Engineers' Choice 2006 - Process
-- Control Engineering, 2/27/2007
Engineers
Choice Competition
New Products for 2006: Process and Advanced Control
Control Engineering — February 15, 2007
The annual Control Engineering Engineers Choice Awards highlight significant
new products from the previous year as selected by readers of Control Engineering
print publications and electronic newsletters. The following new products are
nominees for that competition. To be eligible, a new product must have been
introduced to the U.S. marketplace and available for purchase between December
1, 2005 and December 31, 2006. All descriptions have been provided by product
vendors, and Control Engineering makes no warranties as to the accuracy
of the claims.
The Control Engineering Engineers Choice Awards honor the products from
this list that survey respondents chose as the most exceptional or noteworthy
based on technological advancement (innovation), service to the industry (usefulness)
and/or market impact (would buy it tomorrow if I could). Results are announced
in the April 2006 issue of Control Engineering.
Advanced control, optimization
| LOOP-PRO
Product Suite Among the newest features incorporated into the LOOP-PRO Product Suite, the Visual Performance Designer provides tuning options from an array of configurations, including P-Only, PI, PID, and PID with Filter. Based on industry-proven methods, all tuning configurations can be quickly and easily customized to achieve the user’s specific control objective. Users gain valuable insight by visually evaluating controller performance and process stability prior to implementing final tuning parameters at their PLC or DCS. With a simple “slide bar” adjustment, parameters are immediately updated and corresponding controller performance is depicted dynamically and graphically. The Visual Performance Designer eliminates the need for costly and time intensive trial-and-error tuning of PID controllers. All PID tuning configurations can be tailored for immediate implementation with the user’s unique control equipment. By selecting from among a library of leading industrial controller algorithms, users avoid the risks associated with miscalculation and achieve optimal performance with speed and safety. |
| LOOP-PRO
TRAINER Based on Control Station’s hands-on Practical Process Control curriculum, LOOP-PRO TRAINER comes complete with all materials and tools necessary for teaching process control essentials. The package includes Lecture Slides, Textbook, Workshop Exercises, and multiple licenses to Control Station’s LOOP-PRO TRAINER software. It is designed for use by a mixed audience, including those who have a formal background in process control as well as those who have limited experience and training. The use of math is limited, permitting users to focus on the use of industry best-practices rather than the derivation of complicated formulae. LOOP-PRO TRAINER applies a “Case Study” approach to the exploration of critical control concepts, and it helps practitioners learn about the effective design and tuning of PID controllers by examining each topic in the context of its real-world application. Using a library of first-principles simulations of real-world processes as well as easy-to-follow workshop exercises, LOOP-PRO TRAINER helps practitioners to establish a firm foundation in the fundamentals of PID control and to apply advanced process control methods and techniques popular in current industrial practice. Control Station’s training package is hardware and software agnostic. All materials and tools are designed to teach the accurate diagnosis and correction of underperforming PID controllers, regardless of the PLC, DCS or tuning software employed. |
| Profit
Suite R300 Profit Suite comprises advanced process control technologies that enhance the capabilities of a facility’s distributed control system (DCS). While the DCS maintains individual controller set points, Profit Suite continuously analyzes a broad range of process information and makes necessary adjustments to improve a plant’s overall economics. Profit Suite then adjusts DCS set points within operator-specified ranges to achieve economic goals. Profit Suite R300 features an improved human-machine interface (HMI) display that gives operators greater insight into processes. The new Profit Suite Operator Station interface shows all Profit Suite components to an operator to provide a safe and configurable view of operations. Also new is the HMI Web APC Shape Library, which features customizable shapes and scripts that allow greater flexibility in designing operator displays. The graphics are compliant with the Abnormal Situation Management (ASM®) Consortium guidelines for effective alarm management and information display. From an engineering perspective, Profit Suite R300 is easier to deploy across any DCS, including non-Honeywell systems, and offers other enhancements that minimize engineering effort for plant testing and controller maintenance. Profit Suite R300 also features several algorithmic enhancements to increase ease-of-use and improve multi-unit control and optimization of the most difficult plant problems. |
| Uniformance
PHD R210 Uniformance PHD features new integration with Honeywell’s main automation and control platform, Experion Process Knowledge System. This enables automated historian maintenance and configuration tasks, ensures efficient data collection and provides visibility to plant-wide data. The system provides large volumes of data without generating extra data-management work. Traditional historian maintenance is performed through labor-intensive and error-prone manual tasks. Uniformance with Experion integration, by contrast, automates tag configuration changes between the control system and the plant-wide historian. When an Experion point is added or undergoes a configuration change, the changes are automatically sent to Uniformance with no manual intervention required. Speed is another benefit – an entire PHD tag database can be built and data collection can start often in less than 15 minutes. Additionally, the solution has minimal impact on the control system. This is because Uniformance heavily uses data already available in Experion history and Experion’s data cache. Other solutions may generate double the number of data requests. The system also gathers operator and engineering data from consistent sources and features a data recovery feature that protects information in the event of a planned or unplanned PHD outage. |
