Suggestions for An Efficient Industrial Steam System

(image courtesy of OSHA.gov)

Here is a video, courtesy of Armstrong International, which provides a broad overview, and suggestions for proper use, of the key components of a well designed steam system.  Covered in this video are:

• 4 basic components of a steam system
• Water-side care
• Steam mains
• Drip legs and drip traps
• Branch piping, or runouts
• Non-condensible gases
• Proper selection of trap type and size
• Thermostatic and thermodynamic traps
• Thermostatic air vents
• Vacuum breakers
• Condensate management
• Heat exchangers
• Return lines

For more information on any steam or hot water system, contact:

Mead O'Brien
(800) 892-2769
www.meadobrien.com

Innovative Pressure Transmitter Automatically Selects Calibration Range

Foxboro S Series

Typical 2-wire intelligent transmitters require the operator to manually program and use a single calibration range suited to the specific application. Not anymore. A winner of a 2015 Flow Control Innovation Award has come up with a significant change in transmitter set-up.

Foxboro, through its patented “Foxcal” firmware allows the Foxboro models IDP10S, IGP10S, IAP10S transmitters to automatically select and use any of 11 preset calibration ranges (stored in firmware). These calibration ranges cover the full pressure range of the transmitter. Upon installation, the S Series transmitter automatically selects the appropriate calibration range based on application inputs; and, if application inputs change, automatically transitions to another, more appropriate calibration range – all while maintaining a reference accuracy of 0.05%.

It is the first pressure transmitter to incorporate not only multiple calibration curves, but the ability to automatically select and transfer between them in real time. With the new technology, users have a wide-range capability with high reference accuracy for all industries requiring precise differential, gauge, and absolute pressure measurement. Additional benefits are inventory reduction and simplified tech training. Because of their wide turndown range with such high reference accuracy, adopting one model of S Series transmitter eliminates the need to inventory, learn, and maintain multiple transmitter models that handle more limited ranges (e.g., 150 psi, 800 psi, 4000 psi).

The Foxboro IDP10S datasheet can be downloaded here.

Or, you can review it online below:

Foxboro IDP10S Intelligent Transmitter from Mead O'Brien, Inc.

For more information, contact:
Mead O’Brien
(800) 892-2769
sales@meadobrien.com
www.meadobrien.com

Cybersecurity, ISA, and Automation Federation and How We Got Here

Author, Stephen R. Huffman, Vice President, Marketing and Business Development, at Mead O’Brien, Inc.

Published: InTech Magazine, May-June 2015

Cybersecurity and
Automation

Technical leaders had the foresight to create the ISA99 standards committee back in 2002. They recognized the need for cybersecurity standards in areas outside of the traditional information technology (IT), national security, and critical infrastructure areas of concentration at the time. In the following years, a number of ISA99 committee members spent time and effort advocating and even testifying on Capitol Hill about our profession, which was not well defined, and our cybersecurity efforts therein, which were not well discerned from IT perceptions.

When Automation Federation (AF) refocused its efforts in 2007 with both automation profession advocacy and industrial automation and control system (IACS) cybersecurity as two of its strategic imperatives, we ventured forth to Capitol Hill with a message and a plan. We found that in general our lawmakers equated process and industrial automation as “IT” and thought that IT was already addressing cybersecurity in terms of identity theft and forensics, and that the Department of Defense was handling cyberprotection for national security. For the next several years, AF built its story around cyberthreats in the operational technology (OT) area and how ISA99 through its series of standards, technical reports, and work group output was providing guidance for asset owners, system integrators, and control system equipment manufacturers specifically for securing IACS.

The operating philosophy of IT cybersecurity versus OT cybersecurity is quite different. Although the approach of shutting down operations, isolating cybersecurity issues, and adding patches may work well to mitigate IT breaches, the same cannot be said for operating units in a real-time process. In short, it really is not feasible to “reboot the plant.” The message resonated enough for us to help create the Liebermann-Collins Cybersecurity Senate Bill introduced in 2012, but opposition (more political than reasonable) doomed this first effort.

In 2013, the President issued Executive Order 13636 for enhancing cybersecurity protection for critical infrastructure. It included directing the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) to establish a framework that organizations, regulators, and customers can use to create, guide, assess, or improve comprehensive cybersecurity programs. Of the more than 200 proposals submitted by organizations receiving a request for proposal, almost all were IT-based. The AF/ISA submittal took the perspective of operational technology backed by the strength of the existing ISA99 set of standards. After a set of five framework meetings of invited participants, including the AF “framework team,” over the course of 2013, the OT and IACS teams were much more successful in defining the needs, and the automation message was much better understood. NIST personnel with legislative experience with AF on the 2012 Senate bill understood that private industry is a key piece of the cybersecurity and physical security puzzle.

AF organized a series of NIST framework rollout meetings in 2014 around the country with attendees from the AF team, NIST, and the White House. The meetings were hosted by state manufacturing extension partnerships, which are state units of NIST. After these meetings and more work with Senate lawmakers, a bipartisan Senate bill, The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act, was signed by the President and put into law in December 2014 (www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/1353). In summary, the act authorizes the Secretary of Commerce through the director of NIST to facilitate and support the development of a voluntary, consensus-based, industry-led set of standards and procedures to cost effectively reduce cyberrisks to critical infrastructure. As you can imagine, ISA99, now IEC/ISA 62443, will play a more prominent role in securing the control systems of industry in the future through a public-private information-sharing partnership. Thanks for the foresight and fortitude of the ISA99 standards committee.

