VOCATIONAL TRAINING REPORT

IN-PLANT TRAINING UNDERGONE AT

INDIAN OIL CORPORATION LIMITED

HALDIA REFINERY

Duration: 08.06.2009 07.07.2009

Name of the students: 1. Avishek Roy

2. Ratul Mukherjee
3. Tanmoy Pramanik

Branch of Study: Instrumentation & Electronics

Engineering

Name & Address of the Institute:

JADAVPUR UNIVERSITY
Instrumentation & Electronics Engineering Department
Salt Lake Campus
Kolkata - 700098

1
Proforma of the training areas covered:

Sl. No. Areas Period Signature with Seal

Thermal Power Station 08-06-09

1. (TPS) To
13-06-09
Diesel Hydro De 14.06.09
2. Sulphurization (DHDS) To
And FCC 20.06.09
Gas Turbine (GT) 14.06.09
3. To
20.06.09
Lube Oil Block (LOB) 21.06.09
4. To
27.06.09
Workshop 28.06.09
5. To
30.06.09
6. Planning 01-06-09
To
07-07-09

2
PREFACE:
Instrumentation and Process Control has become increasingly important in process
industries as a consequence of global competition, quality control problems, rapidly
changing economic conditions, and more stringent environmental and safety regulations.
They are also both a critical concern in the development of more flexible and more complex
processes for manufacturing high value added products. Furthermore, the rapidly
declining cost of digital devices and increased computer speed has enabled high
performance measurement and control systems to become an essential part of industrial
process.

This is a brief report on what instrumentation and control strategies we have seen in the
different units of Indian Oil Corporation limited, Haldia Refinery. Our main goal in this
report is to investigate about the instruments used there for measuring different process
variables and controlling them and the control strategies applied there. As far as modern
control systems are concerned we have tried to unveil the basic structure of distributed
control system and programmable logic controllers. We have also tried to investigate the
simple process flow diagram wherever possible. We hope you find it to be useful.

3
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:
We are very much Thankful to the persons for giving their full cooperation and
assistance during our period.

Sl. No. Name of the Persons Units they represent

1. Mr A. K. Das, Sr. Training / MS & HRD Training Centre

Manager
2. Mr. G. C. Kundu, CM (F&S) Fire & Safety Department

3. Mr. B. C. Tudu, Manager (HR) Administrative Building

4. Mr. P. Sarbadhikari, SITM Instrumentation Workshop

4. Mr. Sukumar Jana, SITE Thermal Power Station (TPS)

5. Mr. R. K. Guru, SITE Thermal Power Station (TPS)

6. Mr. Prateek Singh, SITE Lube Oil Block (LOB)

7. Mr. A. K. Mandal, SITE Lube Oil Block (LOB)

8. Mr. Saikat Chattoraj, DMIT Diesel Hydro De Sulphurization (DHDS)

9. Mr. Charles Sargunaraj, SITE Diesel Hydro De Sulphurization (DHDS)

10. Mr. P. Kumar, ITE Gas Turbine (GT)

11. Mr. Jaibir Singh, ITE Instrumentation Workshop

12. Mr. Sanjeeb Chowdhury, SITE Planning

Finally we must thank all the security personnel and staff members. They stayed with us in
every moment and helped to their fullest potential to complete our project successfully.

4
CONTENTS:

1. Introduction 6

2. Overview of Haldia Refinery 7

3. Blocks Covered 10 30
Thermal Power Station (TPS) 10
Diesel Hydro De Sulphurization (DHDS) 18
Gas Turbine (GT) 19
Lube Oil Block (LOB) 22

4. Flow Measurement 25 33

5. Temperature Measurement 33 38

6. Pressure Measurement 38 40

7. Level Measurement 40 45

8. Total Plant Solution (TPS) System Architecture 46 48

9. Control Valves (workshop) 49 - 53

5
INTRODUCTION:
Petroleum is derived from two words petro means rock and oleum means oil. Thus
the word petroleum means rock oil. This is a mixture of hydrocarbons; hence it cannot be
used directly and has got to be refined. Petroleum is refined in petroleum refinery.

Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (IOC) is the flagship national oil company in the downstream
sector. The Indian Oil Group of companies owns and operates 10 of India's 19 refineries
with a combined refining capacity of 1.2 million barrels per day. These include two
refineries of subsidiary Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (CPCL) and one of
Bongaigaon Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (BRPL). The 10 refineries are located at
Guwahati,
Barauni,
Koyali,
Haldia,
Mathura,
Digboi,
Panipat,
Chennai,
Narimanam, and
Bongaigaon.
Indian Oil's cross-country crude oil and product pipelines network span over 9,300 km.
It operates the largest and the widest network of petrol & diesel stations in the country.
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. (Indian Oil) was formed in 1964 through the merger of Indian
Oil Company Ltd and Indian Refineries Ltd. Indian Refineries Ltd was formed in 1958,
with Feroze Gandhi as Chairman and Indian Oil Company Ltd. was established on 30th
June 1959 with Mr S. Nijalingappa as the first Chairman. In 1964, Indian Oil commissioned
Barauni Refinery and the first petroleum product pipeline from Guwahati. In 1965, Gujarat
Refinery was inaugurated. In 1967, Haldia Barauni Pipeline (HBPL) was commissioned. In
1972, Indian Oil launched SERVO, the first indigenous lubricant. In 1974, Indian Oil
Blending Ltd. (IOBL) became the wholly owned subsidiary of Indian Oil. In 1975, Haldia
Refinery was commissioned. In 1981, Digboi Refinery and Assam Oil Company's (AOC)
marketing operations came under the control of Indian Oil. In 1982, Mathura Refinery and
Mathura-Jalandhar Pipeline (MJPL) were commissioned. In 1994, India's First
Hydrocracker Unit was commissioned at Gujarat Refinery. In 1995, 1,443 km. long Kandla-
Bhatinda Pipeline (KBPL) was commissioned at Sanganer. In 1998, Panipat Refinery was
commissioned. In the same year, Haldia, Barauni Crude Oil Pipeline (HBCPL) was
completed. In 2000, Indian Oil crossed the turnover of Rs l00,000 crore and became the first
Corporate in India to do so. In the same year Indian Oil entered into Exploration &
Production (E&P) with the award of two exploration blocks to Indian Oil and ONGC
consortium under NELP-I. In 2003, Lanka IOC Pvt. Ltd. (LIOC) was launched in Sri
Lanka. In 2005, Indian Oil's Mathura Refinery became the first refinery in India to attain the
capability of producing entire quantity of Euro-III compliant diesel.

6
OVERVIEW OF HALDIA REFINERY:
Haldia Refinery, one of the seven operating refineries of Indian Oil, was commissioned in
January 1975. It is situated 136 km downstream of Kolkata in the district of Purba
Medinipur, West Bengal, near the confluence of river Hooghly and Haldi.

From an original crude oil processing capacity of 2.5 MMTPA, the refinery is operating at a
capacity of 5.8 MMTPA at present. Capacity of the refinery was increased to 2.75 MMTPA
through de-bottlenecking in 1989-90. Refining capacity was further increased to 3.75
MMTPA in 1997 with the installation/commissioning of second Crude Distillation Unit of
1.0 MMTPA capacity. Petroleum products from this refinery are supplied mainly to eastern
India through two product pipelines as well as through barges, tank wagons and tank trucks.
Products like MS, HSD and Bitumen are exported from this refinery.

Haldia Refinery is the only coastal refinery of the corporation and the lone lube flagship,
apart from being the sole producer of Jute Batching Oil. Diesel Hydro Desulphurisation
(DHDS) Unit was commissioned in 1999, for production of low Sulphur content (0.25% wt)
High Speed Diesel (HSD). With augmentation of this unit, refinery is producing BS-II and
Euro-III equivalent HSD (part quantity) at present. Resid Fluidised Catalytic Cracking Unit
(RFCCU) was commissioned in 2001 in order to increase the distillate yield of the refinery
as well as to meet the growing demand of LPG, MS and HSD. Refinery also produces eco
friendly Bitumen emulsion and Microcrystalline Wax. A Catalytic Iso Dewaxing Unit
(CIDWU) was installed and commissioned in the year 2003 for production of high quality
Lube Oil Base Stocks (LOBS), meeting the API Gr-II standard of LOBS.

Finished products from this refinery cover both fuel oil products as well as lube oil
products.

Fuel oil products include:

LPG
Naphtha
Motor spirit (MS)
Mineral Turbine Oil (MTO)
Superior Kerosene (SK)
Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF)
Russian Turbine Fuel (RTF)
High Speed Diesel (HSD)
Jute Batching Oil (JBO)
Furnace Oil (FO)

Lube oil base stocks are:

Inter Neutral HVI grades
Heavy Neutral HVI grades
Bright Neutral HVI grades

7
 Besides the above, slack wax, carbon black feed stock (CBFS), Bitumen and Sulphur are the
other products of this refinery.
There are four main units in this refinery:
1. Fuel Oil Block (FOB)
2. Lube Oil Block (LOB)
3. Diesel Hydro De- Sulphurization Unit (DHDS)
4. Oil Movement & Storage Unit (OM&S)
5. Fluid catalytic cracking (FCC)
6. Thermal power station (TPS)
7. Gas turbines (GT)

In order to meet the Euro-III fuel quality standards, the MS Quality Improvement Project
has been commissioned in 2005 for production of Euro-III equivalent MS. The refinery
expansion to 7.5 MMTPA as well as a Hydrocracker project has been approved,
commissioning of which shall enable Haldia Refinery to supply Euro-IV and Euro III
HSD to the eastern region of India.

The plot plan of the Haldia Refinery is shown in the next page:

LPG
STORAGE LPG
TANKS CRUDE
TANK T/W
TANKS LOADING
GANTRY
D
G H
T D PRODUCT TANK
S SRU

V F
D C
U C FOB TPS TKS LOB
ADM TANKS TTL

CRUDE
FLARE CRUDE TANKS PRODUCT BITUMEN
TANK TANKS DESPATCH
PPL ETP

Figure 1: Haldia Refinery Plot Plan

8
The block flow diagram of Haldia refinery is given in the next page.

GAS

SRU SULPHUR

LPG
CDU-1
CRUDE CRU MS
CDU-2
NAPTHA

HU
RCO MTO

KHDS ATF / RTF

VGO
SKO
DHDS

HSD

JBO (P) / JBO (C)

MCW MCW
FCCU OHCU

SO

100N
FEU
SDU HFU 150N
LO
500N
VDU-1 NMP
HLD-HN
VDU-2 IO
150-BS
H
O DAO SL.WAX

PDA ISO
DEWAXING

VBU

CBFS
ASPHALT
FO

SR BITUMEN

IFO

Figure 2: BLOCK FLOW DIAGRAM OF HALDIA REFINERY

9
BLOCKS COVERED:

THERMAL POWER STATION (TPS) :

Thermal Power Station or TPS is one of the two main wings of power in Haldia refinery
of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL). It is called CPP-I. The power unit called
CPP-II is gas turbine units. Both these units together supplies the total power required by
the different units of the plants and also the IOCL Township nearby.

