Automation & Control
Viscosity: The Basics
Most engineers know what viscosity is, but may have trouble explaining it. To be brief, viscosity is resistance to flow. For handlers of all materials that flow, either while being processed or in an end-use, it is important to think…
The missing piece for wireless process control
Last month, Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS; Phoenix, Ariz.; www.honeywell.com/ps) unveiled the process industry’s first redundant wireless system gateway (WSG), connecting the last major gap in the path to wireless process control. WSGs manage data between wireless field instrumentation and a…
Flowmeter Selection
When a flowmeter is needed, the selection process should include studying the characteristics of respective measurement technologies and analyzing the advantages/disadvantages for different plant environments. This effort will help ensure that a meter with the right performance and reliability, for…
Beyond Flowmeter Selection: Consider Some of the Most Overlooked Criteria
The whole-product-lifecycle approach for flowmeters presented here encompasses more than basic selection Typical discussions of flowmeter selection address specifications, technologies, accuracies and performance, but there are many other steps that are not normally considered. This article focuses on these often…
Choosing a Control System
Technology Requirements [ 1] Control architecture Does the solution provide an integrated automation platform? New systems should manage process knowledge through a combination of advanced technologies, industrial domain expertise, and Six Sigma methodologies. Choose an open, scalable control system that…
EPC Contractors Selecting an ERP Package
In recent years, a growing number of projects throughout the chemical process industries (CPI) have been carried out using Engineer-Procure-Construct (EPC) contracts. Because such contracts typically involve the work of numerous subcontractor parties, they tend to be complex. As such,…
Hydrogen Pinch Analysis Made Easy (Discussion between a reader and the authors)
I recently read Hydrogen-Pinch Analysis Made Easy Chem. Eng., June 2008, pp. 56–61. The paper presents an automated spreadsheet program to target the minimum fresh hydrogen resource for a hydrogen network. While the effort of the authors is appreciated, I…
Focus on Temperature Measurement & Control
This three-way valve improves temperature control This company has recently unveiled the GX 3-Way control valve (photo), which has the ability to accurately control the temperature of water, oils, steam, and other industrial fluids. Applications include heat exchangers and lubricating…
Chementator: A new standard for viscosity measurement
The American Society of Testing Materials (Conshohocken, Pa.; www.astm.org) has developed a new standard for measuring viscosity: ASTM D 7483-08, Determination of Dynamic and Kinematic Viscosity of Liquids by Oscillating Piston Viscometer (OPV). The new ASTM method is part of…
Chementator: Optical fiber sensing gets an NSF boost
Last January, Chiral Photonics, Inc. (Pine Brook, N.J.; www.chiralphotonics.com) was awarded $500,000 in a Small Business Technology Transfer Phase II grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF; Washington, D.C.). The grant will be used to develop a new optical-fiber-sensor platform…