Valve Monitoring in Oil Sand Refinery Cooker
Introduction:
This customer a world leading manufacturer of valve systems for many different industries. They manufacture ball, needle, control, gate, choke and many other types of valve systems from small to very large diameters.
Application / Problem:
This application note describes a very specific data acquisition project in a unique industry. One of the companies customers is operating a tar sand refinery and uses a special 3 way switching valve in to control the flow of tar sand into the different cooking towers. In the past the operation of the valve was not always reliable and failures of the valve cause very costly shutdowns of the refining process.
Proposal / Solution / Hardware:
The customer installed a Delphin TopMessage data acquisition and and data logging system to record all data during the valve movement to monitor the correct operation of valve. A TopMessage data logger with an 8 channels ADFT module with synchronously sampled, high speed analog inputs was selected. The system measures the current consumption, voltage in the 3 phase control motor. The strain sensor measures force and torque during the movement of the valve. The analog inputs are configured for 1 kHz sample rate per channel.
The installed sensors are:
- 1 x Strain gauge for torque measurement
- 3 x Motor current probes
- 1 x Motor voltage transducer
- 2 control circuit voltage transducers
The TopMessage data logging system is installed in an explosion proof box in the EX zone close to the valve control unit. The data transfer is made through a wireless Ethernet radio.
The internal logic channels of the TopMessage are configured so that the data storage is activated on certain threshold levels of motor current consumption. The local logic functions built into the TopMessage allow the user to configure the system with event based logging functions.
After the valve has finished its movement an event trigger automatically downloads the data from the logger via the wireless Ethernet network to a PC in the central control room for data analysis and post processing with the ProfiSignal Basic software.
The TopMessage data logger records all data of each valve movement. The DataService Scheduler automatically transfers the data to a central PC for data analysis. The data analysis and post treatment is performed with ProfiSignal Basic software. The customer is interested in the motor current consumption and the strain/torque profile during the valve movement. The strain/torque profile and the current consumption give a clear indication if the value is working correctly and if any maintenance action should be scheduled.
Summary / Benefits:
- The data logger small which makes the unit ideal for installations in explosion proof boxes with limited space
- The TopMessage data logger synchronously records all 7 channels at 1 KHz sample rate
- Data is automatically stored in the 1GB of internal logger memory
- The internal logic channels ensure that only relevant data during the valve movement is logged
- The scheduler function of the Datservice Configurator software is configured to automatically download the data to a PC over the WLAN Network
- Post processing of Data files to calculate RMS values over current is performed with the ProfiSignal Pasic Software
- The customer has an easy monitoring system to check valve status and schedule preventive maintenance actions before valve operation fails
