equipment fabrication, with start-up occurring in 2018.

“If this emerging technology is a success, a future production facility could lead the way for Metro Vancouver’s wastewater operation to meet its sustainability objectives of zero net energy, zero odours and zero residuals,” added Mussatto.

For example, early efforts have demonstrated the ability to recover phosphorus, which can replace phosphorus ore used in fertiliser production. PACE This article was published with permission from the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Biocrude oil, produced from wastewater treatment plant sludge, looks and performs virtually like fossil petroleum. Image: Water Environment and Reuse Foundation

Nothing left behind

In addition to the biocrude, the liquid phase can be treated with a catalyst to create other fuels and chemical products. A small amount of solid material is also generated, which contains important nutrients.

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DECEMBER 2016 www.pacetoday.com.au 19

WATER/WASTEWATER

Wastewater is contributing to climate change but that might be a good thing According to a report in Climate Central, sewage may be the cause of up to 23 per cent more greenhouse gas than was previously thought because of fossil fuels in detergent-laden water from residential showers, washing machines and industrial sites, writes Branko Miletic.

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he report found that wastewater treatment plants emit a range of greenhouse gases such as methane and nitrous oxide when they purify detergent-laden water along with other products based on petroleum, and that the treatment plants do not account for carbon dioxide emissions when that water is processed.

At the same time, the study found that wastewater treatment plants are responsible for an estimated 3 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions globally.

“With increasing interests to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, efforts should also be made to quantify these emissions more accurately,” said the study’s lead author, environmental and science professor at Colgate University, Linda Tseng.

Tseng and her team of researchers in Australia and California used radiocarbon analyses to establish that household wastewater could be composed of up to 28 per cent petroleum-derived carbon, which in turn, is increasing the estimates of total global greenhouse gases from wastewater treatment facilities by between 13 and 23 per cent.

“The results of this study provide an opportunity to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, including fossil carbon dioxide, from wastewater treatment facilities,” said Tseng, adding that “Strategies could include developing on-site carbon sequestration technology that runs on renewable energy”.

At the same time, engineers at the University of Colorado Boulder have 20 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

developed a wastewater treatment process that not only mitigates these unwanted carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, but actively captures the emitted greenhouse gases as well.

The method known as Microbial Electrolytic Carbon Capture (MECC), purifies wastewater in an environmentally-friendly fashion by using an electrochemical reaction that absorbs more CO2 than it releases, while at the same time creating renewable energy in the process.

“This energy-positive, carbonnegative method could potentially contain huge benefits for a number of emission-heavy industries,” said

Zhiyong Jason Ren, an associate professor of civil, environmental, and architectural engineering at CU-Boulder and author of the new study, which was recently published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

Wastewater treatment typically produces CO2 emissions in two ways: the fossil fuels burned to power the machinery, and the decomposition of organic material within the wastewater itself.

The vast array of existing carbon capture technologies are energy-intensive, and often entail costly transportation and storage

procedures. MECC on the other hand, uses the natural conductivity of saline wastewater to facilitate an electrochemical reaction that is designed to absorb CO2 from both the water and the air.

The process transforms CO2 into stable mineral carbonates and bicarbonates that can be used as raw materials by the construction industry, used as a chemical buffer in the wastewater treatment cycle itself or used to counter acidity downstream from the process such as in the ocean.

The reaction also yields excess hydrogen gas, which can be stored and harnessed as energy in a fuel cell.

The conclusions of both findings offer the possibility that although wastewater is a CO2 generator, at the same time, this can be turned into a positive whereby it could be harnessed effectively on-site without the risks or costs typically associated with disposal.

“The results should be viewed as a proof-of-concept with promising implications for a wide range of industries,” said Ren. According to the CU-Boulder research team, the study may also have positive long-term implications for the world’s oceans, since some 25 per cent of CO2 emissions are subsequently absorbed by seawater, which lowers pH, alters ocean chemistry and threatens marine organisms, especially coral reefs and shellfish.

The dissolved carbonates and bicarbonates produced via MECC, however, could act to chemically counter these effects if added to the ocean. PACE

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AUTOMATION

EtherCAT is for everyone There is a perception that EtherCat is only suitable for highly complex automation processes. However, as the example of a Victorian abattoirs illustrates, the protocol can and should be used in all types of operations, regardless of their size or level of complexity.

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he Abattoirs employ around 500 people and processes 1000 to 1500 heads of cattle per day. As with all such operations, the facility uses a lot of water and produces 1 - 1.5 million litres of wastewater which must be processed according to regulatory requirements for release back into the sewerage system.

The wastewater contains solids (physical lumps of meat, bone and so forth) as well as ‘suspended solids’ (such as fats which have dissolved into the water). Environmental regulations state that both must be removed.

While the removal of the solids is relatively straight forward, moving the suspended solids is trickier. They can only be collected and removed via a chemical process.

When the wastewater records a specific pH level, and following aeration, the suspended solids bind together as actual solids and can be separated from the water. So the task is to achieve this given pH level.

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This is done by dosing the waste water with acid and alkaline, which in turn, requires a precise automated dosing system that is both reliable and sensitive.

The process relies heavily on pneumatically driven componentry, process valves, dosing pumps, pressure and flow measuring equipment.

The traditional method

Traditionally, equipment used in such processes has been controlled through simple valve manifolds via on/off switching systems. Or at best, more sophisticated set-ups involving additional analog equipment, hard wired back to the PLC I/O, have been used.

While these methods work, they are limited in terms of functionality and capacity. Because they involve direct wiring from a central controller to the equipment, they require the use of long runs of cable and several large control cabinets. They are also limited to short runs.

A better solution

The abattoirs decided against the traditional model and in favour of an EtherCAT enabled system designed by a customer of SMC Pneumatics, the world’s largest manufacturer of pneumatic automation products.

This system is more polished than the traditional alternative. It allows for more precise dosing of the waste water and therefore a more efficient and more profitable operation.

This multistage process of treating the waste water is carried out in a decentralised system that covers approximately 40m x 50m square meters of floor space.

Apart from the sheer size of the system, the process taking place within is complex and decentralised.

It required a communication system that would provide the speed and bandwidth requirements for processing a multitude of analog data, as well as effortless setup and enough flexibility in topology to accommodate for long lengths and network redundancy.

EtherCAT network protocol was able to meet these requirements in a very cost effective manner.

The process is heavily reliant on pneumatically driven componentry, process valves, dosing pumps, pressure and flow measuring equipment. SMC drew on its range of 12,000 standard products with over 600,000 variations and provided a complete solution which consisted of an EtherCAT enabled pneumatic valve and IO manifold as a central interface to each stage of the process.

The company’s R&D team successfully utilised EtherCAT technology to transform a simple valve island into a real time operating, modular valve and IO platform with standard on-board functionality such as diagnostics, error log, preventative maintenance, remote parameter configuration over EtherCAT, general monitoring and full compatibility

for network redundancy.

The system, which includes a fully integrated control system with a local HMI running the inputs and outputs using an EtherCAT redundant loop, can be remotely accessed via computer or smart phone.

SMC’s EX 600 and EX 260 are used as communication interfaces to the network. They enable the company’s pneumatic products to be placed on that network for direct control from either the master controller or PLC. As such, they are alternatives to individual hard wiring.

