Application of Industrial Wireless Technology in Zhenhai Refinery Ethylene Pipeline Project

Hu Boqi, Chief Designer, Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Engineering Co., Ltd

Application of Industrial Wireless Technology in Zhenhai Refinery Ethylene Pipeline Project

Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Background ................................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Wireless Configuration............................................................................................................................................................... 4 Technical Considerations .......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Multi-function wireless network vs. single-function wireless network ....................................................................................... 6 ISA100 vs. WirelessHART ....................................................................................................................................................... 6 Reliability and Safety Issues...................................................................................................................................................... 8 OneWireless Advantages ........................................................................................................................................................... 8 Conclusion................................................................................................................................................................................. 10 References................................................................................................................................................................................. 10

Application of Industrial Wireless Technology in Zhenhai Refinery Ethylene Pipeline Project

This paper describes the application of industrial wireless technology as part of the Sinopec Zhenhai Refinery ethylene pipeline project. In order to ensure reliable and safe operation, wireless temperature transmitters were applied to monitor temperature measurement points every 1 kilometer. Industrial wireless technology provided key advantages to the Zhenhai Refinery, including lower installation and maintenance costs, as well as reduced commissioning time. This paper compares two international industrial wireless standards, WirelessHART and ISA100, used for process plant monitoring and control. It also describes Honeywells OneWireless solution, which provides a single, multifunctional wireless network structure supporting diverse plant applications and employing multiprotocol wireless instruments.

Introduction
In the petroleum refining and chemical industries, the use of industrial wireless technology in process monitoring and control allows for flexible information acquisition, independent of cables, from a variety of sources. This includes measurement points in remote areas of the plant, as well as places where wiring installation is difficult or where cables are liable to be damaged or burnt. Other challenging applications include rotary or moving equipment, measurement points exposed to the risks of poor signal transmission or disturbance, retrofit projects in which all cable bridges and holders are occupied, projects with tight installation schedules, and sites without an autonomous power supply. Wireless technology also supports on-site commissioning and safety applications by providing mobile station and wireless video monitoring. Todays advanced industrial wireless solutions have helped Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Engineering Co., Ltd. achieve real-time temperature monitoring on low-temperature ethylene transport pipelines connecting its discharge port and low-temperature tank areas, as well as data integration with its Distributed Control System (DCS) in the low-temperature tank area. Unlike traditional point-to-point wireless communication technology, industrial wireless solutions adopt techniques such as mesh multi-path, FHSS/DSSS frequency hopping and end-to-end wireless communication control. These solutions ensure reliable and safe wireless communication applications, and deliver advantages such as rapid communication, management of delayed communication configuration and an extended power supply to on-site instrument (transmitter) by batteries. The reliability of wireless technology in industrial control applications is guaranteed by the digital nature of wireless transmission, together with mesh multi-path space communication, time synchronization and collision detection, and high immunity frequency hopping.

Background
The low-temperature ethylene transport line planned by Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Engineering Co., Ltd. has a total length of about 7,650 meters, connecting the facilitys discharge port and low-temperature tank area. The transport pipeline has an OD of 325 mm and a wall thickness of 4.5 mm. Constructed from 304 carbon steel, it is protected by a 230 mm thick insulation. The required temperature range for transport of ethylene is between -150 and -100 C. To ensure normal operation of the transport line and avoid accidents, real-time temperature monitoring is necessary. Measurement points are distributed at an interval of 500 m at both ends of the line and at 1 km in other segments. Pipeline temperature data is transmitted to the DCS located in the control room in the low-temperature tank area for centralized and real-time monitoring. A traditional measurement and control solution employing regular cables and measurement points distributed 1 km away from each other along the entire length of the 7.6 km line would face extreme difficulty. This is primarily because temperature

Application of Industrial Wireless Technology in Zhenhai Refinery Ethylene Pipeline Project

signals experience significant attenuation when they travel along cables for a few kilometers, and are consequently hard to measure at the DCS control room. Taking the communication system of Foundation Fieldbus as an example, the total length of its main fieldbus and branches does not exceed 1.9 km (at a communication rate of 31.25 k/bps). The longest communication distances of Modbus RS485 and Profibus DP/PA are about 1.2 km (9.6 k/bps) and 1.9 km, respectively, making it difficult to adopt cable communication solutions. If fiber optic cables are used for communication, each measurement point has to be equipped with accessories such as optical-electrical converters, resulting in high equipment costs, difficult project implementation, interruption of communication due to fault points or fiber breaks, and high maintenance cost and workload.

