Does your site have the equipment necessary to keep workers safe and get the job done successfully? Gas detectors are important instruments for detecting toxic or combustible substances before they can pose a risk to the health and safety of workers. There are many different types of gas detectors and monitors, and they each offer different functionalities. It is important to understand what a portable gas detector is, how it works, why it is important, and how to choose one for your facility.
Topics: MSA
This guide describes what gas monitors and detectors are, how gas monitors and gas detectors work, the types of detecting and monitoring solutions, and why gas monitoring and detecting systems are important.
Topics: Gas Detection Solutions
Many major industrial facilities throughout the world rely upon magnetic level indicators (MLI) to effectively, reliably, and safely visualize and control levels in complex process applications. When safety and performance are at stake, it is critical that manufacturers have the right equipment and understand how to optimize the use of tools.
Topics: MLI
The nuclear level measurement industry is constantly evolving. The latest technology allows highly accurate measuring results under extreme conditions. At TechStar, we offer a wide range of radiation based solutions for measuring harsh applications that will meet your requirements. We carry products from the most trusted company in the industry, Berthold. Let a TechStar expert answer any questions about our nuclear products or any other products TechStar represents.
Topics: techstar
Guided wave radar technology is a method of measuring the level of liquids with radio waves. It is used in continuous measurement systems for various applications, from the chemical industry to oil and gas production, water treatment plants, and more.
Topics: Condition Monitoring, techstar
Gas detection controllers are used in a wide variety of industrial and commercial applications where fire, smoke, and/or toxic gases can present a potential hazard to property or threat to personnel. Controllers are designed to work with one or more gas detectors that provide permanent and continuous monitoring and generate actions in case of gas detection.
Topics: techstar
Your refinery has options when revamping Delayed Coker Units. This was recently realized for a customer of ours, one of the biggest refineries in the United States. They have two delayed coking units. DCU 1 which consist of a 4 drum coker and DCU 2, which consist of a 6 drum coker. All 10 drums currently were using our competitors level system for measurements.
Topics: Level Solutions, Berthold
The accuracy of a thermal mass flow meter is dependent upon the technology type and the quality of the materials used for the meter’s sensor design. A well-designed sensor is made to measure flow accurately over a long period of time with minimal drift, independent of recalibration and calibration validation diagnostics. For a thermal mass flow meter, the materials used in the manufacture of the sensor play a vital role in the overall performance of the sensor. The materials must create the best environment for heat transfer - the essential principle of thermal mass flow measurement - or the accuracy and response time suffer.
Topics: Flow Meter Solutions, Fox Thermal, Thermal Gas Mass Flow Meters, Flow Solutions, flow
Hot-wet continuous emission monitoring (CEM) measurement means analyzing the stack gas sample on an as-is basis, which ensures that the integrity of the sample, from extraction through analysis, is maintained. Keeping a good heat integrity in hot-wet measurement is very important to prevent the condensation of acid mist or water vapor.
Topics: AMETEK Process Instruments, Analyzer
Over the last 25 years, there have been significant advancements in level measurement technology. Accuracy, repeatability, linearity, resolution, and reliability have all seen step-change advances as digital signal processing (DSP), power management, and microprocessor improvements have led to advancements in instrumentation with the end result of creating more value for end users on a cost per point basis. Those advances have enabled companies, plants and operators to consider new and unique ways to deploy instrumentation. One choice, which has seen more use, is the utilization of modular instrumentation bridles which allow for flexibility, adaptability and customization, in greenfield or brownfield situations. This article will address some of the benefits and challenges associated with bridle measurement.
A bridle is an externally mounted chamber (via process connections) with the ability to accommodate a variety of process connections allowing for a wide variety of instrumentation[PW1] , including. Bridles can be isolated from the main tank using valves which allows for maintenance (if allowed by the plant) without interrupting the process. Instrument bridles are commonly outfitted with level switches and/or continuous level transmitter technology including (but not limited to) Guided Wave Radar, Magnetostrictive and Displacers. This post will also address Magnetic Level Indicators (MLI), which are a popular form of externally mounted visual indication.
A tank filled with two different liquids is common in the process industries. Typically, a bridle will have two process connections, but in a liquid-liquid interface application, if the bridle is not operated under flooded conditions (liquid reaching the upper process connection), the upper liquid layer may become trapped on top of the lower layer with no way out. The fluid levels will balance based on density, but since the upper material would be lighter than water, the levels in the chamber and vessel will not be the same. This error will be proportional to the Specific Gravity (S.G.) difference between the two fluids. A common solution to this problem is to add a third (middle) process connection and a good rule of thumb is to ensure that each fluid is in contact with a process connection at all times.
Another liquid-liquid interface challenge that can arise is the presence of an emulsion layer. Particularly in applications with a short retention time in the vessel, the two liquids can mix together and form a rag or emulsion layer. Depending on the application and the medias, an emulsion layer can range in size from a few inches to several feet. The S.G. gradient that exists within this layer can challenge density-based measurement devices such as displacers and float-based MLIs. However, MLI floats can be designed so they sink through the upper liquid layer and float on the lower layer. Even in the presence of a large emulsion layer, the float would position itself within the layer and continuously provide indication of the float location. Do we want to clarify this by indicating minimum SG delta’s and also float length (floats can interfere with each other if there is not enough space between the floats to move freely)
When an MLI or bridle is connected to the side of a vessel, a temperature difference in the liquid can be expected. Depending on the media, the density can increase or decrease, which sometimes results in a slight measurement error. For example, hot water in a vessel would be slightly cooler in an offset or externally mounted bridle or MLI. The liquid level in the bridle would be marginally lower than in the vessel because its density has been increased due to the cooling. Ambient temperatures play a major role in determining the severity of this gradient. In the hot water example, the gradient would be much more pronounced in the winter season versus the summer. Anyone specifying an MLI or bridle-mounted instrumentation should be aware of this effect, as well as understand the expected temperature gradient for each installation.
When utilizing buoyancy-based technologies, the measurement in the MLI or bridle will be affected when the media density changes. With an MLI, the float is typically designed for one S.G. If the float design is based off of the S.G. of the liquid in the vessel, the float would experience a small offset when the liquid enters the MLI. This is particularly important on start-up. This is because the cooled liquid in the MLI now has a higher density than what the float was designed for and this higher density will cause the float to sit higher than normal in the liquid. Orion Instruments can provide accessories for its level instruments to help mitigate this temperature effect; these include insulation, heat tracing, or a float projection curve used to anticipate error due to S.G. variation.
In conclusion, it’s important to understand how properties such as temperature, density, and distance have an effect on level measurement in bridles. In most cases, the realized error is marginal; however, it is worth the effort to understand what potential changes you can expect in your process.
Topics: Level Solutions, Magnetrol, Orion Instruments, MLI