There are five concrete tanks, two tank aeration systems, a rotary screen,

THE PRODUCTS EX260, SI Unit EX260 series is a compact and cost effective fieldbus solution for output applicable to SMC’s most popular directional control valves such as New SY, SV, VQC, and S0700 Series. It can control up to 32 solenoids in one manifold. Available protocols are EtherNet/IP, Profinet, EtherCat, PROFIBUS DP, DeviceNet and CC-Link.

EX260 series has standard dual port connectivity to eliminate the need of switches or branch connector, reducing wiring and component cost.

IP67 enclosure rating ensures protection against dust and wash-down environment.

AUTOMATION

an 80kL DAF, a 20kL fibreglass tank, over a dozen VSD controlled pumps, a dosing pump station, and a 5m³/h rated decanter fed with steam-heated process sludge.

The SMC cabinets – which control the sensors, valves, and dosing pumps in each area - are located in five locations across the plant.

The advantages of using EtherCAT

By not individually hard wiring each pneumatic valve, the plant saves on labour and equipment; and benefits

from the flexibility of being able to add and remove modular IO at the local stage of the process. This reduces the length of cable required for sensors, or additional EtherCAT nodes.

In addition, operators can access diagnostic feedback right down to the point of IO and have remote access to parameter configuration over EtherCAT. Commissioning, parameter configuration and diagnostics can all be carried out using a hand-held panel and there is network redundancy support.

The result

Today, the abattoirs processes roughly 250kL of rendering effluent per day. It is able to reduce the level of suspended solids within its wastewater from 40,000mg/L down to as low 150mg/L. The concentrated product, which is referred to as sludge, is fed into a decanter and heated to 90°C. The decanter separates the product into concentrated solids, which are disposed of. There is also a water by-product, which is returned to the beginning of treatment; and tallow, which is sold to third parties in the food industry.

Other applications

Of course, the benefits of using EtherCAT are not limited to abattoirs. The network protocol can just as easily be employed in any wastewater application (e.g. by food and beverage processors or manufacturers) or indeed in water plants or sewerage works.

But its usefulness goes beyond these water management examples.

In fact, EtherCAT is for everyone.

No process is too big or too small to benefit from its implementation.

It has no limitations in terms of capacity. On the one hand it can run a simple module for a single PC, while at the other extreme, the largest EtherCAT network ever implemented featured a staggering 10,056 nodes connected and running simultaneously with even more impressive update times of 1000 digital IO distributed to 100 nodes in 30us (0.03ms) and 100 servo axis (each 8 byte IN / OUT) in 100us (0.1ms).

It’s not just applications in the field of process control that stand to

benefit from this technology, but also those in the manufacturing sector and elsewhere. Building automation projects, for example, can benefit from its introduction.

Until now, the thing holding this change back has been the caution that tends to surround the introduction of new technologies.

“Why take a Ferrari around the block to pick up the milk when you can ride your bike?” has been the attitude of many engineers and designers.

This analogy totally misses the point. In the world of automation technology it’s the other way around. Far from making systems unnecessarily complex and expensive, EtherCat actually simplifies operations.

It can help reduce the use of unnecessary hardware, make commissioning easier, improve system accuracy, and save businesses a lot of money. PACE SMC Pneumatics (Australia) 1800 763 862 www.smcworld.com

THE PRODUCTS EX600 Series Modular Fieldbus System Designed for total application flexibility, the EX600 I/O system offers many advanced features.

A full suite of diagnostics and programmable parameters allow the EX600 to meet the most stringent requirements. The SI Unit is the key building block of the system and various I/O blocks and valve manifolds can be connected to it. The EX600 can be configured as a centralised or a decentralised I/O system, or a combination of both.

Mechanically, the system features sturdy metal M12 connectors (SPEEDCON compatible) as well as a patented hinged clamp design. This assures that all the modules are held together securely, while still allowing addition or removal of individual modules without the inherent limitations of a more traditional tie rod design.

DECEMBER 2016 www.pacetoday.com.au 23

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

Corrosion – the problem eating away at Australian industry According to research by Curtin University of Technology, corrosion may be costing the Australian economy more than $30 billion each year.

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ithin industrial environments, exposure to things like water, acid or salt causes corrosion of geared motors.

This, in turn, reduces the strength of the corroded parts and inevitably means they have to be replaced.

In corrosive environments, the need for replacement is more than just occasional. Gear boxes need to be replaced as often as every six months.

Apart from costs and downtime, such a maintenance regime presents businesses with all too frequent gearbox mounting challenges.

For obvious reasons, businesses in the food and beverage sector are required to maintain high hygiene standards.

To do this, they need to follow strict wash-down procedures which have the unfortunate side-effect of increasing the rate of corrosion.

Similarly, corrosion is a problem for operations dealing with chemicals, those located offshore or near the coast, and others (such as car washes) which just can’t avoid water.

Historically, businesses looking to deal with this problem have had two options: to use stainless products

24 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

or products with a protective coating.

The attraction of stainless steel for this purpose is obvious. It eliminates the need for harsh cleaning chemicals and decreases the instances of leaks, rust and corrosion.

To date, stainless steel has rightly been regarded as a better anti-corrosion solution than the alternatives, namely paints and surface treatments.

The problem with such coatings is that when used on an original painted aluminium surface, they simply lie on top of the aluminium substrate and may even bridge across pores in the metal. In other words, they do not form a permanent bond to the substrate.

They can easily be removed if bumped or scratched, and therefore offer only limited corrosion resistance.

For its part, NORD recently released the NSD tupH Sealed Surface Conversion System in Australia that is designed to provide protection at a molecular level, which has been hailed as a breakthrough in corrosion protection.

Unlike surface coatings, NSD tupH includes a base layer that is permanently bonded to the

aluminium substrate and provides a powerful foundation for adhesion of the surface sealant. This foundation provides excellent roughness, is 6-7 times harder than the aluminium substrate and up to 1000 times harder than paint.

In other words, the product is superior to surface coatings and is a genuine alternative to stainless steel.

Indeed, according to the company, it offers two advantages when compared to stainless steel. Firstly, it is significantly cheaper. NSD tupH delivers similar levels of corrosion protection at a fraction of the cost.

Secondly, products coated with the system are much lighter than stainless steel products. This makes mounting and maintenance easier.

The surface treatment creates an easy to clean surface which is resistant to acids and alkalis over a wide pH range.

Free from chromates, it prevents the spreading of corrosion, even in cases where machinery is physically scratched or damaged.

NSD tupH drives can be used in demanding atmospheres much beyond the usual service life of paint-coated systems. Since no coating is applied and only the surface is hardened,

contamination of products or process media is avoided, which is not possible with chipping paint.

The system conforms to FDA Title 21 CFR 175.300 and has successfully undergone ASTM D714 and proven its resistance to blister formation. Similarly, it has proven its effectiveness against corrosion through ASTM D610-08, and scribe per ASTM D1654-08 according to DIN EN ISO 2409.

Further tests performed on the system included ASTM B117-09 Salt spray test, ASTM D3170 Gravelometer test, DINEN ISO 9227 Salt spray mist test, and DIN EN ISO2409 Cross-cut test.

It is approved for food applications according to FDA Title 21 CFR 175.300 with treated systems resisting cleaning agents in the pH2 to pH12 range.

