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 AUGUST 2019 • VOLUME 32 • NUMBER 8

32
COVER STORY

Get the picture

Augmented realities extend visibility
for performance and profit.
by Jim Montague

Features

38
LEVEL MEASUREMENT
41
PROCESS ANALYZERS

Radar pierces barriers Analyzer reduces energy costs

Guided-wave and supporting innovations see through foam, Reliable, precise percent oxygen lets air separator run near
steam, intermediate layers and more. specification limit.
by Jim Montague by Stephen B. Harrison

CONTROL (ISSN 1049-5541) is published monthly by Putman Media Inc. (also publishers of Control Design, Chemical Processing, Food Processing, Pharma Manufacturing™, Plant Services and Smart Industry),
1501 E. Woodfield Rd., Ste. 400N, Schaumburg, IL 60173. (Phone 630/467-1300; Fax 630/467-1124.) Address all correspondence to Editorial and Executive Offices, same address. Periodicals Postage Paid at
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per year. Single copies are $15. International subscriptions are accepted at $200 (Airmail only.) CONTROL assumes no responsibility for validity of claims in items reported. Canada Post International Publications Mail
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www.controlglobal.com AUGUST 2019 • 5

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 CONTENTS

Departments
9 EDITOR’S PAGE
Come around
Help manufacturing move from linear
30 RESOURCES
Augmented and virtual reality
A monthly guide to web-hosted
ASi-5
to more circular models. papers, tutorials, videos and other AUTOMATION
15 CONTROL ONLINE
educational materials.
REINVENTED.
Our most recent, valuable and popu- 45 DEVELOP YOUR POTENTIAL
lar offerings at ControlGlobal.com Two rules for work
Start early and wait until the last
16 FEEDBACK minute. Work in parallel, not serial. 36LPSOLȴHGZLULQJ
Stuxnet is loose; Sensors are in cyber 36DIHW\LQWHJUDWHG
trouble; Got coefficients of thermal 46 ASK THE EXPERTS
36KRUWF\FOHWLPHV
expansion; Stop the politics Control and automation books
What references do you recommend,
18 OTHER VOICES and which are on your shelf?
Software eats the world
Commercial data storage and analysis 48 ROUNDUP
systems want to win your business. Wiring, cable and connectors
Recent and interesting products un-
22 ON THE BUS der the topic of the month.
Watson, do we need you?
The siren song of simulation is strong, 50 CLASSIFIED/AD INDEX
but there may be better solutions. Find your favorite advertisers listed
neatly in alphabetical order.
24 WITHOUT WIRES
Wi-Fi for sensor networks 51 PRODUCTS
Commercial technology is ripening for The latest and greatest selections
consumption in industrial facilities. from our editors’ in-boxes.

26 IN PROCESS 52 CONTROL TALK

New DCS and division debut at The best valve position control
Siemens summit; ISA picks first six Using two PID controllers and valves
members of cybersecurity alliance; solves problems due to backlash,
Yokogawa to establish OPA test bed stiction and more.
for ExxonMobil; ABB appoints CEO
Rosengren; Hydraulic Institute pump 54 CONTROL REPORT
energy rating/certification program Time to train
Learning to use new technologies
like AR is crucial—if you can find a
few minutes.

CIRCULATION

Food & Kindred Products ........................................ 10,106 Paper & Allied Products ............................................ 2,856

Chemicals & Allied Products ..................................... 8,919 Pharmaceuticals ....................................................... 3,945

Systems Integrators & Engineering Design Firms ....... 8,681 Rubber & Miscellaneous Plastic Products.................. 3,762

Primary Metal Industries ........................................... 4,657 Stone, Clay, Glass & Concrete Products ..................... 1,686

Electric, Gas & Sanitary Services ............................... 3,481 Textile Mill Products ..................................................... 802

Petroleum Refining & Related Industries ................... 4,016 Tobacco Products ........................................................ 110

Miscellaneous Manufacturers.................................... 6,982 Total Circulation ...................................................... 60,003

www.bihl-wiedemann.com/asi-5
www.controlglobal.com AUGUST 2019 • 7 Phone: 616-345-0680
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Come around
Help manufacturing move from linear to more circular models.
LAST month, we stepped in it with some com-
ments on immigration, and one of our readers
called us on it (p. 16). As I mention in my reply to
his letter, I was wrong to allow us to raise a topic
not directly or even indirectly related to process
control, or at least, about the process industries,
especially one that has been so controversial
lately. I try to treat Control as a special-interest
magazine, like Car & Driver, Sports Illustrated,
Bass Fishing or Guns & Ammo, and I believe that
partisan politics have no place in a special-inter-
est magazine, simply because we like paying at-
tention to our special interests, and we don’t want
our enjoyment distracted.
That doesn’t mean we can’t brush up against
topics of political disagreement—like the role of
renewable energy, government regulation and
even global warming—but only in the pursuit of a
better understanding process control, or improv-
ing results in our process industries.
Our readers—you—make high-quality feed-
stocks and incredible products that amaze me ev-
ery day. I can’t go into a Walmart without explain-
ing to the cashier that double-bagging is almost
always unnecessary, that the engineers who de-
signed the materials and the plants that make the
bags do such good work that even the heaviest
groceries are very unlikely to escape a single bag.
Then I take those beautiful bags, boxes, bottles
and cans home, consume their contents, and am
stricken with the need to let go of the resulting
empty containers. Engineered plastics, exqui-
sitely decorated metals, beautiful glass jars and
perfectly appropriate cardboard packaging must
be relinquished to their fate, and for me, that’s a
big, blue, mixed-materials recycling bin, collected
every two weeks by Waste Management.
I used to feel good about it, but now I under-
stand that much of this country's recyclables,
which used ride virtually for free in empty shipping
containers returning to China, are no longer up
to Chinese standards—they're too contaminated
with crud and the wrong materials. Our recycling
facilities are accumulating excessive stockpiles,
www.controlglobal.com AUGUST 2019 • 9
EDITOR’S PAGE
and in many places, recyclables are ending up in
landfills with the regular garbage.
Technologies for separating recyclables into
useful raw materials have come a long way. How-
ever, making it easier will require cooperation all
the way from your plants to my blue bin. Mean-
while, it's common and not cheap, so there also
has to be a market for materials that can justify
higher costs.
It’s breaking my heart and there’s not much I
can do about it, so I’m asking you, who make all
these recyclables possible, to keep in mind the
need to close the loop on them. Ethical Corp.
(www.ethicalcorp.com) calls it “going from a PAUL STUDEBAKER
linear to a circular economy” and I’ll admit it’s Editor in Chief
a heavy lift. However, if a company like BMW, pstudebaker@putman.net
which makes products (motor vehicles) that are
a nightmare for complete recycling, can design
for exactly that, then who can say it’s impossible?
It’s breaking my heart
(For some really disturbing videos, Google “BMW
and there’s not much I
Cars recycling”).
can do about it, so I’m
Many environmental purists don’t appreciate it,
asking you, who make
but one option is using paper and plastics as fuel
all these recyclables
for trash-to-energy facilities. No one knows better
possible, to keep in
than you how to incinerate your products cleanly
mind the need to close
and efficiently, and how to capture the maximum
the loop on them.
fuel value (for inspiration and a starting point, see
“Covanta Indianapolis”).
But better yet would be ways to somehow in-
clude post-consumer recyclables as feedstocks.
What could you use? What would be your specifi-
cations? Make a market and challenge recyclers to
produce a suitable product.
Meanwhile, please also feel free to close the
loop on the quality of one of your special-interest
publications—Control magazine. Call us out when
we cross the line. Correct one of our mistakes,
help us clarify our confusions, and suggest topics
we should be covering to earn your attention.
Then, of course, please recycle the magazine. I
expect I’ll be buying some of it at Walmart as part
of a new, beautiful box around some raisin bran.
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 CONTROL ONLINE

NEWS & BLOGS

OPAF update from Brandl How the IoT can optimize chemical
process control
Dennis Brandl, principal consultant at BRL Consulting Inc., co-chair of Here are some of the ways that Inter-
the Open Process Automation Forum (OPAF) standards working group net of Things (IoT) technology supports
and chair of the technical architecture subcommitte, joins executive edi- chemical process control from guest
tor Jim Montague in the latest Control Amplified podcast to discuss the blogger Megan Ray Nichols.
most recent news from the OPAF. In the podcast, Brandl walks listen- www.controlglobal.com/blogs/guest-
ers through the history of the initiative, from Exxon Mobil's need and blogs/how-the-iot-can-optimize-chemi-
research to the nuts and bolts of today's initiative and its goals. He also cal-process-control
provides an in-depth explanation of the O-PAS Version 1.0. Control Am-
plified is the process automation podcast, offering in-depth interviews that expand on Control's print Results from the Assessing the
and online coverage. Download, subscribe and listen now. Impact of Cybersecurity on the
www.controlglobal.com/podcasts/control-amplified Nation’s Wind Farms workshop
Joe Weiss offers his observations from
the NREL workshop, which took place
Control systems: PLCs, PCs and PACs July 16-17 in Boulder, Colo.
In the latest State of Technology Report in the 2019 series, the editors www.controlglobal.com/blogs/unfet-
of Control have brought together a range of articles, case studies and tered/results-from-nrels-assessing-the-
trends about control systems, including PLCs, PCs and PACs. The eas- impact-of-cybersecurity-on-the-nations-
ily downloadable PDF includes up-to-date information about the fun- wind-farms-workshop
damentals of function blocks, life with legacy systems, the benefits of
edge computing and more. PLCs, PCs GE closes natural gas plant
http://info.controlglobal.com/state-of-technology-2019-control-systems-plcs- & PACs GE announced that it’s going to demol-
pcs-pacs ish a 750-megawatt natural-gas-fired
powerplant in California only 10 years
into its 30-year lifetime as a result of
The value of smart devices: what you don't know could cost you the growing use of wind and solar en-
Intelligent devices continue promising to revolutionize con- ergy in the state’s grid.
trol system configuration, diagnostics and maintenance, but www.controlglobal.com/blogs/off-site-
bridging the literal and cultural gaps between legacy and insights/ge-closes-california-natural-
modern systems has limited their use in many facilities. Join gas-plant
us at 2 p.m. EDT on Sept. 12 to get up to date with the latest
potentials for improving reliability with intelligent devices; learn Sourcing industrial automation
how it’s become easier to use existing HART and Foundation parts
Fieldbus data; and find out why compliance with standards must be certified to ensure the benefits of Sourcing automation components can
interoperability, both on installation and down the road. lead to debate. What are all of the fac-
http://bit.ly/2SOUtNL tors that you should be considering?
www.controlglobal.com/blogs/guest-
blogs/new-vs-reconditioned-sourcing-
Join us in celebrating 2019 IWIM honorees industrial-automation-parts
On Manufacturing Day, Oct. 4, Control, Putman Media
and Influential Women in Manufacturing (IWIM) will be E-NEWSLETTERS
celebrating this year's honorees at the first-ever IWIM
ControlGlobal E-News
Awards Luncheon. Join us at MxD in Chicago to celebrate
Multimedia Alerts
the 27 women who make up this year's class. The event
White Paper Alerts
will include a keynote address, a panel discussion, an awards ceremony and a tour of the MxD facility,
which helps U.S. manufacturers embrace digitally powered manufacturing. Panelists at the event will in- Go to www.controlglobal.com and
clude Chandra Brown, CEO, MxD; Kate Rome, president, Rome Grinding Solutions; and Nicole Wiggins, follow instructions to register for our
corporate diversity and inclusion leader, Navistar. Additoinal speakers will be announced soon. free weekly e-newsletters.
www.influentialwomeninmanufacturing.com/participate/register

