June 2015

Remote detection of oil & gas infrastructure corrosion

Corrosion and it’s degradation of oil and gas infrastructure-pipelines, rigs, towers and refineries-represents an annual cost of many millions of dollars to the industry. There are thousands of kilometres of pipelines operating in more than 50 countries around the world. They form the gathering systems joining wells to process facilities and the distribution system delivering product to refineries and markets. The overwhelming majority of petroleum pipelines are constructed from metal and, whether buried or on the surface, they are all exposed to a range of physical, climatic and chemical environments that can cause corrosion. The corrosion of steel is accelerated in harsh environments, especially coastal, tropical or desert, where high salt levels or extreme temperatures can accelerate the rate of decay. It is important that owners of high-value assets understand the cost implications of ignoring the effects of corrosion. There are many advantages of planning for corrosion control and mitigation, two of which are that the life of an asset can be extended and maintenance time and costs are reduced. As part of the regular technical program, the Australasian Corrosion Association (ACA) is hosting a one-day technical event in Melbourne on 21 May where the latest challenges and developments in the materials engineering and corrosion control for both onshore and offshore environments will be discussed. Sessions will focus on the remote inspection and the identification of hidden corrosion within oil and gas infrastructure. Speakers and participants will have the opportunity to share their work experiences, case studies, best practices, engineering guidelines, and failure analysis in a technical exchange open forum, aiming to look at new technologies and methodologies to fill the gaps in these industries. The events are aimed at oil and gas industry personnel, such as Asset Managers, Structural, Process and Maintenance Engineers, Specialist Contractors and Asset Condition Inspectors, […]

Added value through maintenance

Over the last years, the subject of maintenance has clearly gained significance. Not surprising, after all complexity and degree of automation are increasing continuously with modern processing machines. Forward-looking strategies reduce the risk of malfunction and down times, increase the service life of machines and thereby ensure constant production quality. If a high-tech processing machine comes to a standstill as a result of a malfunction, it quickly gets expensive. In particular when customer production deadlines cannot be met as a result and if there are contractual penalties. That’s precisely why many companies rate maintenance no longer as tiresome costs instead as a central factor of success. The bending specialist Schwarze-Robitec meets this need of increased investment safety with a comprehensive service concept. After all, the company’s high-quality tube bending machines are designed for run times of more than 20 years in continuous operation. So that the machines operate reliably throughout their whole lifecycle, it is advisable to conduct a regular machine check-up which comprises maintenance, inspection and service measures. A tube bending machine should be serviced every 5,000 working hours, otherwise the risk of undesirable surprises will rise exponentially. Checked are, among other things, the mechanical states and precise positioning of guides, bearings and spindles as well as cables, pumps, valve functions, switching devices and software. If it is a hydraulic system, there is also a check for tightness and leakage safety. Possible are also software updates, comprehensive weak point analyses, staff training and other customer-individual measures. As bending machines are always custom-built, maintenance should really be carried out by the manufacturer. Generalised providers of industrial services often do not have profound experience in bending technology nor the necessary knowledge of the user industries and their manufacturing processes. This specialised know-how is indispensable – in particular when the machines have […]

Making the most of connected machines

By Ian Raper, Regional Vice President, Riverbed Australia & New Zealand. Automation and the rise of smart, Internet-connected manufacturing equipment (known as M2M or the Internet of Things depending on the device) stand to deliver previously unimaginable productivity gains and cost-savings. While these new technologies promise to simplify the production process, this influx of connected machines and devices also complicates the network used to deliver these efficiency gains. With each new machine connected to a network, finding faults and troubleshooting application performance issues when they occur could be like finding a needle in an ever-increasing haystack. A major source of delay in the troubleshooting process can be found in the way IT teams are structured; specific parts of the infrastructure (e.g. network operations; server operations; application operations) are run by different groups. Each of these teams has visibility into a different part of infrastructure and, traditionally, has had no way to share information effectively. This siloed approach means that the first step in the troubleshooting process is usually a counterproductive round of finger pointing between groups as none have visibility of the whole. But it doesn’t need to be like this. The key to effective, real-time performance optimisation and troubleshooting is visibility. If each of these teams has a deep, end-to-end view within and across the complex networks and applications that make up the modern manufacturing process, any performance issue can be quickly resolved. In fact, these issues can even be fixed before they have an effect on the production line by using the same automation that is becoming prevalent on factory floors. At Riverbed, we’ve developed solutions to minimise downtime in the production environment and avoid potentially devastating disruptions that can reverberate through the supply chain. Clearing the fog of war The first strategy is to have the right […]