The company said it uses NSD tupH on a range of products, including its Helical gear units, Bevel gear units, UNIVERSAL worm gear units, Smooth motors, and Electronic SK 1xxE. All gearboxess are supplied with stainless steel hollow shaft and fasteners. PACE NORD Drivesystems 03 9394 0500 www4.nord.com

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DATA SCIENCE

Data science could take beacon technology to a new dimension Since Apple launched its iBeacon technology in 2013, followed by Google’s Eddystone last year, location-based services (LBS) have popped up everywhere. By using real-time geo-data and GPS coordinates from mobile devices, beacon technologies have empowered brands and brick-and-mortar stores to reach new levels of ultrapersonalised customer experiences, writes Susan Brown.

F

or example, retailers now provide ‘store locators’ as tools for customers to quickly find the nearest purchasing point. It is also now possible to use a mobile app to automatically send a drone to nearby beacons. A new tracking technology uses smartphone Bluetooth connectivity with small battery-powered beacons to keep tabs on mobile assets or goods in transit. Insurance and road assistance companies are also improving their emergency services by tracking customers’ exact locations without the need for directions from the customer in the case of a road accident.

Meanwhile, niche marketing agencies are delivering new models of ultratargeted ads to individuals in the same geographic location.

In Australia, Adelaide Zoo recently implemented iBeacon and eLocker technologies to enhance visitor and student experience, by alerting them to points of interest around the zoo and providing interesting and practical information such as species facts, the location of the closest facilities and educational tools. Sydney Airport is now using Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technologies with beacons to optimise passengers’ ‘leisure time’ and increase retail spend.

While beacon technologies have clearly helped brands (especially retailers and marketers) enter a new age, there are still various challenges businesses need to overcome. Unlike outdoor scenarios, where there are few obstructions between the satellite and mobile device, indoor scenarios can be

26 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

thwarted by numerous obstructions.

They present two types of problems in the form of blocking objects and reflecting objects.

Bringing location-based services indoors

We are all familiar with GPS technology and how it calculates a user’s location when outdoors.

You would most likely use this when using your smartphone as a navigation system to drive/walk to a specific location. It is a satellitebased navigation system made up of a network of satellites. With the reliance of satellites, GPS signals can easily be obstructed once you step indoors.

Beacon technology was developed to overcome the inherent limitations of satellite-based location information where smartphones are primarily used indoors. Beacons work by using Bluetooth transceivers that can run on a small coin battery. They can broadcast and receive

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signals from a range of two inches to 70 metres. Smartphones can pick up these signals and calculate the distance to each beacon in range. They can then trigger an app to perform various functions that can be helpful when trying to market to consumers on premise.

A key driver of commercial success with location-aware applications is real-time tracking, which involves using the triangulation method of measuring distance and angle to determine the

position of users. The challenge lies around the ability to determine positions within a limited space and address blocking and reflecting objects in indoor locations.

As a result of these various challenges, many businesses are awaiting a technological breakthrough to take their LBS projects indoors. The opportunities leveraged by analytic technologies could be the answer.

Using big data and predictive analytics

To apply beacon technology to sophisticated indoor

DATA SCIENCE

scenarios, IT engineers need to switch to a statistical approach. This could involve recording RSSI (Received Signal Strength Indicator) at different physical points to predict the position of mobile devices using machine learning algorithms.

This approach consists of four key steps: • User adoption: Beacon-powered apps can collect valuable data on consumers’ in-store activity if they provide a personalised and targeted offer. In order for customers to adopt technologies like beacon technology, retailers using these technologies must identify and satisfy customer needs and provide true, actionable, customer value.

• Data acquisition: This exercise starts by deploying beacons in different parts of the floor— choosing locations that will have minimum interference. Then, the signal strength is recorded at

“Beacons work by using Bluetooth transceivers that can run on a small coin battery. They can broadcast and receive Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) signals from a range of two inches to 70 metres. Smartphones can pick up these signals and calculate the distance to each beacon in range.” various points at particular intervals — that is, every one metre apart.

This will create a location points database that can be applied to smart analytics models.

• Training the model: The acquired data is fed into machine-learning algorithms to train the model on a signal pattern. The resultant signal pattern will be unique for each floor. Among several machinelearning algorithms available, two show promise for this class of

problem: Bayesian Inference and natural cubic spline. A third option is to use the brute-force approach, as embodied in the Nearest Neighbour algorithm.

• Real-time prediction: After training the model, businesses can reap the benefits of these efforts — the prediction. Take, for example, geo-fencing. When users walk into a building, their mobile devices receive signals from beacons. The RSSI of these signals

is then fed into the app running on the device, which uses fingerprint generation and recognition to predict their current location. Once these locations are made known, businesses and marketers can then harness this real-time information to deliver highly targeted and personalised retail experiences as users peruse a store, shopping centre or marketplace.

With proximity marketing set to be a US $52.46 billion market by 2022, there’s a clear and significant opportunity for retailers and marketers to take customer experiences to the next level for real gains. Those able to overcome the barriers of indoor LBS, and take advantage of data science technologies will be the ones ruling this space and earning the loyalty of consumers before competitors. PACE Cognizant Digital Works www.cognizant.com

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Control Components DECEMBER 2016 www.pacetoday.com.au 27

INDUSTRY 4.0

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is here. But are you ready?

First there was steam power. Then electricity. Then electronics and IT. Now the fourth industrial revolution has arrived, in a heady mix of cloud computing, generative design and additive manufacturing. Are you ready to ride the wave and gain maximum advantage from what is arguably mankind’s greatest step forward? Jim Ward writes.

T

hat was the question posed to more than 150 engineers and technicians at a workshop held in Perth in September by Autodesk, a global leader in the creation of software for architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, mining and the entertainment industry.

Richard Elving, Autodesk’s Manufacturing Sales Manager in Australia, said dominant technology trends - cloud computing, mobile technology, social connection, and collaboration - were driving businesses

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Richard Elving (Autodesk) is an award-winning sales manager with a 14-year sales career reflecting experience and outstanding performance in product design and manufacturing. He has an extensive network through the manufacturing community across Australia, Asia and Northern Europe, and a strong passion to enable innovation in manufacturing.

28 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

and consumers alike to explore profoundly different ways to design, make and use things.

Manufacturers have always been seeking ways to make things quicker, easier, cheaper, but now the new and growing expectation for products customised to the needs of individuals is posing a fundamental challenge to the current approach to product design and manufacture.

Dubbed “The future of making things”, the path ahead for the manufacturing sector world-wide is rich in opportunities but also littered with traps for the unwary. It’s a future that will involve three transformations – how things are designed and made, what customers care about and want and the nature of the products we make.

For the first time, large scale manufacturers face a serious challenge from smaller – even start-up – companies that are quick on their feet, take the massive computing power offered by cloud-based technologies as a given, and focus on imagination and innovation, creating new products and distribution methods for the future instead of simply looking for ways to tweak the present.

Key to the development of products in the future is the “Internet of Things” – the cloud-based linking of products worldwide to make a reality of concepts like the smart city and the driverless car.

“We moved on from the age of documentation to the era of optimisation. Now we have to prepare ourselves for the era of connection,” said Richard Elving.

“It’s estimated that by 2020 fifty billion products will be interconnected.”

He cited the example of Tesla cars, which use interconnectivity to send

updates to car owners, for example to increase power from the existing unit, or to solve problems that may arise.