www.controlglobal.com AUGUST 2019 • 15

FEEDBACK
Stuxnet is loose
Regarding Joe Weiss’ “Unfettered” blog
(www.controlglobal.com/blogs/unfettered/
dangerous-cyber-attacks-may-not-be-de-
tected-by-network-monitoring-engineers-
are-also-needed), I'm not computer- and
SCADA system-savvy, but I'd like confirma-
tion that with the original Stuxnet opera-
tion, Mossad gave Stuxnet to assets that,
unfortunately, released it in the wild before
penetrating the Iranian nuclear facility.
That allowed who-knows-who to take it
and mutate it. We can't estimate the un-
told damage that's being done, nor can
we know how it's being mutated. Couple
that with operating personnel not working
closely with IT personnel, and there are
significant problems.
MELISSA HANCOCK
mhancock742@comcast.net
Sensors are in cyber trouble
I read Joe Weiss’ “Unfettered” blog (www.
controlglobal.com/blogs/unfettered/inse-
cure-process-sensors-can-create-safety-
security-and-resilience-vulnerabilities). As
I'm not aware of any cybersecurity, safety,
or resiliency standard in any industry that
addresses process sensor cybersecurity,
this needs to change. It should be noted
that because of the lack of cyber forensics
at the sensor level, it would be difficult at
best to determine if a sensor anomaly was
caused by an unintentional malfunction or
a targeted cyber attack.
NA MINIANNA
minianna1234567@gmail.com
Got coefficients of thermal expansion
I was searching for an article about poly-
mer properties and came across "Ask the
Experts" (www.controlglobal.com/arti-
cles/2016/experts-weigh-in-on-distillation-
plant-measurement-problems). I noticed
Béla Lipták referenced the expression
“coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE)”
several times. I'd like to let you know that,
after a week of research, I've put together
a comprehensive article on the coefficient
of linear thermal expansion (CLTE) that in-
cludes a table of minimum and maximum
values (https://omnexus.specialchem.com/
16 • AUGUST 2019
1501 E. Woodfield Road, Suite 400N
Schaumburg, Illinois 60173
In Memory of Julie Cappelletti-Lange,
Vice President 1984-2012
EDITORIAL TEAM
HOW TO ACQUIRE SIS EXPERTISE
SIGNAL FILTERING DO’S AND DON’TS Editor in Chief
SLURRIES AND POSITIONERS
Paul Studebaker, pstudebaker@putman.net
SPLIT-RANGE CONTROL
Executive Editor
Jim Montague, jmontague@putman.net
Digital Engagement Manager
Amanda Del Buono, adelbuono@putman.net
Contributing Editor
John Rezabek
Pay is up, age and worry are down
in our 2019 Salary Survey Columnists
Béla Lipták, Greg McMillan, Ian Verhappen
Editorial Assistant
DESIGN FOR SIS RELIABILITY Lori Goldberg
TAKE CHARGE OF ASSET CONDITION
INVISIBILITY OF PROCESS CONTROL
DESIGN & PRODUCTION TEAM
CAN WE CONTROL THE CLIMATE?
VP, Creative & Production
Steve Herner, sherner@putman.net
polymer-properties/properties/coefficient- Art Director
Jennifer Dakas, jdakas@putman.net
of-linear-thermal-expansion). I hope it
might be of value to your readers. Senior Production Manager
Anetta Gauthier, agauthier@putman.net
PAUL MARTIN
PUBLISHING TEAM
paul.martin@specialchem.com
Group Publisher/VP Content
Keith Larson, klarson@putman.net
Stop the politics
I read "Don't think old" (July '19, p. 50, Midwest/Southeast Regional Sales Manager
Greg Zamin, gzamin@putman.net
www.controlglobal.com/articles/2019/ 704/256-5433, Fax: 704/256-5434
practice-being-a-little-more-flexible- Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Regional Sales Manager
and-empathetic). Please no longer send Dave Fisher, dfisher@putman.net
508/543-5172, Fax 508/543-3061
me the paper publication of Control. Jim
West Coast/Mountain Regional Sales Manager
Montague is just another editor that either Jeff Mylin, jmylin@putman.net
willfully misleads or lazily misunderstands 847/516-5879, Fax: 630/625-1124
immigration. Almost nobody, regardless Classifieds Manager
Lori Goldberg, lgoldberg@putman.net
of politics, is against "immigration." Many
wise Americans are making noise about il- Subscriptions/Circulation:
Patricia Donatiu. Circulation Manager,
legal immigration. 888/644-1803
Also, U.S. immigration laws are simpler EXECUTIVE TEAM
and more open than almost any country
President & CEO
on earth—when followed legally. This is John M. Cappelletti
either an attempt to spread deceptive pro-
VP, CFO
paganda or written by someone who has Rick Kasper
been manipulated without looking into the Foster Reprints
facts. Either way: poor editing. Corporate Account Executive
Jill Kaletha, jillk@fosterprinting.com
DAN VLIETSTRA 219-878-6094
dan.vlietstra@royaltechnologies.com
Finalist Jesse H. Neal Award, 2013 and 2016
Jesse H. Neal Award Winner
Dan, as editor in chief, one of my most crit- Eleven ASBPE Editorial Excellence Awards
ical principles is that politics have no place Twenty-five ASBPE Excellence in Graphics Awards
in a non-political publication such as Con- ASBPE Magazine of the Year Finalist, 2009 and 2016
trol. These days, it seems harder than ever Four Ozzie awards for graphics excellence
to avoid them, and in this case, I clearly
overlooked my duty to police them out. I
will try to do better. — Paul Studebaker
 OTHER VOICES
MICHAEL RISSE
CMO and vice president, Seeq Corp.
michael.risse@seeq.com
Google, Amazon and
Microsoft have each
announced their
intention to provide
data storage and related
services to oil and gas
and other process
industries.
18 • AUGUST 2019 www.controlglobal.com
Software eats the world
Commercial data storage and analysis systems are getting ready to win your business.
MARC Andreeson, co-founder of Netscape (the first
commercial venture dedicated to selling an internet
browser) and of the venture capital firm Andreesen-
Horowitz, wrote an editorial in the Wall Street Jour-
nal, circa August 2011, titled “Why software is eat-
ing the world.” As context, Andreesen-Horowitz was
an investor in Facebook, Slack and GoodStory Data,
so the firm knows more than a little about software
and disruption. Here is the article’s thesis:
"More and more major businesses and
industries are being run on software and de-
livered as online services—from movies to
agriculture to national defense. Many of the
winners are Silicon Valley-style entrepreneurial
technology companies that are invading and
overturning established industry structures.
Over the next 10 years, I expect many more
industries to be disrupted by software, with
new world-beating Silicon Valley companies
doing the disruption in more cases than not.
However, in the intervening seven years, the
industrial world—contrary to Andreesen’s expecta-
tion—has largely missed out on this software-eats-
the-world model. There hasn’t been a major dis-
ruption like Blockbuster losing to Netflix, or Barnes
and Noble losing to Amazon. To this point, it’s
been business as usual for the automation vendors
and their customers.
That will end soon.
Beginning last summer, software eating the
world and disrupting established vendors is com-
ing to industrial automation. Google, Amazon and
Microsoft have each announced their intention to
provide data storage and related services to oil and
gas and other process industries.
One can see this in industry tradeshows as well
because, for the first time, Google, Amazon and Mi-
crosoft all had a significant presence at IHS’s CERA
Week event in March. And in its hiring, Amazon
Web Services (AWS) presently has 50 job openings
for employees with oil and gas expertise, to add to a
roster of existing employees with experience at GE,
AVEVA and other vendors. Microsoft and Google are
similarly recruiting from across the automation eco-
system. Oil and gas is just the beginning, of course.
There isn’t anything special precluding data service
forays into petrochemicals, chemicals, pharmaceu-
ticals, utilities and other process industries.
And to be clear, I’m not referring to the fantasy
of cloud-based DCS implementations for real-time
control, but instead about cloud-based data stor-
age, analytics and management services for manu-
facturing data. Cloud vendors claim aggregating
data will make it more accessible to enable digital
transformation and cross-plant analytics, unlocking
improved outcomes in insights and production.
So, what will happen as software eats the indus-
trial world?
First of all, software-first companies have no in-
terest in the hardware businesses of the automation
suppliers, including control valves, motors, turbines,
sensors, distributed controls systems, etc.—or at
this point, MES and other manufacturing applica-
tions. Instead, what they want now is manufacturing
data and ancillary services. Therefore, vendors who
hold customer data hostage and try to keep it away
from other vendors will be put under pressure to
change their business practices.
This is less strange than it sounds because pro-
prietary storage systems and partner programs that
lock out any potential competition are the norm in
the automation industry with its vertically integrated
offerings. There are exceptions—for example, OSI-
soft’s partner program is the equal of anything in
the software industry when it comes to an open
ecosystem, but their approach is far from the norm.
What else does disruption mean? For decades,
industrial automation vendors dodged the massive
price decreases associated with data creation, col-
lection, storage and computing achieved in con-
sumer and IT markets. Now, price competition is
coming to industrial markets. Just ask Amazon CEO
Jeff Bezos, who notably quipped, “Your margin is
my opportunity.”
As an example, Amazon has claimed its
Timestream offering for time-series data storage will
be one-tenth the price of existing offerings. The pric-
ing will be visible, bringing transparency as well as
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OTHER VOICES
price competition to the industrial automation market.
Finally, disruption will impact the model for automation vendors
with respect to expectations for openness and interoperability among
systems. The software world thrives on “coopetition,” which is a
polite way to say, “I hate you, but we’re going to work together.” Con-
sider that AWS claims to run many more Microsoft Windows servers
on AWS virtual machines than Microsoft does on Azure. So despite
the fact AWS competes with Azure, AWS supports Microsoft custom-
ers. Similarly, Microsoft competes with Oracle in the database busi-
ness, but cooperates with them in competing against AWS. Politics
makes strange bedfellows, but it’s nothing compared to the oddities
of coopetition relationships in the software world.
As an example of the difference between the industrial automa-
tion and software markets when it comes to coopetition, consider
single-vendor user conferences. The last thing you’d expect to
see at a Rockwell event is an AVEVA product booth, or a Rockwell
booth at an AVEVA user conference. After all, they compete.
But when you visit the Apple App Store, you’ll find competitors
everywhere: Google Maps competes with Apple’s Map application;
Microsoft Office applications compete with Apple’s application;
and Spotify’s music service competes with iTunes. Not only that,
you’ll see Apple developer events with Apple employees dedi-
Level Plus
Liquid Level Transmitters
SAFETY By Design,
NOT Safety by Approval
Not all hazardous area approvals are the same. Special conditions of
use allow inferior products to be approved with caveats. These
inferior products have safety approvals but the burden is
on the end user to make sure the installation is safe and
the special conditions have been accounted for. Level
Plus® Tank Slayer® flexible level transmitter is SAFE
by design and only uses a 100% stainless steel braided
hose and offset weighted floats. The design is a SAFE
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option but because it is the SAFEST option.
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20 • AUGUST 2019
cated to supporting competitive efforts on the iPhone OS.
That's coopetition, with software companies deciding it’s better
to hold some of the business than lose all of it when a customer
goes elsewhere for a better user experience. And again, this isn’t
a hardware or manufacturing application issue at this point, it’s
about moving data to the cloud for improved access and insights.
Manufacturing—per McKinsey & Co.’s 2011 report on big
data—generates twice as much data as the next largest industry
vertical (government), and that data represents billions of dollars
in storage fees and related services. Since “data has gravity” and
attracts additional services like management and analytics, any
firm owning or storing data is in a position to extract additional
revenues from related services.
This leveraged position has been dominated for decades by
automation vendors because their components, sensors and
software applications generate the data. Now we're in the early
stages of software-led disruption to the established order, with
software companies bringing a new set of expectations for cost
and interoperability to the market for cloud storage and analytics.
The disruption begins now, but it will trickle through the industry
for many years, with waves of customer acceptance and adoption
of software-based offerings.
Safety Integrity Level
IEC 61508
www.controlglobal.com
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IRUFRQVLVWHQWTXDOLW\UHOLDELOLW\DQGKLJKSHUIRUPDQFH³HYHU\WLPH

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 ON THE BUS
Watson, do we need you?
The siren song of simulation is strong, but there may be more practical solutions.
THE incident review team determined that all
operators should review their findings: an errant
reading on an O2 analyzer caused the air/fuel ratio
to be abnormally high, and the temperature con-
trol kept firing harder to maintain temperature. Not
only was it wasting fuel, it began increasing NOX
emissions until they were approaching the permit
limits. Fortunately, a veteran operator arriving at
shift exchange recognized the symptoms, and
recommended someone call out an analyzer tech-
nician to look at the O2 analyzer. Once repaired,
the controls and process returned to normal.
Instilling the sensibility or awareness to “see” the
JOHN REZABEK way the veteran sees complex integrated processes
Contributing Editor and systems is a growing challenge, as all industries
JRezabek@ashland.com struggle to replace retiring experienced operators
with relatively new recruits. An incident like the one
described above can be reviewed in written form or
Industries like aviation using PowerPoint in refresher training. It can be dra-
and marine piloting matized by the team leader as the trainee runs the
have been employing control board, challenging them to think about pos-
simulation for years, sible outcomes, observations and remedial actions.
but it’s a little more But increasingly, industry is seeking simulation tools
difficult for a process to more directly immerse trainees and experienced
plant because every operators in challenging scenarios.
process is more than Other industries, like aviation and marine pilot-
a little different. ing, have been employing simulation for years,
but it’s a little more difficult for a process plant
because every process is more than a little differ-
ent. While every fluidized catalytic cracker (FCC)
is doing the same thing—combining heavy gas oil
from a crude distillation unit with catalyst and dis-
tilling the end products into higher-value fuels—
one would struggle to find two that were similar
enough to use the same simulation configuration.
Consequently, engineers and trainers are chal-
lenged to use simulation packages that don’t re-
quire months of engineering to configure.
Another approach that has some appeal is the
“Wayback Machine,” yet to be widely marketed by
Mr. Peabody, but adopted by Google for archiving
vanished web pages. DCS graphics can be popu-
lated with historical data, and played back to allow
trainees to have a glimpse of what the board might
22 • AUGUST 2019 www.controlglobal.com
have looked like during an incident or upset. It’s
an approach that’s not without merit, but limited
by the capabilities of the historian (not all can play
back history to a graphic), sampling frequency of
the historian, and the lack of alarms, trends and
operator actions as they may have occurred in real
time, way back when. You might need to use some
service providers to transform your DCS graph-
ics to, say, OSIsoft PI graphics, so they look like
what the DCS operator sees. But it’s still a smaller
investment than a high-fidelity simulator. While
you can’t easily use it to explore what-ifs, it does
have the advantage of showing precisely what the
measurements and indications displayed—there is
almost zero model uncertainty or drift.
Not unlike the simulator is the concept of a digi-
tal twin, not an especially new idea but one that’s
gaining traction as another service for Microsoft
or your favorite control systems supplier to garner
your purchase orders. The thought is, a virtual
replica of your process plant, complete with all its
critical machinery, vessels, weather, controls and
so on, is created on a computer. Perhaps it will be
in the cloud or the fog/smoke, whatever term you
like for “someone else’s computer.” We're drawn
to the cloud solution because first, we don’t have
to purchase a huge powerful computer (we will
rent space on Microsoft’s or Amazon’s); second,
we don’t have to maintain it/patch it/update the
OS; and third, someone else will worry about fire-
walls, security, etc.—all for a fee. But will it work
as well as OneDrive or SharePoint? (Hilarious
laughter here.) Someone clever (Watson?) will im-
bue the digital twin to mirror the real process, up-
dating measurements in the twin, and somehow
including dynamics too! How has your experience
been, scaling up pilot plant data and dynamics to
a production-class plant? Perhaps Watson will be
most incredibly more clever than us.
The digital twin has power and promise for the
well known and highly-tamed processes—boil-
ing water, spinning turbines—but might find the
arena of modeling chemical and refining process
dynamics as challenging as we humans do.
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 WITHOUT WIRES

Wi-Fi for sensor networks

Commercial technology is rapidly ripening for consumption in industrial facilities.

WI-FI technology, as defined by the IEEC 802.11 a low-bandwidth data transmission to nine Wi-Fi 6
standards, is continuing to evolve, and with each clients. For an uplink, OFDMA allows data frames
release becomes faster, stronger and more ca- to be transmitted simultaneously by multiple sta-
pable, as well as an increasingly viable option as tions, while in the opposite-direction downlink,
a wireless sensor network (WSN) physical layer OFDMA allows multiple data frames to be trans-
alternative. China has released IEC 62948:2017, a mitted in one data unit to multiple stations, in both
factory automation (WIA-FA) WSN based on Wi-Fi cases amortizing preamble overhead and medium
networks, so the option is available as an interna- contention overhead, which leads to high aggre-
tional standard with products available—at least gated network throughput. Downlink OFDMA can
on the Chinese market. further optimize aggregate throughput by balanc-
The accompanying table summarizes how the ing the allocation of power between users at high
Wi-Fi standard has evolved over the past decade, versus low signal-to-noise ratios.
adding more data capacity as well as improved data The new Multi-TID aggregated MAC protocol data
IAN VERHAPPEN propagation capabilities to improve reliability and unit (Multi-TID AMPDU) feature allows aggrega-
Senior Project Manager, support for multiple users. The new features are in- tion of frames from multiple traffic identifiers (TIDs)
Automation, CIMA+ teresting from an engineering perspective, but what from the same or different quality of service (QoS)
Ian.Verhappen@cima.ca matters is how they improve the wireless experience requirements in one transmission; again, giving de-
and, in our case, how it will help run our facilities. vices extra flexibility to aggregate more efficiently,
Orthogonal frequency-division multiple ac- reducing overhead and increasing throughput and
cess (OFDMA) allows a 20 MHz channel to be overall network efficiency.
A Far Point paper partitioned into as many as nine smaller chan- Wi-Fi 5 uses a maximum symbol constellation
predicts that, although nels, meaning a Wi-Fi 6 AP could simultaneously size of 256-QAM. With Wi-Fi 6 support for 1024-
Wi-Fi 6 products are transmit smaller frames, as would be the case for QAM, up to 10 bits of data can be sent during a
only coming to market
later this year, it will
Wi-Fi generation Capabilities
support 50% of global
connected devices, 802.11n Released 2009
including cell phones Data capacity 300-600 Mbps
and IoT devices, by
4 Operating frequencies 2.4, 5 GHz
2022.
4 Path propagation MIMO/OFDM
4
802.11n Channel width 40 MHz
802.11ac Released 2015

5 Data capacity 2,167 Mbps

5 Operating frequencies 5 GHz

5
802.11ac
Path propagation
Channel width
More than 3 MIMO streams, multi-user MIMO
160 MHz
802.11ax
6 Released 2019, Wave 2 expected

6 Data capacity 10 Gbps

6 Operating frequencies
Path propagation
2.4, 5 GHz
Bi-directional MU-MIMO/ OFDMA; OMI
802.11ax Channel width 160 MHz

24 • AUGUST 2019 www.controlglobal.com

 IN PROCESS

transmission, meaning over a short range,
1024-QA increases throughput by 25%
over a Wi-Fi 5 installation.
Operation mode indication (OMI) pro-
vides an efficient way for client devices
to signal the maximum number of space-
time streams and maximum bandwidth
they'll use to transmit and receive. Simi-
technologies have factored this into their zational LAN,” Farpoint Group whitepa-
developments. per, Doc. FPG 2019-4104.1, April 2019
• “Wi-Fi 6: high performance, next genera-
REFERENCES tion Wi-Fi,” Wi-Fi Alliance whitepaper,
• “Wi-Fi 6 arrives: the future of the organi- October 2018

| PI11-01USA |
larly, the basis service set (BSS) color-
ing technique is an enhancement of the
blacklist/whitelist concept. This means, High-quality build, elegant design:
rather than assuming whether or not a
nearby signal on the same channel is Multi-touch panels for Ex Zone 2
likely to be a source of interference, a
given transmitter can determine the likeli-
hood of potential interference, thus im-
proving spatial reuse by allowing the use Robust:
all CPX models
of that adjacent channel if it is available. have a high-quality,
These two features again increase resistant aluminum
housing.
overall device power efficiency, while also Intuitive:
all CPX models offer
permitting more frequent changes to the
the advantages of
transmit and receive operating mode. Beckhoff multi-
The final new feature of interest to con- touch technology.

