One of the difficult problems pressure transmitters face is the clogging of impulse lines – the piping or tubing used to connect the transmitter to the process. Typical blockages include solid depositions, wax depositions, hydrate formation, sand plugging, gelling, frozen process liquid plugs and air or foam pockets. This type of plugging can lead to erroneous measurement values disrupting process control and resulting in off spec product or even unsafe plant conditions.
Honeywell SmartLine ST800 Pressure Transmitters, including models STA800, STD800, STG800, & STF800 with HART or Foundation Fieldbus communications are now available with an advance diagnostic algorithm for detecting plugged impulse lines. This option provides local indication of plugging when a display is specified and remote signaling when HART or Foundation Fieldbus communications are employed.

For help with model selection please contact your local Fluidic sales office.  For more details of the Honeywell ST800 Pressure Transmitters, click the appropriate link below.

Honeywell STD800 Differential Pressure Transmitters

Honeywell STA800 Absolute Pressure Transmitters

Honeywell STG800 Gauge Pressure Transmitters

Honeywell STF800 Flange Mount Hydrostatic Level Transmitters

As instrumentation partners for Kurz flowmeters, Fluidic are well equipped to help with combustion efficiency improvements.  A popular application in coal power plants looks at air intake measurement.  Flow should be closely monitored, not only on the primary (furnace) intake air line, but on both (hot/cold) pulveriser intakes and secondary furnace intakes.  For environmental CO2 and NOx measurement this should also carry forward to pre and post baghouse filtration, ensuring a complete picture of the plant air monitoring is considered.

Traditional DP measurements restrict air intake.  This is exactly the opposite to what the ‘perfect combustion’ process aims to achieve.  Using Kurz thermal flowmeters, negligible pressure drop occurs.  Additionally, thermal technology has reduced uncertainty over a wide operating range and the Kurz industrial design offers a sensor purging option, where a compressed airline can be blown across the sensor in-situ.  Where instrument removal is required, the simple nature of the Kurz insertion flowmeter allows easy withdrawal and portable equipment can be quickly inserted for calibration comparison and line traverse investigation.

Along with flowrate, air temperature and moisture (humidity) measurement is another factor which should be considered in any combustion application.  Temperature is closely associated with density, a huge factor on combustion performance – as an example a 1°C reduction in air temperature can increase output by up to 0.5%.

Vaisala specialise in RH&T (and Td) instrumentation, a manufacturer that Fluidic hold a long established UK partnership with.  Vaisala’s HMT360 transmitter series are ATEX certified and probably most suitable for many coal and gas power applications in particular.  (Kurz inline flowmeters, including their multipoint system, also offer ATEX approved options).

The following application notes may be of interest. Please call either office to discuss your application in more detail (Glasgow 0141 641 5920, Warrington 01925 572401).

Moisture measurement in combustion applications
 

Airflow measurement in combustion applications

Just a quick update on our new Fluidic Ltd website…

We have now included the main product categories (still to populate with products, this will be a continual process).  As partners with Honeywell, Dwyer, KSR Kuebler, Okazaki, Kurz Instruments (to name a few) most of our regular customers will have a good idea what products we offer.  Expect a more comprehensive listing over the coming weeks as we add to the product database.

Additionally, we have now added in a Technical Resources section.  This is a brand new addition, might be of interest – some details of flange tables, pipe schedules and thermocouple colour charts already added.  Again, we will add to this database as the website grows…

Anyway, its Christmas Eve so enough for now.  Best wishes to everyone, hope you have a good Christmas and speak to you in 2014.

Our new website has just been published. Please excuse any initial teething problems.
Product pages will be updated shortly, along with some, hopefully useful, technical resource information.Over the course of 2014 we expect to announce a few new instrumentation products, we’ll try to keep the website up to date with these, please keep checking!

PS… MERRY CHRISTMAS!