EC: Honeywell RTU2020 remote terminal unit

Process Control Systems: The Honeywell RTU2020 remote terminal unit is a modular, scalable controller that helps facilities effectively manage complex remote automation and control applications in the oil and gas industry, reduces downtime, and increases production. This is a Control Engineering 2015 Engineers’ Choice finalist.

By Control Engineering October 20, 2014

The Honeywell RTU2020 remote terminal unit (RTU) is a modular process controller that helps facilities effectively manage complex remote automation and control applications in the oil and gas industry, such as remote well-head monitoring and control, pipeline main line valves, metering stations, and water pumping stations. Designed to work with any SCADA system, RTU2020 provides complete visibility into the production potential of distributed assets through efficient remote monitoring, diagnostic and asset management capabilities.

RTU2020 is designed to withstand harsh environments and can be easily deployed at remote sites with very low power consumption, making it ideal for operating on solar power—a common practice in upstream environments. It also allows remote maintenance, eliminating the need for field operators to go into the field, which often involves lengthy travel to remote locations typical for upstream environments. Integration with Experion SCADA provides radically simplified engineering and equipment configuration, and the ability to monitor and diagnose equipment in minutes.

Users also benefit from a variety of RTU2020 capabilities including:

  • Operating temperature range of -40 to 75 C in 5% to 95% humidity.
  • Removable and plug-in terminal blocks that simplify wiring requirements and reduce time needed for cabinet assembly.
  • Built-in HART I/O with Field Device Manager integration, which means no additional costly I/O modules or third party hardware to support HART.
  • Efficient remote management features for diagnostics and firmware upgrades to help manage the many RTUs that can be geographically dispersed in the field—from hundreds to thousands.
  • Flexible communication options that allow for deployment in a wide variety of existing or new network types.
  • Localized data storage capabilities using SD cards of up to 32 GB that ensure critical data is never lost during a communication outage or during periods of low bandwidth.

Honeywell Process Solutions, www.honeywellprocess.com