Interconnectivity will facilitate the exchange of information between all the disciplines involved in the flow from concept, through design and engineering, to manufacture and distribution. This, say Autodesk, will replace the need to use multiple software programs that don’t talk to each other with a single product innovation platform that will extend from concept right through to customer feedback, to facilitate ongoing product improvement.

Autodesk is working towards the fulfillment of this need with Project Dreamcatcher, which it describes as the next generation of CAD. Dreamcatcher is a generative design system that enables designers to craft a definition of their design problem through goals and constraints. This information is used to synthesise alternative design solutions that meet the specified objectives. Designers can then explore trade-offs between many alternative approaches and select design solutions for manufacture.

This marks a massive step forward in the evolution of CAD. Although the acronym stands for “Computer Aided Design”, it is essentially a passive system that would more accurately be termed “Computer Aided Documentation”.

The emerging generation of design tools enables designers to go beyond simply telling the computer what to do. By feeding in objectives and restraints they can tell it what they want to achieve. This makes the computer not simply a tool for execution, but an active player in the process of creativity – a process that will produce literally hundreds of solutions, many of

which would lie outside the scope of human imagination.

When generative design is combined with new forms of manufacturing like 3D printing, which lends itself to smaller manufacturing spaces, total flexibility in product output and commercially feasible short production runs, it sets the scene for a complete restructure of the manufacturing sector.

This raises the other key question about the future of making things, which is the translation of generative design to the manufacturing process – “taking it from art to part”, in the lingo of the industry.

The most frequently touted solution is additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing.

Despite having many impressive runs on the board, AM is yet to win universal acceptance. Is it, as many still claim, just a fad?

No, say Autodesk. While Australia may be lagging behind industrial giants like the USA, China, Germany and Japan in the adoption of AM, its small and scattered population, coupled with the logistical problems associated with a preponderance of remotely located industries like mining and agriculture, makes it ideally suited to take up this flexible technology on a grand scale.

AM has clearly demonstrated its ability to go further than the economical manufacture of prototypes and short run products. Despite common perceptions, it is also well suited to long run mass production.

In Germany, a company servicing the medical industry last year produced ten million items using AM. And, importantly, variations to the original item did not involve expensive retooling – simply an amendment to the computer program.

Matthew Knight, senior technical

INDUSTRY 4.0

specialist, manufacturing, for Autodesk in Australia, illustrated the potency of the marriage between generative design and additive manufacturing by outlining a case study of a joint project between Autodesk, Airbus and New York design consultancy, The Living, to produce the world’s largest metal 3D printed aircraft component.

He explained that the specifications for the existing partition, currently in use in every Airbus in the world, were fed into the computer together with a number of weight and strength constraints.

From the myriad of solutions produced by the generative design program, one was selected that met – and exceeded – the criteria. The organic design, although complex in detail, was totally capable of being produced by a 3D metal printer. The finished product met all the prescribed aviation strength and safety criteria, and weighed in at 45 per cent less than the production item currently in use in the Airbus fleet.

Airbus estimates the new partition, which will be in operational service by 2018, will create a saving of up to 465,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions per year, the equivalent of taking about 96,000 passenger cars off the

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Matthew McKnight (Autodesk) is a mechanical design/ project engineer with over 15 years’ experience. His particular strengths lie in project management, with a proven ability to research, design, prototype, develop and implement innovative solutions.

road for one year. And of course, the application of generative design and additive manufacturing won’t stop there for the aircraft manufacturer.

The sky’s the limit!

Autodesk describe this as a perfect example of technology making the quantum leap from passive to generative.

Matthew McKnight said it had involved taking new approaches at every stage of the manufacturing process, from the software used to conceive and design the new partition, through the manufacturing hardware to the materials used in the end product.

“This is the way manufacturing is heading, and it’s what we should all be doing,” said Matthew.

“It’s not a question of if, but when these new technologies will be widely available.

“It’s a question of ‘be proactive, or be overtaken’,” he said.

One Western Australian company that has already emphatically opted for the proactive route is Perth-based Aurora Laboratories.

Established just two years ago, Aurora’s primary goal was to enable the mass adoption of 3D metal printing via new technologies that would significantly reduce the purchase price and make production faster and cheaper.

“Our first goal, which we recently achieved, was to build an industrial quality small format printer that could be marketed for around $50,000,” said Aurora’s managing director, David Budge.

Additive manufacturing costs are predicated on the weight, rather than the shape, of the item being produced – “the complexity comes free”, as David Budge puts it. In practical terms, this means that producing a complex shape like a turbine would cost roughly the same as producing a simple square block of the same weight in the same material.

“Our next goal is to produce a high speed, large format printer capable of producing a high-resolution one-tonne component in one day – which would take from three to six months using current technology,” said David.

“We’re currently building our first large format prototype, and we expect it to be commercially available within two years.

“It will have a massive impact on production costs and will seriously challenge the viability of traditional manufacturing methods, as well as the existing supply chain mentality,” he said.

Aurora’s vision for the large machine is that it will be able to produce a heavy and complex component, such as a 300kg pump or valve, for as little as $4,500, compared to a probable cost in the region of AU$80,000 using conventional manufacturing methods.

This, said David, will impact on the way people approach issues like spares inventory, for example on mines in remote areas, where currently the high cost of maintaining a large spares inventory has to be weighed against the loss of production caused by a long wait for parts.

Aurora is confident that as soon as AM costs match conventional methodologies like milling and casting, there will be a strong and sustained swing to the new technology.

With this will come major industrial changes, by no means limited to increased productivity and reduced costs.

Factories dedicated to a single product line – a car plant, for example – will give way to multipurpose production areas where AM machines can switch seamlessly from one product to another with a simple software change, and where modifications to individual products are just a matter of keystrokes.

The capacity to profitably produce in small quantities, and to tailor products to a client or consumer’s specific needs, will facilitate the localisation of businesses. This, in turn, will aid local development, at the same time greatly reducing the manufacturing sector’s transport footprint.

Richard Elving summarised Autodesk’s view on future directions for industry by reiterating that when generative design is combined with new forms of manufacturing like 3D printing and applied to small-scale production facilities, it sets the scene for the development of a very different manufacturing landscape.

“The future of making things heralds an entirely new way of approaching the manufacturing process, from concept to production,

and even the ongoing development and maintenance of the finished item. The potential benefits are, quite literally, staggering,” he said.

Richard said Autodesk was facilitating accessibility to its total software range by moving the provision of its products to a subscription system.

“Although this has only been in place for a matter of months, it has already led to an increase in uptake from both large and small companies.

It replaces the upfront cost and maintenance fees with a regular subscription that includes updates. If the software is acquired for a specific project, the subscription can be cancelled when the job is complete,” said Richard.

Autodesk software is used by more than 5,000,000 professionals and 200,000,000 consumers worldwide. PACE

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS David Budge, managing director of Aurora Laboratories, has a Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) degree from the University of Western Australia.

He has extensive industry experience in robotics, robotic welding, surfacing engineering, product development and manufacturing processes. He is recognised for his experience in solving difficult fabrication and surface engineering problems.

He is the primary inventor of the large majority of Aurora’s inventions.

DECEMBER 2016 www.pacetoday.com.au 29

MATERIALS HANDLING

Electric motors find new roles in robots, ships, cars, and microgrids MIT Professor James Kirtley discusses the transition from gas to electric motors and the impact these motors have had on modern technologies.