Wireless Configuration
With Honeywells OneWireless industrial wireless solution, it is easy to monitor the ethylene pipeline without using any cable, bridge or connection. Seven temperature measurement points are defined along the low-temperature ethylene transport pipeline, including T1 (located 1,000 m from the tank area DCS control room), T2 (1,850 m, elevated), T3 (2,850 m), T4 (3,850 m), T5 (4,850 m, elevated), T6 (5,950 m), and T7 (6,950 m), among which T2 and T5 are critical measurement points. T1 and T7 use wired temperature transmitters, and other measurements points use wireless temperature transmitters. Wireless communication is performed between transmitters installed at pipeline temperature measurement points and multinodes. As a gateway, multinode M1 located in the low-temperature tank area transmits all data simultaneously to the DCS. Three multinodes (with external power supplies) form the wireless mesh backbone for rapid communications. Nodes M1, M2 and M3, installed on top of the low-temperature tank area control room, are located 1,000 m away from the tank area control room and 700 m away from dock control room, respectively. These nodes are all equipped with 20 dbi, high-gain, board-type directional antennas and lightning protection terminals (see Figure 1).

Figure 1

The self-organizing and self-sealing wireless mesh backbone provides a communication speed up to 54 Mbps. Additional multinodes can be added to create redundant multi-path communication. The backbone supports a number of wireless applications, including communication with wireless transmitters and wireless mobile workstations. Plant personnel can view DCS pages and information via mobile workstations at any measurement point for on-site operation. This multi-functional wireless mesh network also incorporates wireless video communication, real-time location applications, pipe and tank corrosion solutions, and other Wi-Fi wireless communication. In addition, it supports a variety of field instrumentation and communication protocols in compliance with international standards such as HART, Foundation Fieldbus, 4-20 mA and Profibus.

Application of Industrial Wireless Technology in Zhenhai Refinery Ethylene Pipeline Project

The wireless network integrates data to the control system in the tank area via the multinode M1 using Modbus TCP, Modbus RS485/232, OPC or HART communication. Modbus RS485 was adopted in this project for control of system data integration. Five wireless temperature transmitters (T2 to T6) with 20 dbi high-gain directional antennae (long distance transmission and concealed installation) and lightning protection terminals are installed on the 1 m column over the pipe support and used for remote communication. Among the transmitters, T2 uses two antennae for the redundant communication path. The temperature measurement component of the temperature transmitters has PT100 outside-attached thermal resistance with leads directly connected to the wireless temperature transmitters. Each of the devices includes thermal resistance consisting of 316 stainless steel with a temperature range between -150 and -100 and a length of 350 mm. The Honeywell wireless solution also provides a management software platform (server) for the project. Installed in the tank area control room, it performs the following functions: visualized monitoring of communication status of the wireless network, support for online remote configuration of wireless transmitters, and management of diagnosis and security functions on the wireless network. The wireless communication network performs frequency hopping at 2.4 GHz public wave band (ISM). Self-organization and self-healing functions, short communication time delays, rapid self-recovery, flexible scaling and easy installation characterize the network. All wireless instruments are approved by SRRC. The data refresh interval of the Honeywell transmitters, which are designed for explosion isolation and intrinsic safety, can be set to 1 s, 5 s, 10 s or 30 s. The battery life of these devices (4.5 years at 1 s refresh interval or 10 years at 5 s refresh interval) is very predictable.

No.
1 2 3 4 5

Name
Multi-function wireless node (with power supply conversion module) Wireless temperature transmitter Surface type thermal resistance PT100 Wireless network management platform: software 25 points Workstation Wireless network authentication device

Model
WNMS-M00000-W00000-F00000-PMXXXX STTW400-000-0000-V0000-XD,MB,1CXXXX PT100 SP DELL D630 workstation, 2G memory, 160G solid-state hard drive

Qty.
3 5 7 1 1

XSK00

Technical Considerations
Honeywells OneWireless technology, adopted for real-time temperature monitoring on the Zhenhai Refinery pipeline project, eliminated traditional restrictions imposed by wiring connections and allowed remote acquisition of transport pipeline process parameters in a more flexible and convenient way. Moreover, the wireless solution was seamlessly integrated with the existing, cable-based DCS to further extend the control network architecture. The benefits of Honeywells wireless solution include a higher level of pipeline transport safety monitoring, greater construction efficiency, and significant reductions in installation cost, commissioning time and subsequent maintenance expenses. Another advantage of wireless lies in the ease of long-term expansion. For example, if two transport lines are added in the future,