| MiMiC
Distillation Modeling Package Most high fidelity simulation application packages are designed for process design. The MiMiC Distillation Modeling Package is built exclusively for process automation system Software Acceptance Testing and Operator Training. It provides: - Accurate, dynamic distillation simulation - Easy-to-use wizard tool configuration - Powerful data visualization tools - Quick and easy integration with process automation systems through MiMiC simulation tags The Distillation Column object provides dynamic models for a full-scale distillation column configuration, including reboiler, condenser and reflux receiver. Process plant users can build complex distillation simulation models quickly for less time and money. The objects integrate directly with MiMiC simulation tags. The package has visualization tools (graphs and tables) that provide users with a deep on-line insight into the object states (column pressure, flow, temperature and composition profiles and dynamics). This process and advanced control product fills a critical need in the industry. The MiMiC Distillation Modeling Package has been used by several world-class petrochemical facilities. It has been proven to improve operational effectiveness, reduce process downtime, and validate process automation system design. |
Process control
| Extended
Automation System 800xA Technological advancement: The latest version of System 800xA allows Customers to modify, download and evaluate new applications in an environment that is separate from running production; then simulate the effect that these changes will have on the process before they are executed—all without requiring costly system downtime. Using a collaborative “engineering sandbox”, engineering teams from multiple locations work together on the same project; they can move, copy, and reuse configuration data from other areas and then synchronize their results. These engineering changes do not immediately impact the running process; when the customer is ready to make the changes, they are deployed to the production environment in one single transaction. Market Impact: The ability add programs, modify configurations and simulate their effect on running production before they are executed, greatly reduces the risks associated with system modifications and additions. At the same time, the ability to make these changes without requiring costly system downtime is a significant productivity benefit to manufacturers, many of whom must run production continuously to remain profitable. Service to the industry: Needed application additions and upgrades are made in a safe environment that show the customer how the changes will impact production before they are implemented, thereby reducing the risks to process and production typically associated with system changes. As system downtime is not an option in many industries, the ability to make changes and implement upgrades while production is running provides tremendous efficiency improvement opportunities for process manufacturers. |
| Foundation
Fieldbus Process Valve Position Indicator The ASCO FF device is available in intrinsically safe (IS) and non-IS versions. The IS version requires the use of a piezo piloted solenoid valve as the output device. The total power consumption of the ASCO FF IS version using an ASCO piezo piloted solenoid valve is 12.5 mA. As with other Emerson FF devices, the ASCO FF device has a feature called Link Active Scheduler (LAS) capability and can be configured as a back up link master. In the event that communication with the DCS is lost, the device becomes link master of the bus segment and keeps the process running, preventing downtime. It can also be configured as a basic device. In this configuration, it can be pre-programmed to move to a fail-safe position (open or closed) or hold the last valid command if communication with the DCS is lost. The ASCO FF position indicator gives the user a Foundation Fieldbus alternative for on/off process valve position feedback instead of using a valve controller. Diagnostic information is available for the user to determine cycle count and speed of the actuator and process valve. This helps in determining the need for service that helps the user eliminate costly downtime. |
| INTUNE
Version 5 INTUNE Version 5 [Iv5], a non-intrusive plant management and process control predictive maintenance tool, combines process control monitoring with diagnostic, tuning, and reporting features to help companies achieve their continuous improvement goals.Iv5 is worthy of Control Engineering’s designation as Product of the Year because Iv5 converts data-rich but information-poor systems into valuable assessment tools for plant reliability and performance monitoring.INTUNE’s real-time moving window analysis and condition-based assessment allow for intelligent, accurate, and meaningful performance indices—not just blind number crunching—saving valuable assessment time. INTUNE’s unique diagnostic scripting tool lets users create customized metrics and key performance indicators. Users are not limited to pre-configured assessment tools, but can enhance existing metrics or create new KPI's that account for unique process dynamics. Benefits also include tracking material waste, energy use, and excess fuel, as well as benchmarking and system reliability diagnosis. With this tool Iv5 catches the occurrence of critical conditions in real time and calculates their economic impact.INTUNE’s Event Server notifies key personnel via email the instant degrading performance is detected, long BEFORE alarm conditions are reached. INTUNE’s web-based reporting gives users what they need, when they need it, how they want to see it. |