trol and WSN/IoT applications is support

Adaptable:
for individual target wake time (TWT) that
all CPX models
allows scheduling of traffic exchanges be- impress with a wide
tween an AP and a client device. TWT re- variety of mounting
concepts.
duces the overhead and inefficiency of the
channel access method for obtaining trans-
mit opportunities, and allows power-saving
client devices to reduce power consump-
tion by explicitly identifying the times when
they should be awake.
A Far Point paper (see references
below) predicts that, although Wi-Fi 6
products are only coming to market later
this year, it will support 50% of global
connected devices, including cell phones
and IoT devices, by 2022. As for wireless
www.beckhoff.us/process
device developers, Far Point also predicts By systematically integrating advanced multi-touch technologies into the compa-
ny‘s Control Panel and Panel PC display portfolio, Beckhoff has provided machine
that when possible, new equipment will
builders, manufacturers and other industries with forward-looking operator interface
support seamless transfer between Wi- concepts for years. With the new CPX Control Panel series, applications in hazard-
Fi 6 and 5G networks, reducing the load ous areas, classified Zone 2/22, can now also benefit. The high build quality and
on the 5G networks, while also providing robust aluminum enclosures ensure reliability and durability in harsh and potentially
large area coverage. explosive environmental conditions. These panels – along with the compact, intrin-
sically safe EtherCAT Terminals from the ELX series classified for Zone 0/20 – deliver
Once again, the line between IT and
significant advantages to process industry applications.
OT technologies continues to blur with
the benefit of lower-cost, widely avail-
able technology being countered with the
need to more effectively manage bound-
aries between the systems. Fortunately,
the developers of the Wi-Fi and 5G

www.controlglobal.com AUGUST 2019 • 25

IN PROCESS
New DCS, division debut at Siemens summit
More than 700 visitors see launch of Siemens Digital Industries and Simatic PCS neo web-based DCS.
A new web-based distributed control system (DCS) and a dig-
italization-focused organization were unveiled. More than 700
attendees witnessed the debut of Siemens Digital Industries, a
new organization formed in April that brings together its global
capabilities focused on the automation and digitalization of pro-
cess, hybrid and discrete manufacturing industries. They also
saw the launch of Simatic PCS neo, a new distributed control
system (DCS) that leverages web technologies to deliver im-
proved usability, scalability and global collaboration.
“Digital twins in particular, tuned by artificial intelligence (AI),
can do things that people can’t,” said Raj Batra, president of the
U.S. division of Siemens Digital Industries, in the event's opening
keynote address. “You’ll see AI increasingly intertwined in indus-
try. Industry now has expectations in line with consumers. It’s
ROI now, not in seven years. Speed and scale are keys to suc-
cess in the digital age.”
Global scale and perspective
Siemens Digital Industries represents about one-fourth of the
company's global business, which had about 78,000 employ-
ees worldwide and earned €15.6 billion in 2018. The new di-
vision's portfolio includes vertical solutions in process, hybrid
and discrete manufacturing.
“It’s one thing to think global, another to be global,” added
Batra. “There are many common threads across regions and in-
dustries. We want to be pioneers in transforming how they work.”
DIGITAL TWINS FOR DIGITALIZATION
Raj Batra, president of the U.S. section of the new Siemens Digital
Industries division, stresses the importance of digital twin models
tuned with artificial intelligences (AI) to aid beneficial digitalization
during his keynote address at Siemens Automation Summit 2019 in
mid-June near Denver.
26 • AUGUST 2019 www.controlglobal.com
Web-based DCS
On the process control side, Simatics PCS neo is a new visual-
ization, engineering and collaboration environment that works
atop Siemens’ PCS 7 Version 9 control system hardware. Intui-
tive usability was a top consideration in its development, as was
enabling global collaboration among stakeholders.
With support for module type packages already integrated,
PCS neo is scalable from “small process modules up to the larg-
est process plants in the world,” and since its unified visual-
ization and engineering environment is based on HTML 5, no
client-side software is needed beyond a standard web browser.
PCS neo also meets the cybersecurity requirements of IEC
62443. It’s designed to support multi-layer, "defense-in-depth"
cybersecurity and consistently fulfills the specifications defined
in the Charter of Trust, an alliance created to support cyberse-
cure implementation of digital solutions.
Customer excellence recognized
Also during the summit's keynote, Siemens announced the
winners of its 14th annual Customer Excellence Awards (CEA)
that recognize users and partners who exemplify advanced
manufacturing and digitalization using its technologies and
solutions.
“Industrial facilities are truly working toward becoming digital
enterprises and embracing digitalization like never before,” said
Batra. “This year’s Customer Excellence Award winners are us-
ing automation and digitalization to gain insight into their opera-
tions allowing them to become more efficient and flexible while
maintaining security.”
This year's CEA winners included:
• Air Products and Chemicals for using Siemens' MindSphere
platorm in its proprietary ProcessMD application, a web-based,
predictive monitoring and fault-diagnostic platform. Third-party
customers running their plants can use ProcessMD to proac-
tively monitor plant conditions and gain insights.
• BNSF Railway for its hump-yard modernization program that
replaced obsolete control systems in hump yards across the
country with modular, state-of-the-art control systems, while
associated classification yards were still operating.
• Northrop Grumman Mission Systems implemented a digita-
lization solution using Sinumerik Integrate and Analyze My
Condition (AMC). The programs let users analyze opera-
tional performance of their Siemens fleet and make predic-
tive maintenance decisions, leading to improved reliability
and overall equipment effectiveness (OEE).
• Dow Performance Silicones worked with Siemens to initiate
a program called “PCS 7 health check” that aims to opti-
 IN PROCESS

mize system reliability. Siemens and Dow organized a global

task team of executive management from both companies,
as well as a dedicated Siemens technical supervisor and
embedded engineer. In less than two years, the collabora-
tion and commitment from both companies showed positive
KPIs, realizing a number of best practices, lessons learned
and knowledge sharing.
• Kuka Assembly and Test Corp. worked with Siemens to test
Sinamics S120 drives versus legacy test-stand drives. They
found the new drives exceed the incumbents’ performance.

ISA picks first six members

of cybersecurity alliance
The International Society of Automation (www.isa.org) an-
nounced on July 25 that Schneider Electric, Rockwell Automa-
tion, Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Claroty and Nozomi Networks
are the first members of its new Global Cybersecurity Alliance
(GCA, https://isaautomation.isa.org/cybersecurity-alliance).
ISA created GCA on July 10 to advance cybersecurity readi-
ness and awareness in manufacturing and critical infrastructure
HALL OF FAME AT HUG
Nick Sands (left), senior manufacturing technology fellow at DuPont and
International Society of Automation (ISA) Fellow, receives his award officially
inducting him into the Control Process Automation Hall of Fame from Paul
Studebaker (right), editor in chief of Control magazine and www.controlglob-
al.com, during the recent Honeywell Users Group Americas 2019 conference
in Dallas, Texas. Sands' recent contributions at ISA include serving as vice
president of the ISA Standards and Practices Department in 2015-16 and
co-chair of ANSI/ISA-18.2-2016.

Ensuring process
availability.
Providing flexibility.
Challenging expectations.

VisuNet HMI Systems

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 NEC Class I and II, Div. 1/2 and ATEX/IECEx Zone 1/21, Zone 2/22 HMIs
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 PCs and thin clients manufactured to meet the stringent demands of cleanroom and hygienic applications in the life
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www.controlglobal.com AUGUST 2019 • 27

IN PROCESS
facilities and processes. The alliance brings end-user compa-
nies, automation and control systems providers; IT infrastructure
providers; services providers and system integrators; and other
cybersecurity stakeholder organizations together to proactively
address growing threats.
ISA developed the ANSI/ISA 62443 automation and control
system cybersecurity standards, which have been adopted by
the International Electrotechnical Commission (www.iec.ch)
as IEC 62443 and endorsed by the UN. The standards define
requirements and procedures for implementing electronically
secure automation and industrial control systems and security
practices, and assessing electronic security performance.
The standards approach cybersecurity holistically to bridgr
the gap between operations and information technology.
Using ISA/IEC 62443, GCA will work to increase awareness
and expertise, openly share knowledge and information, and
develop best practice tools to help companies navigate the en-
tire lifecycle of cybersecurity protection. The alliance will work
closely with government agencies, regulatory bodies and stake-
holder organizations worldwide.
The alliance is also seeking more members. They can include
end users, asset owners, automation and control providers, IT
suppliers, services providers, system integrators and other stake-
holders. Annual contributions to fund initiatives are based on
company revenues and are tax-deductible.
SIGNALS AND INDICATORS
• P rocess instrumentation and cloud-based monitoring suppliers
Hawk Measurement America LLC (www.hawkmeasure.com)
and Flo-Corp (www.flo-corp.com) announced July 30 that they're
merging to create a privately held, complete flow, level and asset
monitoring solutions provider. The new organizations will operate
under the Hawk brand.
• Emerson Automation Solutions (www.emerson.com) reported
July 8 that it's purchased Zedi (www.zedisolutions.com) of Calgary,
Alberta, Canada, and its cloud-based SCADA platform to combine
Zedi’s scalable cloud platform and applications expertise with Em-
erson’s applications, controller, instrumentation and flow metering
portfolio, and help oil and gas producers increase production and
lower operating costs through cloud-based monitoring, control and
optimization. More recently, Emerson and Dragos (https://dragos.
com) reported July 30 that they'll jointly enable power producers
and water utilities to strengthen the security of critical assets.
• Aspen Technology Inc. (www.aspentech.com) announced July 12
that it's agreed to pay $102 million CAD to acquire Mnubo Inc. a
Montreal-based provider of purpose-built artificial intelligence (AI)
and analytics infrastructure for the Internet of things (IoT). Aspen-
Tech has also purchased Sabisu Ltd., a U.K.-based provider of a
flexible enterprise visualization and workflow solution.
28 • AUGUST 2019 www.controlglobal.com
Yokogawa to establish OPA
test bed for ExxonMobil
Yokogawa Electric Corp. (www.yokogawa.com) announced on
July 9 that it's been selected by ExxonMobil (https://corporate.
exxonmobil.com) to be the Open Process Automation (OPA)
system integrator that will establish the company’s OPA test bed.
Experiments conducted on the test bed will support ExxonMo-
bil’s effort to develop a standards-based, open, secure and in-
teroperable control architecture. ExxonMobil and Yokogawa are
members of the Open Process Automation Forum (OPAF, www.
opengroup.org/open-process-automation/forum).
ExxonMobil will use the test bed to evaluate components and
standards, and provide the basis for moving OPA technology into
field trials. Yokogawa adds its office for the test bed will be near
ExxonMobil’s Houston campus in Spring, Texas, and the initial
stage is planned to be operational in 4Q 2019.
ExxonMobil plans to share results of system tests using the
test bed with its partners and OPAF. It will also encourage them
to use the test bed to evaluate other devices used in their field
trials. “We're looking forward to working with Yokogawa to
stand up and operate the test bed for ExxonMobil and our
collaboration partners," says Brad Houk, project manager for
ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Co.
• OSIsoft LLC (www.osisoft.copm) reported July 24 that Michael
Siemer will join OSIsoft as president, while Wolfgang Kuchen will
join as senior VP of sales and marketing. Siemer comes to OSIsoft
from Devon Energy Corp., where he served as VP of engineering,
exploration and production, and data and analytics. Kuchen most
recently served as president of Allergy Research Group (ARG).
• Stratus Technologies (www.stratus.com) reported July 18 that
it's joined the Open Process Automation Forum (OPAF, www.open-
group.org/open-process-automation/forum) to help define next-
generation edge computing standards. Stratus will collaborate
with other OPAF members to turn data into actionable insights at
the edge, unlocking the potential of digital transformation.
• ABB (www.abb.com) and OKEA (www.okea.no) announced July
5 that they'll support the Norwegian oil and gas firm's efforts to
achieve productivity gains in offshore operations. OKEA will use
ABB’s digital know-how to sustain lean, optimized operations with
responsive business models to maximize performance, reduce
time-to-value and support cost-effective field developments.
• Beijer Group reported July 8 that its Westermo (www.westermo.
com) division has acquired Neratec Solutions AG (www.neratec.
com) in Bubikon, Switzlerland, which specializes in WLAN products
and wireless communication solutions for the railway sector.
ABB appoints Rosengren CEO
ABB (www.abb.com) reported Aug. 11 that its board has unani-
mously appointed Björn Rosengren as CEO. He will join ABB on
Feb. 1, 2020, and succeed CEO Peter Voser, who will revert to
his sole position as ABB's board chairman.
Rosengren, 60, has been the CEO of global engineering group
Sandvik since 2015, and oversaw its successful implementation
of a decentralized structure that improved its profitability and
finances. During 2011-15, he was CEO of Wärtsilä Corp., which
manufactures and services power sources and other equipment
for marine and energy sectors. He also spent 13 years in man-
agement roles at productivity supplier Atlas Copco.
“The board is pleased Björn Rosengren will be taking the lead
at ABB, bringing with him a proven track record of value creation
and exactly the managerial skills ABB needs during the next
stage of its transformation,” said Voser.
Rosengren added, “I'm honored to have the opportunity to
join ABB, a truly global technology leader, after I complete my
current commitments. At such a pivotal time for manufacturing
industries, ABB must continue to best serve the needs of global
customers with a unique technology and digital solutions port-
folio to help enhance their productivity. I look forward to work-
ing with my new colleagues around the globe to enhance value
through the delivery of the group strategy and fully empowering
our businesses and people.”
VFD and motor to a constant-load pump to raise the ER above
the utility’s variable load baseline.
Finally, the ER metric is a direct calculation from the regula-
tory required PEI value, and represents the percent power sav-
ings over a U.S. DoE minimally compliant pump. As pump effi-
ciency regulations come into effect and more incentive programs
for efficient pumps are launched, HI's ER label and certificate
are becoming more valuable than ever.
ABB connectors join library
ABB (www.abb.com) reports 3D renderings of more than 3,000
of its Homac connectors ranging up to 500 kV capacity for elec-
tric utility substations have been added to the Substation De-
sign Suite (SDS) software library from Spatial Business Systems
(SBS) for CAD designers modeling substation projects. SDS is
available to users of Autodesk Inventor and AutoCAD Electri-
cal software. Inventor with SDS allows electrical designers and
EPCs to pull 3D CAD objects into a 3D virtual environment for
substation projects, while AutoCAD Electrical users will benefit
from a wider selection of connector models to help speed design
process. For more information visit www-public.tnb.com/pub/en/
node/532.

PROComSol
Hydraulic Institute starts Process Communications Solutions

energy rating, program Convert your mobile device into a

full featured HART communicator.
The Hydraulic Institute (HI) launched a new feature Aug. 8 on its
HI Energy Rating (ER, www.pumps.org/40.5) website to calcu-
late increased power savings from adding more efficient compo-
nents to pumps listed on the ER Database, and issue an energy
rating certificate unique to those extended pump products. Each
certificate will be listed in the database, where they can be used
by utilities for deemed incentives.
HI reports one feature of its Energy Rating program is it can
capture downstream savings when controls are added by users
or third parties, which are missed in U.S. Dept. of Energy (DoE)
requirements. This feature is only applicable when a motor and/
or control is added to a pump listed in the ER Database. Using
standard calculations in DoE regulations, it lets users calculate a
new energy rating after inputting data for the motor and/or con- ProComSol, Ltd is a leader in the design and manufacture of
trol being added to the pump, and opt to generate a certificate. advanced, cost-effective, and reliable HART communication
products for the Process Control marketplace.
HI adds ER certificates adds value to the pump marketplace
because a significant number of pumps are stocked by distribu- 216.221.1550 sales@procomsol.com
tors without motors or VFDs attached. The certificate lets dis-
tributors capture additional power savings when adding a high- procomsol.com
efficiency motor to a bare pump to raise the ER above a utility's
constant load baseline. It also allows distributors to add a VFD or