CAPACITY OF TPS:

There are four steam turbines with four boilers for generating steam.
BOILER I, II, III all are made by BHEL. Each of them is capable of delivering 125 tons of
superheated steam per hour. There is a fourth boiler (BOILER IV) with a capacity of 150
tons of steam per hour which is made by ABB. Four steam turbines are there manufactured
by BHEL each having a connectivity with all the boilers. Three of them have a capacity of
10.5 MW and the fourth one have a capacity of 16.5 MW.

PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM (PFD):

The process flow diagram shown in the next page describes the process of steam generation
and generation of electricity. The main components are as follows-

COOLING TOWERS:
The raw water comes from IOCLs own water source along with water from the nearby
HFC plant. This water is partly sent to the cooling towers in different units for cooling and
then it is used as cooling medium in machines, heat exchangers, compressors for cooling.
TPS itself uses large electrical motors for which cooling water is necessary.
This water also goes to others units as service water, drinking water and fire water after
sufficient processing. For TPS water is taken through the DM plant.

DEMINARALIZATION (DM) PLANT:

Here the water is treated for removing the minerals and radicals so that they cant create
erosion problems when heated in the boiler drum. The pH of the water is tested and then it
is monitored nearly 7 by adding sufficient acidic or basic materials. From here the water is
sent to a surge tank which stores the water coming from different units and then operating
on a level switch and PLC system sends the water to deareator by the help of a pump.

DEAREATOR:
Here the water is preheated so that in boiler steam can be generated fast. To heat the water
in deareator the hot water coming back from the economizer is mixed with the supply cold
water from the surge tank. In this way the heat energy in the water heated in the economizer
zone is reused. Then this water is sent to the boiler drum for generating superheated steam.
There are two deareator which supplies water to four boilers.

10
VH STEAM
VH VM
VH-VM PRDS BOILER STE STEAM
VM STEAM
AM

TURBINEG
VM-VB PRDS VR
ENERATO
VB STEAM BURNING
R
UNIT

DISTRIBUTIO
HOT
POWER N
VR

SERVICE AIR

DRIER COMPRE
INST AIR AIR FO
SSOR TAN
K

DM WATER
DEAR FROM UNIT
DM DM EATO
SERVICE WATER R
PLANT
WATER TANK

FIRE WATER

COND COND FROM

ENSAT POLISHING DIFF
DRINK WATER UNITS
E UNIT
TANK
PROCESS TPS
COOLING COOLING COOLING CW FOR TPS
WATER TOWER TOWER

RAW WATER

Figure 3: TPS PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM

BOILER:
It is made of long piping (straight length 350 km approx) interconnected with each other
and at upper and lower end they are connected with the mud drum and the steam drum.
They are placed very densely in the boiler and when heated flue gas from the burner flows
through them steam is produced which accumulates at the upper steam drum.
The steam coming out from the boiler is treated again to maintain its pressure (61 kg/cm2)
and temperature (450 deg c) and made oxygen free. This is called high pressure superheated
steam which is sent to turbine generator for generating electricity. This is also converted to
medium pressure (VM) and low pressure steam (VB) for other uses as follows: Uses of
steam:
VH steam: used in turbine generator as well as in burner

11
VM steam: in heat exchanger in different units
VB steam: used for cleaning oil.

SH VH
STEAM

STEAM DRUM

HOT
FLUE
STEAM COND WATER ECONO FLUE
BURNER GAS MISER GAS
OUT

MUD DRUM

BOILER
FEED
WATER

SUPER HEATED ZONE ECONOMISER ZONE

Figure 4: Structure of a BOILER

BURNER UNIT:
Here fuel oil is burnt in presence of air to produce hot flue gas at very high temperature.
Every boiler has six burner units. Fuel oil is burnt and the hot gas is released in the boiler.
The relatively cold flue gas after going through the economizer zone is sent out to stack and
released in the atmosphere.

AIR SUPPLY:
An air supply unit is kept to supply air to the compressor as well as drier to produce
compressed dry air supply for pneumatic instruments.

INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL UNITS IN TPS:

4 MAIN CONTROL UNITS:
I. Boilers drum level control.
The level of water in the boiler drum is maintained at a desired level by means of PID
controller implemented through DCS (YOKOGAWA). For this the steam flow rate, feed
water flow rate and level of water in the boiler drum is measured and all transmitted to the
control room (DCS) where a three element control is implemented. As we have seen, the
level transmitter was a DP type level transmitter with wet leg mounting (from
ROSEMOUNT). The steam flow rate is measured with a DP type flow meter (orifice)
(from Rosemount). Utilizing these data the control system actuates the control valve on the
boiler feed water flow line.
II. Combustion control.

12
This maintains the fuel oil and air flow rate to the burner units so that flue gas with proper
temperature is produced.
III. Furnace draft control.
This is the economizer zone where the high temperature flue gas coming out from the boiler
is allowed to pass through cold water to heat it up. Typical temperature of flue gas before
the economizer is about 300deg c and after the economizer it is about 200 deg c. All these
temperature are monitored as the flue gas temperature exiting from the economizer is left to
atmosphere.
IV. Steam control.
This section maintains the steam (coming out from the boiler) at a temperature of 450 deg c
and a pressure of 61kgf/cm2. The steam is made air free which is called superheated steam.
This goes to the turbine generator.

Boiler drums level control: (Three element controls)

Boiler drums level control (also called boiler feed water control) is an important control
loop in any thermal power plant as well as in our TPS. As the load on the turbine varies the
steam demand varies. So the level of the drum needs to be maintained so that the steam
demand can be met. In the following section we will discuss about various control strategy
(focusing mainly on the three elements PID control) for this.

Minimum design requirements for a boiler drums level control system:

The following requirements are defined for minimum system design:
Process measurement requirements
Control and logic requirements
Final control device requirements
Alarm requirements
Operator interface requirements

Process measurement requirements:

Drum level measurement
A drum-level signal is required for single-element, two-element, and three-element feed
water (drums level) control systems. If the instruments used to measure drum level are
sensitive to density variation, then density compensation techniques shall be employed.

Figure 5: DRUM LEVEL MEASUREMENT

Steam-flow measurement
13
A mass steam-flow signal is required for two-element and three-element feed water control
systems. If volumetric steam flow-rate measuring techniques are employed, the measured
(indicated) flow shall be compensated for flowing steam density to determine the true mass
steam flow rate.
Feed water-flow measurement
A mass feed water-flow signal is required for three-element feed water control systems.
When volumetric flow rate measurement techniques are employed and the feed water
temperature varies the measured (indicated) flow shall be compensated for flowing feed
water density to determine the true mass feed water flow rate.

Control and logic requirements:

The function of the drums level control system or feed water flow control system is to
maintain drum water level within the boiler manufacturers specified limits. The flow of
feed water to the drum is controlled by the variation of boiler feed pump speed and/or by the
action of a control valve(s). Feed water control can be accomplished by using the following
control strategies:
Single-element control
Single-element control as shown in fig.6 requires a pressure-compensated drum level signal
(if the instruments used to measure drum level are sensitive to density variation) and
requires a desired set point signal. Proportional plus-integral-action controllers maintain
level by sending an output to the final control device. Single element control in fossil-fired
boilers should be used for start-up control before steam flow is delivered to the process.
Single-element control is the minimum feed water control system and is applied where
steam flow is constant or at low loads when steam flow measurements are not available or
inaccurate. When single-element control is combined with two- or three-element control,
the mode selection may be automatically selected or operator-selected
Two-element control
Two-element control (figure 7) is the minimum feed water control for a variable steam-
flow application and is not recommended for new applications. Two-element feed water
control requires a pressure-compensated drum level signal, if the instruments used to
measure drum level are sensitive to density variations and a desired set point signal for
level, along with a feed-forward signal from a temperature-compensated steam flow
transmitter. The error from the proportional-plus-integral-action level controller is summed
with the steam flow signal to determine the demand to the final drive element
Three-element control
Three-element control (figure 8) shall be used for applications experiencing variable steam-
flow and/or variable feed water supply pressure at the flow control valve inlet. Three-
element feed water control requires a pressure-compensated drum level signal (if the
instruments used to measure drum level are sensitive to density variations), a desired set
point signal for level, a feed forward signal from a temperature-compensated steam flow
transmitter, and a signal from a feed water flow transmitter. The feed water flow transmitter
should be temperature-compensated, if the measurement is affected by feed water
temperature. The three-element control shall make feed water flow follow steam flow and
use the deviation in level as a resetting action to bring the required water inventory back to
balance. Feed water demand shall be derived from drum level and the error between the
feed water and steam-flow.

Final control device requirements:

Feed water-flow shall be controlled by varying the speed of the boiler feed pump(s) and/or
by varying the position of the feed water control valve(s).

14
All final control devices shall be designed to fail safe on loss of demand signal or motive
power; i.e., open, close, or lock in place. The fail-safe position shall be determined by the
user based on the specific application. The minimum flow recirculation valve(s) shall open
on any failure in the minimum flow control system.
Minimum alarm requirements:
Minimum alarm requirements shall include
High and low drum level
Loss of control power
Loss of final drive power
Control loop trip-to-manual
Feed water flow/system flow deviation (three-element control)
Loss of control transmitter
Operator interface (at DCS):
The following information shall be made available to the operator:
Drum level
Drum pressure
Feed water flow
Feed water temperature
Steam flow
Steam temperature
All alarms
Manual/automatic control-loop status
Main stream pressure (where applicable)
In addition to the above, the following information should be made available to the
operator:
Final drive position(s)
Pump speed(s)
Single- or three-element control status
Individual boiler feed pump flow
Drum level set point

Comparision of three types of control:

Properties Single element Two element Three element

Prerequisite Slow rate of Constant feed water Feed water flow ,
change of steam pressure steam flow signal
flow available
Transient Poor Good Good
operability
Steady state Good Good Good
operability
Response to load Slow Fast Fast
change
Potential for flow Probable Dependent on final Minimal
imbalance during drive linearity and
load change repeatability
through the load
range
Control response Single element Two element Three element
type feedback feedback and feed feedback and feed

15
 forward forward

DRUM LEVEL DRUM PRESSURE

LT
PT

X PRESSURE
COMPENSATION

PV

PID
SET VALUE CONTROLLER

MV

FINAL ELEMENT
M/A

Figure 6: SINGLE ELEMENT CONTROL

STEAM
DRUM

PRESSURE LEVEL PRESSURE FLOW TEMP

PT FT
LT PT TT

PRESR COMP
PRSR COMP LEVEL TEMP
COMPENSATION

SET VALUE PID FLOW RATE

CONSTANT
SUM MUL

A/M FINAL CONTROL

ELEMENT

16
 Figure 7: TWO ELEMENT CONTROL

FEED WATER STEAM

DRUM

FLOW RATE TEMP

PRESSURE LEVEL PRESSURE FLOW TEMP

FT TT FT
PT LT TT
PT

TEMP COMP
FLOW TEMP PRSR COMP LEVEL PRESR COMP
RATE COMPENS
ATION

SET VALUE PID FLOW RATE

CONSTANT
SUM MUL

A/M
PID FINAL CONTROL
ELEMENT

Figure 8: THREE ELEMENT CONTROL

Other instruments seen:

1. Level switch: used in tanks for operating pumps through PLC (TRICONEX) for
automatic level control
2. Bourdon tube pressure gauge: used as local pressure indicator at steam drum,
boiler
3. Gauge glass: used as local level indicator in deareator, steam drum, surge drum.
4. Hydra step: used as level indicator (local as well as in control room) of steam drum
5. Thermocouple: to measure the temperature inside the boiler drum steel
thermocouples are used which are kept in close contact with the pipes inside the
boiler.
6. Gas analyzers: to measure the oxygen content of the superheated steam, to measure
the SO2 content of the flue gas before leaving in atmosphere.
7. Coriolis mass flow meter (MICROMOTION): used as flow transmitter
8. Control valves: final control elements. Outputs from the controllers go to these as
4-20 mA signals. By the help of attached I/P converter this is converted to a
pneumatic signal in the range 0.2-1kgf/cm2 and then by the help of valve positioner
the valve is set properly. Instrument air supply is needed for these valves.
17
DIESEL HYDRO DE-SULPHURIZATION UNIT (DHDS) :

The crude oil in Haldia refinery comes from the Arabian countries which is of low grade i.e.
it is rich in sulphur content and other impurities. The main function of DHDS unit is to
remove this sulphur and other impurities to improve the quality of oil. The diesel hydro
desulphurization unit (DHDS), Unit 25, is based on the Union fining process from UOP and
is designed to process distillate oil. Petroleum fractions contain various amount of naturally
occurring contaminants including sulphur, nitrogen and metal compounds. These
contaminants may contribute to increased levels of air pollution, equipment corrosion and
cause difficulties in the further processing the material.
Process Description:
Diesel from FOB enters this unit and passes through two filter separator of which one (25-
FS-01 A&B) is gravity separator which separates water, and another (25-FS-02) is magnetic
filter separator which separates magnetic metallic particles. The diesel is then pumped and
passed through three heat exchangers in series for preheating. This preheated and high
pressure diesel then enters into furnace and further heated there.
Before entering the reactor, the diesel is mixed with hydrogen by means of two compressors
one is used for recycling hydrogen obtained from product stream, and another for makeup
of hydrogen which comes from the hydrogen plant (Unit 24). It then enters two reactors in
series (25-R-01 & 25-R-02). The outlet from the second reactor is used to preheat the diesel
oil in three exchangers described above. The product from reactor i.e. diesel, hydrogen and
H2S are separated in a separator vessel (25-V-02). H2 and H2S is sent to an absorber column
(25-C-01) in which H2S is amine-washed using lean amine and the product rich amine is
sent to ARU for lean amine regeneration. Diesel and dissolved H2S are sent to stripping
column (25-C-02) with reflux in which diesel is found as bottom product. Top product is
H2S, H2O and light hydrocarbons (C1 & C2) are pumped to absorber column (25-C-03) for
amine wash. Amine washed H2S from bottom of 25-C-03 is sent to ARU and sweet light
hydrocarbon is sent to fuel gas system. The general block diagram of the Diesel Hydro De -
Sulphurization Unit is given in the next page:

18
 HGU TO UNIT 84
STEAM
UNIT-24 99.99% PURE
HYDROGEN
TO MSQ UNIT
NAPTHA

H2 TO UNIT 35/39
H2 TO CRU TO MS QUALITY
SWEET FUEL GAS UPGRADATION
DHDS SWEET DISEL
WASH
WATER UNIT 25

SOUR WILD NAPTHA

DISEL
ACID GAS

ARU TO MS QUALITY
UNIT 26 ARU UPGRADATION
L AMINE TO U84 UNIT 26 SULPHER
FRESH
R AMINE IN
AMINE
MAKEUP

STEAM, VR
LO, IO, HO
LPG
LCN
HCN
RFCC LCO
UNIT 17/18/19 DCO TO MS QUALITY
COKE UPGRADATION
SWSU
UNIT 29

VDU-II
UNIT 82
GO SO LO
HO IO VR
RCO VAC MS QUALITY UPGRADATION
&STEAM RAFFINATE HVY RAFFINATE, HIGH FCC GASOLINE
UNIT-85/86/87
SRN HW FCC GASOLINE, HEART CUT, LPG
MSQ
OFF GAS ISOMERATE
FROM CRU

Figure 9: DHDS UNIT

Gas turbine(GT):
Gas turbines (GT) are another unit for generation of power except TPS in IOCL Haldia
refinery.
It has three gas turbines each with a capacity of 25-30MW. They generate power and they
are synchronized with the bus bar which connects them to the TPS. From TPS this power is
distributed. As it has a huge capacity, it is very important to maintain it so that power
requirement is always fulfilled.
All three gas turbines are installed by BHEL. The control unit is also supplied by BHEL
which is named as MARK-VI. This unit actually connects the gas turbine units to the DCS
& PLC controller.

How does gas turbine work?

Gas turbine engines are, theoretically, extremely simple. They have 3 parts:

A compressor to compress the incoming air to high pressure.

19
 A combustion area to burn the fuel and produce high pressure, high velocity gas.
A turbine to extract the energy from the high pressure, high velocity gas flowing
from the combustion chamber.

Just opposite to the working principle of TPS. In TPS the fuel and air mixture with proper
ratio is burned to produce flue gas which is then used to heat the water to make superheated
steam. This steam is then used to rotate the turbine from which power is produced.

Here the high pressure and high temperature flue gas is directly applied to the prime mover
from where the electricity is produced. After that this high temperature flue gas is used to
heat water to produce steam so that the system becomes more economic. So when ever in
the plant the gas turbine is on duty, the corresponding steam producing unit is also activated
so that the efficiency of the whole process increases.

Figure 10: General layout of axial-flow gas turbine

The above figure shows the general layout of an axial-flow gas turbine - the sort of engine
you would find driving the rotor of a helicopter, for example:

In this engine air is sucked in from the right by the compressor. The compressor is basically
a cone-shaped cylinder with small fan blades attached in rows (8 rows of blades are
represented here). Assuming the light blue represents air at normal air pressure, then as the
air is forced through the compression stage its pressure and velocity rise significantly. In
some engines the pressure of the air can rise by a factor of 30. The high-pressure air
produced by the compressor is shown in dark blue.

This high-pressure air then enters the combustion area, where a ring of fuel injectors injects
a steady stream of fuel.

At the left of the engine is the turbine section. In this figure there are two sets of turbines.
The first set directly drives the compressor. The turbines, the shaft and the compressor all
turn as a single unit:

20
At the far left is a final turbine stage, shown here with a single set of vanes. It drives the
output shaft. This final turbine stage and the output shaft are a completely stand-alone,
freewheeling unit. They spin freely without any connection to the rest of the engine.

The exhaust is sent to the heat exchanger unit where the water is heated to produce steam
and then the gas is let out through chimney.

Starting of a gas turbine:

At start the shaft is rotated to start the ignition. The rpm is gradually increased up to 2100
rpm where it takes over the operation automatically. Then the speed is taken towards 5100
rpm and kept fixed at that rpm as this much of rpm relates to 50 hertz of frequency. Then
the output of the turbine generator is synchronized with the bus bar so that it can share the
existing load.

Air suction unit:

The compressor unit inside the turbine assembly sucks air from the atmosphere through a
series of filter. There are two matrices of filters. At a time any of the two works. There is
possibility of choking of the filters due to dust particles in the air. To avoid this differential
pressure across the filters are monitored. As the dust accumulates the differential increases.
Then after a certain limit it automatically fires the other set of filters to get air supply where
the previous set is cleared by flowing air in opposite direction (from compressor to
atmosphere) and this technique goes on.

When this automated technique fails and the DP go on increasing then the filters are cleared
manually.

Instrumentation and control:

The main issues here is to control all the parameters such as the air flow rate, fuel flow rate,
proper fuel air mixture, rpm of the generator, frequency of the generator, temperature inside
the generators, pressure etc. instruments that can be seen in this unit are :

Bourdon tube pressure gauge

Orifice flow meter
Coriolis flow meter (Miromotion)
Temperature sensors (with capillary tube connection)
Thermocouples (k type)

21
 LUBE OIL BLOCK (LOB) :
In lube oil block, the reduced crude oil from the Atmospheric Distillation Unit (ADU) is
processed to produce lube base stock, slack wax, transfer oil feed stock (TOFS), etc. LOB
contains the following 8 units:

Name of the Unit Unit Number

Vacuum Distillation Unit (VDU) Unit 31
Propane De-asphalting Unit Unit 32
Furfural Extraction Unit Unit 33
Solvent De-waxing Unit Unit 34
Hydro Finishing Unit Unit 35
Bitumen Treatment Unit Unit 36
Vis breaking Unit Unit 37
N-Methyl Pyrrolidine (NMP) Extraction Unit Unit 38

Lube oil base stock manufacturing is basically a series of different secondary processing
which a lube potent mother feed stock namely Reduced Crude Oil (RCO) undergoes. As it
appears, Reduced Crude Oil is the bottom of the barrel of basic refining unit, Atmospheric
Distillation Unit (Crude distillation unit-CDU). So the overall intricacy and complexity of
operation does not lie on individual processing unit but also managing the overall network
in union.
The material so obtained is the Lube Oil Based Stocks (LOBS). This is transported to other
industries to be mixed with additives in order to produce LUBE OIL.
This lube oil is mainly used for the lubricating the machines to ensure their smooth
operation.

For an oil to be a good lubricating agent should be endowed with the following properties:

1. Low viscosity index: Viscosity index defined as -/T i.e. change in viscosity with
change in temperature should be relatively low for good lube oil. This is achieved by
removing the aromatic compounds from LOBS.

2. Low pour point/cloud point: Pour point is defined as the minimum temperature at
which the flow of an oil ceases. Cloud point is expressed as the minimum temperature at
which oil forms cloud. Pour point should be low enough to ensure the flow of the oil even at
low temperatures. Cloud point being 4-6C higher than pour point gets maintained
automatically with low pour points. To assure low pour points paraffin are removed or are
converted to iso-paraffins.

3. Colour: Light colour signifies purity. Colour gets affected by impurities. Presence of
nitrogen and sulphur compounds imparts colour to oils. To remove nitrogen and sulphur
products oils are subjected to hydrogen treating better called hydro treating. The following
reactions take place:

RNH + H2 = RH + NH3
ROH + H2 = RH + H2O
RSH +H2 = RH + H2S
Unsaturated compounds = Saturated compounds
22
Process Description: The bottoms from the crude distillation unit called RCO are taken to
LOB and then it is sent to vacuum distillation unit (VDU). The advantage of vacuum
distillation is that the temperature requirement is less. From the VDU the lube content i.e. light
oil (LO), heavy oil(HO),intermediate oil(IO) are sent to propane deasphalting unit(PDA) where
the asphalt gets separated and deasphalted oil (DAO)is produced. Asphalt is again to process
bitumen. DAO is then dearomatised by mixing with a solvent which takes out the aromatic
component. Thus is then taken to CIDW unit (Catalytic Iso Dewaxing unit) which takes out the
wax and sent it to MCW plant where very costly microcrystalline wax is made from it. The lube
content is then sent to HDT and HFU unit to improve the color. The total block flow diagram is
shown below.

