Electrical connectivity in process applications

By Weidmueller Interface

Major accidents occurring from time to time in the Process industry are always in the public spotlight, mainly because of huge personal and financial damages.

Harsh industrial environments

Therefore, particularly in the process industry quality requirements are extremely high. Nevertheless, accidents still happen. Only the European Union's database Major Accident Hazards Bureau (MARS) shows currently over 450 accidents occurrences in the last year. The causes are varied and are generally referred to human and technical reasons, and very often a combination of several of them. According to an investigation of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Harzard Investigation Board 39% of such events were due to human factors and 49% due to technical failures. Within the technically related accidents the cause for 97% was general equipment failures.

The development of Process industry - including gas, oil and chemical industries, as well as the ore and steel production and the water treatment, seawater desalination, cement, pulp and paper, food and pharmaceutical- does not suggest that the number of accidents will decrease significantly, unless the weak spots are identified and removed.

Global demand for such productions is growing steadily, promoted in particular by the demand in the rapidly growing economies of emerging countries such as China, India, Mexico or Brazil. Industrial Info Researches show investments for plants currently under construction only in North America up to $60 Bn, related to Oil&Gas Production, Refining, Transmission and Storage, and Chemicals.

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the investments up to 2030 in the areas of Oil and Gas will amount to $8 trillion, where Upstream will continue to dominate oil investment, but the shares of tankers and GTL increase over this period.

The IEA also state that "Global primary energy demand in the actual fossil-energy scenario is projected to increase by just over one-half between now and 2030 - an average annual rate of 1.6%. Demand grows by more than one quarter in the period to 2015 alone. Over 70% of the increase in demand over the projection period comes from developing countries, with China alone accounting for 30%."

Increasing scarcity of natural energy resources drive the need to improve process plant efficiency, dictating upgrade investments in existing plants and also improved technology to reach remote locations (deep subsea, arctic areas) or zones with harsher conditions (oil sands).

Proven qualified, safe and robust components are a basic prerequisite for high plant safety and availability in modern plants.

Rising demands on suppliers

To meet such high demands, suppliers to the Process industry must have a proven record of innovative, safe, robust and fit-for-use products, as well as outstanding services, including good delivery performance and technical support.

Weidmüller, as a long time supplier to such industries knows well these demands. In our Corporate Strategy 2020 we state that our "product and service portfolio is dedicated to add value to the business of our customers".

Some examples of such a simple fact which are directly related to the need to improve in safety, reliability, efficiency and availability can be seen in some of our newest designs.

Safety, reliability, efficiency and availability in connectivity products

The new Klippon TB^® enclosure, used as a Junction Box in numerous process plants around the world, shows in its new design many features to ensure safety and reliability.

Gasket compression control has been incorporated throughout the design of the enclosure. Over compression of gaskets leads to the collapse of the cellular structure and results in loss of the IP rating, allowing the ingress of liquids that can cause short circuits and corrosion of internal electrical connections. These features are directly related to safety, reliability and efficiency.

Additionally it features a broad lip around the aperture of the enclosure, eliminating knife-edge contact and preventing damage to the structure of the gasket. Silicone gasket material is standard across the new Klippon TB^® range, offering improved operating temperature (-60 to +140ºC) and resistance to chemical attack.

A Moisture / Dust Channel runs around the aperture of the body of the enclosure, ensuring that any debris or moisture present on the surface of the enclosure will not enter the enclosure when the lid is opened for maintenance. Again this prevents from malfunctions.

Also, the pinned hinge is designed to prevent accidental removal of the lid whilst allowing removal without the need for tooling. Captive hinge pins prevent loose parts being lost in the field. This feature helps the user to maintain plant operation availability.

Our new Heat Trace Connector is an innovation in the market, designed to connect the different heat tracing cables on the oil piping systems, it offers many benefits.

It's Coaxial and two-part design offers maximum flexibility of 360 degrees for plug connections, plus easiness in installation. Time-consuming alignment and twist motions are not necessary when mating. Therefore it allows time and cost reduction plus higher plant operation availability.

The Draw latches ensure secure closure of both housing parts but also prevent the unlatching via a safety feature, required by the standards in such applications. Even providing this safety feature, one operator can do and undo the connection on his own with simple movements.

Its robust coil spring contacts ensure permanent, reliable electrical connection designed for 35 A / 600 V.

Because of the used metal and plastic materials, this connector can be used in ambient temperatures between -50 °C to +60 °C. Its T6 temperature class enables use in a wide range of applications.

Therefore, this is a clear example of added value for the user, intimately related to safety, reliability, efficiency and availability.

Other examples we can find in Weidmüller's new generation of Functional Electronics.

The new series of Intrinsic Safety Isolators, the ACT20X, feature in a very few variants most of the required signal conditioning configurations. The beauty of this range is not only in it's electronics but also in it's housing and configuration software.

The housing is of new design and has up to 40% more PCB surface, allowing more circuits without increasing the used space in the cabinet. One innovative new feature we find on the PCB connectors. They are not only finger safe on both sides (male and female), but also include a leading pin contact and integrated, captive encoding system with unique "autoset" function. Furthermore, they offer simple and fast operation through integrated and colour-coded release frame with finger grip and including screwdriver clip. These and other interesting technical advantages are all designed in for the user's added value, to prevent from errors, to ensure correct functioning of the installations. These features stand for safety and reliability.

The other very interesting innovation is related to software. Due to the many suppliers in the market, preferences of technology and communication protocols, and no real global harmonised standards, users many times must learn how to configure each type of equipment via the own devices' software. This is normally unpractical and requires longer times to put the devices into service, plus it generates a less organised information system due to different types of configuration files and software applications.

Weidmüller again thinks in the customers needs by designing the ACT20X range to be configured with the widely standardised Field Device Tool (FDT) technology and DTM files. This way, operators can use the same software platform and structure as with other of their field devices, reducing the learning time and improving the file system. Efficiency and availability come to mind once more.

If we talk about communication and the increasingly high volumes, Gigabit backbones are increasingly becoming standard in industrial networks. The new gigabit-ready switch generation from Weidmüller ensures reliable coupling of the fast Ethernet machine networks to a gigabit backbone. Two gigabit-ready uplinks - suitable for both star as well as linear topologies - are available for this purpose.

The two gigabit SFP (small form-factor pluggable) slots offer maximum flexibility here. Weidmüller offers a wide spectrum of various pluggable SFP transceivers with LC connector technology. These go from the multimode variations for ranges of up to 2 km to single mode solutions that can be used for maximum line lengths of 120 km. This module offers expanded operating temperature range (from -40 to +75ºC) and as all of our Industrial Ethernet devices, redundant power supply connections.

Present and future challenges

The economic turbulence, the technology advances or the environmental issues, are all demanding that our industrial developments become more efficient, safer, less harmful for the environment but at the same time profitable and cost effective.

This will only be achieved when each link in the chain makes sure that concerning their part of the task, the job is done properly. This affects everyone from the investor, through the plant operator, to the component suppliers and the final users of the goods.

At Weidmüller, from a producer and supplier of components point of view, we will strive to create added valued products and services, which offer more efficiency and reliability, which are most cost effective and which involve more environmental friendly processes.