www.controlglobal.com AUGUST 2019 • 29

RESOURCES
Augmented, virtual, mixed realities get real
Control's monthly resource guide
INTRODUCTION TO AR PAPER
This seven-page whitepaper, "Getting
started with industrial augmented real-
ity solutions" by PTC, covers in detail the
six critical steps that will guide project
owners through getting started with in-
dustrial AR. It show how to identify the
most compelling business case; generate
quick, visible wins using a phased imple-
mentation; deliver optimal frontline user
experience; and save significant time and
costs for your organization. It's located
and downloadable at www.ptc.com/
en/resources/augmented-reality/white-
paper/getting-started-with-industrial-ar-
solutions
PTC
www.ptc.com
METAL CASTING WITH AR/VR
This seven-minute video, "Italpresse
Gauss delivers innovative mainte-
nance service with Aveva," shows how
the Italy-based manufacturer embed-
ded Aveva's AR/VR software in its light
metal castings solutions to develop its
AMe tool; applied digital twin technol-
ogy in the real world; and enabled its
customers to do maintenance activities
with greater effectiveness. The solution
is a mobile offering that relies on the
IIoT, VR and AR to deliver maintenance-
as-a-service. It's at www.youtube.com/
watch?v=leN9mL5xL60
AVEVA
www.aveva.com
INDUSTRIAL SCADA WITH AR
This 5.5-minute video, "Augmented real-
ity and industrial SCADA systems" by
Dave Spencer of VTScada, demonstrates
how SCADA status updates, alarms,
trends and other data can "hover" over
displays of physical equipment by us-
If you know of any tools and resources we didn’t include, send them to ControlMagazine@Putman.net with
“Resource” in the subject line, and we’ll add them to the website.
30 • AUGUST 2019 www.controlglobal.com
ing a Microsoft HoloLens and VTScada
software. It also covers how AR may
transform the roles of plant operators and
managers in the near future. It's located
at www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK_hW_
c99Xs
VTSCADA BY TRIHEDRAL
www.vtscada.com/scada-thin-clients
3D MODELS IN AUTOMATION
This five-minute video, "Virtual reality and
3D modeling in automation controls" by
Cristobal Rivera of system integrator Avid
Solutions, covers the basic concepts,
uses and benefits of using virtual real-
ity (VR) and 3D modeling in automation
projects. It shows how VR can reduce
design steps, improve communications,
and be used for virtual commissioning,
too. It's located at www.youtube.com/
watch?v=fttPcrlKHLg
AVID SOLUTIONS
www.avid.com
HISTORY, FUTURE OF AR/VR
This almost-20-minute video, "Calm tech-
nology and the future of AR" by Amber
Case, research fellow at the MIT Media
Lab, covers "calm technology" and puts
many of the big issues surrounding AR/
VR in context. It's at www.youtube.com/
watch?v=WTiakRbUF3g
AR IN ACTION
www.arinaction.org
AR IN INDUSTRY 4.0, BUILDINGS
This 2.3-minute video, "Augmented real-
ity in use for industry 4.0 and building
technology," covers how AR facilitates
processes in industrial automation and
building automation and forms the ba-
sis for digitalization. It reports that AR
systems can be used in facility manage-
ment, as well as in in-house tool shops
for optimizing processes and reduc-
ing error rates. In in-house tool shops,
networking of all machines and tools
in production can reduce the setup
times of injection molding systems. It
shows how every workspace can offer
access to tool data and databases with
animations and 3D models on every
tool. It's located at www.youtube.com/
watch?v=UhW12bILH7U
PHOENIX CONTACT
www.phoenixcontact.com
MIXED REALITY FOR
BATTERY ASSEMBLY
This 2.5-minute video, "BAE Systems
leverages the power of mixed reality with
Microsoft and PTC," shows how BAE Sys-
tems used PTC’s Vuforia Studio software
to easily create interactive mixed reality
experiences for HoloLens in hours and at
one-tenth of the usual cost. Using these
guided step-by-step work instructions,
first-line workers were able to assemble
battery cells in less time, and BAE was
able to train new people 30-40% more
efficiently. It's at www.ptc.com/en/re-
sources/augmented-reality/video/bae-
systems-mixed-reality-with-ptc
PTC
www.ptc.com
INDUSTRIAL PANEL DISCUSSION
This 24-minute video, "AR industrial
panel" is part of the AR in Action video
series that convenes the top minds in the
AR ecosystem to accelerate conversation
and collaboration among industry innova-
tors, thought leaders, investors and cor-
porations who are looking at real-world
implementations of AR. It's at www.you-
tube.com/watch?v=nNjZb7uv8bk
AR IN ACTION
www.arinaction.org
 EMERSON GLOBAL
USERS EXCHANGE S E P 2 3 – 2 7 , 2 0 19 | NASHVILLE, TN

*REGISTER TODAY:
EMERSONEXCHANGE.ORG/AMERICAS

Who should attend?

Managers, supervisors, engineers, specialists, technologists,
directors and VPs representing:
• Control systems • Operations
• Instrumentation • Projects
• Maintenance • Reliability
• Production • IT/Information Technology

Over 300 presentations on topics including:

• Digital Transformation • Personal Career Development
• Cybersecurity • Sensing & Analytics
• IT/OT Collaboration • Simulation & Digital Twin
FOR USERS, BY USERS • IIoT Adoption • Workforce Productivity

©2019 Emerson. All rights reserved.

*Must be a current customer/user of Emerson products or services to attend.

LOOK before you leap. Think before you act. These and other
pieces of good advice are all about what you can see before you
decide what to do. Lately, there are more input types and data
sources coming into everyone's eyeballs that can help human
activities, including process control and automation. However,
the problem is sorting through new formats like augmented real-
ity (AR) and others, choosing the most suitable, organizing what
they're trying to say, and using them to achieve better outcomes.
Virtual training, real savings
"The semiconductor industry is going through a major transfor-
mation," says Dr. DP Prakash, global head of innovation in the
CIO division at GlobalFoundries (www.globalfoundries.com) in
Santa Clara, Calif. "First, growing demand for product mixes
comes with an associated rise in manufacturing complexity. Sec-
ond, as we approach quantum limits on how small microproces-
sors can go, Moore’s Law scaling is fading out. Productivity im-
provements through innovative technologies including machine
learning, artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), AR and
32 • AUGUST 2019
robotic process automation are more important than ever."
Prakash reports that demonstrations on the potential value
of enterprise AR by PTC (www.ptc.com) inspired GlobalFound-
ries to pursue it. "We were convinced AR and VR will improve
employee safety, training and productivity," he says. Prakash
adds AR can deliver value in four primary areas, and that Global-
Foundries is exploring and integrating all of them. They include:
• Documentation that's simpler and 10 times faster with AR
headsets and software because maintenance workflows can
be captured quickly by experts, edited rapidly, and pushed
to a cloud-computing service.
• Training by projecting digital displays on plant-floor equip-
ment to supplement classroom instruction, which can cut
training time in half.
• Operations with voice-activated AR allows quick access to the
right data at the right time, reducing cognitive-load errors.
• Analytics for predictive and proactive maintenance before
manufacturing tools and process applications experience
problems or shutdowns.
www.controlglobal.com
picture Augmented realities
extend visibility for
performance and profit
by Jim Montague
Following recent pilot projects, GlobalFoundries enabled all
its factories with Vuforia Expert Capture AR software and Vufo-
ria Engine training software from PTC. "Now, Vuforia helps us
capture all that content on the RealWear or Microsoft HoloLens
headset, edit, organize and redeploy it wherever it's needed,"
adds Prakash. "We've already cut training time by 50%."
AR = HMI + digital twin
If potential users find 3D graphics floating in front of physical
equipment disorienting, it may help to think of AR is as a natural
extension of the human-machine interfaces (HMI) that came
before. Just as paper and clipboards gave way to display panels,
PCs, tablets and smart phones, today's screens are giving way to
headsets, glasses and other screen-less displays, but the basic
data delivery mission of all these HMI formats remains the same.
The twist now is AR's flexibility allows data, models and digital
twins to be added to interfaces for more efficient responses.
Ken Adamson, vice president for PlantSight at Bentley Sys-
tems Inc. (www.bentley.com), adds that, "A digital twin is virtual
www.controlglobal.com
Get the
information that reflects what's physically there, so it must be
continually updated, and bring new data to the model from dif-
ferent sources like spreadsheets. The other side is AR with most
whiz-bang examples putting 3D pictures on the real world, but
it can use any type of data on top of the model, and show it in a
real-world context. We're calling AR 'visual operations' because
it superimposes data on real items, including video feeds to
headsets and hardhats, so users can work hands-free. Another
benefit of AR is it can integrate 3D models into reality models to
show processes that usually can't be seen, such as pipes under-
ground or wiring behind walls."
Some pictorial history
While AR, virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR) and fill-in-the-
blank X reality (XR) are getting plenty of attention lately, they're
based on 3D graphics and display technologies that have been
around for many years. First-person, videogame-style, walk-
through simulations were expected to take over about 10 years
ago, and made headway in some industries, but they mostly
AUGUST 2019 • 33
AUGMENTED REALITY
DATA-AIDED REALITY
Figure 1: iQagent software scans QR codes and other points of
interest (POI), links with a server via wireless, and calls up real-time
operating data, documents, video and other resources about the
equipment it's viewing on tablet PCs, smart phones and wearable
devices. Source: iQagent
came and went in process applications because they didn't
achieve widespread implementation.
"In 2008, we started working with first-person gaming soft-
ware, and using 3D graphics to show real-time SCADA data.
Now, more use cases have emerged, including using building
information system (BIM) software like Autodesk's Revit for 3D
simulation and walkthroughs," says Russ Agrusa, president and
CEO of Iconics (iconics.com), now part of Mitsubishi Electric
Corp. "Different industries adopt AR at different rates."
Agrusa reports one of AR's primary advances is how it can
perform object recognition using stored device types or bar-
codes, QR codes or tags on equipment, and use that recogni-
tion to superimpose physical images with graphics showing
documentation, manuals, operations, or other useful information.
"A tank can be overlaid with images showing status, contents
and flows. All these elements can appear in the user's field of
view, right on top of the physical equipment it represents, which
is more efficient than calling back and forth to a control room
on a walkie-talkie, or even looking at a regular tablet PC," adds
Agrusa. "We're going to see a wave of innovation over the next
five years, and just as we moved from PLCs to PCs and the Inter-
net, AR is the next step for interfaces. For example, AR can be
used with facial recognition or biometrics for improving security
or audit trails. It can also work with global positioning systems
(GPS) to deploy the closest people to fix problems faster."
Bob Meads, CEO of iQagent (https://iqagent.com), reports his
company and its AR software grew out of his 20-year-old sys-
tem integration firm, iQuest (www.iquestcorp.com), which was
established to develop software integration with Siemens Simatic
WinCC HMI software. "When we saw the iPad 2 come out with
its camera in 2011, we knew we wanted get it onto the plant floor
34 • AUGUST 2019
quickly, and create something new. Our idea was to create an
app that could recognize equipment and display relevant infor-
mation," says Meads. "We bootstrapped our iQagent software,
and launched in 2012 as one the first AR solutions to make rele-
vant data and resources appear immediately on a mobile device,
which in turn allows them to be more efficient." (Figure 1)
From the beginning, Meads reports AR was intended to put
digital information into the context of the real world. However, to
provide data, AR systems needs to know where:
• Users are located in a facility;
• Equipment is situated on the plant floor, and what other de-
vices are in the same area; and
• Sensors and instruments are oriented, and how their data
will be captured and visualized.
"We started with QR and barcodes to create points of interest
(POI) because they were more efficient and cheaper than using
algorithms for object recognition," explains Meads. "Now, devices
like Microsoft HoloLens can map an environment, and add infor-
mation about the devices in it via a wireless network. Users can
see what's happening where they're at, and view data just like
seeing the POIs that show up in Google Maps. They can also run
iQagent on RealWear headsets if they need to be hands-free."
Seeking use cases
Even though AR is still in the early adopting phase in the process
industries, its supporters report there are many use cases where
it can assist process operations.
"Because there are so many ways that AR/VR and mixed re-
ality can be applied, users must start by identifying a business
problem, a pain in the neck, or just information that needs to be
collected to help decide what AR or other solution to use," adds
Bentley's Adamson. "Because AR can use data from the cloud,
it can do fleet-level functions by capturing real-time data from
many assets or facilities in varied environments that need an as-
sist at the local level.
"For example, Shell is building a 450-acre chemical plant near
the Ohio River and Pittsburgh. It's contracted with Eye-bot solu-
tions to fly over the site twice a week, using drones and our real-
ity modeling software to track construction and check for unsafe
situations. Shell is also using our flood simulation software with
the continuously updated reality model to determine what would
be impacted first, and show pooling after heavy rains to indicate
if any equipment needs to be moved."
Dave Skelton, vice president of development and manufactur-
ing at Phoenix Contact (www.phoenixcontact.com), reports it's
developed and demonstrated two pilot AR applications, one for
managing compressor controls on shrink-sleeve equipment at
its U.S. headquarters in Harrisburg, Pa. and the other providing
visualization of control assets at point of installation in Building 4
on its campus in Bad Pyrmont, Germany.
"The project in Germany retrofitted the facility, using the
Niagara protocol platform on the PLCNext controller, which in-
www.controlglobal.com

terfaced multiple protocols like Profinet and Modbus," explains
Skelton. "The project allowed the combination of control of multi-
ple control platforms found, not only traditional HVAC, but all en-
ergy, security, fire protection and lighting controls. AR was used
to show the maintenance staff maintenance drawings and safety
procedures, using targets on their control cabinets.
"In Harrisburg, the technology project originally connected our
PLCnext to the cloud for data collection, but the team also used AR
to display information. It was immediately apparent that AR could
quickly show indicators for machine cycles, performance history,
voltage/current flows and energy use, and serve on a HoloLens to
visualize values for operations at the machine (Figure 2). It can also
show the equipment's accessible work range, and if it's in or out of
work range. Recommendations if it's out of range, such as how to
fix it and what parts might be needed, are future additions being
considered. This was big for maintenance because AR can show
information that doesn't have to be searched for anymore."
Matt Klinepeter, lead web developer at Phoenix Contact, re-
ports that live production data is shown on the HoloLens, but
first it's read into a Node-RED-to-HTTP server that's hosted on
the PLCNext controller. This system is networked using regular
HTTP protocol, but it's programmed to provide data by C# soft-
ware and a list of API dependencies.
Remote monitoring—and mentoring
Beyond bringing in and showing production data more effi-
ciently, AR's other advantage is it can connect field workers with
more experienced personnel, who can see exactly what the field
person sees, even though the remote expert is at a distance.
DEFINING REALITIES
Plenty of new, old, familiar and semi-understood terms get tossed
around in discussion about augmented and related realities. To get
observers, developers and potential users on the same page, here are
some consensus definitions of the most common terms:
• Augmented reality (AR) usually consists of digital 3D, CAD/
CAM or other computer-generated graphics superimposed
on images of physical equipment, production applications or
other real-world environments. These graphics and their sup-
port software typically recognize physical items, or barcodes
or QR codes on them, and provide supporting documentation,
operating status or other useful data.
• Virtual reality (VR) is typically complete immersion of the
viewer in a computer-generated environment that doesn't in-
clude real-world images or video, but has been used to simu-
late some physical operations or environments.
• Mixed reality (MR) combines elements of AR and VR, working
in a real-world environment with non-real objects. For ex-
ample, because users typically see the outside of a device but
www.controlglobal.com AUGUST 2019 • 35
AUGMENTED REALITY
REACHING FOR PERFORMANCE
Figure 2: Noah Greene, mechatronics apprentice at Phoenix Contact,
uses a Microsoft HoloLens to demonstrate an AR-aided pilot for
compressor control, and see indicators like performance history and
energy use much faster. Source: Phoenix Contact
"AR isn't used in many process industry applications yet, but
one of its biggest uses is in remote mentoring, mostly in oil and
gas facilities," says iQagent's Meads. "A mentor can see through
the field operator's camera, so they're both looking at the same
things in the same view. The mentor can draw in the operator's
field of view or pull up a document, so they can collaborate on
how to correct the issue."
Meads adds iQagent AR software runs on HoloLens, as well
as on iOS devices using ARKit for compatible iPad and iPhones.
"These applications can help users with maintenance and
not inside, MR lets them work on it by allowing them to view a
digital rendering of its insides.
• X reality (XR) joins AR, VR, MR and physical reality to whatever
proportion each is needed by users and their applications.
• Digital twin begins with a description of a physical device or
system, which becomes increasingly complex until a model is
developed that represents as many of the real item's character-
istics as possible. This lets users input data, parameters and
potential problems into the twin, test scenarios much faster
then could be done in reality, show how the real-world counter-
part will likely respond or operate, and make adjustments that
can optimize the real device or system.
• Simulation includes using prior performance data or bench-
marks, projecting what will happen in the future, and making
proactive adjustments. These have progressed in sophistication
and decreasing turnaround time from written reports to increas-
ingly dynamic computerized and digital versions that can run in
near-real-time to the processes they're simulating.
AUGMENTED REALITY
changeovers, which often require dozens of procedures to be
followed," explains Meads. "Instead of using the traditional dozen
printouts for changeover, AR lets users pull up the right proce-
dure on a wearable device, including images and videos, make
that information available in context, and walk users through
what they need to do."
Iconics’ Agrusa adds that, "Remote experts can be whisper-
ers that solve problems, but AR can also connect the few re-
maining process control gurus with new people that can learn
from them more easily. AR improves collaboration because
those process control gurus can write notes, point out parts
of images, and circle items to convey their expertise to new
employees in real time. Iconics has a Connected Field Service
solution that integrates with our MobileHMI app and remote
expert feature, which connects regular SCADA systems; allows
them to run on smart phones, headsets, or eyepieces; brings
up any related information (from documentation to videos); and
fuses them all together."
Wearable = hands-free
Probably the most important technology aiding AR and enabled
by it is the parallel emergence of wearable interfaces that can
put data in front of workers, deliver remote expertise to users,
and most importantly, free their hands at the same time.
HOW TO MAKE AR A REALITY
There are several essential steps needed to implement aug-
mented, virtual or mixed reality solutions. Individual applica-
tions may need others, but here are the basic requirements:
• Identify the problem or use case that AR can help solve;
• View online videos or other presentations of the various AR,
VR and MR technologies in use to learn how they function.
• Play with any readily available AR/VR or wearable devices,
such as Microsoft HoloLens, Google Glass, Oculus Rift or
others. This can be help users explore how AR/VR works,
and show where they might be most useful.
• Determine if the process application where AR/VR could be
used is indoors or outdoors, which can affect which tech-
nology to employ.
• Decide if the AR/VR user can use a hands-on device such
as a tablet PC, or if they need a hands-free or voice-acti-
vated device such as a wearable headset.
• Evaluate what information should be presented on the AR/
VR device and how it will be delivered, such as documents,
manuals, real-time signals and SCADA.
• Decide what remote expertise may be needed by field staff,
and determine the best AR solution for connecting them.
• Design and develop an AR pilot that solves problems iden-
tified earlier, gather return on investment (ROI) data, and
scale up after pilot proves itself.
36 • AUGUST 2019 www.controlglobal.com
For instance, Braskem Idesa (www.braskemidesa.com.mx)
makes more than 1 million tons of polyethylene annually at its
three-year-old plant in Nanchital, Mexico. Its products are made
from ethane using a potentially risky process involving pressures
up to 3,000 (45,000 psi). To improve performance and reduce
risk using digitalization, machine learning, and predictive/pre-
scriptive maintenance, Braskem personnel undertook a project
called Cyclops that uses wearable, AR-enabled, Connected
Plant headsets from Honeywell for two-way sound and video
communications. They're supported by a three-year subscrip-
tion for software, applications and services for Connected Plant
wearables. The AR headsets provide task automation to workers,
who receive guidance, and can visualize system information and
documents to correctly perform tasks. They can also get assis-
tance from experts, who can access each user's head-mounted
display camera and use video chat to offer advice.
"Cyclops began after I talked with Honeywell about scenarios
as I worked with the plant on startup in 2016,” says Marco San-
tos, production engineer at Braskem Idesa. “My concerns were
focused on the operators. We had cell phones, laptops and the
DCS, but in the field, no tools for operators, just pencil and pa-
per to take data.
"With Cyclops, we’re increasing reliability, productivity and op-
erational skills, and monitoring startup and shutdown activities,”
adds Santos. “We can use the headsets to communicate and
coach operators in real time. When we inspect raw materials, we
can consult specifications. For safety, operators can take video
evidence of unsafe acts and conditions, and report them in real
time to other operators and supervisors."
In addition, the headsets also let experts guide staff using text
and graphics, designate features that need attention, capture
and annotate still images, and make text notes, Also, videos of
field operations can be used as tutorials to teach new operators
unfamiliar procedures. In the future, Santos adds the plant will
implement Movilizer, which is a handheld system that guides and
records operator and maintenance rounds, and uses intelligent
vests for real-time monitoring of workers' vital signs and environ-
mental conditions.
Guided to performance
Despite the potential gains, GlobalFoundries' Prakash reports it
took a while to convince staffers to accept and get used to their
new AR tools. "It's human to resist change, so we identified pain
points, and showed how AR could help," explains Prakash. "We
made it more about the business and use cases, and less about
the new technology, and got a much better reception. For exam-
ple, once they learned how AR could help their standard operat-
ing procedures, they came knocking and asking for it."
For users that want to implement AR, Prakash adds advocacy
should come from the top, bottom and middle of any organiza-
tion, just as it did at GlobalFoundries. "Leading a business trans-
formation through AR is not an easy task, and it will be much