The Steam Table, Terms and Heat Transfer Concepts

Steam Table, courtesy of
Armstrong International
(click image for larger view)

Here are some basic steam terms associated with the Steam Table (left). Below is a slideshow of basic heat transfer concepts.

Saturated steam is pure steam at the temperature that corresponds to the boiling temperature of water at the existing pressure.

Absolute and Gauge Pressures
Absolute pressure is pressure in pounds per square inch (psia) above a perfect vacuum. Gauge pressure is pressure in pounds per square inch above atmospheric pressure, which is 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute. Gauge pressure (psig) plus 14.7 equals absolute pressure. Or, absolute pressure minus 14.7 equals gauge pressure.

Pressure/Temperature Relationship
For every pressure of pure steam there is a corresponding temperature. Example: The temperature of 250 psig pure steam is always 406°F.

Heat of Saturated Liquid
This is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a pound of water from 32°F to the boiling point at the pressure and temperature shown. It is expressed in British thermal units (Btu).

Latent Heat or Heat of Vaporization
The amount of heat (expressed in BTU) required to change a pound of boiling water to a pound of steam. This same amount of heat is released when a pound of steam is condensed back into a pound of water. This heat quantity is different for every pressure/temperature combination.

Total Heat of Steam
The sum of the Heat of the Liquid and Latent Heat in Btu. It is the total heat in steam above 32°F. Specific Volume of Liquid. The volume per unit of mass in cubic feet per pound.

Specific Volume of Steam
The volume per unit of mass in cubic feet per pound.

Basic Heat Transfer Concepts from Mead O'Brien, Inc.

For more information about any commercial or industrial steam or hot water systems, contact:

Mead O’Brien, Inc.

10800 Midwest Industrial Blvd

St. Louis, Missouri 63132

Phone (314) 423-5161

Toll Free (800) 874-9655

Fax (314) 423-5707

Email: sales@meadobrien.com

www.meadobrien.com

Product Update - New Valve Actuator Series From Limitorque

New Limitorque CEA Series Valve Actuator
Courtesy Flowserve Corp.

Industrial process control encompasses a broad range of fluid handling operations. A significant part of fluid control is accomplished by valves, many of which are operated automatically through the use of actuators. Actuators are mounted on valves in place of, or in addition to, a handwheel, lever, or other manual means of opening and closing the valve. With an actuator installed, a control signal can be transmitted from a remote source to the actuator, commanding a change in valve position, and the actuator will respond by converting some form of connected energy into mechanical motion that positions the valve accordingly.

Modern actuators are increasingly endowed with functions that provide information to the process operator, closing the loop with feedback that confirms the valve position, suitability of the energy supply to the actuator, and a range of other specialized data points.

An eternal desire of all process operators is a reduction in whatever level of maintenance that is currently required to keep everything operating. Maintenance is costly and time consuming, a set of many specialized tasks, each with a probability of not being completed properly.

Flowserve Corporation, under their well known Limitorque brand, has designed and launched a new series of electric actuators, the CEA Series, that provide real benefits for operation and maintenance in light-to-medium duty applications. Some of the highlights....

• Auto calibration and a user-friendly HMI provide optimized commissioning. Standard diagnostics include torque monitoring and actuator temperature, with early warning detection of undesirable conditions and an alarm output.
• Application specific brushless DC motors and worm gear drives reduce downtime. Tests have demonstrated reliability of up to 250,000 cycles. Modulating service can provide 1800 starts per hour with 0.1% position accuracy.
• Suitable for applications with rotary duty requirements of 90 and 180 degrees, as well as multi-turn duty to 20 turns.
• Available through a network of professional industrial process control distributors, with application assistance and product expertise.
• CEA is fully qualified to NEMA Type 4, 4X and6, IP66/68 Class 1, Div 1 and 2, Gps B,C,D (CSA,FM) and ATEX II 2G Ex d IIB +H2 T4: IECEx II 2G Ex d IIB +H2 T4.

The CEA actuator is available in seven sizes and five variants, serving torque requirements up to 15,000 in-lbs (1695 Nm). Contact a product specialist to find out more about this new product and discuss your potential applications.

Limitorque CEA Actuator Data Sheet from Mead O'Brien, Inc.

StoneL Axiom Limit Switch as Your Valve Automation Plant Standard

This video presents the StoneL Axiom limit switch as a strong plant standardization contender for all your valve automation needs.

The Axiom not only has all components incorporated integrally, it is a space efficient design utilizing the most flexible components for most applications: 20-125 VAC or DC monitoring feedback and solenoid control; 5-way, 2-position solenoid control with selection for either direct acting or spring return actuators in two Cv flow capacities for a wide range of actuators; bus communication modules and low power solenoid valves, re-breather solenoid functions, and manual override, all in a very rugged package.

For more information, contact:
Mead O'Brien
(800) 892-2769
www.meadobrien.com

Welcome to Mead O'Brien's Steam, Valve, Process Control, and HVAC Blog

Welcome and thanks for visiting. We established this blog as a means to provide educational information in the field of steam management, industrial hot water systems, industrial valves, and process instruments.

Our weekly posts will attempt to teach the reader something new and interesting in the field of industrial control and HVAC.

We hope you enjoy our content and please visit back often.