| Masoneilan
SVI II AP The extremely compact VLT® Micro Drive is available in cabinet sizes as small as 2.75 “ wide x 6” tall x 6” deep, yet can be commissioned in minutes to perform even complex operations. Approximately 100 parameters can be set to optimize energy efficiency and operation. |
| Safety
Manager R110 Safety Manager, a safety-instrumented system, is a component of Honeywell’s process control and automation platform, Experion® Process Knowledge System (PKS). The latest version, R110, includes new integration capabilities with systems like process simulation tools, fire and gas detectors, and data exchange and control communication protocol. This allows safety engineers to design and build large integrated and distributed plant-wide safety strategies. Safety Manager R110 can integrate with Honeywell’s UniSim® simulation system so safety engineers can quickly and cost effectively test the impact of safety strategies on the overall plant design and operations before implementation. Reducing overall risk and impact of system modifications can bring new plants into full production faster. Also, when integrating with Honeywell’s Field Device Manager (FDM), the FDM automatically configures HART safety field devices and integrates them into the Experion database. Facilities can save money by using FDM as a single tool to manage HART devices for both safety and control field devices. Additionally, the technology features Honeywell’s SafeNet protocol, a TUV SIL3 approved data exchange, control and peer-to-peer communication protocol to enable separate safety systems within the facility to communicate with each other for more effective integration. |
| PS-200
v5 SMARTFLOW is a proprietary sensorless flow measurement function which will have the ability to calculate the flow of a centrifugal pump with in ±5% of the pump rated flow without the need for any external instrumentation. This function mathematically models the pump power curve with only four points of CDS pump performance curve data, BEP flow, BEP power, shut off power and rated speed. Advanced Pump Protection (APP) is an improvement upon the already powerful Torque Based Pump Protection. APP is a sensorless pump protection function that takes into account the hydraulic and mechanical loses associated when changing the speed of a centrifugal pump. A self calibration feature allows for an accurate representation of the pump to ensure the pump is protected at all speeds. Positive Displacement Pump Protection (PDPP) is a sensorless function that it is protecting for a constant torque load such as a positive displacement pump. Because PDPP is used with constant torque loads it does not take into account changes in speed such as APP. PDPP monitors for conditions such as high and low torque which can be an indication the pump has a blocked discharge or a starved suction. SMARTCONTROL is an improved way to control pumps with flat head-capacity curves where a small change in speed can lead to a large change in flow. A flat head-capacity curve can make tuning a pump system difficult leaving the pump to oscillate around the setpoint. In general to increase the flow of the pump the speed is increased and sub sequentially the torque increases as a result. With SMARTCONTROL the exact opposite happens as were to increase the flow of the pump the pump torque is increased and sub-sequentially the pump speed follows. The advantage is that the torque performance curve is much steeper relative to speed and can typically yield a control resolution 2-3 times greater then speed. |
| Q
Series Redundant System 1. Technological advancement.The Q Series Redundant System is the flagship of the highly successful Q Series Automation Platform. It adds full hot back-up capability to the established success of this automation solution by using two independent CPUs which switch control seamlessly in a few milliseconds if a problem prevents one of them from maintaining control.2. Market ImpactThe Q Series Redundant System has been intended for critical applications where downtime cannot be tolerated for a variety of reasons. These include baggage handling, semiconductor, power generation, transportation and waste water treatment.3. Service to the industryBy offering a fully redundant, hot back-up controller solution, Mitsubishi intends to broaden the solutions available to customers who require a system that essentially offers infinite MTBF. |
| ModCon75 Only controller today that is self configuring. All that is required, is for the user to connect the Utima X3's modbus devices. Once conncted identify each node with an address of 2-26. Once this is done, then one goes to the ModCon75 controller and selects 'add units to network'. THe modCon goes out and searches all units and then captures all units on the network, their setpoints, engineering units and scaling. With a smart modbus device, any errors on any specific sensor will be displayed. Such errors are cal faults, under range, communication error, etc.In addition to the 25 units on the network, one can add remote relay modules, providing upto 8 additional alarms that can be placed anywhere on the modus network. THese alarms can be programed to provide area alarms. All sensors located in area 1 can be tied to a local relay module located in area one to sound a horn if a gas leak occurs in Area 1. |
| SafetyNet SafetyNet certified to SIL2 (IEC 61508) by TÜV Rheinland, provides cost effective functional safety related solutions for Emergency Shut Down and Fire & Gas applications. [It's a functional safety system for Process Shut Down (PSD), Emergency Shut Down (ESD), and Burner Management System (BMS) applications.] |
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