tougher for any organization without support from the CEO, CIO
and other top managers. You have to get engagement at the top
floor early on. Our CEO and CIO recognized the potential of en-
terprise AR to provide a quick return on investment (ROI) that
led from the front," says Prakash. "Leadership on the plant floor
is just as important because it has the people who are closest to
the pain points and know the most about them. They just need
to learn what AR can do and how it can deliver ROI across the
four levels of value, including documentation, trainings, opera-
tions and analytics.
"Finally, middle managers, who usually focus on KPIs and
other metrics and don't have time for innovation, need to be
convinced. Our onsite Innovation Labs play a crucial role in this
regard, where use cases with benefits can be demonstrated to
leaders without disrupting operations. All GlobalFoundries' sites
now have fully enabled labs, where new ideas are put to test with
a culture of risk-taking, failing fast and learning quickly."
Augmenting analytics
Beyond its initial applications in training and maintenance, AR
can help in other disciplines, such as keeping data close at
hand, models updated, and analytics applicable.
"A couple of years ago, I'd have said, aside from the usual
use cases around training and access to documentation, AR/
VR was window dressing, but my position changed. AR can also
be a major source of context and reinforce domain knowledge in
analytic models. This also allows organizations to move forward
with more consistent asset models," says Luke Durcan, director
for EcoStruxure for North America at Schneider Electric (www.
schneider-electric.us). "Many clients talk about wanting to use
digital twins, but they don't really know what it means or where
to start. I ask what asset register they're using, such as Wonder-
ware, Maximo, SAP or manual documentation in a file cabinet,
because they can turn this registry into the start of an asset
model once they've enriched the data, and progress from there
to a potential digital twin. However, these registers and models
are usually fragmented across each organization, and they need
to be more consistent to put data into context, so they can run
higher-performing analytics."
Durcan reports users need consistent asset models that can
correspond with time series data, which is the foundation of any
data science or machine learning program. "However, data sci-
ence is a new concept for many users, so they need consistent
models and asset registers from which they can build digital
twins," explains Durcan. "This is where AR can come in as the
interface between plant floor and the digital infrastructure. Tra-
ditionally, an asset register might just be a document in a binder,
database or online, but these can get lost, and if they're not con-
tinually updated, they'll lose their context, even if they're using
software like Aveva APM, Maximo or SAP. It's not just the tech-
nology; it’s the people and process that drive business value"
In short, AR/VR can give users the nudge they need to update
www.controlglobal.com AUGUST 2019 • 37
AUGMENTED REALITY
SEEING INTO CELLS
Figure 3: The 16 robotic cells at Schneider Electric's 50-year-old but newly
revamped smart factory in Lexington, Ky., which makes about 11,000 load
sensors per day using its EcoStruxure Augmented Operator Advisor (AOA)
software to increase visibility into operations maintenance, achieved a
20% reduction in mean time to repair (MTTR) on equipment, and use pro-
cess digitization to reduce paperwork by 90%. Source: Schneider Electric
their asset registers and models, as well as provide a consistent
framework for adjusting applications and enabling patchworks of
equipment to collaborate. "If a maintenance guy must keep his
operation running, documentation is likely low on his agenda.
However, if he can use an AR tool, such as our EcoStruxure Aug-
mented Operator Advisor (AOA) software, then he might be able
to do more documentation because it's easier. Moving forward,
high-performance models are getting more complex, and using
direct, ground-truth data feeds from devices back to models. AR
can enable them by adding context, or allowing domain experts
to better train data science models."
For example, Schneider Electric runs 16 robotic cells at its
50-year-old brownfield facility in Lexington, Ky., which makes
about 11,000 load centers per day for residential and industrial
use and industrial safety switches. However, like any manufac-
turing environment machine breakdown could effect produc-
tion especially as much of the plant is automated. As a result,
Schneider Electric recently revamped the plant as its first U.S.
smart factory by integrating EcoStruxure AOA, which increased
visibility into operations maintenance, achieved a 20% reduction
in mean time to repair (MTTR) on equipment, and used process
digitization to reduce paperwork by 90% (Figure 3).
"The Lexington plant is using AR for training, compliance,
and speeding up documentation for diagnostics," adds Durcan.
"Unless it's part of a mandated process, a lot of data doesn't get
saved, or if it's kept, it's only for an individual process and it's
locked up. AR can change this by improving data access for as-
set models and operations."
LEVEL MEASUREMENT
Radar pierces barriers
Guided-wave and other innovations penetrate foam, steam, intermediate layers and more.
by Jim Montague
GUIDED-WAVE and other radar-based methods have been the
fastest evolving of the primary level measurement technologies
in recent years, but they can't do it all on their own.
Similar to any of today's process control and automation so-
lutions, they require a growing cast of supporting devices and
systems to achieve and maintain their advances, most notably
onboard microprocessors to process data and Ethernet ports
to communicate it. In the case of level measurement, specific
technical gains mean seeing further, deeper and more accu-
rately through vapor, steam, foam, intermediate layers, sediment
buildup and physical obstacles to determine precise amounts of
substances in tanks and other vessels.
"Level instrument performance has improved in the past few
years, but their costs haven't ramped up at a similar rate. In
some cases, technologies like radar have become more afford-
able compared to when it was first introduced, but its economic
benefit isn't limited to return on investment (ROI) because the
expertise required to set up newer level technologies has de-
creased," says Herman Coello, level marketing manager at Sie-
mens (www.siemens.com). "Taking into account the changing
demographics and the drain in expertise leaving the industry,
one can see that when level technologies are simple to set up,
this represent a real economic value since training is virtually
not needed. Furthermore, apps are being used for setup and in
some cases for diagnostics, and this can be a real time saver."
Non-contact vs. GWR
Level technologies don't generally change quickly, but radar has
been moving rapidly. "This growth has been driven by high-
speed processing chips and falling sensor prices as more suppli-
ers make pulse radar components for backup and side-sensing
devices in cars," says P. Hunter Vegas, project engineering man-
ager of the Process Automation Group at system integrator Wun-
derlich-Malec (www.wmeng.com) in North Carolina. "In the late
1980s and early 1990s, radar level meant crazy-expensive, big
parabolic dishes and were mostly installed in the huge storage
38 • AUGUST 2019
tanks that could justify the cost. In the mid-1990s, newer, lower-
cost radar level sensing technologies were introduced including
non-contacting pulse radar and contacting or GWR."
Vegas reports non-contact radar initially used a frequency-
modulated, continuous-wave (FMCW) radar signal aimed at the
surface of the product. The return signal echo was sensed, and
the difference in frequency allowed the transmitter to determine
the time of flight, and thus the height of the level. As high-speed
processing chips became available, pulsed radar was introduced
that used a fixed-frequency pulse of radar to measure the time
of flight of the echo to detect the level. The performance of both
types depends on the reflectivity of the product, frequency of the
radar, and size of the antenna horn.
"There are significant tradeoffs between these components,"
explains Vegas. “If material contact is allowed, GWR can be a
better choice because all of the radar energy is focused down
the probe. This allows it to operate with lower dielectric materi-
als, and it can even measure level and interface simultaneously
in some applications. The significant increase in signal strength
and efficiency allows GWR to be used in boiler-level applications.
Whether you use non-contacting or contacting radar, significant
improvements in digital signal processing and radar component
design have allowed radar to handle a broader range of applica-
tions even as the price has dropped.”
Siemens' Coello adds, "Instruments have become more com-
pact and easier to use. In the case of some radar level trans-
mitters, the operating frequency has moved to the W band.
Within this frequency spectrum, instruments operating from
78 GHz to over 80 GHz are now popular. To an end user, the
focus shouldn't be the operating frequency because some level
applications are better suited for lower operating frequencies.
Nevertheless, the higher frequency provides an unprecedented
flexibility in terms of installation. Thus, the need to retrofit the
process connections where instrument are installed has de-
creased. Another benefit of higher frequency is the instrument
signal is much narrower than the signal from instruments operat-
www.controlglobal.com
 LEVEL MEASUREMENT

ing in the C band. Again, this is why process connections are now
less challenging. But at the same time, a narrow signal means
there's less interference from any obstructions inside a tank or
silo. The overall result is faster commissioning with a new level of
dependability."
Despite these gains, non-contact just can't penetrate some
process conditions, which is where contacting or GWR comes in
because its probes and wires physically reach the substances us-
ers want to measure. "Radar can have a hard time in applications
with different dielectric constants that cause electric reflectivity,"
adds Vegas. "If you have material with low conductivity like pro-
pane or LNG, signals can bounce back weak. This is where GWR
can help because its focuses energy down a rod, which shows
changes in the dielectric constant, and allows readings that
couldn't be seen before. GWR started to gain ground in the early
2000s, and has come a long way in the past 10 years as its data
processing and other costs came down."
Handling the heat
While high-temperature applications used to rely on pressure
devices to indicate level, gradual improvement in radar and GWR
are allowing them to also serve in these environments. Thomas
Kemme, global strategy manager at Magnetrol (www.magnetrol.
com), reports, even with GWR, the aggressive nature of steam

TABLE 1: SELECTION AND BEST PRACTICES FOR TYPICAL RADAR APPLICATIONS

Selection and best practices
• Non-contacting radar (NCR)
Application Characteristics
• Guided wave radar (GWR)
• High-precision tank gauging system
NCR (if dielectric is high enough) or
Clean fluids with low viscosities and low dielectric values such as
Cryogenic GWR: use radar with a dedicated cryogenic tank seal
LNG, LPG, ethylene, propylene, R22 and other refrigerants, carbon
applications High-precision tank gauging system for storage tanks,
dioxide, nitrogen, argon and xenon.
custody transfer, or full containment LNG tanks
• This is commonly an oil and water application. Depending on the fluid
separation, an emulsion layer could be present
Separators GWR: use a single-lead rigid probe
• Dirty or paraffin-laden hydrocarbons could cause some coating,
so a single-lead probe is recommended
• Wide temperature ranges, can be as high as 750 °F (400° C)
• Fluids, especially at the lower end, can be dirty and cause coating
Distillation
and plugging of equipment GWR: use a single-lead probe
columns
• Important to insulate chambers and piping to minimize risk of plug-
ging and to maintain lower viscosity
• Blending tanks are used for mixing fluids or solids into fluids,
usually at ambient conditions
Blending tanks • Level measurements are needed to monitor fluid additions NCR
• May be corrosive, vapors, turbulence, foam
• Usually has an agitator for mixing.
Reactor vessels are similar to blending tanks except that a reaction is re-
quired to produce the final product. While the components can create an
exothermic or endothermic reaction, sometimes external heat is required
Reactor vessels NCR
• Vapors, foam and turbulence are often present
• Density can change as part of the reaction
• Pressure can vary from vacuum to positive pressure
• High-pressure/high-temperature equipment required
• Density and dielectric of steam increase as pressure and
temperature increase
Steam • Density and dielectric of liquid decrease as pressure and
GWR: use dynamic vapor compensation
generation temperature decrease
• Dielectric changes in the steam require compensation for the
guided wave radar measurement
• Control range is over small span
Solid products have different properties/challenges depending on if NCR: use for heavy materials
Solids they’re powder, pellets or big particles, and whether it’s dry or humid. GWR: use for low-dielectric, lightweight materials.
Also, different products tend to pile up differently. Dust is very common. Note: This is generalized
Source: Reprinted from McMillan, G.K. and Vegas, P.H. Process/Industrial Instruments and Controls Handbook, Sixth Edition New York, McGraw Hill