RCO HEAT FURNACE

CDU EXCHANGER 00c

GO HSD POOL

SO

LO
V
D
U IO

HO

SR

EXTRACT DEAROMATISED OIL

DAO

DWO

P DEAROMATISATION
D TANK WITH C
PREFERENTIAL I
A SOLUBILITY
(FURFURAL,
D
NMP) W

PRAFFINS

ASPHALT
AROMATICS
HDT

HFU

FURNACE BITUMEN PLANT

LOBS

Figure 11: LOB DIAGRAM

23
Instrument seen:

Transmitters and sensor seen here are same as the TPS unit. They are listed below,
Thermocouple (J type and E type by TCP)
RTD (pt-100 by TCP)
Thermo well
Skin thermocouple
Control valve
The DCS used here was of TATA-HONEYWELL. The transmitters used were mainly from
ROSEMOUNT.

24
DETAILS OF INSTRUMENT SEEN:

1. FLOW MEASUREMENT :
The different methods of measuring the rate of flow in the Refinery are discussed as
follows,

PITOT TUBE :

A pitot tube is a pressure measurement instrument used to measure fluid flow velocity. It
is widely used to determine the airspeed of an aircraft and to measure air and gas
velocities in industrial applications.
The basic pitot tube consists of a tube pointing directly into the fluid flow. As this tube
contains fluid, a pressure can be measured; the moving fluid is brought to rest as there is no
outlet to allow flow to continue. This pressure is the stagnation pressure of the fluid, also
known as the total pressure or the pitot pressure.
The measured stagnation pressure cannot of itself be used to determine the fluid velocity
(airspeed in aviation). However, Bernoulli's equation states:
Stagnation Pressure = Static Pressure + Dynamic Pressure
Which can also be written

Pt = Ps + ( * V2 )/2

Solving that for velocity we get:

V = [2*(pt - ps)/]

Where V is fluid velocity

and pt is stagnation or total pressure
and ps is static pressure
and is fluid density
The dynamic pressure, then, is the difference between the stagnation pressure and the
static pressure. The static pressure is generally measured using the static ports on the side
of the fuselage. The dynamic pressure is then determined using a diaphragm inside an
enclosed container. If the air on one side of the diaphragm is at the static pressure, and the
other at the stagnation pressure, then the deflection of the diaphragm is proportional to the
dynamic pressure, which can then be used to determine the indicated airspeed of the
aircraft. The diaphragm arrangement is typically contained within the airspeed indicator,
which converts the dynamic pressure to an airspeed reading by means of mechanical levers.
Instead of static ports, a pitot-static tube may be employed, which has a second tube coaxial
with the pitot tube with holes on the sides, outside the direct airflow, to measure the static
pressure.

25
 Figure 12: Types of Pitot Tube

Industrial Application:
In industry, the velocities being measured are often those flowing in ducts and tubing where
measurements by an anemometer would be difficult to obtain. In these kinds of
measurements, the most practical instrument to use is the pitot tube. The pitot tube can be
inserted through a small hole in the duct with the pitot connected to a U-tube water gauge
or some other differential pressure gauge for determining the velocity inside the ducted
wind tunnel. One use of this technique is to determine the amount of cooling that is
happening to a room.
The fluid flow rate in a duct can then be estimated from:
Volume Flow Rate (cubic feet per minute) = Duct Area (square feet) Velocity (feet
per minute)
Volume Flow Rate (cubic meters per second) = Duct Area (square meters) Velocity
(meters per second)
In aviation, air speed is typically measured in knots.

VENTURI TUBE :
The venturi tube is the most accurate flow-sensing element when properly calibrated. The
venturi tube has a converging conical inlet, a cylindrical throat, and a diverging recovery
cone. It has no projections into the fluid, no sharp corners, and no sudden changes in
contour. Venturi Tube The inlet section decreases the area of the fluid stream, causing the
velocity to increase and the pressure to decrease. The low pressure is measured in the center
of the cylindrical throat since the pressure will be at its lowest value, and neither the
pressure nor the velocity is changing. The recovery cone allows for the recovery of pressure
such that total pressure loss is only 10% to 25%. The high pressure is measured upstream of
the entrance cone. The major disadvantages of this type of flow detection are the high initial
costs for installation and difficulty in installation and inspection.

26
 Figure 13 : Venturitube

ROTAMETERS :

The rotameter is an industrial flow meter used to measure the flow rate of liquids and gases
where the line size is less than 2 inches.. The rotameter consists of a tube and float. The
float response to flow rate changes is linear, and a 10-to-1 flow range or turndown is
standard. The rotameter is popular because it has a linear scale, a relatively long
measurement range, and low pressure drop. It is simple to install and maintain.
Principle:
The rotameter's operation is based on the variable area principle: fluid flow raises a float in
a tapered tube, increasing the area for passage of the fluid. The greater the flow, the higher
the float is raised. The height of the float is directly proportional to the flowrate. With
liquids, the float is raised by a combination of the buoyancy of the liquid and the velocity
head of the fluid. With gases, buoyancy is negligible, and the float responds to the velocity
head alone. The float moves up or down in the tube in proportion to the fluid flowrate and
the annular area between the float and the tube wall. The float reaches a stable position in
the tube when the upward force exerted by the flowing fluid equals the downward
gravitational force exerted by the weight of the float. A change in flowrate upsets this
balance of forces. The float then moves up or down, changing the annular area until it again
reaches a position where the forces are in equilibrium. To satisfy the force equation, the
rotameter float assumes a distinct position for every constant flowrate. However, it is
important to note that because the float position is gravity dependent, rotameters must be
vertically oriented and mounted.

Types of ROTAMETERS :

1. Glass Tube Rotameters :

The basic rotameter is the glass tube indicating-type. The tube is precision formed of
borosilicate glass, and the float is precisely machined from metal, glass or plastic. The metal
float is usually made of stainless steel to provide corrosion resistance. The float has a sharp
metering edge where the reading is observed by means of a scale mounted alongside the
tube. End fittings and connections of various materials and styles are available. The
important elements are the tube and float, often called the tube-and-float combination,
because it is this portion of the rotameter which provides the measurement. In fact, similar

27
glass tube and stainless steel float combinations are generally available, regardless of the
type of case or end fittings the application can demand, so as best to meet customer
requirements. The scale of the rotameter can be calibrated for direct reading of air or water,
or it may have a scale to read a percent of range or an arbitrary scale to be used with
conversion equations or charts. Safety-shielded glass tube rotameters are in general use
throughout industry for measuring both liquids and gases. They provide flow capacities to
about 60 GPM, and are manufactured with end fittings of metal or plastic to meet the
chemical characteristics of the fluid being metered. The only fluids for which these meters
are not suited are those which attack glass metering tubes, such as water over 90C (194F),
with its high pH which softens glass; wet steam, which has the same effect; caustic soda,
which dissolves glass; and hydrofluoric acid, which etches glass. The primary limitations of
general purpose rotameters are the pressure and temperature limits of the glass metering
tube. Small, 6 mm (1/4") tubes are suitable for working pressures up to 500 psig, but the
operating pressure for a large 51 mm (2") tube may be as low as 100 psig. The practical
temperature limit for glass rotameters is 204C (400F), although operation at such high
temperatures substantially reduces the operating pressure of the meter. In general, there is a
linear relationship between the operating temperature and pressure.

2. Metal Tube Rotameters:

For higher pressures and temperatures beyond the practical range of glass tubes, metal tubes
are used. These are usually manufactured of stainless steel, with stainless steel floats. The
position of the float is determined by magnetic or mechanical followers that can be read
from the outside of the stainless steel metering tube. As with glass tube rotameters, the tube-
and-float combination determines the flowrate, and the fittings and materials of construction
must be chosen so as to satisfy the demands of the applications. These meters are used for
services where high operating pressure or temperature, water hammer, or other forces would
damage glass metering tubes. Like the general purpose type, armored rotameters can be
used for most fluids, including corrosive liquids and gases. They are particularly well suited
for steam applications, where glass tubes are unacceptable.

3. Plastic Tube Rotameters:

Plastic tubes are also used in some rotameter designs due to their lower cost and high
impact strength. They are typically constructed of polycarbonate, with either metal or
plastic end fittings. With plastic end fittings, care must be taken in installation, not to distort
the threads. Rotameters with all plastic construction are available for applications where
metal wetted parts cannot be tolerated, such as with deionized water or corrosives.

28
 MASS FLOWMETER :

A mass flow meter, also known as inertial flow meter and coriolis flow meter, is a device
that measures how much fluid is flowing through a tube. It does not measure the volume of
the fluid passing through the tube; it measures the amount of mass flowing through the
device.

Volumetric flow metering is proportional to mass flow rate only when the density of the
fluid is constant. If the fluid has varying density, or contains bubbles, then the volume flow
rate multiplied by the density is not an accurate measure of the mass flow rate.
In a mass flow meter the fluid is contained in a smooth tube, with no moving parts that
would need to be cleaned and maintained, and that would impede the flow.

ORIFICE FLOWMETER :

An orifice plate plus D/P transmitter is the most widely used flow measuring device that is
used in process industries. An orifice plate in its most commonly used form is a circular
disc, usually made of stainless steel and provide with a circular opening called the orifice
bore at the centre which is maintained at tight tolerances. Orifice plate may be of various
types as listed below in the next page:

a. Concentric square edge orifice

b. Eccentric and segmental orifice

29
c. Quadrant edge conical entrance orifice
d. Integral orifice

Concentric Eccentric Segmental

Of these, the concentric square edge orifice is by far the most popular and the other types
are used in applications where a concentric square edge orifice cannot be used.

Construction:
Described below is the typical concentric square edge orifice. This orifice plate is referred
as a Concentric square edge orifice because ideally, the axis of the orifice bore must
coincide with the axis of pipe in which the orifice is installed and hence the name concentric
and secondly the leading edge of the orifice bore, that is the edge of the bore that is on the
upstream side of the orifice plate is made sharp and comprises of two surfaces that meet
each other at right angles. (Hence the name square
The thickness of an orifice plate depends on many factors, such as:
I. Pipe line diameter
II. Maximum D/P across the orifice (corresponding to the maximum flowrate)
III. Fluid temperature.
The plate thickness varies from a minimum of 3.18mm to a maximum of 12.7mm.
Theoretically it is assumed that when a fluid flows through an orifice installed in a pipeline,
there occurs a pure line contact between the flow stream and the orifice plate and this occurs
at the sharp edge on the upstream face of the orifice. In practice, this is ensured by making
the thickness of the orifice plate at the bore sufficiently small. The thickness of the orifice
plate at the bore should not exceed 1/50 of the pipe internal diameter or 1/8 of the orifice
bore diameter, whichever is smaller. This is usually achieved by bevelling the downstream
edge of the orifice. The bevel is machined at a 30 to 45 angle, to the desired bore
thickness, with 45 most common.