Managing the “Internet of Things”

Many existing systems lack an IoT management platform. Researchers have developed a software platform designed to manage and control devices for “Internet of Things” (IoT) systems. The platform can be tailored for everything from city management sensors and devices to controlling home appliances. The Internet of Things (IoT) is an emerging technology in which smart devices are interconnected and communicate via the Internet. A limitless range of devices could be incorporated into the IoT, from refrigerators and TVs to cars and solar panels. However, there is currently no universal system for managing these devices and the data that is transferred between them. “Many vendors focus on device manufacturing and provide good technologies for wireless connectivity between devices,” explains Dr Billy Chan, senior manager of the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI). “But many existing systems lack an IoT management platform.” There is also no standard platform to leverage the development of IoT applications, which means that designers need to start from scratch with each new application. This is time consuming and costly. ASTRI has developed the “IoT Management and Application Platform” (IMAP), which allows the connection of a local network of devices to the Internet, and provides remote management of devices and data through a simple and customisable web-based graphical user interface. The system supports several technological standards for communication between devices, web interfaces and network architecture. This means it can be used on different platforms to support a diversity of devices and the development of IoT applications. To demonstrate IMAP’s capabilities, ASTRI has developed several “Smart City” applications. These include “Solar Street Light Management”, a system designed to provide real-time monitoring and remote control of more than 3,000 street lights in target to reduce maintenance costs. This system has been implemented in partnership with two […]

Delcam webinar on PowerMILL Advanced Simulation & Verification now online

In the picture: The Advanced Simulation & Verification module in Delcam’s PowerMILL provides comprehensive checks on machine-tool projects. Delcam has made available for download its recent webinar on the Advanced Simulation & Verification module in the 2015 R2 release of the company’s PowerMILL programming software for five-axis and high-speed machining. To download the webinar, please go to www.delcam.com/software/powermill/webinar/index.asp The webinar demonstrates how PowerMILL can undertake complete verification of a project for machine-tool issues such as collisions, rather than having to undertake verification of each individual toolpath in turn. Comprehensive verification is shown, including how to ensure that the machine tool is capable of running the proposed strategy, as well as methods for checking for both machine-tool collisions and tooling collisions, during cutting moves and all leads and links, including machine-tool movements as tool changes are executed. PowerMILL generates a detailed list of any problems found for the complete project so that these can be fixed on a case-by-case basis. As well as highlighting potential collisions, warnings can also be flagged for near misses. The user can specify a clearance value and, when the machine tool comes within this value, it will turn yellow in colour to highlight a near miss. The clearance distance is shown in the display so that a decision can be made on whether to keep or change the toolpath. Also demonstrated are a new PowerMILL dialogue that can be used to track and adjust the position of the machine tool, and the special toolbar to simulate and adjust the configuration and tool axis of a 3+2 machine or any equipment with incremental rotary axes. The dialogue presents data on the position of the machine tool, together with the limits set for each axis. It includes a slider to jog the machine components into position during the simulation […]

Rockwell Automation simplifies model predictive control with Pavilion8 softwar

Rockwell Automation Pavilion8 Model Predictive Control (MPC) software now delivers a more user-friendly configuration environment, step-by-step prompts, warning diagnostics and flexible work flows to simplify building, maintaining and adjusting highly complex process models. Pavilion8 software has long been known as being among the most powerful software for solving highly challenging control problems, and it is now also among the easiest to use. The solution builder tools within the software now offer MPC configuration in a modern Windows environment, giving users a more familiar and streamlined experience. For example, users can now execute right-click mouse operations and complete copy-and-paste-type actions to develop applications in the software, helping them deploy their solutions faster and reduce training and adoption times. Pavilion8 MPC v5.0 software remains control system independent, but smoothly integrates with the PlantPAx process automation system from Rockwell Automation and includes four key enhancements. Windows-based configuration and support – An improved overall user experience for expert and inexperienced users alike begins with the updated, Windows-based solution builder tools, which improve work flow by enabling users to create a customized working environment and providing access to online help. For example, problems that arise during configuration will now prompt helpful, context-sensitive warning and error messages. Users can simply click on these messages to receive detailed model-creation steps that will guide them toward a resolution. Users can also more easily modify past work to simplify model maintenance and re-use. Multivariable run-time controller – Users will also discover new time-saving features in version 5.0. The robust run-time controller has been updated to allow users to add new predictive disturbance measures in half the time as the previous version, and easily compare differences in MPC application versions. Users now can easily sort, re-name, add, delete, compare and copy MPC variables and software supporting a flexible work flow, […]