Application of Industrial Wireless Technology in Zhenhai Refinery Ethylene Pipeline Project

wireless transmitters can be directly installed and (after authorization) automatically included in the existing wireless network for communication. Wireless solutions are also used in a number of other diverse operations within petroleum refineries and chemical plants. Common applications include wireless transmitters for monitoring process parameters in tank areas, industrial wireless cameras for wireless video monitoring, and wireless mobile workstations for real-time acquisition of static or dynamic data from the DCS. If the space reserved for cable bridges, holders and cabinets in a plant retrofit project has all been used, wireless technology allows measurement points to still be added rapidly. The deciding issues in an industrial wireless project typically include process, technical and cost factors. Other considerations include scalability, sustainability and interoperability of wireless applications in the future (one platform in support of multiple wireless applications, field instruments with multiple communication protocols and open standards), safety of wireless instrumentation, reliability of wireless communication, battery life, timeliness of the wireless network (instrument update speed, network delay time), frequency band of wireless communication, network scalability and data integration with wired control systems.

Multi-function wireless network vs. single-function wireless network

During selection of an industrial wireless technology, users should consider the future scalability of the wireless network. One of the key decisions to be made is whether a single-function wireless network or a multi-function wireless network should be adopted. A single-function wireless network only supports instrumentation with a certain communication protocol and single wireless application. If other wireless applications are required in the future, multiple wireless network platforms will need to be built, which increases project costs, complicates network management and wastes existing investments. Conversely, if a multi-function wireless network is selected, creation of a single architecture can support field instrumentation for multiple applications and communication protocols. This not only reduces unnecessary disturbances between devices improving the reliability of wireless communication, but also minimizes associated costs. Plant operation and maintenance personnel no longer have to worry about managing multiple, independent and single-function wireless network platforms. Honeywells OneWireless solution serves as a multi-functional wireless network using a single platform to support applications ranging from process parameter monitoring to safety video monitoring, mobile operations, pipeline corrosion monitoring and diagnosis of equipment status. This single platform also supports field instrumentation employing multiple communication protocols such as HART, Modbus, Foundation Fieldbus and 4-20 mA.

ISA100 vs. WirelessHART

Current wireless technology in the industrial control field can be categorized in two groups: instrument wireless mesh solutions meeting the WirelessHART standard and node mesh wireless solutions compliant with the ISA100 standard. To achieve wireless application functionality at the industrial level, both approaches integrate mesh multi-path and FHSS communications and utilize techniques based on precise time synchronization and data collision. However, these two industrial wireless methodologies have major technical differences and value propositions for end users. Important considerations when comparing ISA100 and WirelessHART solutions include safety of wireless networks, battery supplies for wireless instrumentation, timeliness of communications, wireless frequency band, network scalability and data integration with wired control systems.

Application of Industrial Wireless Technology in Zhenhai Refinery Ethylene Pipeline Project

Instrumentation mesh wireless network The main characteristic of a WirelessHART-based instrumentation mesh network is its routing function for field instrumentation, which allows each battery-powered wireless device to not only measure its own process parameters, but also provide routing for communication of other meters. Typically, one gateway is configured to enable data integration with the DCS. FHSS communication is performed at 2.4 GHz public frequency band. The wireless network is easy to implement due to its self-organization and self-healing nature. However, this type of technical solution also has an obvious disadvantage. Because wireless network communication is done with routing of transmitters, communication speed is limited. For example, the refresh speed of transmitters cannot reach a high value and typically remains at 16 or 8 seconds. The time delay of the entire network can be as much as 16 or 60 seconds. A lower defined refresh speed corresponds to longer time delays in network communication. Routing by wireless transmitters also contributes to a shorter battery life, which is normally five years at 30 s refresh interval or even shorter at 8 s or 1 s intervals. Even if battery voltage can be displayed at any moment, the routing number determines the low-voltage alarm threshold. Hence, it is difficult to predict the service life of batteries as long as the routing of devices requires significant power consumption. Additionally, the need to reduce battery usage restricts the transmission power of wireless meters resulting in shorter communication distances between instruments. If the devices are 2.4 GHz micropower devices, the restrictions on transmission power vary depending upon different countries. According to SRRC, for example, the transmission power of micropower wireless devices should be less than 10 mW, which corresponds to a communication distance of about 100 m between devices. Due to time delays during network communication and limitations on communication speed, the number of routings for the wireless mesh network has to be restricted. In other words, communication time delays could be very long if the number or routings exceeds a defined value. Time delay issues also impact the size and scale of the wireless network infrastructure. The number of wireless meters driven by a gateway can be very limited if the devices refresh at 1 s interval. A single WirelessHART-based architecture only supports instrument communication for one communication protocol (which must be HART type). This approach is subject to limitations since it cannot support instrumentation of other protocols and wireless applications. Node mesh wireless network In an ISA100-based wireless network, nodes create a mesh backbone with very high communication speed. The backbone is self-organizing and self-healing, and supports multiple types of wireless field instrumentation, applications and communication protocols. Wireless meters in the field can automatically choose to communicate with any random node in self-organization and self-healing mode, but without configuration of routing functions. In general, any node can be used independent of, or in conjunction with, other devices and gateways to facilitate data integration with the DCS. Batteries supply power to the wireless transmitters and FHSS communication is performed at 2.4 GHz public frequency band. The advantage of the node mesh wireless network lies in its very fast transmitter refresh rate (typically 1 s or 0.25 s), which is due to the mesh backbone created by nodes. With this approach, it only takes one hop for wireless transmitters to transmit data to the wireless backbone, significantly minimizing any associated communication time delays.