Flow through an orifice plate:

When an orifice plate is installed in a pipe line, it causes an abrupt change in the cross
sectional area of the flow passage. The fluid is unable to follow such abrupt changes in the
cross sectional area and the flow pattern is as shown in figure:
It is observed that the flow stream continues to decrease in cross sectional area for a small
distance downstream of the orifice and attains a minimum cross sectional area at a point
referred to as the vena contracta, beyond which the flow stream expands. The position of the
vena contracta depends upon the ratio. For a ratio range of 0.8 to 0.15, the location of
the vena contracta changes from 0.37 to 1.03 pipe diameters downstream, from the
upstream face of the orifice. Also since the fluid is unable to follow the abrupt changes in
cross sectional area that results due to the installation of an orifice, regions adjacent to the
orifice both on the upstream and downstream sides contain relatively stagnant volumes of
fluid, besides the central stream of flowing fluid. Owing to the difference in the static
pressure of the central stream of flowing fluid and the adjacent relatively stagnant volumes

30
of fluid, increased turbulence results in the vicinity of the orifice resulting in energy losses.
The figure also shows the distribution of pressure along a pipe containing a concentric
square edge orifice. Initially a gradual decrease in the fluid static pressure is observed which
is caused due to frictional losses in a pipe. The pressure then rises at a distance of about
0.5D upstream. Subsequently as the fluid approaches the orifice, the cross sectional area of
the flow stream continuously decreases up to the location of the vena contracta. Decrease in
the flow cross sectional area results in increased fluid velocity and hence reduced levels of
static pressure. The pressure attains a minimum value at the vena contrcta. Beyond the vena
contracta, the fluid stream expands resulting in an increased cross sectional area, and hence
causing a pressure recovery. Finally at a sufficient distance downstream, the cross sectional
area of the flow stream becomes equal to the pipe cross sectional area and the fluid pressure
attains a nearly steady value which is lesser than the initial upstream. This loss in pressure,
often referred toas the permanent pressure loss is quite large in case of an orifice
compared to other head type primary flow elements.

Advantages of Orifice type D/P flow meter :

i. Excellent repeatability
ii. Inexpensive, particularly in large line size. Installation cost does not change much with
line size.
iii. Inherently simple in operation, has no moving parts and can provide long term
reliability and stability with proper installation and application.
iv. Internationally standardized and can be used without prior flow calibration if designed,
constructed and installed according to guidelines provided in standards.
v. The accuracy of predicted value of discharge coefficient is much higher in case of an
orifice than it is in case of other D/P type primary elements such as venturi, nozzles, etc.
vi. Compared to other D/P type primary elements such as venturi, nozzle, an orifice
produces a much higher D/P for a given flow rate and ratio.

Disadvantages of Orifice type D/P flow meters :

i. Non linear input/output relation.
ii. Poor flow range ability. Typically 3:1 to 4:1.
iii. High irrecoverable pressure loss produced on installation.
iv. Can be used only for measurement of flow in the turbulent regime.
v. Concentric square edge orifice plates are not recommended for use with strongly erosive
liquids and slurries or dirty fluids.

ULTRASONIC FLOWMETER :

An ultrasonic flowmeter (non-intrusive Doppler flow meters) is a volumetric flow meter

which requires particulates or bubbles in the flow. Ultrasonic flowmeters are ideal for
wastewater applications or any dirty liquid which is conductive or water based. Ultrasonics
flowmeters will generally not work with distilled water or drinking water. Aerations would
be required in the clean liquid applications. Ultrasonic flowmeters are also ideal for
applications where low pressure drop, chemical compatibility, and low maintenance are
required.

Principle of operation:
The basic principle of operation employs the frequency shift (Doppler Effect) of an

31
ultrasonic signal when it is reflected by suspended particles or gas bubbles (discontinuities)
in motion. This metering technique utilizes the physical phenomenon of a sound wave that
changes frequency when it is reflected by moving discontinuities in a flowing liquid.
Ultrasonic sound is transmitted into a pipe with flowing liquids, and the discontinuities
reflect the ultrasonic wave with a slightly different frequency that is directly proportional to
the rate of flow of the liquid. Current technology requires that the liquid contain at least 100
parts per million (PPM) of 100 micron or larger suspended particles o rbubbles.
There are two types of Ultrasonic flow meter. They are:
1. Transit-time flow meter
2. Frequency-difference type

1. TRANSIT-TIME FLOWMETERS :
These devices measure flow by measuring the time taken for an ultrasonic energy pulse to
traverse a pipe section, both with and against the flow of the liquid within the pipe

Transducer B

Flanged end
V L

Transducer A

Figure 14: Transit time Flowmeter

The time (tAB) for the ultrasonic energy to go from transducer A to transducer B is given by
the expression

tAB = L / C + Vcos

The time tAB to go from B to A is given by

tBA = L / (C Vcos

where C = speed of sound in the fluid

L = acoustic path length in the fluid
= angle of the path with respect to the axis pipe
By combining terms and simplifying it can be shown that, for V<<C,

t = tAB tBA = 2LVcos/C

Since the cross sectional area of the pipe section or spool-piece is known, the product of
area and velocity will yield volumetric flowrate.

2. FREQUENCY-DIFFERENCE TYPE :
In sing-around flowmeters, the reciprocals of transmit times are used. This leads to
frequency difference that is proportional to the flow velocity V or to the Mach Number V/C.
The difference in frequencies is related to the velocity as follows :

32
V = f * L/2 * cos

The multipulse time-shift reflection method uses one or more pulses and tims them to
determine the change in range per second to an ensemble of scatterers. The change in range
per unit time yields the velocity of scatterers.

ELECTROMAGNETIC FLOWMETER :

A magnetic flow meter (mag flowmeter) is a volumetric flow meter which does not have
any moving parts and is ideal for wastewater applications or any dirty liquid which is
conductive or water based. Magnetic flowmeters will generally not work with
hydrocarbons, distilled water and many non-aqueous solutions). Magnetic flowmeters are
also ideal for applications where low pressure drop and low maintenance are required.

Principle of Operation:
FARADAY'S span Law - The operation of a magnetic flowmeter or mag meter is based
upon Faraday's Law, which states that the voltage induced across any conductor as it moves
at right angles through a magnetic field is proportional to the velocity of that conductor.

Faraday's Formula:
E is proportional to VxBxD where:
E=The voltage generated in a conductor
V=The velocity of the conductor
B=The magnetic field strength
D=The length of the conductor
To apply this principle to flow measurement with a magnetic flowmeter, it is necessary first
to state that the fluid being measured must be electrically conductive for the Faraday
principle to apply. As applied to the design of magnetic flowmeters, Faraday's Law
indicates that signal voltage (E) is dependent on the average liquid velocity (V) the
magnetic field strength (B) and the length of the conductor (D) (which in this instance is the
distance between the electrodes).In the case of wafer-style magnetic flowmeters, a magnetic
field is established throughout the entire cross-section of the flow tube. If this magnetic field
is considered as the measuring element of the magnetic flowmeter, it can be seen that the
measuring element is exposed to the hydraulic conditions throughout the entire cross-
section of the flowmeter. With insertion-style flowmeters, the magnetic field radiates
outward from the inserted probe.

2. TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT:
The process variables like pressure, flow, level and most other physical quantities are
calibrated in terms of mass, length and time standards. Temperature, because of its intrinsic
nature is not independently definable like the other quantities. It tends to depend on the
material property and is non additive in nature.
For temperature measurement we usually use
Temperature gauge
Resistance temperature detector

33
 Thermocouples

Temperature Gauge :
Temperature gauges are further classified as
Bimetallic temperature gauge
Mercury filled temperature gauge
In either of the above mentioned temperature gauges the same principle is used i.e. metals
when subjected to heat expands in accordance to their temperature coefficients. In case of a
bimetallic gauge the bimetallic spring expands causing the pointer, mechanically coupled to
it, to indicate the temperature on a scale calibrated in Celsius.

Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD) :

The RTD senses heat based on the principle that change in temp results in a corresponding
change in the resistance of a wire .When a small excitation current is passed along the
element the voltage is then measured and converted into units of temperature.

Though the resistance of almost all metals change as a function of temperature, only a very
few metals have the desired properties to its use for the fabrication of resistive temperature
sensors. The properties which determine the suitability of a metal for the construction of a
temperature sensor are as follows:
The metal must have a highly stable and predictable temperature vs. resistance relation,
so that neither the value of Ro(Resistance at any reference temperature(usually at 0.c)) nor
the coefficient temperature coefficient of resistance drift with repeated heating and
cooling within the sensors specified operating temperature range.
The temperature vs. resistance characteristics must be preferably linear.
The resistivity of the metal must be large to enable the fabrication of small size sensor
elements having relatively large value of Ro.
The metal must have a large value of , i.e. change in resistance for a given change in
temperature must be appreciable resulting in a sensor with high sensitivity.
Platinum is found to be the best choice for the construction of a resistive temperature
sensor.

Construction Of RTDS:
The RTDS have different styles of termination. The RTD element is manufactured by
winding the wire or plating a film on a ceramic or glass core. The element is then
hermetically sealed within a ceramic capsule.
The RTD sensors assemblies come with 2, 3 and 4 wire leads. 2 wire connected elements do
not provide lead resistance compensation for the measuring device.3 and 4 wires connected
elements provide a means for compensating lead resistance between the sensor and the
measuring device.

Two wired RTD:

It provides one connection to each end of the element. This construction is suitable where
the resistance of the lead wire may be considered as an additive constant in the circuit and
particularly where the changes in lead resistance due to ambient temp change may be
ignored.

3 wired RTD;

34
 It provides one connection to one end of the element and 2 to the other end of the element.
Connected to an instrument designed to accept 3 wire input. Sufficient compensation is
usually achieved for lead wire resistance and temp change in lead wire resistance. This is
the most commonly used configuration.

4 wired RTD:
It provides 2 connection to each end of the element to completely compensate for the lead
wire resistance and temp change in lead wire resistance . This configuration is used where
highly accurate temp measurement is vital.

Resistance Measurement Methods :

The traditional technique of measuring resistance is to use a Wheatstone bridge. The RTD
which is a temperature dependent variable resistor may be used to one of the arms of the
bridge as shown in figure.
The bridge can be operated in deflection mode. In this mode of operation, R 1, R2 and R3 are
fixed value resistors which have an extremely low temperature coefficient of resistance and
thus the variation of R4 with temperature results in an output voltage V0.V0 is thus a
measure of the change in the value of R4 and hence a measure of temperature.

Vo=Vs[Rt/(R2+Rt)-R3/(R1+R3)]
Where,
Rt=resistance of RTD=R+R(say)
R=resistance of the RTD at some reference temperature(usually at 0.c) at which the output
of the bridge =0
To ensure V0=0 when Rt=R, select R2=R1 and R3=R i.e. R2/R1=R/R3. It may be proved
that the sensitivity of a wheatstone bridge , I.e V0/R is maximum when R1=R2=R3=R
for maximum bridge sensitivity we have
V0=Vs[(R+R)/(R+R+R)-1/2]
From this relation it is evident that the bridge output V0 is nonlinearly related to the change
in resistance of the RTD connected to one of the arms of the bridge. If the bridge excitation
voltage Vs is constant , then the relation between R and V0 may be regarded to be almost
linear if R<<2R. Then neglecting R with respect to 2R. That is if R<<2R, then V0
varies linearly with R.