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lectric motors have been around since Thomas Davenport built the first functional model in 1834, and they have played a growing part in our lives ever since. Today, they continue to replace diesel and gas engines, as well as hydraulic cylinders, while evolving into new designs optimised for robots and other technologies.

“Something like 40 per cent of

30 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

electric power is used to drive motors, and that number will only grow,” said James Kirtley, a professor in MIT’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and in MIT’s Research Laboratory of Electronics.

“Electric motors are being used more widely in ships, airplanes, trains, and cars. We’re also seeing a lot more electric motors in robots.”

The ongoing transition from gas to electric is primarily driven by the

need for more efficient devices that run with cleaner energy sources. Yet, electric motors also tend to be more responsive, and are more adaptable to new applications, especially in smaller devices.

As one of the world’s leading experts on electric motors, Kirtley’s philosophy is that one size does not fit all.

“If you take into account the specific application, you can build a

motor that is far better adapted than a general purpose motor,” said Kirtley.

“For example, I’m working with someone who is making robots for medical assist, and he needs motors with very special characteristics.”

Many of the newer types of electric motors tend to be much smaller and run on less power than in the past.

“I started working with electric motors 40 years ago designing big nuclear generators with 20-foot long

MATERIALS HANDLING

rotors that were 6 feet in diameter and could produce a gigawatt and a half of power,” said Kirtley.

“I’m now building motors on the order of 100 to 200 Watts for appliance motors, which are kinder and gentler to the system powering them. In the automotive industry, the average automobile has dozens of small motors for things like door locks, wiper blades, air conditioning, and seat positioners.”

Even excluding the separate field of MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems), which Kirtley is not directly involved in, electric motors are now shrinking to as small as the 1W devices found in mobile phones. A variety of innovative new compact motors are being developed all over MIT, said Kirtley, who points to an interesting variable reluctance motor for a prosthetic foot being designed at MIT’s Center for Art, Science and Technology.

Clean transportation is another source of innovation in electric motors.

“In my lab we’re doing work with a small company in Cambridge that makes bicycle assist wheels,” said Kirtley.

“The wheel stores some energy, and can react to pedalling forces to help it climb hills. These are entirely new applications.”

Improving microgrids with smart motors

Kirtley’s early involvement with power-plant generators led him to study electric power systems. His research into the subject culminated in 2010 with his book, Electric Power Principles. Lately, he’s been focusing on the customer end of the system, where he is finding a role for electric motors in helping distribution systems adapt to intermittent, user-generated solar power.

“Electric power distribution systems are being stretched by the growing use of distributed renewable generation, such as rooftop solar,” said Kirtley.

“Typically, electricity is transmitted from large power plants through extra high voltage wires, and the voltage is stepped down and delivered to customers. The problem with rooftop solar is that it looks to the power system like a reduction in load, but as solar cells become more widespread, homes will at times be able to produce

more power than they’re consuming.

So the power flows backward, which makes everything more complicated.”

Utilities are now working on smart microgrids that can adapt to distributed, multidirectional power.

The greater flexibility is primarily enabled by smarter electronics, as well as efficient, distributed battery storage.

Yet, microgrids still have a problem with even brief power outages, which can sometimes cause them to shut down.

“We’re thinking about the dynamics of motors connected to microgrids, and how you can improve their stability and make them work better,” said Kirtley.

“We’re concerned about continuity of supply, which is especially important with microgrids supporting large server farms. You don’t want your system to be forced into an involuntary reboot simply because you had a glitch in the electric power supply. Electric motors can add more reliability.”

Electrifying the Cheetah robot

Many of the recent innovations in electric motors are found in robotics, which need smarter motors that can reliably deliver variable levels of power on demand for short periods.

Electric motors can provide mobile robots with significantly longer battery life compared to traditional hydraulic systems.

“Hydraulics are controlled primarily through throttle valves, so a lot of energy is wasted pumping and controlling the hydraulic fluid,” said Kirtley.

Kirtley has been working with Professor Jeffrey Lang on developing customised electric motors for Department of Mechanical Engineering colleague Sangbae Kim’s robotic cheetah, a running, jumping quadruped that has gained widespread publicity in recent years. The cheetah’s new motor is not only more efficient, but also more powerful, although only in short intervals.

“A secondary advantage of electric motors is responsiveness and control,” said Kirtley.

“We can build a motor that can produce considerable torque in short spikes, even if we can’t necessarily produce the forces for a long period of time. It’s perhaps a little too powerful

for the cheetah, which can now jump so high in the air, it probably wouldn’t survive the landing if they didn’t catch it.”

Electric motors transform ships

Most commercial ships still use diesel engines, while many naval vessels use gas turbine engines. Yet shipping is quickly moving toward electric propulsion, motivated primarily by efficiency, said Kirtley. Aside from nuclear-powered vessels, these tend to be hybrid systems in which diesel or gas generators drive an electric motor.

“A traditional gear drive for ships has some very decided disadvantages,” he said.

“For example, most destroyers in the U.S. Navy have gearboxes with very precise machining requirements, and are therefore expensive. They also require a fixed gear ratio between the engine and the water, so the prime mover is not operating near its peak fuel efficiency. Because of that, much of commercial shipping, and virtually all cruise ships, are now moving to electric propulsion, and even the U.S. Navy is starting to use it for its latest destroyer.”

The other problem with fuel-driven gear-drive engines is “the tyranny of the shaft line,” said Kirtley.

“If you’re going to use a direct gear drive, the engine, gearbox, and propeller must line up very precisely, which often takes up valuable real estate within the body of the ship.

With electric propulsion, we don’t have that problem. The engines can be placed anywhere where it’s convenient.

In cruise ships, for example, the motors are placed in a pod underneath the ship.”

Electric cars: adapting the engine to the road

The main difference between electric propulsion on ships vs. cars is related to torque requirements, said Kirtley.

“On a ship, top speed defines the torque requirement,” he explained.

“Automobile propulsion occurs across a speed range of about 10 to 1, with an engine that idles at 600rpm capable of redlining at about 6,000rpm. The best motors for cars are those that are adaptable to a very wide speed range.”

The variable speeds used in a car

require that “the gearbox adapt the engine to the road,” said Kirtley.

“You can generate an electric motor that can propel an automobile without a gear shift.”

In the past, Kirtley has consulted with Tesla Motors on its electric cars, and both agree that “the induction motor is the best for electric automobiles,” said Kirtley. Many other electric car manufacturers are still using permanent magnet motors, which he says are intrinsically less efficient in the wide speed and torque range required by car propulsion.

“For any given electric motor there is a tradeoff between excitation — making the operating magnetic field within the machine — and reaction, providing current to push on that exciting field inside the machine,” explained Kirtley.

“In a permanent magnet machine that field is constant and cannot be adjusted, so a machine that is turning very fast but making relatively little torque is dropping a lot of power in losses in the machine’s magnetic iron. In an induction motor you can back off on the excitation to provide torque at the energetically optimal fashion. You can improve the drive efficiency of a car over a complete drive cycle by as much of a factor of two in fewer losses.”

Induction motors aren’t optimal for all applications, however, which brings Kirtley back to his main thesis: “In the development of motors for modern applications, it is most important to understand the totality of operational requirements,” he said.