Application of Industrial Wireless Technology in Zhenhai Refinery Ethylene Pipeline Project

As none of the wireless transmitters provide routing for each other, their batteries have a long service life (typically five years at ambient temperature at 1 s refresh interval). The absence of a routing configuration also allows display of battery voltage at any time and supports low-voltage alarms, which means battery life is predictable. Extended battery life also results in flexible transmission power for wireless meters, as well as longer communication distance between wireless field equipment. According to SRRC, for example, the transmission power of 2.4 GHz spread-spectrum communication devices should not exceed 500 mW, and the communication distance between devices can be up to a few tens of kilometers. In addition, the ISA100-based wireless network architecture is very scalable; a single network can support up to 1,000 wireless meters, as well as multiple wireless protocols and applications.

Reliability and Safety Issues

When it comes to reliability and safety, wireless technologies used in the industrial monitoring and control field differ from traditional point-to-point wireless communication technology. To ensure robust performance on an industrial level, ISA100 and WirelessHART have both adopted mesh multi-path and frequency-hopping techniques and wireless communication protocols based on time synchronization/data collision detection. With this network configuration, if a wireless device is disturbed by signals in a frequency band other than 2.4 GHz, the reliability of communications will not be affected. If the disturbance frequency band is 2.4 GHz, the wireless device will automatically select the next optimal communication channel for frequency hopping. The user can define the number of repeated attempts at data packet communication. If communication cant be completed by means of frequency hopping, the device automatically selects the next optimal communication path. Furthermore, wireless communication is very fast and only requires 15 mS for one data transmission cycle. A wireless device can even complete data transmission within the 15 mS time window during disturbances. Honeywells end-to-end communication control technology allows active data transmission from wireless transmitters as well as data requested by the system from wireless field devices, thus ensuring reliability of communication data. As far as network security is concerned, Honeywells OneWireless solution features a single wireless management software platform controlling safety authorization for the entire wireless network. All devices included on the wireless network have to be authorized. A unique authorization password is obtained from the management platform before the device in question is authorized through a wireless transmitter and IR port of multinodes. Authorized devices are automatically included in the wireless network for communication. Other configurations will be completed as well, including communication certification and verification, data package encryption, data source validation, CRC cyclic code check, replay protection, frequency hopping and password management.

OneWireless Advantages
Honeywells OneWireless offering is a multi-functional wireless network based on the ISA100 technical path. With this solution, users employ multinodes to create a wireless mesh backbone with communication speeds up to 54 Mbps. Wireless transmitters automatically choose to perform redundant and frequency hopping wireless communication with any multinode. Plus, the systems wireless network management and diagnosis platform can be configured for visualized real-time monitoring of network communication status, central safety management, remote online configuration and checking of wireless transmitters. Honeywells wireless solution offers a mesh backbone created by multinodes which can be connected to a wide range of industrial wireless transmitters operated at 2.4 GHz, which is the internationally recognized public frequency band for frequency hopping communication. Wireless access to 802.11 Wi-Fi devices is also possible. Each multimode can either be

Application of Industrial Wireless Technology in Zhenhai Refinery Ethylene Pipeline Project

used as a gateway or configured for redundancy to perform seamless communication with the DCS without single-node faults. This approach supports 802.11a/b/g WLAN communication, communication between wireless devices, and self-organization and management of devices, thus creating a universal, safe, easy-to-manage and easy-to-maintain wireless network.

