Coker Valve Monitoring in the Refining Industry

This customer is world leading in the manufacturer of valve systems for many different industries. The company manufactures ball, needle, control, gate, choke and many other types of valve systems from small to very large diameters.

Application / Problem:

This application is about a very specific data acquisition project. One of the its customer is running a tar sand refinery and uses a special 3 way switching valve in order to control the tar sand flow into the different coking towers. In the past the operation of the valve was not always reliable and caused very costly shutdowns of the refining process.

Proposal / Solution / Hardware:

In order to monitor the correct operation of valve the customers decided to install a Delphin TopMessage data logger to record all data during the valve movement. A TopMessage data logger with an 8 channels ADFT module with synchronously fast sampling analog inputs was selected. The system measures the 3 phase engine current consumption, voltage. The strain sensor measures force and torque during the movement of the valve. The analog inputs are configured for 1 kHz sample rate each. The installed sensors are:

  • 1 x Strain gauge for torque measurement
  • 3 x Motor current probes
  • 1 x Motor voltage transducers
  • 2 control circuit voltage transducer

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The TopMessage data logging system is installed in an explosion proof box in the EX zone close to the valve control unit. The data transfer is realised through a wireless Ethernet radio.

The internal logic channels of the TopMessage are configured in a way so that the data storage is activated on certain threshold levels of engine current consumption. This in build logic functions allows the user to configure the TopMessage device with event based logging functions.

After the valve has finished its move an event trigger automatically downloads the data from the logger via the wireless Ethernet network to a PC in the central control room for data analysis and post processing with the ProfiSignal Basic software.

The TopMessage data logger is recording all data of each valve movement. The DataService Scheduler is automatically transferring the data to a central PC for data analysis. The data analysis and post treatment is performed with ProfiSignal Basic software. The customer is specifically interested in the engine current consumption and the strain/torque profile during the valve movement. The strain/torque profile and the current consumption give a clear indication if the value is working correctly and if any maintenance action should be scheduled.

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Summary / Benefits:

  • The Logger has a small dimension which makes the unit ideal for installations in explosion proof boxes with limited space.
  • The TopMessage data logger is logging all 7 channels at 1 KHz sample synchronously straight into the 1GB internal logger memory.
  • The internal logic channels ensure that only relevant data during the valve movement is logged.
  • The scheduler function of the Datservice Configurator software is automatically downloading the data to a PC over the WLAN Network.
  • Post processing of Data files to calculate RMS values over current is performed with the ProfiSignal Basic Software.
  • The customer has an easy monitoring system to check valve status and schedule preventive maintenance actions before valve operation fails.

For more information please see: TopMessage >>