Sources of error: n order to measure the resistance of a T element, a current has to be

passed through it, which results in joules heating. This heat produced causes a rise in the
temperature of the RTD element, thus causing its temperature to be higher than the actual
temperature of the surrounding media. This error is referred as the self heating error.

Thermocouples :
It is a temperature measuring device. It basically consists of two dissimilar metals that are
joined to form a junction which when heated produce a thermo electric volt. This volt
changes as temperature increases or decreases.
A thermocouple is selected based on the following points:
Temperature ranges (high and low limits) that are to be measured.
The environment or the atmosphere the thermocouple will exposed to. This is important
because the metals used in thermocouple construction react differently in different
environments. Metals that work well in one environment are susceptible to failures in other
environments.

35
 Physical space limitation, method of installation and type of instrument connected desired.
Response time i.e. the time required to reach the temperature being sensed. It is greatly
influenced by the type of junction selected (grounded, ungrounded and exposed). The
diameter of the thermocouple also has a significant effect on response time. A small
diameter results in a quicker response, but is not as durable as large diameter.

Figure of a thermocouple

Wire calibrations of thermocouples :

Thermocouples combine dissimilar metals or alloys to produce a voltage. They are
classified by calibration types and each has its own unique EMF vs temp curve. An
instrument or temperature controller will calculate the volt to a particular temp.

Type J: (Iron vs. Constantan) 32F to1400F(0-760C)suited for use in reducing

atmosphere. The iron leg tends to oxidize rapidly at temperature above 1000F. So larger
gauge wires inside of protection tube are recommended at high temp.

Type K: (Chromel vs. alumel) 32F to 2300F(0-1260C) used in oxidizing atmosphere. It

is reliable and accurate thermocouple and most commonly used wire calibration type.

Type T: (Copper vs. Constantan) -328F to 700F(-200-371C)used in either mildly

oxidising or reducing atmosphere. It is particularly used at low and cryogenic temp.

Type E: (Chromel vs. Constantan) -328F to 1600F(-328-871C)used in either mildly

oxidising or reducing atmosphere. It has the highest EMF output of all the common
thermocouple types.

Type R, S and B:
R and S Pt-Rhodium vs Pt thermocouples can be used from 32F to 2700F(0-1482C).
B Pt Rhodium VS Pt-Rhodium from 1600-3100F.
R, S and B are used in oxidizing atmosphere and are damaged in reducing atmosphere.
These thermocouples are easily contaminated and used inside one or more protection tube.

Junction Types:
Thermocouples wires are joined at the sensing end of the thermocouple to form a measuring
or hot junction. The most commonly method for joining the wires is welding.

36
a. Grounded thermocouple junction :
It has wires sheath tip joined together to form an integral junction. It has faster response
time than ungrounded because the wires are in close proximity to the environment but
service life may be affected accordingly. Care should be taken to avoid electrical
interference and ground loops when using grounded junction.

b. Ungrounded thermocouple junction

It has joined wires that are electrically isolated from the sheath tip by compacted insulation.
Ungrounded junction produce the slowest response time, yet are the most durable because
the wires are completely insulated from the environment. This junction style is particularly
suited for harsh environmental condition and electrical interference.

c. Exposed junction:
It has joined wires that are totally exposed from the sheath. Exposed junction provide the
fastest response time but are the least durable because the wires are directly subjected
mechanical and environmental condition.
The rounded junction styles(w2 and w4) are the most commonly used. When flat surface
needs to be sensed , flat junction style(w1 and w3) are used to provide the most efficient
transfer of heat from a hot surface perpendicular to the junction.
A general "rule of thumb" is as follows:
Grounded junctions are 4 times faster than ungrounded.
Exposed junctions are 50 times faster than ungrounded.

Sources of errors: The following are the sources of errors:

1. Embrittlement: It occurs when metals exceed rated temp or combine chemically with
certain gases or other compounds.TCP engineers, in cooperation with the customers
carefully select the proper alloys to minimize or eliminate this problem.

2. Creep: This condition is caused by high pressure and temperature. Careful attention is
given to the possibility of metal deformation to hold it within prescribed limits.

3. Thermal stress: A critical area requiring a high degree of proficiency in thr metallurgical
sciences. Conditions caused by different coefficients of expansion as in material can cause
problems at operating temp. These problems can become aggravated when subjected to
overheating.

4. Fatigue: Vibration, flexing, twisting etc. all are causes of fatigue failure. Fatigue failure
is another problem our designers minimize by carefully questioning the customer and
becoming familiar with the application.

37
3. Pressure Measurement:
Pressure is another vital process variable that needs to be measured. The various devices
employed to measure pressure is listed below.
Pressure gauge
Pressure transmitter

Pressure Gauges :
The most common of all the pressure ganges utilizes the Bourdon tube. The Bourdon tube
was originally patented in 1840. In bis patent, Eugene Bourdon stated: "I bave discovered
that if a thin metallic tube be ftattened out then bent or distorted Crom a straight line, it has
the property of changing its Corm considerably when exposed to variations of internal or
external pressure. An increase of interna! pressure tends
to bring the tube to a straight cylindrical Corm, and the degree of pressure is indicated by
the amount of alteration in the Corm of thetube."
As pressure is applied internally, the tube straightens out and returns to a cylindrical Corm.
The excursion of the tube tip moves linearly with internal pressure and is converted to
pointer position with the mechanism shown. Once the internal pressure is removed, the
spring characteristic of the material returns the tube to its original shape.
Ifthe Bourdon tube is overranged, that is, pressure is applied to the point where it can no
longer return to its original shape, the gauge mar take a new set and its calibration becomes
distorted. Whether the gauge can be recalibrated depends on the extent ofthe overrange. A
severely overranged gauge will be ruined, whereas one that has been only slightly
overranged mar be recalibrated and reused.
Most gauges are designed to handle approximately 35 percent of the upper range value as
overrange without damage. Typically, a gauge will exhibit some amo unt of hysteresis, that
is, a difference due to pressure moving the tube in the upscale direction versus the spring
characteristic of the tube moving it downscale. A typical gauge mar also exhibit some
amount of drift, that is, a departure from the true
reading due to changes over a long period in the physical properties of the materials
involved. All of these sources of error are typically included in the manufacturer' s
statement of accuracy for the gauge. A typical Bourdon tube gauge, carefully made with a
Bourdon tube that has been temperature-cycled or stress-relieved, will bave an accuracy of
:t 1 percent of its upper range value. A carefully made test gauge will
bave an accuracy of :t0.25 to 0.50 percent ofits upper range value. The range of the gauge is
normally selected so that it operates in the upper part of the middle third of the scale. In
addition to the gauges used for visual observations of pressure
throughout the plant, the typical instrument shop wi11 bave a number of test gauges which
are used as calibration standards. The gauge must be vertical to read correctly.

38
 Bourdon Tube Pressure Gauge

Pressure transmitter:
An electronic pressure transmitter is a device that measures pressure and provides an output
that is in the form of 4-20 ma current signal. Elastic pressure sensors are used as the primary
sensing element, and almost all modern electronic pressure transmitters use a diaphragm as
the primary sensing element. Electronic pressure transmitters are of three types:
Absolute pressure transmitter
Gauge pressure transmitter
Differential pressure transmitter

In absolute pressure transmitter, one side of the diaphragm is evacuated to low pressure and
sealed, and the process pressure is applied at the other side of the pressure sensing element
diaphragm. In a gauge pressure tx, one side is vented to atmosphere , while the process
pressure is applied at the other side. In a differential pressure tx, two process connections
are provided which lead to the two side of the diaphragm and hence the deflection of the
diaphragm and current output of the tx is related to the the difference of pressure applied to
the two process connections. It is important to ensure that the higher of the two pressures be
applied to a specific process connection usually labelled as H.P and the lower of the two
pressures be applied to the process connection labelled as L.P. A D.P tx can be used as a
gauge pressure tx. In this case the L.P side is vented to atmosphere and the process pressure
is applied to the H.P side.

Different Types Of Pressure Transmitters:

In an electronic pressure tx, the output of the primary sensing element is converted to a 4-20
ma current signal by suitable electronic circuit. Through a wide variety of transduction
principle may be adopted to convert the output into an electrical signal , in principle only a
few transduction principles capable of providing high accuracy and stable performance over
an extended period of time and under a variety of operating conditions , are used in practice.
Based on transduction principle used, they can be classified as shown in the next page :

Force balance type pressure tx

Capacitive type pressure tx
Piezoresistive pressure tx
Mettalic diaphragm+ foil strain gauge type pressure Tx

39
Strain Gauge Based Pressure Transmitter:
Strain gauge type pressure transducers are widely used in a process industries. These
transducers use strain i.e induced on the surface of the sensing diaphragm due to to the
applied pressure, and produce an electrical output. The strain gauges are usually mounted
directly on the sensing diaphragm. Strain gauge based pressure transducers can be broadly
classified into two categories
Pressure transducers that use metallic strain gauges which are bounded on a mettalic
sensing diaphragm.
Pressure tx that use semiconductor strain gauges that are diffused into the surface of
a miniature diaphragm made of silicon such pressure transducers are reflected to as
piezoresistive tranducers.

Capacitive Pressure Transmitter:

A capacitive pressure tx are not only capable of high accuracies, but also provide a stable
and reliable performance over extended time intervals in a wide variety of harsh
environment and operating conditions.

Principle :
In this type of pressure tx , the sensing element also serves as a plate of capacitor. The
sensing diaphragm along with the two fixed plates located on either side of the diaphragm,
form a parallel plate capacitor. Application of pressure causes a deflection of the diaphragm
relative to the fixed plates , which alters the separation between the capacitors, hence
causing the capacitance to be changed. This change in capacitance is converted to a voltage
using a A.C bridge circuit and the bridge circuit and the bridge output is converted into a 4-
20 ma current signal by the associated electronic circuits.

4. Level Measurement:
The level measurement is mainly used for the measuring the volume of the liquid present in
the tank. So the different method used for level measurement is discussed briefly as follows:

Magnetic Level gauge :

A magnetic level gauge is used to measure the level of fluids. A magnetic level gauge
includes a floatable device that can float both in high density fluid and in low density
fluid. Magnetic level gauges may also be designed to resist external pressure up to 210 bars
at 370C.

Magnetic Level Sensors:

The principle behind magnetic float level sensors involves the opening or closing of a
mechanical switch, either through direct contact with the switch, or magnetic operation of a
reed. With magnetically actuated float sensors, switching occurs when a permanent magnet
sealed inside a float rises or falls to the actuation level. With a mechanically actuated float,
switching occurs as a result of the movement of a float against a miniature (micro) switch.
For both magnetic and mechanical float level sensors, chemical compatibility, temperature,
specific gravity (density), buoyancy, and viscosity affect the selection of the stem and the
float. For example, larger floats may be used with liquids with specific gravities as low as
40
0.5 while still maintaining buoyancy. The choice of float material is also influenced by
temperature-induced changes in specific gravity and viscosity - changes that directly affect
buoyancy.