www.controlglobal.com AUGUST 2019 • 39

LEVEL MEASUREMENT
STEAM AWAY CONDENSATION
Figure 1: Eclipse guided-wave radar (GWR) steam probe has an innova-
tive design that includes Condensation Control Technology (CCT) coupled
with its original, patented Automatic Steam Compensation (ASC) to
eliminate inaccuracies caused by condensation. Source: Magnetrol
vessels make them a difficult environment to work in. For ex-
ample, condensation on the probe naturally occurs, which can
result in GWR level measurement errors due to delays in signal
transmission down the probe. "Our Eclipse steam probe has an
innovative probe design that includes new Condensation Control
Technology (CCT) coupled with our original patented Automatic
Steam Compensation (ASC). The new steam probe with CCT
eliminates inaccuracies caused by condensation so that optimal
performance can be achieved. There are already users showing
improved performance of their GWR in steam applications. Instal-
lation of the new Eclipse steam probe with CCT directly solved a
customer measurement issue in the Netherlands by eliminating
condensation on the probe." (Figure 1)
TO-DO LIST FOR LEVEL
To determine the most appropriate, accurate, best-performing solu-
tion for a level measurement application, users and experts alike
must follow several steps, according to P. Hunter Vegas, project
engineering manager of the Process Automation Group at system in-
tegrator Wunderlich-Malec Engineering's (www.wmeng.com). These
include:
• Understand the process and obtain the dielectric properties of the
material. Is the tank agitated? Could foam build on the surface? Is ma-
terial contact allowed?
• Get a detailed drawing of the tank, and ideally work with the radar
vendor to determine the best size/location of the nozzle before the tank
is built. Internal baffles, fill pipes, agitator blades, recirculation nozzles,
bottom shape, etc. can all impact the performance of the unit.
• Work with the radar vendor to determine the best radar solution.
The best radar technology (FMCW vs. pulse vs. GWR) can be selected
40 • AUGUST 2019 www.controlglobal.com
Choosing wisely
When implementing a level measurement application, Wun-
derlich-Malec's Vegas reports there are many technical aspects
that must be considered. "Some users think a radar transmitter is
just purchased, installed, and it works, but unfortunately there's
a lot more involved,” he explains. "A radar’s performance is de-
termined by a combination of process characteristics, tank inter-
nals, size/type of antenna and the frequency. Process and tank
dimensions limit options and selections of antenna and frequency
require tradeoffs.
"For instance, low-dielectric materials or foams can reduce
the strength of the echo in non-contacting applications. Larger
antennas can increase signal strength, but the size is usually
constrained by the size of the nozzle. Higher frequencies have
more signal strength for a given antenna size and tend to focus
the beam to a smaller area, but high frequencies are absorbed by
foams and scattered by turbulence. Meanwhile, low frequencies
can handle foam and turbulence, but have a larger beam size,
usually require bigger antennas, and tend to pick up reflections
off internal tank components. If contacting radar is an option,
then the tradeoffs of various probe designs must be considered
and in difficult applications, a stilling well may be required.”
Vegas adds that seeking expertise during the instrument selec-
tion process is critical to success. “The industry is moving rapidly
and new improvements are being introduced all the time," he
says. "Work with your vendor to make certain you get the best
combination of frequency and antenna type for your application,
and find out the right nozzle size and location before you buy
the transmitter. Many users just slap a nozzle on the tank, and
then try to find a radar device that fits. This greatly reduces your
equipment selection options and virtually ensures a less than op-
timal result.”
along with the best frequency, antenna/probe type, and nozzle location
to maximize the chance of success.
• If an application has a tank with an existing nozzle, options may
be somewhat limited. In this case, give the vendor the tank details and
process data, and see if a solution can be found. It may be necessary to
install a new nozzle to allow the radar to operate successfully.
• Once installed, use software provided with most radar transmit-
ters to commission them. This involves mapping tank internals when it's
empty to teach the transmitter to ignore echos from fixed components.
Mapping software can even mask and ignore spinning agitator blades.
“It's really important to work with your vendor to carefully evaluate
your application and determine the right radar solution," adds Vegas.
"It's also important to size and position the nozzle to suit the transmit-
ter, rather than selecting a transmitter to fit an existing nozzle. The lat-
ter might work, but it will probably never give optimal performance.”

Accurate O2 analysis
controls energy costs
Reliable, precise percent oxygen lets air separator run near specification limit.
by Stephen B. Harrison
RECENT developments are breathing new life into an established
technology for measuring the most traditional of all industrial gases:
oxygen. Innovation in analytical instrumentation for industrial gases,
for example, expanding use of nondispersive infrared (NDIR) sen-
sors and miniaturization for CO2 measurement seemed to bypass
oxygen measurement. That's no longer the case.
The oxygen molecule has mystical magnetic properties. These
allow it to be measured using the paramagnetic technique.
The discovery of this principle is credited to Sir James Dewar
in 1891. (Dewar, a Scottish chemist, also invented and gave
his name to the vacuum-insulated flasks that are extensively
used today for cryogenic gas storage.) The operating principle
of a paramagnetic oxygen analyzer has traditionally relied on a
dumbbell, with two glass spheres that contain nitrogen, which is
DIGITAL DUMBBELL
Figure 1: This solid-state “microwing” overcomes the drift often seen
in paramagnetic oxygen analyzers that use traditional nitrogen gas-
filled dumbbells. Source: ABB Automation GmBH
www.controlglobal.com AUGUST 2019 • 41
PROCESS ANALYZERS
suspended on a fine wire in a strong magnetic field. The sample
to be measured is passed over the dumbbell, and oxygen in
the sample is attracted by the magnetic field, which causes the
dumbbell to rotate. Various techniques can then be used to de-
termine the rotational torque, which is related to the amount of
oxygen in the sample.
As an alternative, compact electrochemical cells are often
used in oxygen gas detectors, but they have a finite life and are
prone to drift and various interferences that make them unsuit-
able for high-precision measurement applications. Zirconia sen-
sors are increasingly used for oxygen analysis in combustion
applications, and tunable diode lasers (TDL) are also gaining
popularity, especially for measurement of oxygen in flue gases.
Despite these alternatives, the paramagnetic method has re-
mained one of the favored analytical principles due to its linearity
and robust operating principle. For measuring oxygen at percent-
age-level concentrations in inert background gases, it's been a
default choice for instrument engineers for many years.
Despite decades of incremental product development, some
paramagnetic oxygen analyzer designs have suffered from a
small but noticeable drift, which led them to require frequent
calibration. A recent innovation overcame that problem, namely
development of a digital dumbbell that's been incorporated into
the Magnos28 analyzer by ABB. The main technical develop-
ment that this instrument brings is replacement of the traditional
nitrogen gas-filled dumbbell with a solid-state electronic “mi-
crowing” (Figure 1).
The microwing sensor reacts very quickly and accurately to oxy-
gen concentration changes due to its very low mass, high width-to-
thickness ratio, and optimized magnetic field distribution. Avoidance
of lead solder and use of advanced coatings also mean that the
internal wetted parts of the Magnos28 oxygen sensor are highly ro-
bust (Figure 2). Furthermore, the influence of moisture is drastically
reduced with this patent-pending technology.

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Suppressed zero and high sensitivity
“One of the challenges for oxygen analysis in air separation unit
[ASU] operations is measurement of the final product, as supplied
to the customer,” says Micheal Moede, product manager, ABB Au-
tomation. “The difficulties associated with accurate measurement
at and above the 98% level have, until relatively recently, meant
continued use of time-consuming, outdated and off-line wet chem-
istry techniques.
“When we developed the Magnos28 microwing paramagnetic
oxygen analyser, one of our ideas was to apply the instrument in
advanced air separation unit process control strategies. We can
manufacture the instrument with various measurement ranges of
high relevance industrial gas production in the 98-100% range.
Imagine we've compressed all the data that would normally be
gathered in a 0-100% measurement range, and crammed it into
that tiny 2% band between 98% and 100%. That’s how ultra-sen-
sitive Magnos28 can be.”
High sensitivity in the critical 98-100% measurement zone isn't
the only technical advantage. “Using a suppressed measurement
range is enabled by introducing a pressure sensor in the instru-
ment,” says Moede. “This compensates the oxygen concentration
reading, and means we can minimize the effects of air pressure
changes on the sensor sensitivity to almost zero.”
In addition, when used in the 98-100% measurement range,
calibration of the instrument should use a test gas with an oxygen
concentration within this range. A high-accuracy gas mixture with
a measurement uncertainty of only ±1% would be an appropri-
ate choice to ensure that the accuracy of the calibration gas is
consistent with the measurement accuracy of this high-precision
instrument.
The benefits of accurate final oxygen product measurement are
realized on the ASU with reduced power consumption. Every small
increase in oxygen purity requires additional reflux in the cryogenic
distillation column, which requires more electricity. To be able to
MICROWING IN SITU
Figure 2: The microwing of Figure 1 mounted in an analyser chassis.
Lead-free solder and advanced coatings make the internal wetted parts
#!,,./7&/29/52&2%% of the oxygen sensor highly robust. Source: ABB Automation GmBH

 PROCESS ANALYZERS

measure oxygen with high repeatability and accuracy means the

operation can be run close to the optimum point with minimal
risk and maximum reward. Furthermore, the very low drift on
the instrument also reduces the required calibration frequency,
which minimizes the required man-hours and labor cost for peri-
odic calibration and testing.

Proven in the field

AlzChem, located in Bavaria, Germany, is an innovative manu-
facturer of specialty chemicals. The site uses different air gases
for a range of production operations. These are produced on
their own captive ASU (Figure 3). The operating costs associated
with its ASU are primarily related to the cost of electrical power.
This cost can be burdensome to site efficiency targets if process
variables on the ASU aren't closely scrutinized. Gas analyzers
are used throughout the ASU to ensure efficient use of electric
power and guarantee product quality.
The principal of ASU operation is to compress vast quantities
of air, and pass it through a series of heat exchangers and ex- ALZCHEM AIR SEPARATION UNIT
pansion turbines to liquefy the air. In this state, the cryogenic air Figure 3: Conventional and microwing oxygen analyzers were
is distilled, and thereby separated into argon, nitrogen and oxy- compared on this air separation unit at AlzChem in Bavaria, where
gen. On a large ASU, the main air compressor can draw up to 15 distilling gases at unnecessarily high purities can be a costly waste
MW—similar to the electricity consumption of a mid-sized town of electricity. Source: AlzChem Group AG

Die-cast Polycarbonate
Aluminum

Polyester

Industrial Stainless
Wall-mount Steel
PROCESS ANALYZERS

100.00
Magnos28
4,000
Existing device
99.98

99.96 3,000
O2 (vol%)

Frequency
99.94
2,000
99.92

99.90 1,000

98.98
0
27.02.2019

04.03.2019

10.03.2019

15.03.2019

20.03.2019

26.03.2019

04.04.2019

09.04.2019

14.04.2019
20.04.2019
99.877 99.892 99,907 99.922 99.937 99.952 99.967 99.982
O2 (vol%)

Date Existing device Magnos28

ANALYZER TIME SERIES COMPARISON ANALYZER HISTOGRAM COMPARISON

Figure 4: This comparison of microwing and conventional analyzers Figure 5: Overlaying conventional and microwing analyser results in this his-
shows the microwing analyses stay in a tighter range with fewer togram shows the microwing readings have a more normal distribution and
abnormal readings. Source: AlzChem Group AG smaller sigma than the conventional readings. Source: AlzChem Group AG

of 15,000 people. With rising energy costs, it’s becoming increas- instrument previously in use. We're convinced of the improved re-
ingly essential to optimize the output of the ASU and minimize peatability and stability of the measurement, and confident that this
power consumption. This relies on robust process control strate- will lead to reduced power consumption and reduced calibration-re-
gies and high-precision process gas analyzers to guide required lated operating costs on our site.”
process adjustments.
One of the most critical process control measurement locations Combined measurements
on any ASU is final oxygen purity. If the oxygen is impure, it won't The compact design of microwing technology allows it to fit along-
be suitable for use in subsequent downstream process applica- side another analyzer in a single housing. For example, oxygen
tions. If the oxygen is over-pure, it’s an indication that the distil- measurement with Magnos28 can team up with CO2 measure-
lation has proceeded for longer than is required, and has been ment using an NDIR sensor. Or, the paramagnetic device can be
wasteful of precious electrical power. So, hitting the sweet spot mounted in the same housing with a thermal conductivity detec-
drives energy cost savings directly to the bottom line, and mini- tor (TCD) instrument, which could be suitable for measuring nitro-
mizes production of off-spec product, which would be wastefully gen in argon.
vented to atmosphere. With the requirement to measure multiple components at vari-
AlzChem has been using paramagnetic oxygen analyzers on ous concentration ranges on a typical air separation unit, this can
the ASU for many years to measure pure oxygen final product be an attractive option. Instrumentation capital cost savings result
concentrations in the range of 99.9% to 99.95%. In a recent from avoiding the expense of an additional housing and power
field trial, it tested Magnos28 oxygen sensor in parallel with their supply unit for the second analyzer. And, with space at a pre-
established device. Over a period of several weeks, the results of mium in most instrumentation shacks, the fact that two sensors
this field test showed that the Magnos28 provided better perfor- are combined in one rack-mounted instrument leaves more room
mance in terms of improved accuracy, tighter repeatability and re- for other essential equipment.
duced drift (Figures 4 and 5). “Technical innovation at ABB means we can ‘write the future,’
Jürgen Wimmer, who is responsible for plant inspection at Al- and we're delighted when this can be combined with commercial
zChem, reports, “We always work on continuous improvement to benefits for our customers,” says Moede. “We’re very pleased
get the best-in-class manufacturing processes for our innovative with the market feedback, which tells us Magnos28 is absolutely
products. Magnos28 oxygen analyzer uses the latest technology with fit for purpose and simply better value for money than anything
its unique design and manufacturing process. Therefore, it was a we have been able to offer in the past.”
natural choice for us to test Magnos28 in our air separation unit. We
established that the oxygen measurement from Magnos28 is more Stephen B. Harrison, managing director, sbh4 GmBH, can be reached at
accurate, more precise and within tighter tolerances compared to the sbh@sbh4.de.

44 • AUGUST 2019 www.controlglobal.com


Two rules for work
Start early and wait until the last minute. Work in parallel, not serial.
IT may seem contradictory to start early and wait,
but consider this: the situation is always changing.
So, if you invest effort in a project and complete
it early, by the time it's needed, “they” may want
something totally different. The customer changes
its mind as it comes to understand its needs; the
business environment context changes; the en-
terprise management changes; laws and regula-
tions change; and as time progresses, we come
to understand nuances that reshape the objec-
tive. You’ve probably worked on a project that
was shelved before its completion, cancelled by
a seemingly capricious leadership. So it makes
sense to not invest time and effort in something
that might never be needed, or make a final deci-
sion that may be overturned later when the situ-
ation has changed or is better understood. This
would just waste time, start processes that would
have to be overturned, or reveal an error in a deci-
sion. So wait until the last moment to start on a
project or declare a choice.
It might seem that procrastinators have the
right idea, but the concept is not to delay because
of fear, distraction or sloth. The concept is to be
most intelligent and efficient about your effort or
your reputation, to postpone commitment. How-
ever, waiting to the last minute means any plan,
design or solution is incompletely developed,
inefficient, not optimum. So start early in the plan-
ning, even if holding back on the action.
It’s intuitive to work in serial. You must build
the foundation before constructing the first floor,
then you can build the second—you can’t install
the upper floor first. You can’t take the fifth step
in a walk before taking the first. Many experiences
in life would indicate that things need to be done
sequentially, in series.
I believe that this “work in serial” rule is a valid
guide when the sequence is well defined. But
what about design of something new, entering into
a new contract, or performing product or process
development? If you complete one stage before
going to the next, you may eventually find some-
thing unexpected in the path or a future stage,
www.controlglobal.com AUGUST 2019 • 45
DEVELOP YOUR POTENTIAL
and the discovery would indicate a different ap-
proach should have been taken in the first stage.
Consider building a road from here to there. You
don’t start building before you scout out the ter-
rain. If you don’t know what lies ahead and you
start building at your feet, your road may lead to a
lake or chasm or swamp or ledge. Then you’ll real-
ize that it would have been better to start the road
leading to an alternate path, and that the building
effort was inefficient or wasted.
Whenever we do something new, we need to
forecast what lies ahead before cementing the
first stage. You need to draft all stages in the de-
sign or contract or relationship or development, so R. RUSSELL RHINEHART
you can see how all stages depend on the others. russ@r3eda.com
Sketch each. After you see that all can be inte-
grated, then each can be completed.
A painter doesn’t start a painting in the upper
left of the canvas, commit to it, then paint what is
It might seem that
adjacent, then continue serially across the canvas.
procrastinators have
The painter will envision the entire work, design
the right idea, but the
the interaction of images and colors for a desired
concept is not to delay
effect, then paint. Rarely does a book author start,
because of fear,
complete, and perfect Chapter 1 before sketch-
distraction or sloth.
ing subsequent chapters. Getting to Chapter 5,
the author may realize that Chapter 1 needs to be
revised to frame the topic, and the former effort
in perfecting Chapter 1 was wasted. Nor does a
chemical process designer detail the reactor out
of context of the implications of heat transfer, dis-
tillation and recycle. Any time you're doing some-
thing new or seeking a solution, draft all stages
before completing any one. Work in parallel. Work
on all phases simultaneously.
When teams of people divide up a novel proj-
ect, each team shouldn’t complete their part in
isolation, thinking that the initial plan was com-
plete. At the end, they may find that another
team’s design undoes what their part needs, or
undermines their attempt at optimization. Instead,
each of the parallel efforts should sketch their
solution, and throughout the process of develop-
ment, communicate with all other teams to ensure
that the solutions can be integrated.
 ASK THE EXPERTS
Control and automation books
What references do you recommend, and which are on your shelf?
This column is moderated Q: I'm student of instrumentation engineering. I
by Béla Lipták have a diploma of associate engineering (DAE) and
(http://belaliptakpe.com/), am continuing my education. I want instrumenta-
automation and safety tion books—I need books related to level, flow,
consultant and editor of the temperature, pressure, pneumatics, hydraulics,
Instrument and Automation electromechanical, viscosity, gravity, calibration,
Engineers’ Handbook etc. Can you refer me to some? Please guide me.
(IAEH). If you have an MUAHAMMAD NUMAN
automation-related question mnuman016@gmail.com
for this column, write to
liptakbela@aol.com. Q: I've been working in design and integration for
almost 25 years. I think that I already surpassed
the Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hours rule in my
line of work. However, in what's generally known
as automation (early in my professional carrier, this
field was called Instrumentation & Control), I often
fall short with the vast amount of knowledge that
we practice every day. I've been using your books
for years as basic references in my daily work, and
I have my own personal short list of books that I
always keep on my desk. However, I'd like to know
what books you recommend for an automation engi-
neer. Which do you have, and which do you recom-
mend as must-reads?
F. ALCALA
AlcalaF@cdmsmith.com
A: On the topic of level measurement, you might
look at these publications:
• Rosemount, “Level Measurement and Tank
Gauging" (2019)
• ISA: Measurement and Control of Liquid Level,
an Independent learning module from ISA,
ISBN-13: 978-0876646250
• ISA: "New Applications for Pressure Measure-
ment Technologies" (also contains good advice
on d/p level applications)
• Wikipedia: "Level Sensors," an overall orienta-
tion with good references (http://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/Level_sensor)
As to general automation books, I’m just looking
up at my bookshelf to see which volumes are the
most used and the dirtiest (some are actually fall-
ing apart from constant use). They're the classics
46 • AUGUST 2019 www.controlglobal.com
of Greg Shinskey, Donald Eckman, Page Buckley,
Hans Baumann, etc. If you want to see more com-
plete listings, go to these web addresses:
• w ww.pacontrol.com/book3.html
• https://nait.libguides.com/c.
php?g=211293&p=1394183
• w ww.automation.com/library/bookstore
• https://instrumentationtools.com/instrumenta-
tion-books-download
As to the newer publications on automation using
AI, neural networks and the like for robotics, cyber-
security, etc., the list is too long. I, too, am expand-
ing my process control coverage from writing about
industrial measurement and control. I’m about to
finish a new book in which I show that the methods
and theory we, the process control engineers, have
developed during the past century to analyze and
predict the behavior and to tune (control) industrial
processes apply beyond industry.
In this new book, I'm trying to prove that industrial
control theory can be used to analyze all processes.
One of the examples I'm using is the non-industrial
process of global warming. After all, the heat balance
of the planet is just a big, high-inertia and very inter-
acting heat-balance process where the gains, dead
times, tipping points and final steady-state (in short,
the behavior of the process) can all be calculated for
both limit-controlled and uncontrolled states. It’s fun
to show how similar this is to calculating, say, the new
steady-state hot water temperature that the outlet
temperature of a balanced (constant heat input and
output) hot water heater will reach if we add another
layer of insulation to it.
Sorry for wondering away from your questions.
I did that because I hope that you might add this
volume to your reading list when ISA brings it out
sometime next year.
BÉLA LIPTÁK
liptakbela@aol.com
A: I suggest the following books:
1. Shinskey, F. G., pH and pION Control in Pro-
cess and Waste Streams, John Wiley & Sons,
1973, ISBN 0-471-78640-3