“That is key to making electric motors that will accomplish what they do best: provide motion in a responsive and efficient fashion.” PACE This article was published with permission from MIT News

Professor James Kirtley Image: David Sella DECEMBER 2016 www.pacetoday.com.au 31

INDUSTRIAL INTERNET OF THINGS

Progressing towards an Industrial Internet of Things Collecting the wealth of data created by sensors and actuators in factories is vital to working smarter, though we’re currently only harnessing maybe a 20th of what’s being produced. Jas Singh from ifm Efector shares some thoughts about using the rest. Written by Syed Shah and Brent Balinski.

T

he last few years have seen plenty of discussions on making factories smarter, often within the context of the Industry 4.0 vision.

Fully realised, the factory of the next industrial revolution will feature six design principles: interoperability (all components can talk to each other), virtualisation (a digital twin of everything in the factory, enabled by linking sensor data to virtual models), decentralisation (systems able to operate on their own), realtime capability, a service orientation, and modularity (components can be switched out flexibly and easily).

Sensor specialist ifm claims that for a factory with these principles to be made, this will require “smart connectivity to smart sensors”.

One leading area in the move to Industry 4.0 is IO-Link, a standard protocol expanding IEC 61131-9

32 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

for programmable controllers. It allows - rather than just simple, binary information - for the communication of process data, service data and events.

This point-to-point sensor/actuator connection is a place factories - and the companies supplying their automation needs - are looking to as we progress towards an Industrial Internet of Things. It is also the starting point of this Q and A with Singh, who also discusses ifm’s efforts to make this data useful through software, plans involving machine vision, the shortage of “true IIoT products” delivered in the market, and more.

PACE: Could you tell us about the importance of IO-Link?

Jas Singh, Systems and Solutions Manager at ifm Efector: As a company we are deploying smarter sensor technology, using IO-Link

functionality in all our sensors, which means a modern sensor is able to provide a lot of data. For example, typically a flow meter would give you just the flow rates or the totaliser, but since the introduction of IO-Link into the sensors, they can provide a lot more information.

You are actually getting a lot more information out of the sensors than before.

So ifm is positioning itself and putting itself into the Industrial Internet of Things market, first of all, by introducing IO-Link technology into its sensors.

[We’re also] introducing a lot of software to look at the data, to monitor the data, to allow management to do historical analysis, and so on. So IIoT sensors are only one part in the IIoT domain. The other part of the equation in this particular instance

is software systems and solutions.

You are actually getting a lot more information out of the sensors than before. The Industrial Internet of Things is all about gathering data out of the devices.

IO-Link enables that functionality to take place, basically to get much smarter data out of the devices, and a lot more of it.

PACE: Could expand on your Smart Observer product for condition and energy monitoring?

JS: This particular system gets the information from all the IO-Link slaves using IO-Link masters - we call them IOT Boxes. They gather all the data from the sensors and push the data into a software solution called a Smart Observer. ifm has initially introduced the Smart Observer as a software

INDUSTRIAL INTERNET OF THINGS

product, but we are building on the Smart Observer to provide further analytical tools. For example, soon we will be introducing a module for efficiency, a module for quality; so a plant would be able to look at the quality of products being introduced or be able to monitor the efficiency of a particular machine and so on. So the software solutions are not limited just to monitoring purposes. They will be expanding as well, to provide a lot more tools to manufacturing and general industry to be more efficient.

JS: Vision systems and sensors are going to form a big part of the future in the IIoT domain, if you are talking with respect to IIoT at this stage. Because quality is something that everyone is going to look at in the future - or people are going to be looking more and more and quality is becoming one of the big deliverables of the IIot initiative. So going forward, vision is going to play a big, big role in the IoT domain.

PACE: To take a detour for just a moment, can you tell us where you see machine vision fitting in regarding the factories of the future?

JS: ifm is introducing 3D vision technologies, 3D vision systems at the moment, as well as working on 2D vision technologies to interface directly with our software solutions

PACE: How is ifm approaching this?

in the future. So the data comes from the devices, from the sensors, and goes directly to the software, which provides quality parameters about the product.

PACE: You’ve said that you consider IIoT a hugely disruptive concept.

What needs to happen before it is made more useful and widespread?

Does the market need more education?

JS: Just to give some idea, it is a known fact that only 5 per cent of the information from the sensors is actually used - 95 per cent of the information is actually disregarded.

The data is disregarded.

[Also] in my eyes, a true IIoT product has not actually been implemented by a lot of companies.

Everyone’s definition of IIoT at this stage is very different. From my perspective and from ifm’s perspective, the market is still open for IIoT products. So the software systems and solutions are still - I guess old legacy systems, their licensing systems are old, and IIoT in my eyes is disruptive. It is a disruptive technology in the market. So there will be big scope, and I don’t think it will be a particular sector that will benefit from it more than the others.

Maybe agriculture is one of them which looks like it’s going to get big benefits, from the research that’s being done, but for the industrial domain I don’t believe there are many IIoT products at this stage. PACE ifm electronic www.ifm.com

DECEMBER 2016 www.pacetoday.com.au 33

ADVERTORIAL

Canberra Hospital cures its energy woes with sun therapy Canberra Hospital is a 24-hour medical facility that needs a lot of power - in fact, it uses 18 per cent of the entire ACT Government’s electricity. As part of the Carbon Neutral ACT Government Fund, the government provided $3.3 million to the hospital to assist it in becoming a more efficient user of energy. This included the installation of a solar PV array on the roof of the multi-storey car park and an upgrade to energy efficient lighting.

Strengthening sustainability practices

Tasked to find the best solution, Solgen Energy Group value-engineered the best solution by utilising cuttingedge innovations such as 60kW string inverters, long-term maintenance provisions such as walkways and water outlets. This, the company said, was delivered by “the most costefficient construction program and methodology”.

Solgen drew from their experience on similar works including Adelaide Airport, which had close similarity in

BENEFITS The installation of 503 Kilowatts of solar power at Canberra Hospital will: • Cut the hospital’s annual energy use by a whopping 721,000kWh • Save a massive $490,000 a year in energy bills by 2017 • Significantly improve energy efficiency at the hospital • Demonstrate positive action on climate change PROJECT DETAILS • Location System size Solar panel No. of panels • ACT 503kW Trina Solar 260W 1936 • Date Connection Inverter No. of inverters • October, 2016 On-grid SMA STP60 8 34 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

technical scope, to bid for the project.

The ACT government for its part, assessed the tender on the basis of past performance and demonstration that the works would be completed within schedule and to the Territory’s strictest work health and safety requirements.

Maximum efficiency with minimal maintenance

All up, a total of 1936 solar panels were installed on the roof of the car park. Solgen used the Trina 260W Duomax – glass panels which provide a 30-year performance warranty rather

than the standard 25-year warranty.

The Trina panels, which also selfclean better than standard panels, were tilt-mounted to the roof surface on a non-penetrative aluminum railing system. A breglass walkway was installed to allow access for maintenance purposes combined with an aluminum handrail on the roof to reduce the risk to those that need to access the roof.

The cables from the panels run into eight rooftop combiner boxes that are fed back into the inverter room. Due to limited space, Solgen

used SMA STP 60 inverters because of their higher power density, in order to reduce the number of inverters required.