Figure 2

Honeywells multifunctional industrial wireless network supports a variety of industrial monitoring and control applications. Compatible devices include transmitters, valves, Wi-Fi devices, mobile workstations, real-time location devices, smoke detectors and more. The network can be used with a choice of leading instrument protocols, including HART, Foundation Fieldbus, Profibus, DeviceNet and Modbus (see Figure 3). In summary, the features of Honeywell OneWireless include: Rapid wireless backbone with self-organization and self-healing functions that can include up to 40 multinodes. Wireless transmitters automatically choose any multimode to perform multi-path, redundant and frequency hopping communication. A multinode can also serve as a gateway to perform data integration with the DCS (standard communication interfaces include Modbus TCP/OPC/RTU/HART). Each wireless transmitter only collects its own process parameters. It can automatically choose to communicate with any multinode, but does not provide routing for other wireless devices. The refresh interval of wireless meters is 1 s, 5 s, 10 s, 30 s, or even 0.25 s in the future. Each multinode can either drive 400 wireless transmitters (30 s refresh interval), 100 transmitters (5 s refresh interval) or 20 transmitters (1 s refresh interval). Maximum communication distance between two multinodes is 1 km (or 10 km with high-gain antenna), which can be extended through meshing. The maximum communication distance between a transmitter and a multimode is 610 m (or 3-4 km with high-gain antenna).

Application of Industrial Wireless Technology in Zhenhai Refinery Ethylene Pipeline Project

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Service life for wireless transmitter batteries is either 4.5 years (1 s refresh interval) or 10 years (5 s refresh interval). Four types of universal safety batteries are available and are field replaceable in normal sites (on-site replacement in dangerous areas is not recommended). Wireless transmitters also ensure explosion isolation and intrinsic safety.

Wireless network has been approved by SRRC and uses FHSS communication devices operated at 2.4 GHz public frequency band. Single architecture supports diverse wireless applications and communication protocols. Application examples include safety video monitoring, support of mobile operations, real-time location of mobile equipment, pipeline corrosion monitoring and diagnosis of equipment status such as vibration. Supported technologies include HART, Modbus, Foundation Feldbus and 4-20 mA. Forwards and backwards compatibility. Honeywell provides on-site installation of all current wireless products. Software can be downloaded for the entire plant to allow online network upgrades and compliance with the latest ISA100 standard. Management platform provides visualized management of the field wireless network, support for online remote configuration of wireless transmitters and centralized control of wireless network safety. This solution is simple and easy to use, requiring no complicated on-site survey.

Conclusion
The application of industrial wireless technology on the Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Engineering Co., Ltd. ethylene transport pipeline project eliminated the restrictions of traditional cable connectivity and allowed remote acquisition of process parameters in a more flexible and convenient way. Wireless technology was seamlessly integrated with an existing, cablebased DCS to further extend the breadth and depth of the process control network. The benefits include a higher level of pipeline transport safety monitoring, increased construction efficiency, and significantly reduced installation cost, commissioning time and maintenance expenses. Another advantage of the wireless solution lies in the ease of further expansion. The installation of a multifunctional wireless network will prevent existing technology investments from becoming outdated in the future. The primary considerations for end users undertaking an industrial wireless application include process, technical and cost factors. Among the key technical considerations are selection of wireless instruments, reliability and safety of wireless communication, battery supply of wireless instrumentation, timeliness of wireless communication, network scalability and data integration with the wired world. Current industrial wireless offerings can be categorized in two groups: instrument wireless mesh solutions represented by WirelessHART and node mesh wireless solutions represented by ISA100. While both of these approaches have important strengths, an ISA100-based wireless solution is most appropriate for industrial environments requiring rapid data refresh speeds and scattered measurement points.

References
1. Tiansheng, J., One Wireless Platform Supporting Multiple Applications and Field Instrumentation of Multiple Communication Protocols, China Instrument and Meter, April 2009 2. Topology of Wireless Instruments, Control Engineering China (http://www.cechina.cn)

OneWireless is a trademark of Honeywell International Inc.

Application of Industrial Wireless Technology in Zhenhai Refinery Ethylene Pipeline Project

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More Information For more information on Honeywells wireless solutions, visit www.honeywell.com/ps/wireless or contact your Honeywell account manager. Automation & Control Solutions Process Solutions Honeywell 1860 W. Rose Garden Lane. Phoenix, AZ 85027 800-822-7673 www.honeywell.com/ps
WP-10-16-ENG December 2010 2010 Honeywell International Inc.