2. Shinskey, F. G., Energy Conservation Through Control, Aca-
demic Press, 1978, ISBN 0-12-641650-8
3. Shinskey, F. G., Controlling Multivariable Processes, ISA,
1981, ISBN 0-87664-529-5
4. Shinskey, F. G., Distillation Control—For Productivity and
Energy Conservation, 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill, 1984, ISBN
0-07-56894-4
5. Shinskey, F. G., Feedback Controllers for the Process Indus-
tries, McGraw-Hill, 1994, ISBN 0-07-056905-3
6. Shinskey, F. G., Process Control Systems–4th edition, Mc-
Graw-Hill, 1996, ISBN 0-07-057101-5
7. McMillan, Gregory K., Advanced pH Measurement and Con-
trol–3rd Edition, ISA, 2005, ISBN 1-55617-851-4
8. McMillan, Greg and Vegas, Hunter, 101 Tips for a Successful
Automation Career, ISA, 2013, ISBN 978-1-937560-50-8
9. McMillan, Gregory K., Tuning and Control Loop Performance–
4th Edition, Momentum Press, 2015, ISBN 978-160650-
170-2
GREG MCMILLAN
Greg.McMillan@emerson.com
A: In addition to Bela's great response, may I also suggest, under-
standing that you probably have a very limited budget, joining the
International Society of Automation (ISA, www.isa.org). I'd also inves-
tigate signing on to the various LinkedIn bulletin boards accessible
through the ISA and others relating to our field. Some of the topics
discussed are perhaps a little obscure or advanced at this point, but
getting exposed to the vernacular of the trade and—more impor-
tant—actual field applications, helps with the learning experience.
PETER BAKER, CAP, CTECH
Pbaker@ivyautomation.com
A: As for the textbook, if the Lipták handbooks are too expensive,
consider the Handbook of Instrumentation by Andrew Stiller or
Applied Instrumentation in the Process Industries” by William G.
Andrew and H.B. William. I'd also recommend American Petroleum
Institute (API) Recommended Practices (RP) 551.
JOSEPH AMALRAJ
rjosephamalraj@gmail.com
A: You can find free technical ebooks in places like www.freeen-
gineeringbooks.com and www.engineering108.com. These are a
good start.
ALEJANDRO VARGA
vargaalex@yahoo.com
A: The best start is reading the instrumentation handbook at www.
Omega.com. It's available as a handbook, and most is also avail-
able under “Technical Reference” on their web pages. Based on
my 47 years in the instrumentation field, the best books used to
be free from the vendors. They supplied you with a lot of techni-
cal data to help you do your job and prevent you from getting bad
www.controlglobal.com AUGUST 2019 • 47
ASK THE EXPERTS
data. This brought repeat customers to their products. I don’t know
their current availability, but I still hold dear my personal copies of
these books. They give practical applications, details and data about
all things instrumentation-related. They may not go into the highly
technical details available in more weighty books, but they'll educate
readers in how apply instrumentation without boring them:
1. Transducer Interface Handbook, a guide to analog signal
conditioning by Daniel H. Sheingold is available from Analog
Devices Corp.
2. Data Acquisition and Control Handbook at www.keithly.com
3. “Pressure Transducer Handbook from CEC Instruments is a re
ally good book. It pushes the ISA test methods and reports.
4. Handbook of Measurement and Control from Schaevitz
Engineering
5. Signal Conditioning and PC-Based Data Acquisition Hand-
book from IOTech
BRUCE LAND, ISA FELLOW
Bruce.Land@jhuapl.edu
A: The very good overview of the automation profession in
a single book that includes the items you're looking for is
A Guide to the Automation Body of Knowledge, 2nd Edi-
tion by Vernon L. Trevathan: http://archive.isa.org/Template.
cfm?Section=Books3&template=/Ecommerce/ProductDisplay.
cfm&ProductID=8800. It provides a general overview of automa-
tion, and references where you can get more information.
CURT WENDT
WendtCW@cdmsmith.com
A: Some years ago, when I was in your situation, I used to down-
load and store every article, along with books that I felt I needed.
I'm sending you some of these which fell into the categories you
mentioned. But remember that the Internet today is a live library, and
every day, more books are put on its shelves. So my advice to you
is: always search this library (the Internet) for updated information.
I Googled “instrumentation and control engineering pdf” and got
some good links:
• w ww.ecse.rpi.edu/courses/CStudio/FB%20Servo%20Manu-
als/33-033.pdf for "Control & Instrumentation Principles"
• http://moveonengineers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/
control-basic.pdf for "Measurement and Control Basics"
• www.engr.sjsu.edu/jennimi/Classes/CHE%20185/Dr%20Jen-
nings/Workshops/Instrumentation_Textbook.pdf for "Control Sta-
tion, Innovative Solutions from Process Control Professionals"
• f tp://ftp.unicauca.edu.co/Facultades/FIET/DEIC/Materias/
Instrumentacion%20Industrial/Instrument_Engineers__
Handbook_-_Process_Measurement_and_Analysis/Instru-
ment%20Engineers'%20Handbook%20-%20Process%20
Measurement%20and%20Analysis/1083fm.pdf for “Process
Measurement and Analysis” by Béla Lipták
AVIHU HIRAM
Avihu@HiramEng.com
ROUNDUP

Wire, cable, connectors forge links

No data is going anywhere without a strong, physical network infrastructure.

CONTROL, SIGNAL CABLE IN SPECIFIED LENGTHS SPLICING CONNECTORS USE LEVERS

Cut-to-length, 300 V-rated con- Instead of standard,
trol/signal cable is available in twist-type connec-
customer-specified, one-foot tors, 221 Series
increments at minimum 30-ft. Lever Nuts wire splic-
lengths in 22 AWG to 16 AWG ing connectors join
sizes with two, three and four solid, stranded and
conductors, shielded and un- fine-stranded wires quickly and reliably with a simple lever, so
shielded, and with UL and CSA approvals. Individual conductors no tools are needed. They accommodate standard 24-12 AWG
are stranded, tinned copper with PVC insulation in black, red, wire sizes and types, or larger cross-section version 20-10 AWG,
white and green for easy identification. Shielded versions include while quickly installing higher-power-consumption devices. 221
an overall aluminum Mylar foil tape with a tinned copper drain Lever Nuts havew also expanded to include 221 Exseries for haz-
wire for maximum effectiveness against external electrical noise. ardous locations when used with 221 Ex mounting carrier.
AUTOMATIONDIRECT WAGO
www.automationdirect.com/control-signal-cable 800-DIN-RAIL (346-7245); www.wago.com/221/us

CONTINUOUS FLEX CABLE SPLIT CABLE GLANDS ADD TWO SIZES

Ölflex Servo FC 7TCE continu- QVT-Click split-design cable
ous flex cable is TC-ER-ap- glands have added 16 and 20
proved per UL 1277, and meets metric sizes for smaller IP54
requirements of tray-rated and applications. They provide plug-
continuous flex cabling, which in or screw-in mounting; enable
eliminates the time, cost and la- installation of pre-terminated
bor of installing two cable types cables; offer a compact and
with connectors. It uses EPR core insulation for low capaci- flat design; can be locked into place on the housing front; and
tance, minimizing voltage drop over long distances and reducing include a ring seal. Suitable for 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm wall thick-
unwanted leakage currents. It also features UV resistance, oil nesses, QVT-Click works with QT cable grommets for 1 mm to
resistant I/II, FT4 burn rating, and is rated as a flexible motor 15 mm diameter wires. Other sizes and special cable grommets
supply cable to 1,000 V. such as IP54 are available.
LAPP GROUP USA ICOTEK
800-774-3539; http://lappusa.lappgroup.com www.icotek.com/us/product-catalog/cable-glands/qvt-click

DEUTSCH CONNECTORS FOR MOBILE DEVICES CABLE ENTRY FOR LIGHT, MEDIUM DUTY
Deutsch connectors have Cablefix X entry system
added LED 12 VDC and 24 simplifies installation and
VDC two-pin Deutsch DT over- achieves Type 4X, 12 and 13
molded connectors for mobile ratings with IP65 protection.
equipment. They feature an It's available with 12 or 23
integrated LED circuit on the entry points, requires only
wedgelock for multi-direction one enclosure cut out, and is easily installed onto enclosures of
troubleshooting indication, as well as rugged contact design for any wall thickness with four mounting bolts or a snap-in mount-
longevity, while their overmolded design, TPE jacket and IP67 ing available for enclosures with 1.5 mm thick walls. Cablefix X
rating adds reinforcement and abrasion and oil resistance. The also features easy cable installation by pushing the end through
series also includes three-pin DTM Deutsch overmolded con- the seal from the front, entry points sealed by default, and stan-
nectors for mobile equipment and oil and gas applications. dard 112 x 36 mm cutouts.
TURCK LUTZE INC.
800-544-7769; www.turck.us 800-447-2371; www.lutze.com

48 • AUGUST 2019 www.controlglobal.com

 ROUNDUP

DEFEND YOUR CABLE COMPACT M12 FOR POWER

Cable protection system M12 Power cables and con-
provides a rugged, coor- nectors are UL listed and
dinated portfolio of sensor tested under UL 2237 (File
adapters, cable conduit E46873), and can handle cur-
and cable glands designed rents up to 16 A or voltages
for standard cylindrical sen- up to 600 V AC/63 V DC. They
sors. Regardless of the sensor used, the right cable protection is include cable assemblies,
available, even for harsh environments. This protection system field-wireable connectors and panel-mounted receptacles with
is also designed to handle chemical exposure, and ensures reli- a quick disconnect system. They also simplify panel upgrades.
able protection against malfunction in high temperatures or in M12 Power connectors come in shielded and unshielded ver-
applications with moving parts. It also offers the right sensor and sions, and are available in five different codings (T and L for DC,
suitable terminal box as a complete solution. and S, K, and M for AC) to prevent mismating.
PEPPERL+FUCHS PHOENIX CONTACT
330-486-0002; www.pepperl-fuchs.com www.phoenixcontact.com/M12power

RJ45 FOR HIGH DATA RATES TWO-PIECE, THREE-DIRECTION

Field Plug Pro RJ45 connectors TE Connectivity's Buchanan
are available in 10 Gbit/sec, WireMate two-piece, poke-in
Profinet, 10/100 Mbit, 25 Gbit/ connectors deliver a three-di-
sec and 40 Gbit/sec versions rection solution for wall mount-
for use with structured cabling. ing devices and improving
They also have 180° straight installation for novices. They
and 360° angled with multiple can be installed into or along a
cable outlets, four-pair and two-pair versions, and diecast zinc wall, and in a twist or rotating motion. Wires are routed through a
housings and protected latches. Field Plug Pro is also designed wall opening, and the connector is mounted on a wall plate. The
for field assembly without special tools, while its two rear posi- wires are stripped of insulation, and easily inserted into a termi-
tion adapters, 4 PA (4 x 90°) and 8 PA (8 x 45°), allow 32 cable nal block device, providing a reliable termination without tooling.
positions, but still meets transmission requirements. NEWARK ELEMENT 14
METZ CONNECT USA INC. 800-463-9275; www.newark.com/te-connectivity
732-389-1300; www.metz-connect.com

THREE-PHASE FOR DECENTRALZED M12 ETHERNET FOR HIGH BANDWIDTH

Time-tested, high-reliability X-coded, IP65/67-rated, indus-
podis connectors are reported trial M12 connector/cordsets for
to require no maintenance, and high-bandwidth Ethernet trans-
provide simplified, error-free fer high data volumes, while Y-
wiring of three-phase power coded M12 connector/cordsets
components from one bus transfer data and power. They
cable. Added features include on-site diagnosis, flexible retrofit- move up to 10 gbps according
ting and fast commissioning, which are reported to enable 70% to Cat 6a (ISO/IEC 11801), while a metal, x-shaped cross in the
faster installations and 30% cost savings. These connectors are connector separates the four data pairs from each other. A metal
part of the podis industrial power bus system's holistic concept "y" in the Y-coded connector separates its four power transfer
for power distribution, which includes passive and active field- contacts from its four signal contacts in the pin arrangement,
bus distributors and accessories. making it possible to transfer up to 100 mbps.
WIELAND ELECTRIC MURRELEKTRONIK INC.
800-Wieland (943-5263); www.wieland-electric.com 770-497-9292; www.murrinc.com

www.controlglobal.com AUGUST 2019 • 49

ROUNDUP

EQUIPMENT & MATERIALS

UNIVERSAL RJ45 FOR FAST, SIMPLE TERMINATION

DataTuff Industrial RevConnect RJ45
connectors make faster, easier field
terminations by eliminating twisted-pair
separation in bonded-pair Ethernet ca-
bling with a connector core that adapta
to outer jacket options. This also helps
users find signal issues by sliding the
core into a new outer jack to narrow
root causes. RevConnect also features
insulation piercing that supports 23-24 AWG Cat 5e, 6 and 6al
for stranded conductors, and uses UL94 V-O materials, IP20
Celebrate the IWIM19 honorees and other ratings to withstand harsh conditions.
The IWIM luncheon will be held at MxD, BELDEN INC.
in Chicago, on Oct. 4. After a keynote address, www.belden.com/products/industrial/cable/ethernet
panel discussion and award ceremony,
attendees will have the opportunity
to take a tour of the MxD facility.
ETHERNET CIRCUIT INTEGRITY
VitaLink low-voltage,
www.influentialwomeninmanufacturing.
com/participate/register/ circuit-integrity portfolio
has added Ethernet data
cables that meet UL 2196
two-hour fire standards
and Category 3 channel
requirements by TIA-568-C.2, and can transmit data signals at
up to 10 Mbps. VitaLink Ethernet cables serve data and voice
AD INDEX
applications, including IP area-of-refuge devices, addressable
ABB Inc. 4 Class N fire alarms, and emergency VoIP telephones and speak-
ABB Motors & Mechanical 19 ers. They're available in 18 AWG, two- through four-pair shielded
Allied Electronics and Automation 8 constructions.
AutomationDirect2
COMTRAN
Beckhoff Automation 25 800-842-7809; www.comtrancorp.com
Bihl+Wiedemann7
Digi-Key17 PUSHED CABLE ENTRY WITHOUT CONNECTORS
Emerson Mynah 56 KES gland plates and universal cable
Endress+Hauser6 entry system allows quick, safe intro-
FieldComm Group 10 duction of cables, tubes and pneumatic
Hammond Manufacturing 43 lines without connectors; enables high
Inductive Automation 55 packing density; and provides IP66
Load Controls 42 ingress protection without special fits
Massa Products 42 or screws. Their polymide frames filled
MTS Systems 20 with elastomer are placed on an outside
Pepperl+Fuchs27 wall; a gland plate is pierced with a tool;
Phoenix Contact 21 and wires are pushed through. KES has 24 variants for different
ProComSol29 line and cable maximums, ranging from 3.2 mm to 20.5 mm,
Vega 11 -- 14 and accommodate up to 32 cables per plate.
Wago23 CONTA-CLIP
Yokogawa Electric  3 www.contaclipinc.com