Solgen established its own construction compound for the duration of the project, underwent an active certification audit on its WHS system during construction, and pre-assembled the majority of the structural components prior to installation to minimise disruptions to the 24-hour service. PACE For more information, visit www.solgen. com.au

We’ve powered Canberra Hospital with solar energy

Canberra Hospital is a 24-hour facility that previously used 18 per cent of the ACT Government’s electricity. With a solar power system, the hospital has a healthy, sustainable future and is set to save a significant amount on its energy bills.

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enquiries@solgen.com.au solgen.com.au

SOLAR ENERGY

Stanford team sets solar storage record Solar energy has the potential to provide abundant power, but only if scientists solve two key issues: storing the energy for use at all hours, particularly at night, and making the technology more cost effective. Now an interdisciplinary team at Stanford has made significant strides toward solving the storage issue, demonstrating the most efficient means yet of storing electricity captured from sunlight in the form of chemical bonds, writes Tom Abate.

I

f the team can find a way of lowering the cost of their technology, they say it would be a huge step toward making solar power a viable alternative to current, more polluting energy sources.

The basic science behind the team’s approach is well understood: use the electricity captured from sunlight to split water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen gas. That stored energy can be recovered later by recombining the hydrogen and oxygen into water to release electricity again, or by burning the hydrogen gas in an internal combustion engine, similar to those running on petroleum products today.

Although the process is well understood, the challenge has been turning this science into an efficient

36 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

industrial process. That’s where a team led by Thomas Jaramillo, an associate professor of chemical engineering and of photon science, and James Harris, a professor of electrical engineering, has made a significant improvement.

In work published in Nature Communications, they were able to capture and store 30 per cent of the energy captured from sunlight into stored hydrogen, beating the prior record of 24.4 per cent.

“This milestone brings us much closer to a sustainable and practical process to use water-splitting as a storage technology,” said Jaramillo.

“Improving efficiency has a remarkable impact on lowering costs.

We have to continue work on finding more ways to lower the costs to compete with conventional fuels.”

Improved energy storage

The starting point of their system is the solar cell they used in their experiments, one that is very different – and more expensive – than the typical rooftop solar arrays. While typical rooftop arrays are based on silicon, the Stanford team employed solar cells pioneered by Harris’ lab that use three less-common semiconductor materials.

They are called triple-junction solar cells because each material is tuned to capture blue, green or red light, respectively. Through this precision, triple-junction solar cells convert 39 per cent of incoming solar energy into electricity, compared with roughly 20 per cent for silicon-based, single-junction solar cells found on rooftops worldwide.

The most important question for the team, though, was not how much energy they captured, but how much energy was stored through water splitting. To solve that question, Jaramillo and his collaborators built on research they have been conducting on how to improve the performance of catalysts – materials that speed up chemical reactions but are not consumed in the process.

To store electricity captured from sunlight, the team looked in particular at watersplitting catalysts, in which electrons flow through the catalytic materials to break apart the stable H2O molecule.

Much of the catalytic process in the Stanford experiment is built on their previous advances in the area, with one particularly important approach to achieve their record energy capture.

Most photovoltaic-powered water-splitting reactions use a single electrolysis device, but this team was able to combine two identical electrolysis devices in such a manner to produce twice as much hydrogen, making use of their higher-efficiency solar cells and putting them to work.

“Tuning all the elements, electronics and the chemistry was critical,” said Harris.

“The entire system has to be perfectly balanced or the process wouldn’t work at all.”

When their experiment was done, their measurements showed that 30 per cent of the energy originally collected by the triple-junction solar cells had been stored in the form of hydrogen gas.

Addressing costs

Now that the Stanford team has demonstrated this record-setting efficiency in the use of water-splitting to store sun power, the focus shifts to costs: the triple-junction solar cells and catalysts they used, which included platinum, are fine for proofof-principle experiments but not for an industrial process.

“But what we’ve done is demonstrate how a systems approach can vastly improve storage efficiency,” said Jaramillo.

“Now we have to find ways to get similar results with less expensive materials and devices.” PACE This article was published with permission from Stanford News.

BATTERY TECHNOLOGY

Solid state batteries: a better class of Li-ion electrolytes?

I

n 2016, Li-ion batteries (LIB) celebrated their silver jubilee, i.e. they have been on the market, virtually unchanged, for the last 25 years. While this anniversary marks and underscores their worldwide success and diffusion in consumer electronics and, more recently, electric vehicles (EV), the underlying technology has begun to show its limitations in terms of safety, performance, form factor, and cost.

In a newly released report entitled Solid-State and Polymer Batteries 20172027: Technology, Markets, Forecasts, IDTechEx has covered the solid-state electrolyte industry in a 10-year forecast through to 2027 in terms of number of devices sold, capacity production and market size (predicted to reach over US$7B by 2027).

According to the research firm, the first lithium-based solid-state battery was the lithium-iodine battery, where a sheet of lithium metal is placed in contact with solid iodine. These

primary batteries were commercialised in the early 70s to power pacemaker devices, but it was not until a few years ago that sulphide-based materials, belonging to the thio-LISICON family, finally demonstrated that solid-state batteries can be made rechargeable and possibly outperform their liquid counterparts.

“The [li-ion battery] has begun to show its limitations in terms of safety, performance, form factor and cost. ” Recently ARPA-E program director Paul Albertus announced the US-backed “Ionics” initiative, a three-legged roadmap to support R&D on solid-state batteries. With a

total investment of US$37M, Ionics is poised to become the foundry of US-labelled next generation batteries, because solid-state batteries can enable smaller, safer, and better energy storage devices. This can be achieved by leveraging the remarkable properties of solid materials that have been developed over the last years, like garnets, thio-LISICONs, and perovskites.

Companies like Ford Motor, Toyota, Samsung, and Toshiba are already actively working on solid electrolytes, while many hail the technological achievements of French company Bolloré as an initial step on rechargeable lithium metal polymer batteries. At the same time, consumers demand better, longlasting batteries that will not catch fire in their hands like the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, and solid-state electrolytes have the potential to solve those issues.

These and other factors, including

the surge in popularity of electric cars, wearable devices and drones, are pushing the battery industry towards solid-state electrolytes. Solid-state batteries can be made thinner, flexible, and contain more energy per unit weight than conventional Li-ion.

The IDTechEx research report covers both inorganic solid electrolytes and polymer electrolytes, with an analysis of where these two chemistries will most likely find applications. An analysis on thio-LISICONs and the other 7 solid electrolyte chemistries (garnet, halides, perovskites, argyrodites, LiPON, hydrides, NASICON-like) and polymer electrolytes is given.

Additionally, comparisons are made between liquid-based Li-ion batteries and solid-based batteries, as well as between thin film and bulk solid-state batteries. PACE This article was written by Dr Lorenzo Grande, Technology Analyst at IDTechEx DECEMBER 2016 www.pacetoday.com.au 37

NEW PRODUCTS

Electric actuators for military vessels AUMA has released the SGM Part-Turn Actuator and SVM Globe Valve Actuator for automation of valves on military vessels. The actuators are available in five shock grades, including the WTD classification according to BV 0430[2] for submarines (400g) or further certification according to MIL-S-901D (Navy). These actuators are suitable for deployment on military vessels due to their highly compact design, enclosure protection to IP68 standards and corrosion protection. According to the company, low-noise service is a particular benefit for the comfort of the crew while increasing the vessel’s stealth.