How Magnetic Level Gauges Work :

In order to explore the physics and engineering behind this design, we need to take a look at
basic magnetism. If we look at a standard bar magnet, there are two magnetic poles - north
and south. (The north will read positive on a gauss meter and the south will read negative.)
In order to map a magnetic field, we look at magnetic flux lines. Magnetic flux lines are a
graphical representation of the magnetic field density.They show the direction of flow for
the magnetic field and represent relative field strength - the closer together the lines are, the
stronger the magnetic field. Flux lines will always travel from the north pole to the nearest
south pole and always leave and enter surfaces at 90, or perpendicular to the surface. They
can only travel in straight lines or curved paths, which means they can never make a
sudden, abrupt change in direction. Flux lines will also always follow a path of least
magnetic resistance. Most importantly, they can never cross one another.

RADAR LEVEL GAUGE :

A radar level gauge uses electromagnetic radiation, typically in the microwave X-band (10
Ghz) for the continuous measurement of liquid level in the tank. It is primarily used for
measuring the level of liquids and it is very suitable for measuring the level of powdered /
granular solids. A radar level gauge is a non-contact level sensors, i.e. no part of the sensors
comes in contact with the liquid whose level is being measured. It consists of a solid state
microwave source and an antennae (Either Horn type or Parabollic type) which usually
forms a beam of microwaves. The radar gauge is usually mounted on a nozzle provided on
the roof of the tank such that the microwave beam radiated by the antennae is normally
incident on the liquid surface. A portion of the incident microwaves is reflected by the
liquid surface and returns back to the level sensors where it is received by the antennae. For
satisfactory operation of the level gauge, the tank product should be a good reflector of
microwaves to ensure a reflected signal of sufficient strength. It is important because it is
this reflected signal which is analysed by the sensors to obtain information regarding the
level of the tank product. The strength of the reflected signal mainly depends upon the
relative permittivity i.e. dielectric constant R of the tank product, higher the value of R
better is the reflection characteristics of the tank product.

Based on the principle of operation, radar level gauges can be classified into two main
categories, namely
Pulsed, time of flight radar level gauges
FMCW (Frequency modulated continuous waves) radar level gauge

1. Pulsed, time of flight radar level gauge :

In this mode of operation, a pulse of microwave is emitted from the source. the sensor then
measures the time of flight of the pulse that is the time it takes for this pulse of
microwaves to travel to the liquid ,get reflected and return back to the sensors. Hence the
distance of the reflecting surface from the sensor can be evaluated from the equation:

Distance = (Transit time * velocity of the microwaves in vapour space of the tank)/2

41
The above equation assumes that the microwave beam is normally incident on the liquid
surface. If the microwave beam is not normally incident on the liquid surface then it will
take longer time to travel. And hence the level indicated would be lower than the true value.
However since the elevation of the sensors from the tank bottom is constant and is
accurately known for a particular installation, the level of the liquid to the tank bottom can
be easily computed.
The velocity of the microwaves, which is a type of electromagnetic radiation, is 3*10 8 m/s
in vaccum (C0) and in a medium it is given by C = C0 / R1/2. For most of the gases and
vapours R = 1. Now since the dimension of the tank is at most a few tens of meters, the
transit time is of order of nanoseconds and special technical are required for the
measurement of such small time periods. For example, a change of level = 1cm causes the
transit time to change by a fraction of nanosecond, placing high demand on the signal
evaluation techniques used for the determination of the transit time of pulse. This places a
limit on the accuracy of this type of radar level sensors and pulsed time of flight radar level
sensors are today available only for low accuracy applications.

2. Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) Radar level gauge :

These days this technique is used in all high accuracy radar level gauges. In this method the
source emits microwaves continuously. The frequency of the emitted microwave is swept
linearly over a fixed bandwidth, in a fixed sweep time. The term linear sweep means that
the frequency of the emitted microwaves is made to vary linear with respect to time in
other words the oscillator which drives the microwave source is frequency modulated. In
this method the radar level sensor transmits a microwave signal with a continuously varying
frequency. In a typical high accuracy FMCW radar level sensors, the frequency is made to
vary continuously typically over 9.7Ghz to 10.3Ghz. The transmitted microwave signal
travels down to the liquid surface, is reflected by it and returns back to the sensor after a
time t0 (say) where it represents the transit time or time of flight. The reflected signal is
received by the antennae and is detected by a solid state microwave detector located in the
level sensors. The two signal i.e. the signal being transmitted and the reflected signal
received at any time instant t are mixed and the output of the mixer is a low frequency
where frequency is equal to the difference of frequency of the signal being transmitted and
the reflected signal received. This difference in frequency is directly proportional to the
transit time and hence to the distance between the sensors and the liquid surface.

Hence we can write f to or f level i.e position of reflecting surface . Note that in this
system, the information regarding the level of liquid in the tank is obtained in the form of a
frequency signal. This enables sophisticated digital signal processing to be carried out using
a microcomputer allowing a very accurate determination of level.

Advantages of radar level gauges over ultrasonic level gauges:

The transit time to depends not only on the level of liquid but also on the velocity of the
microwaves in the vapour space of the tank. Any change in the velocity of the of the
microwave signal , liquid level in the tank remaining unaltered , will cause the transit time
and hence the value of f to change resulting in measurement errors. Thus an accurate
measure of level is possible only if either the velocity of microwaves in the vapour space of
the tank is constant or if its value can be accurately determined and any changer in the
transit time caused due to a change in the velocity of the transmitted signal can be
compensated for. On the contrary , in radar level gauges the velocity of
microwaves Co/r is generally not affected by the composition , temperature and pressure

42
of the vapour space in the tank . this is because the dielectric constant r of almost all the
gases and vapours is equal to that of air r 1 and is hardly affected by changes in the
temperature or pressure of the gas /vapour. Ultrasonic level gauges use ultrasonic waves
instead of electromagnetic waves for the non contact measurement of level. The velocity of
sound in a gas /vapour is highly dependent on the temperature of the gas/vapour. Hence in
ultrasonic gauges the transit time is greatly affected by the variations in temperature,
pressure and composition of the atmosphere above liquid surface. Though the temperature
of the atmosphere above the liquid surface may be measured and changes in sound
compensated , it is lot more difficult to compensate for changes in sound velocity caused
due to changes in the composition of the vapour space. The net effect is that the accuracy of
the ultrasonic level gauges is much poorer than that of Radar level gauges and ultrasonic
level gauges cannot be used in applications where the space above the liquid surface
contains foam, dust, mist ,steam etc.

DISPLACER TYPE LEVEL SENSORS :

Principle of operation :
Any body immersed into a liquid is subjected to buoyancy force which depends on the
liquid density. This is exploited to determine liquid level, density and interface level by
suspending a displacer with constant cylindrical shape into a liquid. Changes in buoyancy
forces are proportional to liquid level changes and are converted to a measuring signal. The
displacer is fully immersed for density and interface measurement. It is important that the
position of the displacer changes as little as possible over the measurement range. The
following applies in general to the buoyancy force F acting on the displacer

FA = VX*d1*g + (V- VX)*d2*g

where VX = Volume of medium displaced by measuring body with density d1

d1 = Density of heavier medium
d2 = Density of lighter medium
V= Volume of displacer
FA = Buoyant force
FG = Weight of the displacer.
The force acting on the transmitter is inversely proportional to liquid level changes.

Method of operation :
The buoyancy force of the displacer is transferred via transmission level and torque tube to
operating rod of the sensors, where it acts on free end of the sensors element. Four thin film
metal strain gauge elements are spultered onto sensor element, which change their
resistances in the ratio of the tensile or pressure tension. These four film metal strain gauge
elements are connected as a Wheatstone full bridge supplied from amplifier. The voltage at
the diagonal bridge section which is proportional to the effective weight is fed to the
electronic amplifier as an input signal. This voltage is converted via the electronic amplifier
into the 4 20 mA two wire output signal. The amplifier is supplied by the signal current
circuit in two wire mode.

Servo level gauge:

43
Principle of operation:
A servo level gauge consists of a thin displacer which is made of a material (usually ss316)
whose specific gravity is greater than that of the liquid in the tank. Hence if the displacer
were not supported , it would sink into the liquid. The displacer is supported by a thin cable
made of stainless steel which is wound onto a drum whose diameter is very accurately
known. A fine helical groove is machined on the surface of the drum. The rotation of drum
in a particular direction , causes the cable to wind on the drum surface. The fine helical
groove on the drum surface ensures that as the cable winds on the drum surface, it gets
embedded on the groove so that a new turn of the cable is always formed on the side of a
the previous turn. This ensures that every turn of the cable on the drum surface has the same
diameter. This is important for accurate measurement of level.

Construction:
The drum is magnetically coupled to the drive motor i.e. a stepper motor through a gearing
arrangement. The magnetic coupling between the shaft and the drum is achieved by the use
of two concentric magnetic rings an outer ring which is bonded to the drum and a
concentric, inner magnetic ring which is attached to the shaft. Any rotation of the shaft and
thus the inner ring which is causes the outer magnetic ring and the drum assembly to turn as
well, owing to the strong force of attraction between the two rings. This magnetic coupling
allows the drum assembly to be located in a completely separate housing from the rest of
the system to be isolated.

Working:
As the cable is wound on the drum, the cable tension acts on the outer surface of the drum,
resulting in a torque which acts on the drum and hence on the shaft through the ,magnetic
coupling. The torque sensor measures the torque acting on the shaft and provides an
electrical output that is a measure of torque. The tension in the cable (which is equal to the
weight of the displacer)is different , depending upon the position of the displacer in the
liquid. The tension is maximum when the displacer is located in the vapour space of the
liquid.
Tensionmax = weight of the displacer = v .d .g
Tensionmin = weight of the displacer buoyant force acting on the displacer when fully
submerged = v.d.g v.l.g
Where v is the volume of the displacer, d is the density of the material used to construct
displacer, l is the density of the liquid.

Gauge glass:

It is a non integrating type of level gauge i.e. the level can be detected by simply looking at
the level of liquid in the level gauge. For measuring higher level of liquids, two or more
gauge glasses are employed. Gauge glass comprises of a glass tube embedded in a metal
casing that helps it to endure high pressure. Its lower end is attached to the base of the
vessel containing the liquid whose level is to be measured. Its upper end is attached to the
point of the vessel which lies slightly above the maximum height upto which liquid can be
filled.
HYDRASTEP :

A hydrastep is a conductivity based level indication system that is used in power plants to

44
display the level of water in a boiler drum.
Principle of operation:
The principle of operation of the hydrastep system is based on the fact that there is a
significant difference in the resistivity of water and steam. The hydrastep system consists of
a metal chamber which is located besides the boiler drum and is connected to it. This
chamber is provided with a series of conductivity probes (electrodes) placed at regular
intervals over the entire length of the chamber. The electrodes are electrically insulated
from the metallic chamber, while the metallic chamber is connected to the earth. Depending
upon the level of water in the chamber some of the electrodes are submerged in water while
the rest are in steam. Since the conductivity of water is a lot higher than that of the steam,
the resistance between an electrode and the outer chamber is a lot lower when the electrode
is submerged in water than when it is in steam. Thus this system detects the presence of
water at each electrode position and accordingly lights up a series of indicators in the
control room. The standard practice is to represent water by lighting up green lamps while
steam is represented by red lamps. This system provides a step - wise indication of level
changes, the resolution being determined by the number of electrodes used.