50 • AUGUST 2019 www.controlglobal.com

 PRODUCT INTRODUCTIONS

BASIC WEB HMI SUITS MOBILE DEVICES PROTECT A WIDER RANGE OF ASSETS
VSTW6000 Series ba- FactoryTalk AssetCentre soft-
sic Web HMI works with ware now offers disaster-re-
HTML5 for PCs, tablets covery support for FactoryTalk
and smartphones. It can View Site Edition HMI applica-
display HTML5 data from tions and Stratix 5400, 5700
multiple devices, allow- and 8000 managed Ethernet
ing complete visibility over a company’s intranet. Devices and switches. A custom-device
instrumentation that have an embedded web server and fixed plug-in can be used to auto-
web page can serve diagnostic data, allowing configuration via mate third-party, device-configuration software to do disaster
HTML5. More complex devices, like PLCs, often support custom- recovery, backup and compare; lifecycle status information is
ized HTML5 on an embedded web server. STW6000 allows vis- accessible for many Allen-Bradley I/O modules; and AssetCentre
ibility to these devices using a web browser by simply configuring now supports larger systems with better protection of communi-
and entering URLs. cations between assets with FactoryTalk Linx and IPSec.
PRO-FACE ROCKWELL AUTOMATION
www.profaceamerica.com www.rockwellautomation.com

UPGRADED HIGH-PERFORMANCE HMI WATER METER SENSOR NOW MADE IN USA

HG2G-V5 5.7-in., HG3G-V8 Waterflux 3000 water magmeter is
8.4-in., HG3G-VA 10.4-in., now made in Beverly, Mass. The
and HG4G-VC 12.1-in. HMI sensor comes in 1-24 in. sizes, but
touchscreen models now only up to 6 in. from Beverly for
have TFT-LCD screens with a now. Combined with the company’s
wide range of colors; operat- IFC 070 battery-powered converter
ing temperature range ex- electronics, the resulting model
tended to -20-60 °C; IP66F, 3070 is claimed to be the first all-
IP67F, Type 4X, 12, 13, Class I Div. 2 and UL 61010 approvals; in-one water meter with available
and a three-year warranty. They can directly replace previous integrated pressure and temperature sensor, which allows it to
models by fitting the same panel cutouts. Previous HMI pro- be used for pressure monitoring, maintaining water balance,
gramming can be directly converted, so no new programming district zone management, and leak detection by comparing
is required. pressures and flows.
IDEC KROHNE
http://hmi.idec.com www.us.krohne.com

HOUSE A DRIVE OUTDOORS GATEWAY INCLUDES IGNITION EDGE AND MORE

TMdrive-Guardian outdoor Industrial dual 4G LTE M2M IoT
enclosure for the company’s gateway IGMG-P83244GC+-
TMdrive-MVe2 medium-voltage D4G is IEC 61850-3-compli-
variable-frequency drive (VFD) ant, and has built-in eight-
eliminates the need to house port Gigabit Ethernet with
the drive in a temperature- 4x10/100/1000Base-T(X) and
controlled, industrial-control 4xGigabit SFP Combo ports. It
building or E-house, offering the includes Ignition Onboard and
potential to save thousands of dollars and easing engineering, Ignition Edge Onboard for easy HMI, SCADA and Industrial In-
procurement, construction and maintenance. TMdrive-MVe2 ternet of Things (IIoT) applications. Node-RED is also onboard,
eliminates the challenges associated with aging VFD designs, along with support for MQTT and other protocols. The gateway is
such as low efficiency, fixed input power factor, and high output AT&T-certified, and can be purchased with a bundled SIM card
harmonics. and LTE data plan.
TOSHIBA MITSUBISHI-ELECTRIC INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS (TMEIC) ORING
www.tmeic.com oringnet.com

www.controlglobal.com AUGUST 2019 • 51

 CONTROL TALK
GREG MCMILLAN
Gregory K. McMillan captures the
wisdom of talented leaders in
process control, and adds his
perspective based on more than
50 years of experience, cartoons
by Ted Williams, and (web-only)
Top 10 lists. Find more of Greg's
conceptual and principle-based
knowledge in his Control Talk blog.
Greg welcomes comments and col-
umn suggestions at ControlTalk@
putman.net
52 • AUGUST 2019 www.controlglobal.com
The best valve position control
Two PID controllers and valves solves problems due to backlash, stiction and more.
GREG: One of our primary objectives in this col-
umn is to show straightforward solutions developed
by practitioners that address the hearts of the chal-
lenges to get the best out of the control system and
consequently, your process. Here, we first show
how to greatly increase the rangeability and sensi-
tivity of control valves, then optimize the process
by the simple addition of one or more PID control-
lers, without any additional hardware or software.
Often, it’s a configuration change that can be done
in a matter of days once you understand what’s
truly needed, which is our goal here. We start with
George Buckbee, who has considerable experience
in process control and is currently an outstanding
source of getting the most out of your PID, as seen
in his many presentations and papers. George is an
ISA Fellow and author of the focused book, Master-
ing Split Range Control. He heads the Performance
Solutions group at Metso.
Valve position control and override control can
greatly improve your valve and process perfor-
mance. You can achieve these results without
creating oscillations, upsetting other loops or in-
terfering with the primary process PID controller’s
ability to do its job. The challenges addressed are
valve stiction and backlash, installed flow charac-
teristic, interactions, disturbances and improper
tuning of optimized and related PID controllers.
George, how do you implement valve position
control?
GEORGE: Addition of valve position control (VPC)
is an excellent method to obtain accurate and pre-
cise control, even over a wide range of operation.
With regular PID and a single valve, it can be diffi-
cult to control precisely. Control valves can exhibit
stiction, backlash and other nonlinearities that can
vary over the full range of operation.
One common scenario involves two control-
lers, one manipulating the large valve and one
manipulating the small valve. The small valve is
configured as a normal PID control loop to control
the measured process variable to its setpoint. A
second controller, with a large valve, becomes
the VPC. In this second controller, the signal to
the small valve is supplied as the process variable
(controlled variable). The setpoint is generally set
to its most desired throttle position. In this way,
the second controller is adjusting the process flow
to keep the small, precise valve near the middle
of its best range of operation. For sliding stem
valves, the setpoint is about 50%. However, for
rotary valves, it may be 30% because of flatten-
ing of the installed flow characteristic above 60°
of rotation.
This arrangement has several advantages over
standard PID control. First, the effective range of
operation under precise control can be increased
dramatically by moving the small valve for small
disturbances, and only moving the large valve to
keep the small valve in a good throttle range. This
solution is much better than split-range control,
where you end up trying to move the big valve
most of the time. Since backlash and stiction
are a percent of valve capacity, moving the small
valve is much more precise. Also, the small valve
can more likely be a sliding stem valve with a dia-
phragm actuator that has a much smaller percent
backlash and stiction than a rotary valve with a
piston actuator, which is often used for the large
valve. Plus, you avoid the discontinuity and non-
linearity at the split-range point. Most processes
tend to oscillate at the split-range point.
GREG: What PID structure and tuning rules do
you use for valve position control?
GEORGE: The primary controller, with the small
valve, does most of the work, moving quickly to
keep the process stable and in-control. The VPC
moves much more slowly. Its goal is to keep the pri-
mary controller in a good control range. The primary
controller should be tuned to be fast responding.
Aggressive tuning with PI or PID methods should be
used. The VPC should be tuned more loosely with
P-only, PI or I-only control to avoid interaction. The
VPC should be at least five times slower than the
primary controller. This can be done in many ways,
 CONTROL TALK

using Lambda tuning, by matching fre- a closed-loop response at least five times PID to provide tight control.
quency responses, or using methods such slower than the primary PID. When there's more than one valve
as Relative Response Time. There are many applications where position to be optimized, such as several
There may be other considerations, VPC can optimize a process by pushing downstream feed valves or pressure and
such as a desire to limit movement of a a primary PID control valve to a maxi- temperature valves, override control is
large valve by the VPC. In one case, we mum or minimum throttle position with used by having the multiple VPC outputs
were trying to extend valve life by limit- room to maneuver. In nearly all cases, as inputs to a signal selector whose out-
ing the movement of a 48-inch valve that the signal to the valve being pushed to put is the upstream primary PID setpoint
was remotely located on an island. You limit can be used instead of the actual being optimized. If the setpoint is being
can reduce travel using P-only control, valve position as the controlled variable maximized and minimized, low and high
or if the process allows, implementing a of the VPC. Note that if signal character- signal selectors are used, respectively, to
gap-action VPC. ization is applied to the VPC output, the prevent constraint violations. The override
valve signal is the characterizer output. controllers should use external-reset feed-
GREG: There are several VPC challenges The article “Don’t Overlook PID in APC” back, so integral action is suspended until
to be addressed. Valve backlash and st- (Control, Nov. ’11, p. 39, www.control- the VPC is selected. Positional algorithms
iction is particularly an issue for the big global.com/articles/2011/dont-over-look- for override control are recommended
valve being manipulated by the VPC. Big pid-apc) provides guidance on how prime by Harold Wade, so point of takeover is
valve movement can be suppressed by mover, chiller and cooling tower energy, determined by the position of the override
adaptive tuning where the gain is nearly purchased fuel and reagent costs can be PID PV relative to its effective proportional
zero for a tolerable offset from VPC set- minimized, and how reactor and column band set by PID gain.
point (e.g., gap action). Backlash can production rates can be maximized. Override control is sequential in that
be compensated by an increment and The ability to handle abnormal condi- only one override controller is selected
decrement equal to the deadband for a tions by directional velocity limits, feed- at a time. For simultaneous optimiza-
change in signal direction that's positive forward and adaptive tuning is greater tion, more complex process performance
and negative, respectively. You're stuck for these applications because, in most goals, and better handling of interactions
with stiction. However, in addressing cases, valves are being pushed to be as and disturbances, model predictive con-
another challenge—large disturbances far open or closed as possible without trol (MPC) with its linear program opti-
(potentially causing the primary controller interfering with the ability of the primary mizer should be considered.
manipulating the small valve to run out of
valve)—by adding a feedforward signal to
the VPC output to preemptively position
the large valve, you can increase the gain
for small changes in feedforward signal to
get it through the resolution limit.
Signal characterization applied to each
PID output should be used to linearize
the installed flow characteristic, which
tends to be quite nonlinear for rotary
valves. This helps feedback and feedfor-
ward control. Tuning of the VPC is still
a challenge even after linearization of
valves because any change initiated by
the VPC has to work through the primary
PID closed-loop response before it's
seen as the corresponding change in the
small valve position that's the controlled
variable of the VPC. Thus, VPC tun-
ing depends on the primary PID tuning
besides the open-loop response of the
process. This means the primary PID See how applying valve principles can smooth personal relations in the “Top 10 ways to im-
should be tuned first to provide a fast re- prove your position and performance for your spouse” at www.controlglobal.com/articles/2019/
sponse. The VPC is then tuned to provide the-best-valve-position-control.

www.controlglobal.com AUGUST 2019 • 53

 CONTROL REPORT
Time to train
Learning to use new technologies like AR is crucial—if you can find a few minutes.
ONE of my daughters once tossed me a hand-
me-down flip phone and what looked like a paper-
back novel to go with it. It probably would've been
helpful to read this manual, if I'd had the time, but
I never did. I also never got around to signing up
for the Apple Store class for the cast-off iPhone 5
that I'm carrying around now. I know it can do all
kinds of cool and useful things, too, but I have no
idea what most of them are.
Sound familiar? It should because almost every-
one I interview, and I'm betting most of Control's
readers, are as busy as the famous one-armed
wallpaper hanger I often compare myself to.
JIM MONTAGUE Learning anything new, heck, even doing any-
Executive Editor thing different, just takes too much time away
jmontague@putman.net from ever-pressing production demands. I know
this is equally true for process engineers as it is
for us trade publications, and it's equally applica-
Spend a little time just ble to many other professions I've covered. These
playing with whatever aren't cases of "if it's not broke, don't fix it," but
augmented reality (AR) more like "if I try to fix it, I'll break it." I'd bet this
headset you can get you is a symptom of the endless racheting up of "do
hands on. Getting some more with less," which creates fragile, perilously
exposure will begin to balanced processes that can't tolerate any devia-
point out some use tion from routine, even if those changes could
cases where it might be make the process better.
helpful. Aside from the usual job-related stress and a
few gains lost, this isn't a tragedy at most times
because production is maintained. However, the
stakes are a higher now because several emerging
technologies are changing so fast that not learning
them can carry potentially huge costs.
Of course, I'm mostly talking about the ever-
faster, cheaper and more powerful micropro-
cessors, software, Ethernet ports and networks,
and server-based computing services fueling the
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). However, there
appear to be a couple of related technologies that
are also tapping into this meteoric momentum,
namely augmented reality (AR) and its virtual real-
ity (VR) and mixed reality (MR) cousins.
Because AR/VR and others use so many color-
ful pictures and floating graphics, I think many
process industry professionals think they're just
54 • AUGUST 2019 www.controlglobal.com
like the 3D simulations and walkthroughs that
were mostly flashes in the pan years ago. I did,
too, until I got hip-deep in the research and inter-
views for this issue's "Get the picture" cover story
(p. 32). As usual, getting out and talking to people
flushed away my preconceptions, and clued me
in about a common belief that AR is going to be
hugely helpful to users in many industrial settings.
Just as HMI panels, tablet PCs and smart
phones were a big step up from the paper and
clipboards of the past, AR on headsets and wear-
able devices is likely to be another big step up
from screens, even if they're tablets and phones.
I'm more confident than usual about this predic-
tion because they're happening for the same rea-
son. For example, the jump from paper to screens
put more information in front of users more easily,
which enabled less shuffling, filing and lost docu-
ments. Likewise, the jump from screens to AR
puts applicable data and documentation right into
each user's field of view, along with images of the
equipment they're working on. Even better, AR
allows real-time collaboration between field per-
sonnel and remote experts, who can both see the
same views, scrawl digital arrows and circles on
each other's interfaces, and use many other tools.
I hope I haven't been hypnotized by hype, but
the potential here seems genuine. Several sources
caution it's important for potential users to focus
on a use case where they could apply AR, and
this is good advice.
However, I'd also recommend finding some way
to spend a little time just playing with whatever AR
tools you can get you hands on. Go to whatever
tradeshow exhibit or local retailer has Microsoft
HoloLens, Oculus Rift, Vuzix or one of the others,
and try them out. If any of your younger-genera-
tion relatives or neighborhood kids has one, ask
them for a turn. I think just trying out and getting
some exposure to AR will begin to point out some
of those use cases where it might be helpful.
In my case, I'll go find the Reader Rabbit PC
program my daughters used when they were in
grade school, and finally learn to touch type.
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