The variable speed actuators are used for modulating applications and/or for integration into distributed control systems, placing higher demands on the functionality of the field devices. The internal speed control does not exclusively cater for precise positioning during modulating duty. This control feature ensures soft starts and stops, acting gently on all mechanical components. Operation profiles with variable speed help to avoid critical states within the valve such as pressure surges or cavitation.

Barron 02 8437 4300 www.barron.com.au

Submersible level probe KROHNE has introduced the OPTIBAR LC 1010, a submersible level probe enabling continuous hydrostatic level measurement in water wells, rainwater basins or tanks. The probe features a 316L stainless steel housing and a high overload-proof ceramic diaphragm for a long operating life. For safe and easy cleaning on site, the diaphragm is flush mounted.

With a diameter of 22mm, it can also be used in small vessels.

It comes with pre-configured measuring

ranges from 100mbar/10kPa/1.5psi to up to 10bar/1MPa/150psi, with customer-specific ranges available on request.

For versatile use in water and wastewater applications, the probe features ATEX and IECEx certification and a corrosion-resistant TPE cable that is also approved for use with potable water. Next to the electrical lines for the 4…20mA output, the TPE cable houses an air hose to be used for differential pressure level measurement with closed vessels. With open vessels, the air hose can be capped for absolute pressure measurement. As options, the probe can be provided with an integrated 3-wire Pt100 temperature sensor, or with HART 7 communication for convenient configuration.

Laser tracker FARO has announced a new addition to its Vantage Laser Tracker product line. The new VantageE enables high-speed dynamic measurement, and according to the company, is affordably priced for customers who demand high performance while working with short-to-medium range applications.

The laser tracker has a range of up to 25 metres through the company’s fifth-generation TruADM (Absolute Distance Meter) technology, which enables fully-dynamic measurement capabilities.

It is able to continuously scan and take measurements while a spherical optical probe is tracked across the surface of the part, object or assembly. If the laser beam is interrupted at any time while the probe is being moved, the user can simply and instantly reacquire the beam and continue measuring.

The laser tracker provides full support for the company’s Super 6DoF (Degrees of Freedom) TrackArm solution, which enables a Vantage Tracker and one or more ScanArms to work together to create an integrated 3D measurement system. It is suited for applications such as quality inspection, tool-building, alignment and reverse engineering.

Faro www.faro.com

38 www.pacetoday.com.au DECEMBER 2016

Krohne Australia 02 9426 1700 au.krohne.com

Lightweight, fully-rugged tablet PANASONIC has launched the FZ-A2 Android tablet, which it claims is the world’s lightest fullyrugged Android 10.1” Toughpad tablet. The tablet is suitable for highly mobile outdoor workers in challenging conditions, with its IP65 rated hardware and sunlightviewable 10-finger multi-touch IPS display, flexible configurable ports and business expansion capability, as well as enterprise class security.

It also has the ability to work below zero or above 50°C, and the touchscreen can be used in the rain or while wearing gloves.

The tablet is lightweight (880g) and slim (16.4mm deep) with a fanless design, and runs the latest Android 6.0 Marshmallow operating system with Enterprise Security from Android for Work. It is equipped with the latest Intel Atom x5-Z8550 Quad Core processor with 4GB RAM and a 32GB eMMC. Panasonic Australia 13 26 00 www.panasonic.com/au

NEW PRODUCTS

Compact Ethernet I/O modules ACROMAG has released its BusWorks 900EN series of rugged networked I/O modules. These modules feature universal input/output ranges and an intelligent microcontroller to provide flexibility and powerful monitoring and control capabilities.

Users can select from a variety of analog and discrete I/O models to meet their application needs. Each inch-wide module has a direct network interface, processes I/O signals on up to twelve channels, and handles power conversion.

According to the company, this space-saving approach is cost-effective for systems that need to add I/O channels at an existing control site or network to new remote sites. By comparison, many other “block I/O” devices would require a large, expensive processor block, an I/O rack,

Photoelectric sensors IFM has introduced its PMD line of sensors, including the OID and O5D type photoelectric sensors for use on production lines, in factory processes, construction, mining sites and other industrial environments. The sensors have reliable background suppression and colour-independent detection.

The OID has a simple switch point setting by rotatable setting ring with integrated locking function, whereas the O5D has two pushbuttons and a LED display.

The sensors feature reliable detection regardless of whether the object is shiny, matte, dark or light. They allow any angle of incidence, enabling flexible mounting positions. This simplifies installation and saves costs.

Furthermore, the sensors have background suppression, a visible laser light, a measuring range of 0.03m to 2m and background suppression up to 20m. They also have two switching outputs, overload protection, switching frequency of 11Hz, operating voltage of 10…30VDC and a life expectancy of 50,000 hours. The laser beam can be switched off via IO Link or pin 5 on the M12 connector. ifm electronic www.ifm.com

individual plug-in I/O terminal blocks, and a special system power supply.

The I/O modules are easily configured using a standard web browser. Each I/O module has embedded web pages to help in the set up and control of the unit. These web pages are a step by step guide to configure network settings, calibrate the module, and test operation. Furthermore, all I/O modules have a watchdog that monitors the microcontroller for failed operations or a “lockup” condition and automatically resets the unit.

If host communication is lost and a configurable watchdog timer expires, all analog and discrete outputs go to a “fail-safe” condition.

Metromatics 07 3868 4255 www.metromatics.com.au

Mobile wireless monitor for industrial safety HONEYWELL has announced the next generation of its AreaRAE Plus multi-threat monitor, to be released in Australia in March/April 2017. The AreaRAE now offers more sensor choices, meteorological monitoring and GPS-enabled location identification of hazards to help connected workers and safety managers make faster and more informed safety decisions. Being a transportable monitor, it offers more than 20 sensor choices, can communicate wireless signals up to two miles to a receiver, and has multiple configuration options to provide both on-the-scene

and remote safety information for industrial safety managers.

The monitor accommodates up to seven sensors that can be easily switched out as needs change.

Users can select from over 20 sensors for toxic and combustible gases at the lower explosive limit (LEL), oxygen, and a photoionisation detector (PID) that monitors volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at parts per million levels for quick, accurate response.

It can also accept an optional meteorological sensor to monitor factors affecting the dispersion and direction of gas plumes, such as wind speed and direction, and use that data to develop a visual plume model on a computer loaded with Honeywell’s realtime monitoring software, which aids in predicting the spread of a gas leak and planning of additional safety measures.

Honeywell www.honeywell.com

Torque sensor for static & dynamic measurement BESTECH Australia has introduced a high precision torque sensor designed for both static and dynamic measurements on non-rotating applications.

Applications include torque measurements on extremely small electrical actuating drives and micromechanical actuator elements, or for measuring reaction torques such as on micro motors. The high accuracy of measurement also makes this sensor suited for use as a reference in many fields of industrial manufacture, or in

laboratory research and development projects.

As the sensor does not contain any rotating parts, it requires no maintenance if used properly. Installation is also simple with the inclusion of mounting brackets and flange adaptors, allowing quick and practical integration of the sensor into existing or newlydeveloped setups and test benches.

Its main features include: Measurement ranges from 0 … 0.01 Nm to 0 …

10 Nm • Linearity error from ≤ 0.05 % F.S. • Output signal ± 10 V / USB (optional) • Tare function, filter and average values configurable Bestech Australia 03 9540 5100 www.bestech.com.au DECEMBER 2016 www.pacetoday.com.au 39

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