45
 Total Plant Solution (TPS) System Architecture:
The TPS system of a Local Control Network(LCN) and at least one process network. There
are three possible process network , the data howdy, the Universal Control Network, and the
Programmable Logic Control(PLC).
Each of the process networks has an interface called a gateway that allows it to
communicate with the Local Control Network, which is where TCP workstations are
located. The gateway for the data Hiway is called the Hiway Gateway(HG), the gateway for
the Universal Control Network interface is called the Network Interface Module(NIM), and
the gateway for the PLC subsystem is called PLCG.
The process network (data hiway, UCN or PLC subsystem) transmit process data from /to
process-connected devices such as controllers and data acquisition devices(such as
temperature ,flow land level), through their gateways to the Local Control Network. This
makes it possible for one to see what is happening at the process without leaving
workstation; on the Local Control Network system. TPS workstation can be a universal
station (US) or a Global User Station(GUS). Combination of these devices are also possible.
The major components of the TPS Local Control Network system are:
Local Control Network (LCN)
LCN nodes
Process Networks
Data Hiway(Its gateway is the Hiway gateway or HG)
Universal Control Network(UCN)(Its gateway is the Network
Interface Module)
Programmable Logic Controller(PLC)subsystem (either ModBus
or Allen-Bradley)(Its gateway is the PLCG)
Open System Information Network(PIN)
PIN devices

LCN Nodes:
Universal Station(US):
The Universal Station is one of the primary TPS human/machine interfaces. This
workstation provides a single window to the entire system at the LCN level and below ,
whether the data is resident in one of the LCN nodes or in one of the process connected
devices. The US can be used to accomplish different tyasks; it can be used by an operator , a
process engineer ; and by a maintenance technician to accomplish each of their different
tasks.

Global User Station(GUS):

The Global User station is the latest version of TPS system human /machine interfaces. This
microsoft based workstation provides a native window through which information access is
available from the entire system. Process data is accessed at the LCN level and below.
Information is made equally available from the data i.e. resident in LCN nodes as well as
data resident in process connected devices. Plant wide Information is made available
through its connection to the PIN.

History Module:
The history module (HM), which is available with different storage capacities makes
possible storage of, and quick access to large quantities of LCN data, such as:
History of process alarms, operation changes, operation

46
 messages, LCN system status changes, LCN system errors and
LCN maintenance.
System files of all types and other data required any time LCN
modules are relocated or operating programmes are changed.
Process control databases for maintaining up to date controller
settings in event a controller is taken out of service
On process LCN maintenance information and analysis.

Application Module:
The application module permits the information of more complex control calculations and
strategies than are possible , when using only process connection devices. A set of standard
advanced control algorithm is included. Custom algorithms and control
strategies are developed by using a process engineer-oriented control logic.

Network Interface Module:

The Network Interface Module(NIM) is anode on the LCN that interconnects the UCN with
LCN. It converts the transmission technique and protocol of UCN.A NIM almost has a
redundant partner.

UCN nodes:
High performance process manager (HPM)
Performing data acquisition and control functions including regulatory,
logic and sequential control functions as well as peer to peer
communications with other universal control network resident devices.
Providing bi-directional communications to Modbus and Allen-Bradley
compatible subsystem through a serial interface.
Fully communicating with operators and engineers at universal stations.
Procedures and displays are identical or similar to those used with other
TPS controllers , as well as to APM and PM point displays.
Supporting higher level control strategies available on the Local Control
Network through the Application module and host computers.
Using the same input-output and writing as the PM and APM, thus
providing cost effective upward migration to existing PM and APM
users.

Safety manager:
The FSC safety manager (FSC-AM) provides a dual redundant fault-tolerant controller for
safety and shut down application on the Total Plant Solution systems Universal Control
Network. It consists of a Honeywell FSC controller equipped with an FSC-AM module
interface card. Safety functions are now integrated into the architecture of the Universal
Control Network (UCN) to support integrated operations and control. The result is a true
TPS based window into FSC; the powerful safety system which has a superior up time and
safety related performance for application including:
High integrity process control
Burner/boiler management system
Process safe and emergency shut down
Turbine and compressor safe guarding
Fire and gas detection systems

47
US-1 US-2 US-9 GUS APP-30 APP-31 HG 11/12

LCN A

LCN B

NIM 13/14

APM APM APM HPM

9/10 11/12 23/24 25/26

UCN A

UCN B

US - Universal System
GUS Generalised Universal System
APM Advanced Process Manager
HPM High Performance Process Manager
HG High Gateway
NIM Network Interface Module
LCN Local Control Network
UCN Universal Control Network

Figure 16: Generalised Block Diagram Of Distributive Control System (DCS)

48
CONTROL VALVES (FINAL CONTROL ELEMENTS):

What Is A Control Valve?

Process plants consist of hundreds, ore ven thousands, of control loops all networked
together to produce a product to be offered for sale. Each of these control loops is designed
to keep some important process variable such as pressure, flow, level, temperature, etc.
within a required operating range to ensure the quality of the end product. Each of these
loops receives and internally creates disturbances that detrimentally affect the process
variable, and interaction from other loops in the network provides disturbances that
influence the process variable. To reduce the effect of these load disturbances, sensors and
transmitters collect information about the process variable and its relationship to some
desired set point. A controller then processes this information and decides what must be
done to get the process variable back to where it should be after a load disturbance occurs.
When all the measuring, comparing, and calculating are done, some type of final control
element must implement the strategy selected by the controller.
The most common final control element in the process control industries is the control
valve. The control valve manipulates a flowing fluid, such as gas, steam, water, or chemical
compounds, to compensate for the load disturbance and keep the regulated process variable
as close as possible to the desired set point.

Figure 17: MODERN CONTROL

VALVES WITH ACTUATOR

Many people who talk about control valves or valves are really referring to a control valve
assembly. The control valve assembly typically consists of the valve body, the internal trim
parts, an actuator to provide the motive power to operate the valve, and a variety of
additional valve accessories, which can include positioners, transducers, supply pressure
regulators, manual operators, snubbers, or limit switches.

Control valve equation:

A design equation used for sizing control valves relates valve lift to the actual flow rate q by
means of the valve coefficient Cv, the proportionality factor that depends predominantly on
valve size or capacity:

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Here q is the flow rate, f (L) is the flow characteristic, Del PV is the pressure drop across
the valve, and gs is the specific gravity of the fluid. This relation is valid for non flashing
fluids. Specification of the valve size is dependent on the so-called valve characteristic f.
Three control valve characteristics are mainly used. For a fixed pressure drop across the
valve, the flow characteristic is related to the lift L, that is, the extent of valve opening is
related to flowrate as follows:
Linear: f (L) =L
Quick opening: f (L) =L^ (1/2)
Equal percentage: f (L) =R^ (L-1), R is a design parameter

Inherent Valve Characteristics:

The relationship between the flow coefficient and the closure member (disk) travel as it is
moved from the closed position to rated travel with constant pressure drop across the valve.
Typically these Characteristics are plotted on a curve where the horizontal axis is labeled in
percent travel and the vertical axis is labeled as percent flow (or Cv). Because valve flow is
a function of both the valve travel and the pressure drop across the valve, conducting flow
characteristic tests at a constant pressure drop provides a systematic way of comparing one
valve characteristic design to another. Typical valve characteristics conducted in this
manner are named Linear, Equal-Percentage, and Quick Opening.

fig. control valve charcteristics

Inherent Valve Gain:
The magnitude ratio of the change in flow through the valve to the change in valve travel
under conditions of constant pressure drop. Inherent valve gain is an inherent function of the
valve design. It is equal to the slope of the inherent characteristic curve at any travel point
and is a function of valve travel.

Different types of valves:

The most common and versatile types of control valves are sliding-stem globe and angle
valves. Their popularity derives from rugged construction and the many options available
that make them suitable for a variety of process applications, including severe service.
Control valve bodies may be categorized as below:

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 Angle valves
o Cage-style valve bodies
o Disk Stack style valve bodies
Angle seat piston valves
Globe valves
o Single-port valve bodies
o Balanced-plug cage-style valve bodies
o High capacity, cage-guided valve bodies
o Port-guided single-port valve bodies
o Double-ported valve bodies
o Three-way valve bodies
Rotary valves
o Butterfly valve bodies
o V-notch ball control valve bodies
o Eccentric-disk control valve bodies
o Eccentric-plug control valve bodies

Fig. a fig. b fig. c

A double ported globe valve

B. single ported globe valve
C. angle valve

Fig. Butterfly valve body Fig. Rotary V- notch valve body

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Control valve selection parameters:
Control valves handle all kinds of fluids at temperatures from the cryogenic range to well
over 1000_F (538_C). Selection of a control valve body assembly requires particular
consideration to provide the best available combination of valve body style, material, and
trim construction design for the intended service. Capacity requirements and system
operating pressure ranges also must be considered in selecting a control valve to ensure
satisfactory operation without undue initial expense. Reputable control valve manufacturers
and their representatives are dedicated to helping select the control
valve most appropriate for the existing service conditions. Because there are
frequently several possible correct choices for an application, it is important
that all the following information be provided:
1. Type of fluid to be controlled
2. Temperature of fluid
3. Viscosity of fluid
4. Specific gravity of fluid
5. Flow capacity required (maximum and minimum)
6. Inlet pressure at valve (maximum and minimum)
7. Outlet pressure (maximum and minimum)
8. Pressure drop during normal flowing conditions
9. Pressure drop at shutoff Maximum permissible noise level, if pertinent, and the
Measurement reference point
10. Degrees of superheat or existence of flashing, if known
11. Inlet and outlet pipeline size and schedule
12. Special tagging information required
13. Body Material (ASTM A216 grade WCC, ASTM A217 grade WC9, ASTM A351
CF8M, etc.)
14. End connections and valve rating (screwed, Class 600 RF flanged, Class 1500 RTJ
flanges, etc.)
15. Action desired on air failure (valve to open, close, or retain last controlled position)
16. Instrument air supply available
17. Instrument signal (3 to 15 psig, 4 to 20 mA, Hart, etc.)
In addition the following information will require the agreement of the user and the
manufacturer depending on the purchasing and engineering practices being followed.
18. Valve type number
19. Valve size
20. Valve body construction (angle, double-port, butterfly, etc.)
21. Valve plugs guiding (cage-style, port-guided, etc.)
22. Valve plug action (push-down-to-close or push-down-to open)
23. Port size (full or restricted)
24. Valve trim materials required
25. Flow action (flow tends to open valve or flow tends to close valve)
26. Actuator size required
27. Bonnet style (plain, extension, bellows seal, etc.)
28. Packing material (PTFE V-ring, laminated graphite, environmental sealing systems,
etc.)
29. Accessories required (positioner, hand wheel, etc.)

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